Working a Repair Job | ReturnMate Help Centre

Every item checked in at the counter becomes its own repair job. This guide covers the Repairs workspace, where you find and assign jobs, and the job page, where the work happens.

The screens are the same for Computer Repairs and Walk-in Repairs. Some presets use their own words. For example, the music preset says Assessing instead of Diagnosing. See Phone, Music and Jewellery Repairs.

The Repairs workspace

Open Repairs from the admin menu. If no repair module is enabled, the page says so and links to Settings → Industry modules.

The page header has New intake plus four more actions: Online bookings, Parts required, Stock reconciliation and Save view. When online bookings are waiting to be checked in, a banner at the top shows how many, with an Open bookings button.

Tabs

Each tab shows a count.

Tab	What it shows
All	Every open job
Counter	Jobs still at Checked in
My bench	Jobs assigned to you at Diagnosing, Ready for repair, Repairing or QA
Unassigned	Jobs with no technician
Awaiting approval	Jobs waiting on the customer's answer to an estimate
Parts required	Jobs blocked on parts, or with parts still required, reserved or ordered
Ready for collection	Finished jobs waiting to be picked up
Uncollected review	Ready jobs past the uncollected review date
Safety hold	Jobs quarantined as a hazard
Overdue	Jobs past their promised date that are not yet ready

Completed and cancelled jobs are hidden. Tick Include completed and cancelled in the filters to see them.

Search by job, RMA, customer, phone, serial or asset label.

Filter by Stage, Blocker, Assignee, Location, Item type, Coverage, Financial status and Priority.

Sort by Promised date, Created, Time in stage, Ready since or Job number. Most tabs sort by promised date, soonest first. Ready for collection and Uncollected review sort by how long the job has been ready.

Saved views

Set up the tab, filters and sort you want, then choose Save view and give it a name. The view appears as its own tab. You can rename, duplicate or delete a saved view from its tab menu.

Assigning jobs in bulk

Select jobs in the list and choose Assign to. Pick a technician, or Unassigned, and choose Assign. You can assign up to 50 jobs at a time.

Parts required queue

Parts required lists every part still outstanding across open jobs, grouped by supplier. Filter by Status, Supplier and Location, or tick Overdue only for parts past their ETA.

From each row you can:

Edit the supplier, order reference and ETA.
Mark the part Ordered, with an order reference and expected date.
Mark the part Received.
Cancel the part. Stock is not affected.
Open job.

Stock reconciliation

Stock reconciliation shows stock movements raised when parts from your own stock are installed or consumed. By default it shows movements that need attention: failed ones, and ones with an unknown outcome.

Retry sends a failed movement again.
Mark resolved records the movement as applied. Only do this after checking the stock level in Shopify or your ERP. A note is required.

An Unknown movement means the request left ReturnMate but no reply arrived. Check whether the adjustment was applied before you resolve it.

The job page

Open any job from the list. The page has a header across the top, a work column on the left and a facts column on the right.

Header and stage rail

The header shows badges for the stage, any blocker, the financial status, coverage, priority, safety hold and job number. Over approved limit appears when committed spend is above the customer's limit.

Below the badges is a line with the serial, asset label, shelf or bin, promised date, time in the current stage, and total time blocked.

On the right are the assigned technician picker, Set safety hold (or Clear safety hold) and Print pack.

The stage rail shows where the job sits: Checked in, Diagnosing, Approval, Ready, Repairing, QA, Collection, Done.

Act: this stage

The first card in the work column is the action card. Its heading, buttons and warnings change with the stage, so it always shows the next thing to do. The sections below describe each stage.

Banners appear above or below the card when something needs attention, such as a blocker, an over-limit warning or an uncollected item.

Record: the ledger

Under the action card are the record tabs:

Parts
Labour
Checklists
Documents
Timeline
Details, which holds the blocker, custody, promised date and financial status forms, the intake summary, repeat repair links and the job history.

The repair quote panel sits below the tabs. See Repair Estimates and Payment.

Facts column

The right-hand column stays visible while you work.

What the customer said quotes the fault in the customer's own words, with who said it and when. It also shows the requested service (or Diagnose and advise), coverage and the accessories left with the item. Jobs from an online booking show Booked online with the booking number.
Spend headroom compares what is committed against the limit the customer approved at intake. Committed spend is the diagnostic fee (on paid jobs), customer-paid parts and billable labour. The gauge turns amber above 80% and red when you go over. If no limit was set, you can enter one and choose Save limit.
Value & custody shows the declared value, whether a manager has signed it off, how many photos are on file, where the item is, and what happens to removed original parts.
Consents & data is a tick list of the consents this job needs. Use Record to add one taken by phone, email or in person.
Device credentials holds any passwords left with the item. See Device Passwords and Access.

Stages and what moves a job on

A job follows this path:

Checked in → Diagnosing → Awaiting approval → Ready for repair → Repairing → QA → Ready for collection → Completed

It can also go backwards, skip approval, or end as Cancelled. ReturnMate only allows moves that make sense from the current stage. Anything else is refused with "That stage change is not allowed from the current stage."

Checked in

The action card reads Diagnose this device (or item, instrument or piece).

Start diagnosing moves the job to Diagnosing.
Start diagnostic checklist opens a checklist run.
Add intake photos uploads photos to the job.
Reveal credential appears when the customer left a login.

Warnings here include a high-value item that needs a manager sign-off, and on phone shops, activation lock not confirmed off.

Diagnosing

The card reads Write up what you found. Fill in:

Confirmed fault, which is required.
Remedy.
What the customer will be told, in plain language with no part numbers.

The remedy is customer-facing

The Remedy text prints on the completion report as the work performed. Write it so the customer can read it.

Then choose how to move on:

Build the quote saves your write-up and opens the estimate page. Once an estimate exists, the button shows Send quote with the total.
On warranty or goodwill jobs, Ready for repair — no quote needed saves the write-up and moves straight to Ready for repair.
Save write-up saves without moving.
No fault found / return unrepaired sends the job to Ready for collection without a repair.

When you send an estimate, the job moves to Awaiting approval on its own and gets the Awaiting customer response blocker.

Awaiting approval

The card reads Nothing to do until the customer replies. The job leaves your bench until they answer.

Record their answer opens the estimate page so you can record a decision given in person or by phone.
Back to diagnosing returns the job so you can re-quote.

When the customer accepts, or pays, the job moves to Ready for repair by itself and the blocker clears.

Ready for repair

The card reads Start the repair and shows how many parts are on hand. Parts still to arrive are listed with their ETA.

Use Start repairing, Add part or Log labour.

Two checks before work starts

Start repairing only works when both of these are true:

The customer has authorised the work. The job is under warranty or goodwill, or its financial status is Not applicable, Approved, unpaid, Deposit paid, Paid or Waived. Otherwise you see "Work cannot start until the customer has accepted the quote or paid."
Every planned operation has its consent. Data work at intake, or irreversible work on instrument and jewellery jobs, each needs a granted consent. Record any missing ones from Consents & data first.

Repairing

The card reads Do the work and lists parts still to fit.

Repair finished — send to QA moves the job to QA.
Add part and Log labour record what you use.
Scope changed — back to approval returns the job to Awaiting approval for a revised estimate.
New finding — back to diagnosing returns the job to Diagnosing.

QA

The card reads QA this repair before it goes back.

Start QA checklist opens a QA run. If one is in progress, the button reads Continue QA checklist.
When the latest QA run has passed, QA passed — ready for collection appears.
Send back to repair returns the job to Repairing.

Warnings here show a planned operation that still has no consent, and original parts that the owner wants back but nobody has bagged yet.

The QA gate

When Require a QA pass before a job is ready for collection is on in the module settings, the latest QA run must have passed. If it has not, the move is stopped with A passed QA checklist is required. A store owner or admin can release the job anyway by entering a Manager exception reason. The exception is recorded against them and written to the audit log.

A failed QA run does not release the job. Send it back to repair, fix what failed, then start a new QA run.

Ready for collection and Completed

The card reads Hand the device back and shows how long it has been ready and what is outstanding. Hand over opens the handover page.

If the customer rejects the work at the counter, choose Customer rejected it — back to repair.

Once handed over, the job is Completed. The card offers Open completion report and Open collection record. See Collection and Handover.

Returning an item without a repair

From Diagnosing or Awaiting approval you can move a job to Ready for collection without a repair. Choose an Outcome:

No fault found
Declined by customer
Estimate expired
Uneconomical to repair
Returned unrepaired

A short Reason is required.

Cancelling a job

Cancel from the RMA record. Choose Open the full RMA record, then Move to Cancelled in the repair job card, and give a reason. Cancelling wipes any stored device credentials.

Blockers

A blocker says why a job is not moving. Set it on the Details tab under Blocker, custody and promised date. Choose a Blocker, add a Blocker note and save.

Blocker	Pauses the SLA clock
Awaiting parts	No
Awaiting customer response	Yes
Awaiting payment	Yes
Awaiting access	Yes
Awaiting backup confirmation	Yes
Awaiting subcontractor	No
Awaiting manager	No
Other	No

A blocked job shows a banner above the action card with Clear blocker. The header adds up the total time blocked.

Some blockers are set for you:

Awaiting parts is added while any part is still required, reserved or ordered, and removed when the last one arrives.
Awaiting customer response is added when you send an estimate.

The customer is emailed a short update when a blocker that affects them is set, such as waiting for parts, payment or access.

The same Details tab holds:

Custody: where the item is, its location and shelf or bin.
Promised date: changing an existing date needs a reason, and the customer is emailed the new date.
Financial status and Payment reference, for payments taken outside Shopify.

Safety hold

Use Set safety hold in the header for swollen or damaged batteries and other hazards. Add a note explaining the hazard.

A job on safety hold cannot be shipped by courier. It can still be handed over in person. A safety hold is also set automatically when a fault flagged as a safety hazard is recorded.

Only a store owner or admin can Clear safety hold. Clearing is audited.

Parts

Open the Parts tab and choose Add part.

Find the part with Pick from catalogue or Search Shopify products, or type it in.
Choose the Source.
Check the SKU and Description. Both are required.
Enter Quantity, Estimated unit cost, Sell price and Coverage (Customer paid, Warranty or Goodwill).
For ordered parts, add the Supplier, Order reference and Expected (ETA).
Optionally set a Component type, such as SSD or battery, to record the component on the item when it is fitted.

Source	Notes
Own stock	Can be reserved or ordered. Moves stock when installed or consumed.
Supplier order	Can be ordered. Never moves your stock.
Customer supplied	Starts as received, with no cost or price. Never moves stock.
Harvested	Taken from another unit. Never moves stock.

Part statuses

Use Move to… on a part row to change its status.

Required, Reserved, Ordered and Received track the part to your bench.
Installed and Consumed mean it has been used. When you mark a part installed you can record the actual unit cost, the serial of the fitted part, and what happened to the removed part.
Cancelled, Returned unused and Defective close the part.

Customer-paid parts count toward the spend headroom from the moment you add them.

Stock

Stock moves exactly once per part, when an Own stock part is marked Installed or Consumed. The Stock column shows how that movement went.

Where the stock comes off is set by Inventory authority for consumed parts in the module settings: Automatic, Shopify inventory, ERP or None (audit only). Locations can override it under Stock locations.

Invoices for repair charges use custom lines in Shopify, so a part is never taken off stock twice. Failed movements appear on Stock reconciliation.

Labour

Open the Labour tab and choose Log labour. Enter:

Minutes.
Kind: Hands-on or Unattended.
Coverage.
Billable, which is ticked by default on paid jobs.
An optional Description.

Billable time is priced at your hourly labour rate, set under Settings → Warranty Settings. Billable labour counts toward the spend headroom.

Logging labour does not add a line to the estimate. Add labour lines on the estimate itself.

Checklists

Checklists record diagnostic and QA results against a template. Built-in templates are seeded for your module and preset.

To start one, use the button on the action card, or open the Checklists tab and choose Start diagnostic or Start QA. Pick a Template, or leave Default for this item type.

If no active template matches the item type, you see "No active checklist template matches this item type. Add one under Settings → Industry modules."

The tab lists every run with its status: In progress, Passed, Failed or Abandoned. Use Continue or View to open one.

The checklist page

Checklist runs open on their own page, built for a tablet at the bench with large touch targets.

The customer's reported fault is quoted at the top, so you test against what they said.
A progress bar shows how many items are answered. The next unanswered item is highlighted.
Answer each item with Pass, Fail, Not tested or N/A.
Not tested needs a reason. Fail opens a notes field.
Items marked with an asterisk are required.
Photo items are captured in the technician app.

Choose Save & finish later to come back to it. When every required item is answered, choose Complete QA (or Complete Diagnostic) to finish the run. A run with any Fail completes as failed. Otherwise it completes as passed.

On a QA run, every check item needs an answer that is not a fail before the run can pass. A completed run is read-only.

Measurements with targets

Some checklist items ask for a measured value, such as battery health or a setup measurement. When the template sets a target range, the page shows it under Setup measurements.

Entering a value inside the range marks the item Pass. A value outside it marks the item Fail.
A badge shows All in spec or how many are out of spec.
The run cannot pass until every measurement is back in spec.

The completion report prints the measurements from the latest passed QA run, with their targets.

Documents

Open the Documents tab.

Document	Who it is for	Available
Intake receipt	Customer	Any time
Work order	Internal only	Any time
Completion report	Customer	Once the job is ready for collection
Collection record	Customer	Once the job is ready for collection

Generate creates the PDF and lists it with its version. Open shows it.
Email to customer sends a customer document as a PDF attachment. The work order cannot be emailed. If the job has no customer email address, the email buttons are disabled.
Print pack sends the intake receipt, work order, item tag and one tag per accessory to your ReturnMate Print Client.

Documents only ever show customer-safe facts. Internal notes, the technician's confirmed fault, access notes and passwords are never printed.

Why versions are reused

Printing or emailing a document reuses the current version unless the facts on it have changed. A new version always means something changed, such as a new consent or an updated outcome.

This keeps one version per set of facts, so the version the customer holds matches the one on file. Older versions are never overwritten.

Timeline

The Timeline tab shows the full history of the RMA behind the job: stage changes, emails sent, part updates and notes. Add notes and attachments from the form under the timeline.

For a compact list of stage, blocker, custody and financial changes with durations, see History on the Details tab.

The RMA record

Every repair job is backed by an RMA. If you open that RMA from anywhere in the admin, you are taken to the job page instead.

To see the RMA record itself, choose Open the full RMA record in the page header, or RMA record in the facts column. The page opens with ?view=rma on the address. It shows the RMA with a compact repair job card that includes every allowed stage move.