Aircraft shop work orders and estimates: how to run them

Most arguments about the bill start before the work does: the customer remembers one thing, the shop wrote down another. A written estimate, an approval and a work order that follows the job from start to finish remove the guesswork.

The flow in five steps

1. 1Intake: record the aircraft, the owner, the squawks and what the customer asks for.
2. 2Estimate: list labor, parts and any outside services, with your terms.
3. 3Approval: the customer approves the estimate in writing before work starts.
4. 4Work order: record time, parts used and findings as the work happens.
5. 5Close-out: invoice, log book entries and a summary the owner can keep.

What a good estimate includes

• Aircraft identification and the work requested, in plain words.
• Labor, shown as hours and rate or as a fixed price per task.
• Parts and materials, with a note that prices can change before purchase.
• What is not included, for example repairs found during inspection.
• How you handle new findings: stop, tell the customer, and get a new approval.
• Payment terms and how long the estimate is valid.

Tracking time and parts

Record the time of each person on each task while you do the work, not at the end of the week. Separate billable time from time that is not charged. For parts, note the part number, the source and the price paid. Good records here are what let you answer the customer's question about the invoice in one minute.

Why digital helps

When the estimate, the approval, the time, the parts and the invoice live in one place, the customer can see progress and approve online, and you stop retyping the same data in three programs. For a mobile mechanic it also means the paperwork is done at the aircraft, not at night.