Workflow4 min readDocumentation – Boost Bodyshop Efficiency with Smarter Photo Workflows
Crisp, detailed photo documentation forms an indispensable requirement in modern collision repair operations.
The photo file your team used to build by hand
Every photo sorts itself into the section of the case it belongs to – preliminary, by estimate line, supplement, complete, invoices – and submission to the insurer handles file size, format and descriptions in the layout that insurer expects. The Customer Service package moves the whole shot list ahead of drop-off: the customer shoots it from a texted link, and your estimator pre-orders parts before the car is on the lot.
- Band
- The record that backs the bill
- Package
- Base + Documentation
What it costs you today
- 01
A damage photo used to mean a memory card, a cable to the office computer, and renaming forty files by hand before any of them reached the case.
- 02
Insurers want a specific description on every photo, and nobody writes that many by hand without skipping a few.
- 03
Waiting for the car to reach the shop before anyone takes a photo means the estimator can't pre-order parts until the vehicle is already on the lot.
How it works
- 01 / Choose
A template for the job
Pick the insurer's photo template, or the shop default, and the Mobile Client shows the exact shot list – which angle, which panel, in what order. This guided capture from a template is in Base.
- 02 / Capture
Staff or the customer, either one
A bodytech shoots the list at intake, as part of Base's guided capture. Text the customer a link with a short video instead and they shoot it themselves before the car reaches the shop – that self-capture, bundled with the damage-pics request, is in Customer Service, and it lets the estimator pre-order parts from photos alone.
- 03 / File
Every photo lands with the description an insurer expects
Descriptions attach automatically as photos come in, sorted into preliminary, estimate-line, supplement and complete sections. Capture tied to individual estimate lines, plus invoice, complete and supplement photos, voice memos and one-touch upload to MRCC, is in Documentation.
What you get
- Guided, step-by-step capture from an insurer-specific or default template, at intake (Base)
- Customer self-capture from a texted link and video walkthrough, before the car reaches the shop (Customer Service)
- Every photo files itself to the case with the description an insurer expects – no renaming, no folder sorting
- VIN and driver's license barcode scanning fill case and customer fields automatically (Base)
- Photo documentation tied to individual estimate lines, not just the intake set (Documentation)
- Invoice, complete and supplement photo capture, sorted straight into the matching section of the case (Documentation)
- Voice memos on any photo, converted to text, plus one-touch upload to MRCC and diagnostic-scanner reports (Documentation)
Runs on
Desktop Server
Runs on your own hardware, on-premise. Keeps working through an internet outage.
Workflow
The Windows application your team works in all day. Unlimited installs.
Mobile Client
iOS and Android, for the work that happens away from a desk.
What to buy for this
Base + Documentation – $178/mo billed annually
Base covers guided capture from an insurance or default template, taken at intake. Documentation adds photo documentation by estimate line, invoice, complete and supplement capture, voice memos with speech-to-text and one-touch upload to MRCC – add it once photos need to follow the estimate line by line, not just the intake set.
Also consider Customer Service is what actually sends the customer that texted link – it bundles the damage-pics request with the paperless Work Authorization, so photos and a signed WA can arrive before the car does. Together with the above that is $267/mo billed annually.
See the full pricing breakdownQuestions shops ask
- Does the customer have to come into the shop to take photos?
- Not with Customer Service turned on. The customer gets a texted link with a short video walkthrough and shoots the list themselves, before the car reaches the shop, so the estimator can work from photos alone. That self-capture link ships in Customer Service, on top of Base.
- Do we have to write a description for every photo before it goes to the insurer?
- No. Descriptions attach automatically as photos come in – that's true on the Base template capture, not only on Documentation's estimate-line capture.
- What's the difference between Base and Documentation here?
- Base covers guided capture from an insurance or default template – the shots taken at intake. Documentation adds capture tied to individual estimate lines, plus invoice, complete and supplement photos, voice memos with speech-to-text, and one-touch upload to MRCC.
- Can staff record a note instead of typing one?
- Yes, on Documentation. Hold the record button on any photo to leave a voice memo, and EstVis converts it to text on the case.
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Next
Parts and Invoices
Scan an invoice on the Mobile Client and EstVis posts it. The parts board tracks every part from not-ordered through received, EstVis warns the moment a vendor invoice beats the estimating system's price, and flags a cheaper aftermarket part before anyone has to go looking.
Mechanical Labor Recovery
CCC® ONE leaves mechanical lines on the default Body rate. Every hour on those lines ships to the insurer at body labor cost, and Mechanical runs 30 to 60 dollars an hour higher in most shops. EstVis audits every line and flags the gap while there is still time to supplement.