Chloe's guide to the front desk with Torqueflow

You are the first person customers speak to and the last person they see before they drive away. You book the jobs, manage the quotes, handle the messages, and make sure the invoices go out. Everything flows through the front desk, and Torqueflow is built to keep that flow moving.

This guide walks through your typical day - what to check, where to find it, and how it all connects. For step-by-step instructions on any specific feature, follow the links to the relevant support articles.

Starting your day

Clock in

If your garage uses time tracking, clock in using the clock icon in the header bar. One click opens a popover showing your status - tap Check In and you are logged. No need to go to a separate page unless you are using the workshop kiosk tablet.

For details, see Clocking In and Out with the Time Clock.

Check the Dashboard

The Dashboard loads when you sign in. It is not just for the boss - as a service advisor, you get the same snapshot of the garage’s current state:

• Active Jobs - how many work orders are open right now.
• Outstanding - total unpaid invoice value. If customers are due to collect today, check whether their invoices are settled.
• This Week Revenue - the week’s invoiced total so far.
• Voice AI Today (if enabled) - calls handled overnight and the resolution rate.

Below the stat cards, the Needs Attention panel flags overdue jobs, stale work orders, unbilled completions, and any AI callback promises. Work through these tabs first thing - they tell you what needs doing before the phone starts ringing.

For the full breakdown, see Dashboard Overview.

Review the Scheduler

Navigate to Scheduler in the sidebar. This is your diary for the day - a column for each bay, with appointment blocks laid out on a time grid.

As a service advisor, you have read-only access to the scheduler. You can see every booking, click appointments to preview their details, and check which technician is assigned where. You cannot drag, resize, or create appointments directly - those actions need a manager or owner. A “View Only” badge in the toolbar confirms your access level.

Key things to check each morning:

• Which bays are busy today and which have gaps?
• Are there any unassigned appointments in the “Unassigned” column?
• Does the day look realistic, or is it overloaded?

If something needs moving, flag it with the manager. If a customer rings to reschedule, you can create the work order and the manager handles the calendar.

For details, see Using the Scheduler Calendar.

Check messages and escalations

Open Messages from the sidebar. Filter by Unread to see what came in overnight - portal messages, WhatsApp conversations, and SMS replies. Then check Unassigned to pick up anything that needs an owner.

If Voice AI is enabled, check Voice > Escalations for any calls the AI could not resolve. These have SLA timers, so the urgent ones are obvious. You can mark an escalation as “in progress” before calling the customer back, then resolve it once sorted.

For details, see Using the Messaging Inbox and Managing the Voice Escalation Queue.

Customer interactions

Creating a work order

When a customer rings to book, or walks in with a problem, you create a work order:

1. Go to Work Orders and click New Work Order.
2. Search for the customer by name, phone, or email. If they are new, click New Customer and fill in the basics - you can add more detail to their profile later.
3. Select or create a vehicle. Use the Lookup button to pull details from DVLA by registration number - it fills in the make, model, year, and colour automatically, plus shows MOT and tax status.
4. Add a job description. Keep it clear and specific - “intermittent engine warning light, customer says happens after motorway driving” is more useful than “EML on”.
5. Tick any relevant checklist templates (like a vehicle health check) if your garage uses them.
6. Click Create Work Order. The status starts as “Booked”.

If the customer has no email on file, a yellow banner nudges you to capture one. It saves with the work order - worth doing for sending invoices and portal access later.

For the full walkthrough, see Creating a Work Order.

Scheduling an appointment

Once the work order exists, schedule it into the diary:

1. Open the work order and click Schedule Appointment.
2. Pick a date, start time, and end time. The calendar preview on the right shows existing bookings for the selected bay so you can avoid clashes.
3. Choose a bay. Each one shows its name, colour, and type (MOT, General, etc.).
4. Optionally assign a technician - or leave that for the manager to decide.
5. Click Schedule.

The appointment appears on the Scheduler calendar straight away.

For the full walkthrough, see Scheduling an Appointment.

Handling walk-ins

Walk-ins follow the same process - create a work order and schedule it. The difference is urgency. If bays are full, create the work order anyway (so nothing is forgotten) and flag it with the manager to find a slot. The Kanban board’s “Awaiting Parts” filter and date range options help you see what is actually in the bays versus what is booked but not started.

The quote workflow

When a technician inspects a vehicle and finds additional work, Torqueflow handles the back-and-forth with the customer.

How it works from your side

1. The technician logs findings against the work order, categorising each item as a Safety Item, Recommended, or Optional.
2. You (or the manager) review the findings and prepare the quote - adding pricing, parts, and labour.
3. When the quote is ready, you publish it. Torqueflow sends the customer a notification (email, SMS, or WhatsApp) with a link to review it in the portal.
4. The customer reviews each item in the portal and approves or declines. Safety items require an explicit acknowledgement if declined.
5. Once the customer submits their choices, the approved work feeds back into the work order and the technician can crack on.

What to watch for

• Check the Needs Attention panel on the Dashboard for quotes waiting on customer decisions.
• In the messaging inbox, quote-related conversations often come through as portal messages or WhatsApp replies.
• If a customer rings to discuss the quote rather than using the portal, you can walk them through it over the phone and they can confirm via the link afterwards.

For the customer’s view and the full approval flow, see Quote Approval in the Customer Portal.

Communication

The messaging inbox

The Messages page is your central hub. Every customer conversation lands here - WhatsApp, SMS, portal messages, and voice transcripts - in one unified inbox.

The conversation list on the left shows each thread with the customer name, a message preview, the channel icon (green for WhatsApp, blue for SMS, grey for Portal, purple for Voice), and an unread badge.

Use the filters:

• All - everything.
• Unread - conversations with messages you have not opened yet.
• Unassigned - threads nobody has claimed. Pick these up or assign them to the right person.
• Mine - conversations assigned to you.

When you open a thread, messages appear in order with delivery status indicators (pending, delivered, read, failed). The sidebar shows customer details, linked work orders, and assignment controls.

WhatsApp specifics: WhatsApp has a 24-hour session window. If the customer messaged recently, you can type a free-form reply. If the window has expired, you need to use a pre-configured template message - or wait for them to message again.

Gated sending: Depending on your role setup, your replies might go to an approval queue rather than sending directly. You will see them marked as “pending_approval”. An approver reviews and releases them.

For the full guide, see Using the Messaging Inbox.

Quick messages

Torqueflow supports quick messages - pre-saved text snippets that appear in the reply composer. These are handy for common responses like “Your vehicle is ready for collection” or “We are waiting on parts and will update you tomorrow”. They save typing the same things repeatedly.

Invoicing and payments

Generating an invoice from a work order

When a job is complete, you generate the invoice:

1. Open the work order and click Generate Invoice.
2. Torqueflow determines the invoice type automatically:
   • From Approved Quotes - lines come from what the customer approved. They are read-only.
   • Direct Invoice - lines come from logged parts and time entries. You can edit them.
   • Hybrid - a mix of both. Editable.
3. Set the invoice date and due date (the due date auto-calculates from your garage’s payment terms but you can override it).
4. Review the lines. In editable modes, you can add items from the parts catalogue, add labour lines, or add ad-hoc lines. You can exclude lines, apply discounts, and assign suppliers.
5. Click Generate Invoice.

The invoice appears in the sales list immediately.

Recording payments

When a customer pays:

1. Open the invoice and click Pay (it shows the outstanding amount on the button).
2. Select the payment method from the dropdown.
3. The amount pre-fills with the full outstanding balance. Adjust for a partial payment.
4. Set the payment date and optionally add a reference (card transaction ID, bank reference, etc.).
5. Click Record Payment - or Pay Full to clear it in one go.

The status updates from Unpaid to Part Paid or Paid automatically.

Other invoice actions

• Download PDF - save a copy for your records or to hand to the customer.
• Print - opens the PDF in a new tab for printing.
• Email - sends the invoice to the customer’s email. The button is greyed out if there is no email on file.
• Bulk Settle - on the invoices list, use this to mark multiple invoices as paid at once. Useful at the end of the day when you are reconciling card payments.

For the full walkthrough, see Sales Invoices.

End of day

Check outstanding items

Before you leave, do a quick sweep:

1. Dashboard > Needs Attention - anything new that crept in during the afternoon?
2. Messages > Unread - any customer messages you have not replied to?
3. Voice > Escalations (if applicable) - any unresolved escalations before the AI takes over for the night?

Prepare tomorrow’s schedule

Check the Scheduler for tomorrow’s date:

• Are all appointments confirmed?
• Are there any gaps that could take a walk-in?
• Do any jobs need parts that have not arrived? Cross-reference with the Kanban board’s “Awaiting Parts” filter.

Unbilled work

Check the Unbilled tab in Needs Attention. If there are completed jobs without invoices, get them generated before you leave. Money earned but not billed is money at risk of being forgotten.

Clock out

Use the header clock widget to check out. If break tracking is enabled and you forgot to log your lunch break, make a note so the manager can adjust the entry.

Your daily rhythm

Here is a quick reference for the typical front desk day:

Before 8:00 (5 minutes)

1. Clock in.
2. Check the Dashboard - stat cards, Needs Attention, overnight activity.
3. Scan messages for anything urgent.
4. Review the Scheduler for today’s bookings.

Morning 5. Greet customers dropping off vehicles. Create work orders and schedule appointments. 6. Handle incoming calls - book jobs, answer questions, take messages. 7. Follow up on outstanding quotes. Chase portal decisions where needed. 8. Monitor the messaging inbox throughout.

Midday 9. Check in with technicians on progress. Make sure the Kanban board reflects reality. 10. Send updates to customers waiting on news (“parts arrived”, “work is underway”).

Afternoon 11. Generate invoices for completed jobs. 12. Take payments as customers collect. 13. Book tomorrow’s walk-in enquiries.

Before closing 14. Sweep the Dashboard and messages one more time. 15. Check tomorrow’s schedule is solid. 16. Clear the Unbilled tab. 17. Clock out.

The key thing is that Torqueflow keeps everything in one place. You do not need a separate diary, a WhatsApp on your personal phone, sticky notes on the monitor, and a spreadsheet for invoices. It is all here - and when something needs your attention, Torqueflow tells you.