Overview
Finishing a work order used to mean clicking through screen after screen. With v0.66, the new Complete Work Order button wraps everything up in far fewer, smoother steps:
One step collects any required details — mileage, VIN, engine hours — in a single small screen, so you're no longer hunting across the work order for missing fields. Only fields your shop actually requires are shown; everything else is skipped.
A success screen takes you straight to the invoice (or click Done to exit).
When the last open line on a work order is resolved, the work order completes automatically — no extra trip back to the blue Complete button.
To get started watch this video:
New Work Order settings
The Work Order settings page (Administration → Settings → Work Orders) now brings every workflow option together in one place. Three new settings let you decide how much structure your shop wants:
Auto-approve lines — new lines are approved automatically. Ideal for small shops that already have customer approval and don't want to click Approve on every line.
Vendor invoice optional or required — choose whether special-order parts must be received (with vendor paperwork) before a work order can be completed. With this relaxed, you can complete the work order and hand the customer their invoice now, then do the receiving paperwork later.
Require review — an optional review step so a manager signs off before anything is invoiced.
Important: the streamlined completion flow is on for everyone, but your shop's rules don't change until you opt in. The default settings keep your existing business logic (approvals, vendor invoices, review) exactly as it is today. Settings apply organization-wide and can be changed by owners and admins.
One consistent approval rule
Every line must be approved before a work order can be completed or sent to review. If a line still needs attention, you'll get a clear message pointing to it.
The review queue
With Require review on, completed work orders wait in a "Ready for Review" queue for sign-off. The reviewer must be a different person than whoever completed the work order.
Add a part with just a description and a price
If a part arrives ahead of its paperwork — or a tech just knows "I need a turbo" — you can now add a part to a work order with just a description and a price. No part number required. ShopView flags the part and holds it back from QuickBooks until the vendor and part number are filled in, so nothing gets stuck or lost.
Completing from the line
You can complete work order lines individually, or complete straight from a work order line — when the last open line is resolved, the work order status is set to complete automatically.
FAQ
Will the invoice be created automatically?
Not yet — the success screen takes you straight to the invoice page, but invoice creation still respects customer terms and the payment step. Auto-creating the invoice is planned for the future.
We use a review/QA step today. Does anything change?
No — defaults preserve your current process. If you want the sign-off step enforced, turn on Require review; completed work orders will then wait in the Ready for Review queue.
Can auto-approve be limited to a dollar threshold (e.g., approve up to $5,000)?
Not in this release; threshold-based approval is a candidate for a future version.