Certificate of completed repair work

A certificate of completed work is the second document of a repair, after the job sheet. The job sheet records that the device was booked in and in what condition. The certificate records what was done to it, who did it, what it cost and what the customer should know next. In ServiceCenterSoft the certificate prints from the same job sheet, and its content comes from the estimate and the work log the technician keeps during the repair.

The job sheet and the certificate are not the same thing

They are often confused because both print on the workshop’s letterhead. The difference lies in timing and content:

• The job sheet is given at intake: who brought what, in what condition, with what fault, and when it was promised. It protects both customer and workshop before the repair.
• The certificate is given at collection: what work was done, what it costs, whether it is paid, who was responsible, and any advice. It sums up the repair and protects you afterwards.

A private customer with a small repair often does not need a certificate — the job sheet marked as collected is enough. But there are cases where you cannot do without one.

When a certificate is really needed

• The customer is a company or a sole trader. Their accounts department will not process payment without a document for the work done. For these customers the certificate is not a formality but the condition for getting paid.
• Warranty repair paid by the manufacturer. The manufacturer or its agent pays against the certificate and usually wants it in its own format. More on software for authorised service centres.
• A dispute about quality. The customer comes back a month later saying the repair did not help. The certificate shows exactly what was done — and it becomes clear whether this is the same fault or a new one.
• An expensive repair. When the amount is noticeable, the customer wants to see what they are paying for. A list of work answers “why so expensive?”.

What the certificate should contain

Whether you print it from the software or fill in a form by hand, it should include:

1. the workshop’s name, address and phone number;
2. the number of the certificate or of the job sheet it belongs to, and the date;
3. the customer — name or company name, and phone;
4. the device: type, brand, model, serial number;
5. the reported fault — so it is clear what the device came in with;
6. a list of the work done and the parts fitted;
7. the price and a note of payment;
8. who carried out the repair;
9. the date collected;
10. the warranty on the work — period and terms;
11. advice to the customer, if any;
12. signatures of the workshop and the customer.

We deliberately say nothing about legal requirements: they change, and quoting them without a lawyer is unreliable. If your business customers need a particular form of certificate, ask their accounts department — and set up the printed form to match.

If you still fill in the certificate by hand, take the blank form with these twelve points: a table for ten jobs and parts with a total, a payment mark, the warranty, recommendations and both signatures.

A certificate that builds itself

The weakest part of a paper certificate is the list of work and the amount. They are written at the end, from memory, and the certificate says “board repair — 1,500” rather than “replaced the capacitors in the power supply — 4 pcs” and “tested under load”.

In the software the certificate is made of two things kept during the repair. The estimate — what the customer pays for: the first line is the base work set at intake, then lines of “what was done — quantity — price — amount”. A line can be picked from the list of labour items, or a part taken from stock — in which case it is also written off the stock level. The work log — what was done and what was found: one action, one entry, with the date and the technician’s name. When the device is collected, the certificate prints from the job at the press of a button, and all of it goes in by itself.

To make the certificate readable, agree a few rules in your workshop: in the estimate, name work and parts the way a customer would; in the log, write what was done, not what was “tried”; record the post-repair test as a separate entry.

What the printed certificate looks like

The certificate prints on an A4 sheet. The standard form has the branch details, the customer, the device and serial number, the dates booked in and collected, the estimate as a table with the total, the work log, advice, “Amount due”, who did the work and space for the customer’s signature. The reported fault, the payment date, the amount already received and warranty text can be added to the form — the software has fields for them.

“Amount due” is not the whole sum but the balance. A prepayment for a part is recorded as a payment on the job on the day of intake, and at collection the certificate shows exactly what is left to pay.

You edit the certificate form yourself: your logo, your warranty text, your order of fields. With several locations there is one form, and the details come from the branch where the repair was done. The document language is set separately from the software language — a Ukrainian customer gets the certificate in Ukrainian even if the technician works in the software in another language.

What the certificate does not include

• Discounts and VAT as separate lines. The estimate is the price for the customer: a discount, if you give one, goes into the line price, and VAT is not shown separately.
• On-screen or electronic signatures. The certificate is signed on paper.
• Several certificates for one repair. There is one certificate per job sheet; if the work was done in stages, they all appear on the same certificate.

What you get

• The certificate prints from the job sheet at the press of a button — nothing is rewritten.
• An estimate line by line: what was done, how many, at what price, and the total.
• The list of work comes from the technician’s log, not from memory at the end of the day.
• “Amount due” — the balance after any prepayment.
• A form of your own: logo, warranty, order of fields, document language; branch details fill in by themselves.
• For business customers — a document their accounts department can pay against.

★★★★★

I tried the ServiceCenterSoft demo and came away with a good impression. The program is simple and easy to understand, yet it has everything you need for the job: customers, repairs, devices, spare parts, statuses and statistics.

I especially liked the dark theme and the responsive design — working from a phone is perfectly comfortable. Another plus is the instant search that works as you type, so you don't have to press a separate "Search" button every time.

You can tell the program was built specifically for service centers rather than being a generic CRM adapted for the repair business. The interface has no unnecessary frills; everything is logical and to the point.

A good, practical tool for the day-to-day work of a service center.

★★★★★

I liked that you get a free 14-day trial and that they are willing to handle my special requests — setting things up exactly the way I need them.

I also liked how payment works. You can simply pay the monthly fee by card online — basically the same as a regular Spotify subscription or any other service. No separate contracts to sign and no invoices to pay manually.

And there's no feeling of strict limits on the number of employees. One service center is one account, and inside it you can organize the work of your technicians and run several branches.

For me this is far more convenient than plans where you have to pay for every single user or keep counting how many employees are working today.

★★★★★

My business is fairly specific, so the program's standard features weren't enough — I needed my own custom fields, my own sorting options and search by additional parameters. The work completion certificate and the printed repair receipt also needed some changes to fit the way we work.

I contacted technical support. To be honest, I expected changes like these to take a long time, but everything was done within a single day. The team quickly understood exactly what we needed, suggested the right solution and did everything properly.

I'd especially like to mention the support: they get straight to the point, with no unnecessary bureaucracy, and they genuinely help instead of just sending you off to read the documentation.

For me this is a big advantage of the program: it isn't just sold "as is" — it can be adapted to how you actually work. Thanks to the team for the quick response and for treating the customer right.

Highly recommended!

What it costs

The certificate, the job sheet and the work log are all part of the software — nothing is bought separately. One price for the whole workshop.

You can print a certificate from any job sheet in the demo. What belongs on the job sheet at intake is on the intake job sheet page.

Frequently asked questions