California Edition — 2026 draft. Have an employment attorney or HR professional review before distributing for signatures. Printed copies carry the branded header/footer automatically — send me the shop's exact address, phone, and logo to replace the [placeholders].
Diagnostic Assistant
Opening a site also copies the VIN (or RO # if no VIN) to your clipboard — just paste into that site's search. Sites open in a new tab; you stay logged in with your own account there.
Phase 1 (Tekmetric integration) will auto-fill customer, vehicle, mileage, and concern from the RO number — see the DEV-002 feasibility report. For now, enter them here once; they carry into the checklist and saved session.
What's the vehicle doing?
Research is a step, not a shortcut: every path tells you when to open Mitchell, ALLDATA, Snap-on Intelligent Diagnostics, or OEM info. When you reach the recommendation step, write it in the BAR Docs tab.
Saved diagnostic sessions
BAR Documentation Assistant
California BAR requires the estimate to describe the specific job with a price for all parts and labor, and authorization recorded before any work begins. Pick the situation, fill in the evidence, and copy the generated language into the Tekmetric estimate. This is drafting help based on BAR's Write It Right guide (January 2026) — the estimate/invoice itself must still meet all BAR requirements.
Authorization log (CCR § 3353.1)
Authorization must be documented on the estimate before repairs begin. Oral: date, time, name, phone number called. Electronic: date, time, name, email/number contacted.
Reminders from the 2025–2026 BAR updates: towing charges need their own estimate, invoice, and separate authorization; third-party payor (insurance/warranty) amounts must be disclosed on the estimate, or the required notice used when unknown; tear down estimates must name the specific area (e.g. "front of vehicle"), include reassembly cost, gaskets/seals, and maximum reassembly time if the customer declines.
Owner's Diagnostic Guide
Plain-English explanations for management: what each concept is, why it matters to the shop, the mistakes it prevents, and how to interview for it.
Coaching & Performance Record
Document coaching conversations the day they happen. Focus on specific, observable work — and the agreed fix.
Saved records
Diagnostic Technician — Structured Interview
Score each answer 1–5. Strong answers describe tests and evidence; red-flag answers name parts before proof.
30 / 60 / 90-Day Introductory Evaluation
Saved interviews
Team Roster
The roster feeds every name dropdown in the app — Technician fields show people with the Technician role, coaching fields show everyone. Contact info comes pre-loaded and is editable here; changes save on this device. Use Export (bottom of page) as your backup. Note: because contact details ship inside this file, keep the hosting link private within the shop.
Comeback Analysis
Purpose: improve the process, not assign blame. Every comeback gets logged and studied. The pattern across comebacks tells us which procedure to fix.
Comeback log
Company Philosophy
“We don't replace parts. We solve problems.”
Every diagnosis at 123 Auto Center is supported by recorded evidence — a measurement, a scope pattern, a pressure reading — before a part is recommended. Trouble codes tell us where to look; they never tell us what to buy. Manufacturer procedures are followed whenever applicable, and checking Mitchell, ALLDATA, Snap-on Intelligent Diagnostics, OEM information, and TSBs is part of every diagnosis.
Asking questions is professionalism. Guessing wastes the customer's money; asking protects it.
Core Values
- Integrity — we recommend only what the evidence supports, and we tell customers the truth about what we found.
- Quality — measured, torqued, verified. Every job gets a final check before the keys go back.
- Continuous improvement — comebacks and mistakes are studied in the Comeback log, not hidden.
- Professionalism — with customers, with each other, and in how the shop looks. Asking questions counts as professionalism.
- Evidence-based diagnostics — document the finding that condemns the part, every time.
Standard Operating Procedures
SOPs will be added here section by section: vehicle intake, customer communication and authorization, quality-control final check, comeback handling, and parts damage reporting.
About workspace views
The workspace selector in the header filters what each role sees for convenience on shared shop devices. It is not access security — anyone with this file can switch views. Real role-based permissions with individual logins arrive with the Phase 1 hosted version described in the DEV-002 feasibility report.