Getting started

Quick Start Guide

New to Autoimate? Follow these five steps and you'll have your first estimate submitted in under 10 minutes.

1

Set up your shop rates

Go to Dashboard → Settings and enter your RR, repair, and paint rates. These are applied automatically to every estimate you create. You can also set insurer-specific rates for IAG, Allianz, NRMA and others.

2

Create a new job

From the Dashboard, click New Job. Enter the vehicle details, customer information, and claim number. The job is saved automatically as you type.

3

Open the Estimator

Click the Estimator button on the job. This opens the full AI-powered quoting tool where you'll build your estimate.

4

Upload photos and run AI analysis

Upload up to 5 damage photos in the Photos tab, tap the damaged zones on the vehicle diagram, then click Analyse & Generate Estimate. The AI will build a full quote in seconds for you to review.

5

Review and submit

Review all line items, adjust anything the AI missed, then click Submit to Insurer. The quote goes directly to the claims officer — no email, no PDF, no fax required.

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Setting Up Your Shop Setting Your Rates Team and Seats

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Getting started

Setting Up Your Shop

Before your first quote goes out, fill in your shop details. These are what appear on every quote and invoice you send, so it’s worth ten minutes now rather than fixing them on a document a customer has already seen.

1

Shop Details

Go to Settings → Shop Details and fill in your shop name, ABN, repairer licence number, address, phone and email. Your licence number in particular needs to be right — it appears on work going to insurers.

2

Payment and bank details

Under Payment / Bank Details, enter your bank name, BSB, account number and account name. This is what goes on your invoices, so check every digit. A wrong BSB means a payment that doesn’t arrive and a phone call to chase it.

3

Upload your logo

Shop Logo takes an image file and puts it on your quotes and invoices. A plain version on a white background usually prints best.

4

Set your rates

Rates are the other thing to do before quoting. They’re covered on their own page — see Setting Your Rates.

5

Sort out your password

Under Account you can change your password. Use something you don’t use anywhere else — this account has your customers’ details and your bank details in it.

🧾

Check it on a real document

Once it’s filled in, generate a quote PDF on a test job and read the header and footer. That’s the quickest way to spot a wrong phone number or a stretched logo.

🏦

Bank details twice

Type them, then read them back off the screen against your bank statement. It’s the one field where a typo costs you real time.

👥

Then add your team

Everyone who writes quotes should have their own login. See Team and Seats.

🔗

Connect the rest later

PartsCheck, Xero and EstImage can all wait until you’re quoting. None of them are needed to get your first job out the door.

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Quick Start Guide Setting Your Rates Team and Seats

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Getting started

Setting Your Rates

Rates follow the insurer on the job. Choose the insurer and the right hourly rates are applied for you, so there is nothing to set up before your first quote.

1

Choose the insurer on the job

Every insurer has its own approved rates, and Autoimate knows them. Pick the insurer and your Remove & Refit, Repair and Paint rates switch to that insurer’s schedule automatically.

2

Private and self-pay work

Leave the insurer blank, or choose Private, and standard rates apply. No insurer schedule is used, and no scheduled times are applied to your lines.

3

Adjust them on the estimate

The rate boxes sit at the top of the estimator. Change any of them and the quote recalculates as you type — useful when you have negotiated something different, or for work that does not fit a standard schedule.

4

Parts markup

Set your markup on the estimate and it is applied to every parts line. It carries through to supplementaries on the same job.

Worth knowing

Rates are per estimate, not per shop. That is deliberate — the same job can be quoted at different rates depending on who is paying, and a single shop-wide figure would be wrong more often than right.

NTAR and LTAR schedules are separate from rates. Those are the insurer’s approved times, and they only apply on IAG-group claims. See NTAR and LTAR.

If an insurer’s rate looks wrong, change it on the estimate and let us know — the schedules are kept up to date and we would want to correct it.

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Quick Start Guide Setting Up Your Shop Team and Seats

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Getting started

Team and Seats

Everyone who works on quotes gets their own login. Adding someone adds a seat to your subscription; removing them takes it off again.

1

How seats work

Your subscription includes one estimator seat. Every extra person on your team needs a seat of their own. Settings → Estimator Seats shows how many seats you have and what they are costing you.

2

Invite someone

Go to Settings → Team, enter their name and email, and send the invite. If you don’t have a spare seat you’ll be asked to add one first. The cost is shown before you confirm, your card on file is charged straight away, and once that goes through you can finish setting them up.

3

They accept and set a password

Until they do, they show in your team list as Invite pending. Once they’re in, that changes to Active.

4

Owner and Estimator

The team list shows which each person is. There’s one owner — the account holder, who handles billing, seats and integrations. Everyone else is an estimator and works on jobs.

5

When someone leaves

Removing them from the team doesn’t reduce your bill on its own. Use Remove Seat in Settings as well, or you keep paying for a seat nobody is using.

💸

The one that catches people

Removing a team member and removing a seat are two separate actions. Do both, or you keep being charged for a seat nobody is sitting in.

🙅

Don’t share a login

Sharing one account between estimators means you can’t tell who quoted what, and the phone app will show the wrong person’s jobs. Give everyone their own.

📱

Seats cover the phone too

A seat is a person, not a device. The same login works on the dashboard and in the Photos app.

🧾

Seat charges

Seats are billed alongside your subscription. Current pricing and all your invoices are under Billing in Settings.

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Quick Start Guide Setting Up Your Shop Setting Your Rates

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Estimates

AI Guided Mode

Guided Mode walks you through a quote in five steps. You talk, it builds. It’s the fastest way to get from a damaged car to a finished estimate, and the way most shops end up working once they’re used to it.

1

Narrate the damage

Tap the microphone and describe what you’re looking at out loud — the panel, whether it’s replace or repair, and how bad it is. Talk the way you’d talk to another estimator standing next to you. There’s an Example button if you want to hear how much detail helps. If a walkaround was filmed on the phone it appears here instead as Recording from the phone — tap Use this recording and it uses that rather than the microphone. You can also skip this step and type your instructions at the end.

2

Vehicle details

Rego, make, model, body type, colour and VIN. Use Look Up to fill most of it from the plate. Body type matters more than people expect — a wagon and a sedan don’t carry the same work.

3

Insurer and rates

Pick the insurer. Your own rates come across automatically, and if the insurer runs a schedule you’ll see it here with its number. See NTAR and LTAR for what those are.

4

Damage photos

Add your damage photos. These feed the estimate along with what you said in step 1, so the more of the damage you’ve shown, the less you have to fill in afterwards.

5

Generate the quote

The estimate is built out with the operations, paint, parts and consumables that go with the work you described. It lands in the estimator as ordinary line items — edit, add or delete anything before it goes out.

🗣️

Say the panel and the action

“Right front guard, deep crease, replace” gives you far more than “damage to the front”. Panel, what’s wrong, replace or repair — that’s the pattern.

↩️

You can go back

The dots along the top show where you are. Back returns to any earlier step without losing what you’ve already put in.

✍️

It’s a starting point

What comes out is a draft estimate, not a finished quote. You’re the estimator — go through it, correct it, and run Review before you send.

⏭️

Skipping the narration

If the workshop is too loud or you’d rather type, skip step 1 and add your instructions in writing at the last step. Everything else works the same.

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Estimates

Creating an Estimate

The Autoimate estimator is built around the industry-standard Australian smash repair format — the same structure used across the industry and accepted by all major insurers. Every estimate follows insurer-standard structure with individual line items for labour, parts, sublets, and other charges.

📋

Details Tab

Enter vehicle details, customer information, insurer, claim number, and your rates. This information flows through to the quote PDF automatically.

📷

Photos Tab

Upload damage photos for AI analysis (up to 5) and general vehicle condition photos. Also where you generate the Damage Report.

🔧

Estimate Tabs

RR, Repair, Paint, Parts, Sublets and Other — each category has its own tab. Add, edit, or delete lines manually at any time.

⚙️

OPS Tab

Operations and schedule lookups, OEM procedure requirements, and write-off calculator. Use this for complex structural jobs.

Tip: The estimator auto-saves every time you make a change. You can close and reopen an estimate at any time — nothing is lost.
      

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Estimates

Using the AI Estimator

The AI analysis builds an estimate from your photos and vehicle details. It applies your rates, adds the operations that go with the work, and flags ADAS and safety system items for you to check.

1

Fill in the Details tab first

Make sure vehicle make, model, year, and insurer are filled in before running analysis. Filling these in first is what gets you the right rates for that insurer and that vehicle.

2

Upload damage photos

Go to the Photos tab and upload up to 5 clear photos of the damaged areas. Wide shots showing the full panel work better than extreme close-ups. Tap the damaged zones on the vehicle diagram.

3

Click Analyse & Generate Estimate

The AI will analyse the photos and generate a full estimate with individual line items. This typically takes 15-30 seconds depending on the complexity of the damage.

4

Review and adjust

Always review the AI output. Add any lines the AI missed, remove anything not applicable, and adjust hours or amounts as needed. You are the qualified estimator — the AI is your assistant.

5

Generate a Damage Report (optional)

In the Photos tab, scroll down to the Damage Report section. Click Generate Report and the AI will write a professional damage description based on your estimate lines. This appears on the quote PDF.

No photos? You can still run the AI analysis without photos — just fill in the vehicle details and select the damaged zones. The AI will generate an estimate based on the zone selection and vehicle type.
      

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Photos and video

Auto-detect Damage from Photos

Rather than tapping every damaged panel on the diagram yourself, hand your photos over and let the damage be picked out of them. The diagram fills itself in.

1

Get the photos on the job first

Upload your damage photos, or send them across from the Photos app on your phone. If there are no photos on the job yet you’ll be told to add some before you can go any further.

2

Open Auto-detect Damage

Your photos come up as a grid so you can choose which ones to use.

3

Pick the photos worth sending

Choose the ones that actually show damage. Interior shots, the rego plate, paperwork and blurry frames don’t help here — leave them out and send the ones a person would look at to work out what’s wrong with the car.

4

Detect Damage

Click Detect Damage and the damaged panels are marked on the vehicle diagram for you.

5

Check the diagram before you build the quote

Go over what’s been marked. Tap any panel to turn it on or off, and set the severity yourself. The diagram drives the estimate, so it’s worth thirty seconds here rather than unpicking line items later.

🖼️

Fewer, better photos

Four clear shots that show the whole damaged side beat fifteen close-ups. See How to Take Photos for what to frame.

👁️

It can’t see what isn’t there

Anything hidden, underneath, or behind a panel won’t come up. Add those yourself — you’ve had eyes on the car and the photos haven’t.

🔁

Run it again

Added more photos after a strip-down? Run it again with the new ones selected.

🎯

The diagram is yours

Detection fills it in as a starting point. The final say on which panels are damaged and how badly is always yours.

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Estimates

Import Quote

Already have a quote written somewhere else? Upload the PDF and Autoimate reads the line items straight into your estimate, so you don’t retype the job.

1

Open the job and click Import Quote

In the estimator, Import Quote sits in the row of buttons above your estimate, next to Review. You can import into a brand new job or one you’ve already started.

2

Drop in the PDF

Drag the file onto the panel, or click to browse for it. Any standard quote or estimate PDF will do. It has to be a PDF — a photo or a screenshot of a quote won’t be accepted.

3

Check what it found

Autoimate reads the file and lists the lines it picked up. Read through them before you go further — this is your chance to spot anything it has misread or missed.

4

Import into Estimate

Click Import into Estimate and the lines drop into your estimate. From there they behave like any other line — edit the hours, change the price, or delete what you don’t want. If the vehicle make, model or date of manufacture were blank on the job, they get filled in from the quote too.

🔍

Scanned quotes

A quote that has been printed and scanned back in will usually still import. Give the lines a closer read when it has come from a scan.

📄

Long quotes

With a long multi-page quote, check the end of your estimate for anything that didn’t come across before you send it.

⚠️

Not the same as Assessment

The Assessment button sits right next to it and does something different — that one takes an insurer’s assessment PDF and applies their decisions to a job you’ve already quoted.

✏️

Nothing is locked

Imported lines are ordinary estimate lines. Your own rates apply, and you can change anything before the quote goes out.

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Estimates

Review Before Sending

Before a quote leaves your shop, Review reads back over it and points out operations that may have been missed — with a reason for each one and what it’s worth.

1

Finish the estimate first

Review works on what’s already on the quote, so there has to be something there. If the estimate is empty it will tell you to generate one first. Run it last, once you’re happy the quote is done.

2

Click Review

The Review button sits in the row above your estimate. It asks you to confirm, then the Quote Review panel opens on the right.

3

Give it a moment

Usually 15 to 30 seconds, and up to a minute on a big job. Leave the panel open while it works.

4

Read what it found

You get a count of suggestions and what they’d add to the quote, then the suggestions themselves grouped the same way your estimate is — R&R, repair, paint, parts, sublets. Each one shows the operation, the hours or the amount, what it adds to the total, and why it’s being suggested.

5

Add what you agree with

Tap + Add on any suggestion to put it on the estimate, or Add All Items at the bottom to take the lot. Close the panel and nothing is added.

🖐️

Nothing goes on without you

Suggestions sit in the panel until you tap Add. Your quote doesn’t change on its own, and the totals only move once you’ve accepted something.

💬

Read the reason

Every suggestion says why it’s there. If the reason doesn’t fit the job in front of you, skip it — you know the car and it doesn’t.

🔁

Run it again if the job changes

Review looks at the estimate as it stands. If you add a lot after running it, or write a supplementary, run it again.

💲

Where the figures come from

Hours and amounts are worked out at your own rates, so the value shown next to each suggestion is what it would actually add to your quote.

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Estimates

Supplementary Estimates

When you strip a car and find more than the quote covered, a supplementary is how you get the extra work assessed and authorised without touching the original estimate.

1

Open the job and click + Supp

The + Supp button appears on a job once there’s an authorised estimate to supplement. It won’t show on a job that hasn’t got there yet.

2

Read the confirmation before you accept

You’ll be told exactly what raising one does: the assessor and claims officer are notified, the job is reopened for additional work, and the supplementary has to be assessed and authorised in its own right. It’s not a quiet edit — the insurer sees it.

3

Quote only the extra work

A supplementary is for what you found on top of the original, not the whole job again. Put in the additional operations and parts only.

4

Send it and wait on the assessor

Submit it the same way you submitted the original. It goes through assessment on its own and comes back as Supp. Authorised once approved.

5

Invoice covers both

When the job is finished, the invoice picks up the original and the authorised supplementary together. You don’t invoice them separately.

📸

Photograph what you found

Use the Supplementary photo category in the Photos app for anything discovered during strip-down, so the additional work is on record with a picture attached to it.

⏳

Raise it before you do the work

A supplementary has to be authorised in its own right. Doing the work first and quoting after is how shops end up out of pocket.

📦

Extra parts

If the additional work needs parts, use Supplementary Quote in the parts ordering panel rather than placing another order against the original.

🔎

Run Review on it

A supplementary is a quote like any other. Run Review over it before it goes out — supplementaries are quick to write and easy to under-quote.

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Estimates

Rego Lookup and Market Value

Fill in a vehicle from its plate instead of typing it out, and pull a market value figure to sit alongside your estimate total.

1

Rego Lookup

On the Vehicle tab, click Lookup next to the Rego field. Enter the plate, pick the state — all eight are there — and click Look Up.

2

Lookups are charged

Each lookup is charged to your saved payment method. The amount is shown in the panel before you click Look Up, and you can cancel out without being charged.

3

Check what comes back

The vehicle details are filled in for you. Have a look before you carry on — plates get transferred between cars, so make sure what came back is the car in your workshop.

4

Live Value

At the bottom of the estimate there’s a Market Value box. Type a figure in yourself, or click Live Value to pull in an approximate value for that vehicle.

5

The percentage bar

Once there is a figure in the box, a bar shows your estimate total as a percentage of it, and updates as you add lines.

🔍

Look up once

Every lookup is charged, so run it once and let the details save with the job rather than looking up the same car twice.

⚠️

Always eyeball the result

Quoting the wrong variant is an expensive mistake. Check the make, model and build date against the compliance plate before you start.

📊

An approximate figure

Live Value gives you a ballpark for what the car is worth, not a formal valuation. If you have a better figure to hand, type it straight into the box.

✍️

You can type it in

If you already know what the car is worth, or the insurer has given you a figure, just type it into the Market Value box. Live Value is there when you don’t.

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Photos and video

How to Take Photos

The quality of your photos directly affects the accuracy of the AI estimate. A close-up of damage might look dramatic, but the AI needs context — which panels are affected, where the damage starts and ends, and the overall extent of the impact.

✓ GOOD

Full side shot — panels visible, extent clear

You can see it's a Corolla hatchback, damage spans the front and rear doors, and the B-pillar is involved. The AI knows exactly what it's working with.

✗ AVOID

Too close — damage detail without context

Regardless of which panel is damaged or how severe it is, photos taken too close don't give a clear view of the full picture. Always step back and shoot from a distance.

✓ Do This

→Step back first — fit the entire damaged side in one frame before anything else
→Show panel edges — the AI needs to see where one panel ends and another begins
→Natural light — shoot in daylight, ideally overcast (no harsh shadows or glare)
→Multiple angles — one full side shot, then a 45° corner shot if damage wraps around
→Include wheels — having the wheel arch in frame helps the AI judge panel scale

✗ Avoid This

→Extreme close-ups only — the AI loses all context of which panel and how far damage extends
→Direct flash or bright sunlight — washes out damage and creates misleading reflections
→Night photos — low light makes damage depth impossible to judge accurately
→Only one panel when multiple are hit — always shoot the full affected area
→Shooting from inside the car or through a gap — regardless of the panel or severity, always step outside and shoot from a clear external position

        💡 Pro tip: 3–5 photos works best. Start with a full side shot, add a 45° corner shot if damage wraps around, then one closer shot of the worst panel. That combination gives the clearest picture of what's been affected.
      

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Photos and video

Autoimate Photos App

The Photos app puts your jobs on your phone so you can shoot damage where the car is — on the driveway, in the workshop, wherever. Photos land on the right job automatically.

1

Put it on your phone

On your dashboard, click Get Photos App in the sidebar and scan the QR code with your phone camera. On iPhone open it in Safari, then Share → Add to Home Screen. On Android open it in Chrome, then Menu → Add to Home Screen. After that it opens like any other app.

2

Sign in

Use the same email and password you use for Autoimate. You only do this once on each phone — after that you stay signed in. If your account has an authenticator app set up, you’ll be asked for the 6-digit code as well.

3

Pick the job

Your shop’s jobs come up with the newest first. Search by rego, quote number, vehicle or customer. OPEN shows only jobs still running; ALL shows everything including finished ones. Tap a job to open it, and use Change at the top to switch to a different one.

4

Add your photos

There are five categories and each takes up to 50 photos: Vehicle Damage for the damage you’re quoting, Pre-existing Damage for what was already there, Supplementary for anything found once you’re into the job, Repair Progress for work underway, and Completion for the finished car. Putting them in the right category matters — it’s what keeps old damage out of the claim.

5

Send Photos

Tap Send Photos. They appear on the job in the estimator within seconds, ready to use.

🔑

Nothing to type

There is no code or job number to enter before you start. Signing in is all it needs — your jobs are already there waiting for you.

🎥

You can film instead

Below the photo sections there’s an option to record a walkaround and talk through the damage. See Recording a Walkaround.

👥

Everyone uses their own login

Anyone on your team with an Autoimate account can install it and sign in as themselves. There’s no shared code to hand around.

📶

If a send fails

You’ll be told the upload failed rather than left guessing. Move somewhere with better signal and tap Send again.

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How to Take Photos Recording a Walkaround Auto-detect Damage from Photos

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Photos and video

Recording a Walkaround

Instead of photographing every panel, walk around the car with your phone and talk through the damage. What you say becomes the damage description, and stills are pulled out of the footage for you.

1

Open the job in the Photos app

Sign in and pick the job the same way you would for photos. The Record a walkaround card sits underneath the photo sections.

2

Film now, or upload one you’ve already taken

Film now opens your camera straight away. Upload lets you pick a video already on the phone, which is the one to use if someone else filmed it or you shot it before you opened the app.

3

Walk around and say what you see

About 45 seconds is right. Pause on each damaged panel and describe it out loud — name the panel, say whether it needs replacing or repairing, and how bad it is. Talk the way you would to another estimator standing next to you.

4

Tap Send Photos

The recording goes up along with any photos you’ve added. You can send a walkaround on its own, without photos.

5

Use it on the computer

Open the job in the estimator and you’ll see Recording from the phone — ready to process. Click Use this recording. Your spoken notes fill in the damage description, stills from the footage are added as damage photos, and the recording stays on the job so anyone can play it back.

⏱️

Keep it under a minute

Long recordings are refused. Under a minute is plenty for one car, and a short clear walkaround beats a long rambling one.

🗣️

Name the panel out loud

“Front bar, deep scrape, replace” is worth more than a slow pan in silence. What you say is what ends up in the description.

🔊

Mind the noise

A running compressor or a grinder will drown you out. Step away from the noise before you start filming.

📷

Photos still help

A walkaround doesn’t replace close-ups. Film the car, then add photos of anything that needs a proper look.

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Jobs

Job Statuses

Every job carries a status. It tells you at a glance whose court the ball is in and what to do next. You’ll see it on the job list in your dashboard, on the estimate cards inside a job, and in the Photos app on your phone.

While you’re quoting

Draft

You’re still working on it. Nothing has gone anywhere and you can change whatever you like.

Submitted

The quote has gone to the insurer. Nothing to do but wait for them to look at it.

Sent

The quote has gone to the customer.

With the insurer

RFQ Received

An insurer has asked you to quote this job. Nothing has been done on it yet — it’s waiting on you.

Pending Assessment

Your quote is sitting with the assessor.

More Info Required

The assessor needs something from you before they can go further — usually a photo or an explanation. This one is on you, and the job stops until you answer it.

Assessed

The assessor has been through the quote and set their figures. Compare them against yours before you go any further.

Assessed Without Prejudice

Assessed, but the insurer hasn’t accepted liability for the claim yet. The figures are agreed; who pays isn’t.

Approved to repair

Authorised

You have the go-ahead. Order parts and book the car in.

Auth. Without Prejudice

You can start work, but liability is still open. Worth knowing before you commit to parts.

Supp. Authorised

A supplementary has been approved on top of the original authority.

Authority Revoked

The insurer has withdrawn the authority. Stop and find out why before you do anything else on the car.

Not going ahead

Rejected

The insurer has knocked the quote back.

Write-Off

The vehicle has been written off. It isn’t being repaired.

Cancelled

The job isn’t proceeding.

Void

The record has been voided. Kept for your history, but it no longer counts for anything.

In the workshop

In Repair

The car is on the floor.

Complete

Repairs are finished. Next step is invoicing.

Getting paid

Invoiced

The invoice has been issued and is waiting on the insurer.

Invoice Approved

The insurer has approved the invoice for payment.

Paid

Money’s in. The job is done.

👀

The two to watch

More Info Required and Authority Revoked both mean the job has stopped and is waiting on you. Everything else is either yours to progress or theirs to answer.

📱

On your phone

The Photos app shows open jobs by default and hides anything completed, cancelled, written off, invoiced or paid. Tap ALL to see the rest.

⚖️

“Without prejudice”

Means the insurer is dealing with the repair without yet accepting they’re liable for the claim. The work can be agreed or authorised while that question is still open.

🔀

Not always in order

Most jobs run top to bottom through this list, but not all. A job can be rejected, written off or cancelled at almost any point.

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Repair Procedures Job Checklist Customer Text Messages

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Jobs

Repair Procedures

Manufacturer repair procedures for the vehicle you’re quoting, bought one at a time as you need them. No subscription, and the cost goes onto the quote so the insurer pays it, not you.

1

Fill in the vehicle first

Make, model and date of manufacture need to be on the job. Without them the panel opens but has nothing to show you.

2

Watch the badge on the Procedures button

Once the vehicle details are in, a green number appears on the Procedures button showing how many procedures are available for that car. No badge means there are none on file for it.

3

Open Procedures and find what you need

The panel lists what’s available for that make, model and year. Use the search box at the top to narrow it down.

4

Buy the one you want

Pick a procedure and you’ll see the price before you commit. It’s a one-off charge to your card on file, and you can open that same procedure again free for the next 24 hours.

5

Three things happen at once

The PDF opens in a new tab, a copy is emailed to your shop, and a line for the procedure is added to your quote at the price you paid.

💲

It goes on the quote

The charge is added as a line item, so it’s recovered through the claim rather than coming out of your margin. Delete the line if you’d rather absorb it.

⏱️

Free for 24 hours

Once you’ve bought a procedure you can reopen it for the next day at no cost — handy if the car is still on the hoist and someone needs another look.

📧

Check your shop inbox

The PDF is emailed as well as opened, so you have a copy even if the tab gets closed.

🧾

Tax invoices

Every purchase shows up under Billing in your settings, where you can pull a tax invoice for it.

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Job Statuses Job Checklist Customer Text Messages

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Jobs

Job Checklist

Every job carries a short checklist so anyone in the shop can see how far along it is without opening the estimate or asking the person who booked it in.

1

The five stages

Photos uploaded, parts ordered, repair started, QC complete, ready for delivery. They run in the order a job actually moves through the shop.

2

Tick them off as you go

Open the job and tick each stage as it’s done. It takes a second and it saves the walk out to the workshop to find out.

3

Watch the count

The job shows how many stages are done out of five, and says All complete once everything is ticked.

4

It’s separate from the job status

The checklist is your shop’s own progress tracking. The job status is where things stand with the insurer. A job can be authorised and still have nothing ticked, or be ready for delivery and still be waiting on payment.

👥

Worth doing if more than one of you works a job

In a one-person shop you know where everything is. Once there are two or three of you, the checklist is what stops the same question being asked three times a day.

📞

Answer the phone faster

“Is my car ready?” is answerable off the checklist without putting anyone on hold.

🧾

QC before delivery

QC complete sits before ready for delivery for a reason. Ticking delivery first defeats the point of having it there.

📱

Pair it with a text

When ready for delivery goes on, that’s the moment to send the collection message. See Customer Text Messages.

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Job Statuses Repair Procedures Customer Text Messages

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Jobs

Customer Text Messages

Text the customer straight from the job. Ready-made messages fill in their name, their car and your shop details, so keeping someone informed takes about five seconds.

1

Open the job and click SMS

The customer’s mobile is filled in from the job if you have it. You can type over it or correct it before sending.

2

Pick a message

Choose from the ready-made messages: vehicle ready for collection, repair update, booking reminder, parts delay, and a quote message. Picking one writes the text out for you.

3

The details fill themselves in

The customer’s name, the year, make and model, and your shop name and phone number are all filled in from the job. You don’t type any of it.

4

Edit it if you want to

The message is just text once it’s written out. Add to it, cut it down, or write your own from scratch.

5

Send

Click Send and it goes. The customer sees it from your shop, with your phone number in it to call back on.

👀

Read it before you send

The message goes to a real customer. Give it a quick read once the details have filled in, particularly if the vehicle or owner fields on the job aren’t complete.

📞

Check the number

It comes from the owner details on the job. If that was typed in a hurry at drop-off, the text goes to whoever owns that number instead.

🔧

A delay is better said early

The parts delay message exists because that call is the one nobody wants to make. Sending it the day you find out beats explaining it a week later.

✍️

You don’t have to use a template

Clear the box and write whatever you like. The templates are there to save typing, not to limit what you can say.

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Job Statuses Repair Procedures Job Checklist

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Insurers

NTAR and LTAR

Some insurers assess repairs against a published time schedule rather than open times. When you pick one of those insurers on a job, the schedule is applied for you and shown on the quote.

1

It follows the insurer, not your rates

Whether a schedule applies is decided by which insurer you select on the job. Your own hourly rates have nothing to do with it — a private job at the same rates won’t pick up a schedule.

2

Select the insurer

Choose the insurer on the job as you normally would. Insurers that sit within the same group are handled together, so it doesn’t matter which brand of that group the claim came through.

3

The schedule loads

If a schedule applies to that insurer and vehicle, you’ll see it confirmed along with its number. In Guided Mode it appears at the insurer step; in the estimator it sits with the job’s insurer details.

4

Badges on your lines

Lines coming from a schedule carry a small badge so you can tell at a glance which times are scheduled and which aren’t. NTAR shows in navy and LTAR in purple.

5

It carries onto the quote

The schedule and its number print on the quote PDF with the insurer details, so the assessor can see which schedule the job was written to.

🏷️

Set the insurer early

Pick the insurer before you build the estimate. Changing it afterwards means going back over lines that were written the other way.

💰

Private work is unaffected

Jobs with no insurer on them are written at your own rates and open times. Nothing about a schedule applies.

✅

No badge, no schedule

If you expected a badge and there isn’t one, check the insurer on the job first. That’s almost always what it is.

📖

You still review it

A scheduled time is a starting point like any other line. If the job genuinely takes more, quote it and say why — the assessor sees the same schedule you do.

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Importing an Assessment Receiving a Request for Quote The Assessment Process Generating Your Invoice

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Insurers

Importing an Assessment

When the insurer’s assessment comes back, upload the PDF and their decisions are read out of it and applied to your estimate — approved, adjusted and rejected lines all set for you, instead of working through it line by line.

1

Open the job first

You need the job and its estimate open before you start. The decisions get applied to that estimate, so there has to be one there to apply them to.

2

Click Assessment

It sits in the row of buttons above your estimate, next to Import Quote. Drop the assessment PDF onto the panel or click to browse for it. QBE, Suncorp, Allianz, IAG and other insurer formats are handled.

3

Read the extracted decisions

Before anything is applied you get a table of what was found, line by line, with a summary. Go through it. This is the point to catch anything that has been read wrong, because the next step changes your figures.

4

Decide about lines the assessment doesn’t mention

There’s an option for what to do with lines on your quote that don’t appear in the assessment at all. By default they’re treated as rejected. Turn it off if you’d rather leave them as they are and deal with them yourself.

5

Apply Assessment

Click Apply Assessment and your estimate is updated to match. Each line then shows the assessor’s decision against it — approved, adjusted or rejected — so you can see where you and the assessor differ.

⚠️

It replaces your quoted figures

You’re told this on screen, and it means it. Applying an assessment overwrites your numbers with the assessor’s. Read the preview table before you click.

↩️

You can re-import

If something goes wrong you can upload the assessment again to bring the decisions back.

🔒

Locked while under assessment

A quote that has been submitted for assessment can’t be edited. That’s deliberate — it keeps your submitted figures matching what the assessor is looking at.

➕

Disagree with a decision?

Applying the assessment doesn’t end the conversation. If work has been cut that the car genuinely needs, raise a supplementary and quote it with your reasons.

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NTAR and LTAR Receiving a Request for Quote The Assessment Process Generating Your Invoice

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Insurers

Receiving a Request for Quote

When an insurer sends you a Request for Quote (RFQ) through Autoimate, you'll receive an email notification and the job will appear in your dashboard automatically.

1

Check your dashboard

RFQ jobs appear in your dashboard with an "Awaiting Quote" status. The job already has the vehicle details, claim number, and insurer pre-filled from the claims officer.

2

Open the estimator

Click the job then open the estimator. Vehicle and insurer details are pre-populated. Add your photos, run the AI analysis, review and adjust.

3

Submit your quote

When your estimate is complete, click Submit to Insurer. The quote — including all line items, photos, and the damage report — goes directly to the claims officer. No separate email or PDF needed.

Note: Once submitted, your quote is received instantly by the claims officer. The full estimate, photos, and damage report are all included automatically.
      

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NTAR and LTAR Importing an Assessment The Assessment Process Generating Your Invoice

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Insurers

The Assessment Process

If the insurer assigns an independent assessor to review your quote, the assessor will access your estimate through the Autoimate Assessor Portal. You will be notified when the assessment is complete.

1

Assessment returned

When the assessor submits their findings, your dashboard updates and the estimator shows the assessment panel with any adjustments made to your lines.

2

Review the assessment

Open the estimator — each line shows the assessor's decision: approved, adjusted, or rejected. The adjusted total is displayed alongside your original quote.

3

Accept or dispute

If you agree with the assessment, click Accept & Generate Invoice. If you disagree with any line, click the line to dispute it — enter your reason and the dispute goes back to the assessor for review.

4

Dispute resolution

The assessor reviews your dispute and responds. You will see their response in the estimator. Once resolved, accept the final assessment and proceed to invoice.

Note: The dispute process is fully documented and tracked through the platform, making resolution straightforward for all parties.
      

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NTAR and LTAR Importing an Assessment Receiving a Request for Quote Generating Your Invoice

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Insurers

Generating Your Invoice

Once the assessment is accepted, generating your invoice and submitting it to the insurer for payment takes a single click.

1

Accept the assessment

In the estimator, click Accept & Generate Invoice. This marks the estimate as authorised and returns you to the dashboard.

2

Generate the invoice

On the dashboard, find the job and click Generate Invoice. The invoice is created automatically using the assessed total, your shop details, and your bank details.

3

Invoice sent to claims

The invoice goes directly to the claims officer through the platform. You'll see a confirmation — no separate email required. The claims officer will authorise payment from their dashboard.

4

Payment authorised

Once the claims officer authorises payment, the job status updates to Paid in your dashboard. You can view and print the invoice at any time from the Invoices tab.

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NTAR and LTAR Importing an Assessment Receiving a Request for Quote The Assessment Process

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Integrations

EstImage

Connect EstImage once and the jobs sent to you appear on your dashboard by themselves. Quotes, timelines and invoices go back the same way, so you are not working in two systems and copying between them.

1

Connect it once

Go to Settings → EstImage and sign in with your EstImage username and password. That links your EstImage account to your shop — a one-off for the whole shop, not per user.

2

Jobs arrive on their own

When work is sent to you through EstImage it appears on your dashboard automatically, with the vehicle and claim details already filled in. Nothing to import and nothing to type twice.

3

Quote it as you normally would

Build the estimate the usual way. Photos, guided mode, rates — none of it changes because the job came from EstImage.

4

Send it back

Use Send on the estimate and the quote goes to EstImage with its photos attached. You can also submit the repair timeline and the other updates from your dashboard, so the insurer sees progress without a separate phone call.

5

The assessment comes back

When the assessor has been through it the result comes back to the job. See The Assessment Process for what happens next and Importing an Assessment for applying their decisions to your quote.

Worth knowing

Connecting is per shop, not per estimator. Once it’s set up, everyone on your team works with the same connection.

Jobs that arrived before you connected won’t appear. EstImage sends work through as it comes in, so anything already sitting in your EstImage account beforehand stays there. Enter those by hand, or ask EstImage to send them again.

If a job you expected hasn’t arrived, check the connection is still active in Settings, then raise a ticket and we’ll look at what came through.

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Integrations

PartsCheck Ordering

Send the parts off your estimate to PartsCheck for pricing and ordering, without retyping them into another system.

1

Connect PartsCheck once

Go to Settings → PartsCheck Integration and enter your PartsCheck client hash. You get this from PartsCheck. It’s a one-off setup for the whole shop.

2

Build the parts on your estimate first

Ordering works off the parts already on your quote, so get those right before you start. Anything not on the estimate can’t be ordered.

3

Order Parts

Open Order Parts and you get your parts list with a tick next to each one. Untick anything you don’t want — particularly anything the assessor has knocked off — then click Place Order for Selected Parts.

4

Finish in PartsCheck

You’ll get a confirmation that the order has gone across. Suppliers, pricing and delivery are handled in PartsCheck itself — log in there to review and submit.

5

Parts found later

If more parts turn up once the car is stripped, use Supplementary Quote instead. Same list, same ticks, but it goes across as an additional quote rather than a new order.

✅

Untick before you send

Everything is ticked by default. The most common mistake is ordering a part the assessor removed — go down the list before you place the order.

🔁

Order in stages

You don’t have to send everything at once. Tick the parts you need now and come back for the rest.

🔗

If nothing sends

The usual cause is the client hash not being entered, or entered wrong. Check Settings first before chasing it any further.

📋

Two different buttons

Order Parts places an order. Supplementary Quote asks for pricing on extra parts. Sending an order when you meant to ask for a price is easy to do.

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Xero Parts Tracker Billing

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Integrations

Xero

Connect Xero once and push your invoices across without keying them in twice.

1

Connect your Xero account

Go to Settings → Xero Integration and click Connect Xero. You’ll be taken to Xero to sign in and approve it, then brought back. Once it’s done you’ll see a green dot and Connected to Xero.

2

Raise your invoice as normal

Nothing changes about how you invoice. Finish the job and generate the invoice the way you always have.

3

Send it to Xero

On the invoice there’s a Xero button. Click it and the invoice is created in your Xero account, with the customer and the line detail already on it.

4

Reconcile in Xero

From there it’s an ordinary Xero invoice. Chase it, reconcile it and report on it in Xero the same as anything else.

🔌

“Xero not connected”

If you see this when you try to send, the connection hasn’t been made or has dropped. Go to Settings and connect again.

👤

One connection per shop

The shop connects to Xero once, not each estimator. Whoever does the books is usually the right person to set it up.

🔓

Disconnecting

Disconnect Xero in Settings breaks the link. Invoices already in Xero stay there — disconnecting doesn’t remove anything you’ve already sent.

✔️

Check the first one

After you connect, send one invoice across and open it in Xero to confirm the customer and account are landing where you want them.

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PartsCheck Ordering Parts Tracker Billing

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Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most common questions from repairers using Autoimate.

Is Autoimate connected to any insurance company?

Autoimate is an independent software platform that works with all insurers including IAG, Allianz, NRMA, Suncorp, QBE, and others. We are designed to streamline the repair and claims process for repairers, insurers, and assessors alike.

Can the insurer see me editing my estimate before I submit?

Your estimate is private until you click Submit to Insurer. The insurer receives your quote only after you deliberately submit it. You can edit, adjust, and review as many times as you like beforehand.

Does the AI use my rates or insurer rates?

The AI applies the rates set in your shop settings. When you select an insurer, it switches to that insurer's rate schedule.

What if the AI misses something?

You can add, edit, or delete any line item manually. The AI is a starting point — you are the qualified estimator. Always review the AI output and adjust as needed before submitting.

Can I use Autoimate without the insurer flow?

Yes. You can create estimates for self-pay jobs, cash repairs, or any job that doesn't involve an insurer. Simply create a job without a claim number and use the estimator to generate your quote. The PDF and invoice features work for all job types.

How do I sign in to the Photos app?

With the same email and password you use for Autoimate. You sign in once on each phone, and after that your jobs come up in a list for you to pick from. There is no code or job number to enter.

Is my data secure?

Yes. Your data is stored in Australia and backed up daily. Your estimates, customer details and photos are not shared with any insurer or third party unless you submit them. You own your data.

Can I do a supplementary estimate if hidden damage is found?

Yes. Once repairs are underway and additional damage is found, you can create a supplementary estimate from the dashboard. The supplementary goes through the same assessment and approval flow as the original quote.

Parts Tracker

One screen for every part on order across your whole shop. Instead of opening jobs one at a time to find out what has landed, you see it all at once.

1

Open Parts Tracker

Across the top you get the numbers that matter: how many jobs have parts on them, and how many parts lines are awaiting order, on order, or on back order.

2

Click a job to see its parts

Every job with parts shows as a card. Click one and its parts come up with the description, part number, price and current status.

3

Update the status as parts move

Each part carries one of four: Awaiting before it’s been ordered, Ordered once it’s away, Arrived when it’s on the shelf, and Back Order when the supplier can’t supply it yet. Change it from the list as things come in.

4

Work the back orders first

The back order count is the one to watch. Those are the parts holding cars on your floor, and they’re the ones worth chasing before anything else.

🚗

Find the car that’s stuck

When a job has been sitting and nobody knows why, the parts list usually answers it in about five seconds.

📦

Mark it when it lands

The screen is only as good as the ticking. Mark parts arrived as they come off the truck, not at the end of the week.

🛒

Ordering is separate

This tracks parts. Placing the order happens from the estimate — see PartsCheck Ordering.

📞

Tell the customer early

A part on back order is a delivery date that’s moving. Send the parts delay message rather than waiting to be asked.

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PartsCheck Ordering Xero Billing

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Support

Getting Help

Raise a ticket from inside Autoimate and we’ll come back to you. Everything stays on the ticket, so you can pick the conversation back up later without digging through email.

1

Open Support

It’s in the sidebar on your dashboard. There’s also a Contact Support button at the bottom of the sidebar that takes you straight to a new ticket.

2

Tell us what’s happening

Pick a topic, give it a short subject, then describe the problem. If it’s about a particular job, the quote number helps us find it quickly. Leave a phone number if you’d rather we called.

3

Attach anything that helps

Screenshots, a PDF from an insurer, or a short screen recording. A picture of what you’re seeing usually saves several messages back and forth. PDFs are turned into images automatically, so send whatever you have.

4

We reply on the ticket

You’ll get an email when we answer, and a red mark appears next to Support in the sidebar. Open the ticket to read the reply and answer back — the whole conversation stays in one place.

What the statuses mean

📜

New

Raised and waiting for us to pick it up.

💬

Open

We’re working on it.

⏳

Waiting on you

We’ve asked you something and can’t go further until you answer.

✅

Resolved

Sorted. Reply on it if it comes back and it reopens.

Worth knowing

Only your shop sees your tickets. Nobody at another shop can see them, and you can’t see theirs.

You can reply to the email instead if that’s easier, though replying in Autoimate keeps everything on the ticket where you’ll find it later.

A closed ticket can’t be replied to. If something related comes up afterwards, raise a new one and mention the old reference.

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Integrations

Billing

Your plan, what’s due next, and everything to do with the card you pay on — all in one place under Settings.

1

Where to look

Go to Settings → Billing. It shows your plan, whether the subscription is active, the date of your next bill and the amount.

2

Manage Billing & Payment Method

This button opens the secure billing portal. Change the card you pay on, update your billing address, and download any past invoice from there. When you’re finished it brings you straight back.

3

Getting a tax invoice

Every charge has an invoice waiting in the portal — the subscription, extra seats, rego lookups and any repair procedures you’ve bought. Download whichever your bookkeeper needs.

4

Seats show up here too

Each estimator seat is billed alongside your subscription. Adding or removing one changes what you see here from the next bill. See Team and Seats.

💳

Keep the card current

A card that has expired stops more than the subscription — rego lookups and procedure purchases go through the same card. Update it before it lapses.

🧾

Small charges are itemised

Lookups and procedures appear separately from the subscription, so you can see exactly what a given month was made up of.

👤

Owner only

Billing sits with the account owner. Estimators on your team work on jobs and don’t see any of this.

📅

Check before you query

If an amount looks wrong, the next billing date and the invoice list usually explain it — most often a seat added partway through a month.

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PartsCheck Ordering Xero Parts Tracker

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Support

Contact Us

Talk to a person

Can’t find what you need, or something isn’t working the way it should? Send us the details and we’ll come back to you.

Your name

Shop

Email

Phone

What’s it about?

Tell us what happened

We answer during business hours, Monday to Friday.

Email us directly

Prefer your own inbox? Write to us and attach whatever helps.

support@autoimate.com

When we’re around

Australian business hours. We’re a small team, so you get a real answer rather than a bot.

Mon – Fri
8:30am – 5:00pm AEST

Before you write

Most questions are answered in the guides. The search at the top of the help centre is the quickest way to check.

How can we help?

Getting started

Estimates

Photos and video

Jobs

Insurers

Integrations

Support

Getting started

Estimates

Photos and video

Jobs

Insurers

Integrations

Support

Quick Start Guide

Setting Up Your Shop

Setting Your Rates

Worth knowing

Team and Seats

AI Guided Mode

Creating an Estimate

Using the AI Estimator

Auto-detect Damage from Photos

Import Quote

Review Before Sending

Supplementary Estimates

Rego Lookup and Market Value

How to Take Photos

Autoimate Photos App

Recording a Walkaround

Job Statuses

Repair Procedures

Job Checklist

Customer Text Messages

NTAR and LTAR

Importing an Assessment

Receiving a Request for Quote

The Assessment Process

Generating Your Invoice

EstImage

Worth knowing

PartsCheck Ordering

Xero

Frequently Asked Questions

Parts Tracker

Getting Help

What the statuses mean

Worth knowing

Billing

Contact Us

Talk to a person