Do I still need a signed paper form?

That depends on your state’s rules for written estimates and authorization, and your own risk. BayApprove records the approval with the total and the time; check what your state requires before dropping paper entirely.

What if the customer has no email?

Copy the approval link from the job and send it by text instead. The page works on any phone browser without an app or an account.

Paper repair authorization forms vs online approval

Updated October 26, 2026 · For mobile and independent mechanics

The classic repair authorization is a paper form on a clipboard: the customer signs at drop-off, and the mechanic calls later if the job grows. It is simple and it holds up, as long as the customer is standing in front of you.

Mobile mechanics and small shops increasingly work with customers who aren’t there: the car is in a driveway, the owner is at work, and the extra brake job you found needs a yes before you order parts. This page compares the paper form with approving online, and how to make either one stick.

What a paper authorization does well

A wet signature at drop-off is clear and familiar.
It costs nothing and needs no signal.
It works for customers who don’t use email or smartphones.

Where paper breaks down

The signature covers what you knew at drop-off. Additional work found during the job usually gets approved by phone, and that call is rarely written down anywhere the next person can find. Forms get damp in a work van, filed late or lost, and searching a box of carbon copies for last month’s job takes longer than the job did.

Approvals for added work happen by phone and leave no record.
Nobody else can see which jobs are approved without finding the form.
You can’t send a form to a customer who isn’t there.

Paper form vs online approval

Customer present: Paper authorization Signs the form; BayApprove Opens the page on their phone and approves
Customer away: Paper authorization Phone call, no record; BayApprove Email the link; the approval is recorded on the job
Added work mid-job: Paper authorization Another call; BayApprove Update the parts total and send the link again
Finding a past approval: Paper authorization Search the filing box; BayApprove Search jobs by customer or vehicle
Team visibility: Paper authorization Whoever has the clipboard; BayApprove Staff logins see the same jobs (Crew plan)
Record of changes: Paper authorization Crossed-out lines; BayApprove History on each job: who changed what, and when

	Paper authorization	BayApprove
Customer present	Signs the form	Opens the page on their phone and approves
Customer away	Phone call, no record	Email the link; the approval is recorded on the job
Added work mid-job	Another call	Update the parts total and send the link again
Finding a past approval	Search the filing box	Search jobs by customer or vehicle
Team visibility	Whoever has the clipboard	Staff logins see the same jobs (Crew plan)
Record of changes	Crossed-out lines	History on each job: who changed what, and when

Using both

Many shops keep a signed form at drop-off for the initial diagnosis and use an online approval for the repair itself, once the parts total is known. That way the customer signs once for you to look, and approves the actual money on their phone, with a record of exactly what they saw.

Common questions

Do I still need a signed paper form?: That depends on your state’s rules for written estimates and authorization, and your own risk. BayApprove records the approval with the total and the time; check what your state requires before dropping paper entirely.
What if the customer has no email?: Copy the approval link from the job and send it by text instead. The page works on any phone browser without an app or an account.