Sending repair estimates by text without losing track

• The price is in one message, the parts list in another, and “ok do it” arrives two days later in reply to something else.
• You can’t see at a glance which customers haven’t answered.
• A customer forwards the estimate to a spouse and the context is lost.
• When the bill comes, there’s no single place showing what was approved.

Text a short message with a link: “Here’s the estimate for your Civic. Tap to approve.” The link opens one page with the vehicle, the work, the parts total and an approve button. The customer can forward the link and anyone who opens it sees the same thing.

This keeps your thread short and the estimate in one place, and the approval is recorded with the estimate rather than in a reply you have to scroll back to find.

The most useful habit is a single list of estimates that are waiting on the customer. Check it at the start and end of each day. Anything older than a day gets a reminder; anything older than three days gets a call or gets closed out.

After the work is done, use the same link for payment. If you already use Square, Stripe or another payment link, send that link along with the approved total so the customer pays the exact amount they agreed to.