Auto Repair Estimate Calculator
Build a parts-and-labor estimate line by line and print it as a customer copy.
OpenAUTO REPAIR INVOICE TEMPLATE
The invoice is the last document a customer reads and the first one a dispute reaches for. This sheet carries what an invoice has to carry — who, what vehicle, what was done, what it cost, and on what terms — and prints clean without the coloured copies. If you have not priced the job yet, start on the estimate calculator and bring the totals across.
INVOICE
RO #RO-26247
Click any field to edit. Pre-filled with a realistic brake job so the layout reads before you change it.
| Description | Part # | Hours | Labor | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $252.00 | ||||
| $112.00 | ||||
| Labor | $364.00 | |||
| Parts | $440.00 | |||
| Tax on parts at 7.0% | $30.80 | |||
Warranty and terms
Received in good order
Signature ______________________
Total due
$834.80
What has to be on an auto repair invoice
Strip a repair invoice down and five blocks survive. The shop’s identity, so the customer knows who to call. The vehicle’s identity — VIN, plate and mileage in — because a warranty claim two years later is settled by the VIN, not the name. The line detail, separating labor hours from parts. The money, with tax applied to the parts your state taxes and not to the labor it does not. And the terms, which is where the warranty promise lives.
The parts line should reflect whatever your matrix says, and the labor line whatever your door rate is. Anything past those five is presentation. The mistake shops make is the opposite: a one-line “brake job — $640” with nothing behind it. That line is unarguable in the bad sense; there is nothing in it for the customer to agree with.
Estimate, repair order, invoice
| Document | Written when | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate | Before authorisation | What the work should cost, and the customer’s consent to it |
| Repair order | At intake, live through the job | Complaint, cause, correction, and who authorised what |
| Invoice | At delivery | What was actually done, what is owed, and the warranty |
They are three documents because they answer three questions. Collapsing them into one is what produces the argument at the counter. The repair order template covers the middle one.
Tax, and why the sheet taxes only parts
Most states tax tangible parts and exempt repair labor; a minority tax both, and a few tax neither on certain services. The sheet defaults to parts-only because that is the more common shape, and it exposes the rate so you can set it to whatever your state and locality actually require. Confirm with your own department of revenue before you ship the first invoice — this is a compliance question, not a design one.
The warranty block
The seed terms are the common independent-shop shape: manufacturer warranty on parts, a 12-month/12,000-mile labor warranty, replaced parts available for inspection, and a storage clause. Edit them to whatever you actually honour. A warranty you will not honour printed on every invoice is worse than no printed warranty at all — see the terms of use for the standing caveat on these forms.
INVOICE FIELD CHECK
- Vehicle identity
- VIN · plate · mileage in
- Line detail
- description · part # · hours · parts
- Rate used
- about $140 per hour
- Parts GP target
- 55–58% gross profit on parts
- Supplies fee
- 5–10% of labor, capped at $30–$50 per repair order
RELATED
Repair Order Template
Complaint, cause and correction on one authorised sheet with a signature line.
OpenLabor Rate Calculator
Turn overhead, tech wages and a target margin into the door rate you must post.
OpenSOURCES
Each line is where a figure on this page came from and the date it was read.
| Figure | Source | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Default door rate in the seed data | Tekmetric — Average Auto Repair Labor Rates by State | |
| Parts gross-profit target | AutoLeap — Auto Parts Markup Chart | |
| Shop supplies percentage and cap | Car Talk — Are shop supplies a legit charge? | |
| Seed job pricing sanity band | ConsumerAffairs — Cost to Replace Brake Pads and Rotors |