Check-in inspections

A check-in inspection is the record of a customer's vehicle or machine being taken into your custody: when it arrived, the meter readings it came in on, and a walk-around of every scratch, dent or missing part found on it, with photos. It is raised from a service opportunity or a service order when the asset arrives, can carry any number of test drives while you hold the asset, and is closed with a checkout when the asset goes back to the customer.

Overview

Each check-in inspection belongs to one asset and one customer account. You work it on a single screen, the check-in console, which shows:

• a stage strip — Check-In, then Test drive 1, Test drive 2 and so on, then Checkout — that tells you where the hand-over stands and lets you move between the check-in and its test drives;
• the walk-around checklist, one card per section of the asset (for example Front, Back, Left, Right), with the options you can tick under each sub-section;
• a Polygon Partition tab that shows the same checklist on a picture of the model, region by region;
• the buttons for the next step: Save, Test Drive Checkout, Checkout or Complete Test Drive.

Every finding you save becomes a check-in inspection line under the inspection. Every test drive is a check-in inspection of its own, with its own findings, photos and readings, linked to the customer check-in it was taken out under.

When to use it

• A customer brings a vehicle or machine in for service, and you want a signed-off record of its condition and readings before work starts.
• You take the asset out on a test drive and want to record the readings and any new damage for that drive separately.
• The asset is handed back, and you want to record the reading it left on and the time it left your custody.

How xMatix handles it

• One customer check-in per job. The Check In action on a service opportunity creates the customer check-in, or opens the one that already exists. The Check In action on a service order refuses a second check-in for the same order.
• Details come from where you started. A check-in raised from an opportunity takes the opportunity's account and asset, and its usage readings for any reading you leave blank. A check-in raised from a service order takes the order's account, asset and usage readings and is linked to the order. The check-in date and time is now, unless you enter one.
• The checklist comes from the asset's model. xMatix finds the check-in template whose Applicable Item is the asset's item and builds the walk-around from its lines. An asset with no item, or an item with no template, shows no checklist.
• Findings are added, never silently removed. Ticking an option only marks it; Save writes everything you ticked in one go. A saved option stays on the record and cannot be unticked.
• The verification flags follow the findings. After each save, Verified With Discrepancies is set when at least one finding is recorded and Verified Ok when none is. The two are never both true.
• Meters only go forward. A test drive opens at the latest reading recorded on the check-in, and no test drive or checkout can be closed below the latest reading anywhere on the check-in.
• Closed is read-only. An inspection is open until it has a check-out date and time. Once it is closed, its findings are read-only, and a closed customer check-in cannot have any more test drives taken out.

Prerequisites

• The asset you are checking in has an Item, and a check-in template with lines exists for that item (see Configuration).
• For a check-in from a service order: the order has an Asset.
• Your security profile gives you access to Check In Inspection and Check In Inspection Line records, and grants the Check In action on the opportunity or service order (see Permissions).

Procedure

Step 1 — Check the asset in

Start from the record the job came in on:

• From a service opportunity: open the opportunity and choose Check In. A dialog asks for Usage Reading and Usage Reading Hours. Enter what the meter shows, or leave a field blank to use the opportunity's reading, and choose Save. xMatix creates the customer check-in and opens it. If the opportunity already has a customer check-in, Check In opens that one instead.
• From a service order: open the saved order and choose Check In, then Save in the dialog. xMatix creates the check-in with the order's account, asset and readings, links it to the order and opens it. The order's Check In tab lists it.

The new inspection's Check-In Type is Customer, its Check-In Date Time is now, and it gets a number from the check-in numbering series (shipped as CIP). The console opens on the Check-In stage.

Step 2 — Walk around the asset and tick what you find

On the checklist tab (it carries the template's name, or Vehicle Check-In Inspection), go through each section card. Under each sub-section, tick every option that applies, such as a scratch on the front fender. A card with something ticked shows a red count.

• When you tick something on a sub-section, a Remarks… box appears for a short note (up to 255 characters).
• If the template offers an option named Other, ticking it shows a Describe the damage… box (up to 100 characters).

You can also work from the Polygon Partition tab: select a region on the picture of the model to see the same checks for that section, with a badge showing how many findings each region already has. Select the region again to close it.

Step 3 — Add photos

On a section card, choose add photo and pick an image. The photo is attached to the inspection and labelled with the section it was taken for; the card then shows how many photos it has. Choose the count to view them. On the mobile app, photos are taken with the camera.

Step 4 — Save the findings

Choose Save — it shows how many options are waiting, for example Save (3). xMatix records one line per sub-section, adds the options you ticked to it, and updates the verification flags. You see Inspection findings saved. and the summary under the cards shows how many discrepancies are recorded. Notes typed on a finding that is already saved are stored when you leave the box.

Step 5 — Take the asset out on a test drive (optional)

While the customer check-in is selected and open, and no test drive is out, choose Test Drive Checkout. The dialog opens on the latest reading on the check-in; correct it if the meter has moved, and choose Check out. xMatix creates a test-drive inspection under the check-in — Check-In Type Test Drive, status Checked-In, with the same account, asset, branch, opportunity, service order and service advisor — and switches the console to it. You see Test drive checked out. The check-in stays open.

Record any damage found on the drive in the same way as Steps 2–4; it is filed against the test drive, not the check-in.

Step 6 — Complete the test drive

On the test drive, choose Complete Test Drive. Enter the Close Usage Reading (required), the Close Usage Reading (Hours) if the asset has an hour meter, and the Check-Out Time (defaults to now), then choose Complete. The test drive's status becomes Checked-Out, it becomes read-only, and the console returns to the check-in. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for each further drive; each one opens where the last came back.

Step 7 — Check the asset out

When the asset goes back to the customer, select the Check-In stage and choose Checkout. Enter the Close Usage Reading, the hours reading if shown, and the Check-Out Time, and choose Complete. The check-in's status becomes Checked-Out, the Checkout stage is marked done, and you see Check-in completed. The Checkout button is not offered while a test drive is still out — complete the drive first.

Step 8 — Find a check-in later

Open a check-in from the Check In tab of its service order or opportunity, or from the All Check In Inspections list, which shows Name, Asset, Check-In Type, Check-In Date Time, Check-Out Date Time and Status. Opening a test drive shows the whole check-in with all its drives on the same console.

On the mobile app

The check-in record in the xMatix mobile app has an Inspection tab with the same console — stage strip, section cards, Save (n), Test Drive Checkout, Complete Test Drive and Checkout — and a Details tab with the account, asset, type, check-in time, service advisor, opportunity and drop-off information. The console needs a connection: offline, it shows Not available offline.

Fields

The record page header shows Partner Account, Branch, Asset, Service Advisor and Check-In Date Time. The other fields are on the record and in list views.

Each finding line carries Section, Sub Section, Condition (the options ticked, separated by semicolons), Remarks and Damaged Remarks (the Other description). The entity reference lists every field.

Business rules

• Numbering: the inspection's Name comes from its document name setting — series CIP, a date part and a six-digit counter, joined by hyphens.
• Defaults on create: an empty Check-In Date Time is set to the current time. When Opportunity is set, an empty Account, Asset, Usage Reading or Usage Reading (Hours) is filled from the opportunity, rounded to whole units; a value you supplied always wins.
• One check-in per order: Check In on a service order is refused when the order has no asset or already has a check-in. On an opportunity, a second Check In opens the existing customer check-in.
• Usage band: when the check-in's opportunity carries a service contract, the check-in's readings must sit inside that contract's minimum and maximum usage reading and hours, inclusive. A bound left at zero is not enforced. The check runs on create and whenever a reading or the opportunity changes. See Asset service contracts.
• Dates: Check-In Date Time and Document Date cannot be earlier than today.
• Readings on close: closing readings cannot be negative or below the latest reading on the check-in, and the check-out time cannot be before the check-in time.
• Test drives: a test drive can be taken out only from an open customer check-in with no other drive out; the check-in cannot be checked out while a drive is out.
• Service order follow-on: checking a service order in also re-runs repeat-repair detection on the order's lines; it never blocks the check-in. When a service bay is allocated for the vehicle before work has started, the bay booking starts at the check-in time.

Example

A customer brings a tractor in for a service. The advisor opens the service opportunity, chooses Check In, enters a usage reading of 1,240 and 860 hours, and saves. Check-in CIP-10102026-000014 opens. Walking around, the advisor ticks Paint under Front › Fender and Missing under Back › Tool-Kit, adds two photos to the Front card and chooses Save (2); the summary shows 2 discrepancies recorded and Verified With Discrepancies is set.

After the repair, a technician takes the tractor out: Test Drive Checkout opens at 1,240, the technician confirms and checks out. Back from the drive, Complete Test Drive records 1,246 and the console returns to the check-in. When the customer collects the tractor, the advisor chooses Checkout, enters 1,246 (the lowest it accepts), and the check-in becomes Checked-Out.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox, pick an asset whose item has a check-in template. Create a service order for it, choose Check In, record one finding with a remark and a photo, and save. Take one test drive out and complete it with a reading 5 higher than the check-in reading, then check the asset out.

Expected result: the console's stage strip shows Check-In, Test drive 1 and Checkout all done; the check-in and the test drive both have status Checked-Out; the check-in has one finding line and Verified With Discrepancies set; and Checkout refused any reading below the test drive's closing reading.

Quick reference

• Start from Check In on the service opportunity or service order.
• The checklist comes from the check-in template of the asset's item.
• Tick, then Save — saved findings cannot be unticked.
• Photos are attached per section of the asset.
• Test Drive Checkout creates a separate inspection under the check-in.
• Complete every test drive before Checkout.
• Closing readings cannot go below the latest reading on the check-in.
• A closed inspection is read-only.

Permissions

Access follows the Check In Inspection and Check In Inspection Line entity permissions on the user's security profile; the console reads and writes both. The shipped Sales Executive, Sales Manager, Service, Standard User and System Admin profiles have full access to both entities.

The Check In action needs its own grant on the profile's Actions tab — on Opportunity and on Service Order separately. It is granted on the shipped Sales Executive, Sales Manager, Standard User and System Admin profiles. Without it, the user sees The current user is not allowed to execute server action 'PerformCheckIn' on entity '{entity}'. Editing the polygon regions on the Polygon Partition tab also changes the item's catalogue entry, so turn that off on layouts used by staff who should not change it (see below).

Configuration

• Check-in templates. A Check In Template has a Check-In Template Name and an Applicable Item; each Check In Template Line names a Section Name, a Sub-Section and the Issues to offer, separated by semicolons. One card is shown per section, and each finding line counts as one discrepancy. Shipped picklist values are Front, Back, Left, Right for sections; Brakes, Fender, Mirror, Seat, Tool-Kit for sub-sections; and Defective, Missing, Paint, Loose for issues — extend them in the data model to suit your assets. Templates have no shipped menu entry; open them from their entity list or add them to an app's navigation.
• Polygon regions. The Polygon Partition tab uses the picture and regions drawn on the item's product catalogue entry. A region is matched to a checklist section by name. Regions belong to the item, so a change applies to every asset of that model.
• Console options. In the layout designer, the check-in console widget has two settings: polygon editing (turn off to make the Polygon Partition tab read-only — the shipped record layout has it off) and show checkout (turn off to hide Checkout on a review layout; Complete Test Drive stays).
• Layouts. The shipped record layout is the page header plus the console; the create layout asks for Usage Reading, Usage Reading (Hours), Check-In Date Time and Check-Out Date Time. The Check In dialogs on the opportunity and service order use their own layouts. Change any of them in the layout designer.
• Numbering. Change the series or format in the Check In Inspection document name setting.
• Usage band. Set minimum and maximum usage readings and hours on the service contract definition to enforce a band on check-in readings.
• Validations. The two date rules are entity validations you can review under the entity's validations.
• Navigation. The Check In Inspection list ships in the Service Settings app's Workshop Operations group; most users reach check-ins from the opportunity or service order instead.

Common problems

"No Check-In Template found for this Asset's Item."

No check-in template has the asset's item as its Applicable Item. Create one, or set Applicable Item on the right template. Related messages: No Asset linked to this record. (set Asset on the inspection), No ItemId found on the linked Asset record. (set the asset's item) and Check-In Template has no template lines configured. (add lines).

"Asset is required on the service order before it can be checked in."

Set Asset on the service order, save, and choose Check In again.

"This service order has already been checked in."

The order has a check-in. Open it from the order's Check In tab.

"Usage Reading must be between … as per the Service Contract tagged on the Opportunity."

The reading is outside the usage band of the opportunity's service contract. Check the meter, or the contract tagged on the opportunity. The message reads cannot be less than or cannot be more than when only one bound is set.

"CheckInDate Time can not be less then Today."

The check-in date and time is earlier than today. Enter today's date or later. Document date can not be less than Today. is the same rule for Document Date.

"Cannot be below the latest reading on this check-in"

A closing reading must be at least the latest reading anywhere on the check-in, including test drives. Enter the actual meter reading, which is never lower.

There is no Checkout button

A test drive is still out, the inspection is already closed, or the layout hides checkout. Complete the open test drive, or open the check-in on its standard layout.

"Test drives are unavailable on this tenant"

Your tenant's metadata lacks the Parent Check-In Inspection field. Everything except test drives still works; ask your administrator or xMatix support to add the field.

Common questions

Can I remove a finding I saved by mistake?

Not from the console. A saved option stays ticked; you can add to a sub-section but not untick it, so that the record shows everything that was reported. Use the finding's Remarks to note the correction.

Why does a test drive have its own record?

So that damage found on a drive is never filed against the customer's hand-over. Each test drive is a check-in inspection of type Test Drive, linked to the customer check-in, with its own findings, photos and readings. Opening any of them shows the whole check-in on one console.

Where do the readings on a new check-in come from?

From what you type in the Check In dialog. On an opportunity, a reading left blank is taken from the opportunity. On a service order, the order's own readings are used. Test drives open at the latest closing reading on the check-in.

Does checking out close the service order?

No. Checkout closes the inspection only: it records the closing reading and the time the asset left your custody. The service order follows its own lifecycle through invoicing and delivery.

Related topics

• Service orders
• Opportunities
• Asset service contracts
• Service configuration
• Check In Inspection — entity reference
• Check In Inspection Line — entity reference