What Happens Between Estimate Approval and Vehicle Delivery
The estimate is approved. The real work begins. Parts need ordering. Technicians need assignments. Customers need updates. Supplements get discovered. Here's what happens between approval and delivery.
The Estimate Is Just the Beginning
The adjuster approves the estimate. The customer agrees to proceed. The real work begins. Parts need ordering. The vehicle needs scheduling. Technicians need assignments. The customer expects updates. Supplements will be discovered. Authorizations will expire. Paint needs scheduling. Quality checks need completion. Every approved estimate triggers 30-50 operational tasks before the vehicle is delivered. The estimate told you what to repair. Now you need to execute. This is where most shops struggle. Not with the repair itself. With coordinating everything that happens between approval and delivery.
The Execution Phase Breakdown
Week 1: Parts and scheduling, Order parts based on the estimate. Schedule the vehicle for teardown. Assign the technician. Confirm customer drop-off date. Update authorization if needed.
Week 2: Teardown and supplements, Technician begins teardown. Additional damage is discovered. Supplement is written and submitted. Follow up with adjuster. Wait for approval. Reorder additional parts.
Week 3: Repair and paint, Parts arrive. Repair begins. Vehicle moves to paint. Paint scheduling depends on booth availability. Customer gets updated on timeline.
Week 4: Quality check and delivery, Quality check reveals minor issues. Corrections are made. Final detail. Customer is notified vehicle is ready. Delivery is scheduled. Each phase has dependencies. Parts delays affect repair timing. Supplement approvals affect parts ordering. Paint booth availability affects completion dates. Customer availability affects delivery timing.
Key Insight
The estimate is 10% of the work. Coordinating parts, people, approvals, and communication is the other 90%.
What Goes Wrong
Parts arrive but no one knows, Parts are delivered. They sit in receiving for two days because the technician doesn't know they arrived.
Supplements get approved but not documented, The adjuster approves the supplement verbally. No one documents it. Parts aren't reordered. The claim is delayed.
Customer doesn't know the vehicle is ready, The vehicle is complete. Quality check passed. It sits for three days because no one called the customer.
Technician is waiting for authorization, The authorization expired. The technician is waiting for renewal. No one told them it was renewed yesterday.
Timeline changes aren't communicated, Paint is delayed by two days. The customer isn't updated. They show up expecting pickup. The vehicle isn't ready.
What Organized Shops Track
Shops that execute efficiently track the entire claim lifecycle: Current status, Where is the claim right now? Teardown? Waiting for parts? In repair? In paint? Quality check? Blocking issues, What's preventing progress? Parts delay? Supplement pending? Authorization expired? Assigned responsibility, Who's responsible for this claim right now? Technician? Estimator? Front desk? Next steps, What needs to happen next? Order parts? Follow up on supplement? Schedule paint? Call customer? Timeline, When is this claim expected to complete? Has the timeline changed? Does the customer know? This tracking doesn't require complex software. It requires consistent documentation.
Getting Started
Improving claim execution tracking doesn't require replacing existing tools. Start with basic status visibility. Create one place where anyone can see: What's the current status of this claim? What's blocking progress? Who's responsible? What's next? Begin with one workflow-parts tracking or supplement follow-up-and expand from there. The goal is visibility, not perfection.
Discover how Claimory tracks claims from approval to delivery
See how Claimory helps collision shops manage claims, track supplements, and improve operations.
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