What "on file" means
A customer isn’t just a name and a number — they’re the ’09 F-150, the zero-turn, the excavator, the fridge in the garage. SideWRK keeps each of those as its own unit on the customer, with the details that matter for your trade: VIN, plate, and mileage for a vehicle, serial or PIN and engine hours for heavy equipment, brand, model, and serial for an appliance.
Add a vehicle by scanning the VIN — the barcode on the door jamb — and it decodes to year, make, and model with an open-recall check run against it. From then on, every estimate and invoice you write for that unit stacks onto its history, and the parts search runs off its own brand and model, not a guess. You always know which vehicle it is, and what you did to it last time.
What you can use it for
Scan the VIN, skip the typing
Point the camera at the door-jamb barcode and the year, make, and model fill in — with a recall check on top. The customer hears about the open recall from you, which is worth more than the scan.
Machines without a VIN, handled
Heavy equipment logs by serial or PIN and engine hours; the mower, chainsaw, generator, blower, or ATV logs as its own unit. The record fits the machine instead of forcing a car form onto a skid steer.
The right part for THAT unit
On an appliance job, "Find the part" searches by the unit’s own brand and model — the board for that dryer, not a dryer. Parts you stock come off your truck inventory with a barcode scan.
What did we do last time?
Every job ties to the unit, so the answer is on the screen: the brakes eight months ago, the belt last spring, the compressor quote they passed on. You walk in knowing the machine.
How to put a vehicle on file
- 1
Add the unit to the customer
On the customer, add their vehicle, machine, or appliance. Scan the VIN and it decodes itself; machines take a serial or PIN and hours.
- 2
Check what the scan turned up
A VIN decode runs an open-recall check. If something’s outstanding, you’re the one who tells them — and quotes the visit.
- 3
Pick the unit on the job
When you write the estimate, pick which of their units it’s for. The job, the photos, and the invoice all tie to that machine.
- 4
Find parts by its model
Search for parts using the unit’s own brand and model, or scan a stocked part off the truck — the cost lands on the line and your real profit stays true.
- 5
Let the history build
Every finished job stacks onto the unit’s record. Next visit, you already know what was done, when, and for how much.
Why the unit record is the pro move
"Which car was that again?" is an amateur question, and customers can hear it. The operator who pulls up the F-150’s history before the hood is open — last visit, the part that went in, the recall that’s still outstanding — sounds like someone who knows this truck, because they do. That’s what gets the next call, and the neighbor’s.
It also makes the work itself faster and righter: parts matched to the actual model, mileage and hours logged as they climb, and a paper trail per machine if a question ever comes up. Bring your existing list with you — the customer import carries each customer’s vehicles and units in, routed to the right trade — and pair it with barcode scanning and truck stock so the parts side runs as clean as the records.
Vehicles & machines — common questions
Does SideWRK decode VINs?
Yes. Scan the VIN barcode on the door jamb (or type it) and it decodes to year, make, and model, with an open-recall check run automatically. The vehicle then lives on the customer for every future job.
What about equipment that has no VIN?
Log it the way the machine actually identifies: serial or PIN and engine hours for heavy equipment, and mowers, chainsaws, generators, blowers, and ATVs as their own units on the customer.
Can I see the service history for one vehicle?
Yes. Every job ties to the unit it was for — tap History on the vehicle, machine, or property and you get just that unit’s jobs, what was done and when, separate from the customer’s other units.
Can I bring in my existing customers and their vehicles?
Yes. The customer import reads a spreadsheet, CSV, PDF, or even a photo of a handwritten list, and it carries each customer’s vehicles and assets in with them — routed to the right trade if you run more than one.