Parts deposits
Collect an approved amount before ordering parts or beginning work when the shop requires a deposit for the job.
Automotive & Repair
The work happens in the shop.
The work happens in the shop.
The payment can happen anywhere.
Repair shops, tire stores, body shops, detail businesses, and mobile mechanics can collect deposits, take payment at pickup, send a balance remotely, or bill commercial accounts.
We start with how the business gets paid today, then fit the payment setup around the shop instead of forcing the shop around the payment system.
How the shop gets paid
One shop can have
One shop can have
four different payment flows.
A parts deposit is not collected like a final repair balance. A fleet account is not paid like a retail customer at pickup. Start with the ways the business actually gets paid.
Pay at pickup
Collect the approved repair balance when the customer picks up the vehicle using the payment method and device that fit the shop.
Remote invoices and payment links
Send an invoice or payment link when the customer needs to pay remotely instead of standing at the service counter.
Fleet and commercial accounts
Commercial customers may follow a different billing and payment process from individual retail customers, depending on how the shop manages those accounts.
You may use one of these. You may use all four. The payment setup should follow the shop.
What has to work
The repair order is one job.
The repair order is one job.
Getting it paid is another.
A shop may collect before the repair begins, when the vehicle is picked up, from a remote payment request, in the field, or through a commercial billing process. These are the payment workflows we ask about before recommending anything.
Parts deposits
When the shop requires an approved deposit before ordering parts or beginning work, the payment process should make that amount easy to request and record.
Payment at pickup
When the balance is due at pickup, the payment method and device should fit the service counter without creating extra work for the staff.
Remote payment requests
Send an invoice or payment link when the customer needs to pay remotely instead of returning to the shop just to complete the balance.
Mobile service payments
For mobile mechanics and other field service, payment may need to happen where the vehicle is instead of inside a traditional shop.
Fleet and commercial billing
Commercial customers may use a different billing and payment process from individual retail customers, depending on how the shop manages those accounts.
Repair order reconciliation
The shop needs a clear way to connect the payment, refund, or remaining balance back to the repair order the business is already using.
If the current payment workflow already handles these well, we should not replace it just to create a project.
Before we replace software
Like your shop software?
Like your shop software?
Keep it if we can.
The shop software may already handle estimates, repair orders, customers, parts, labor, scheduling, and reporting exactly the way the business wants. A payment problem does not automatically mean the rest of the shop system needs to change.
The shop software is fine
If the current system works for the staff and the payment relationship is the problem, we first check whether the approved payment setup can change without replacing software the shop already knows.
The payment flow needs work
Deposits, pickup payments, remote balances, payment links, field payments, commercial billing, or payment reconciliation may need attention even when the shop software itself is doing its job.
You are not sure which it is
Show us how the repair order and payment move through the business today. We will separate the software problem from the payment problem before recommending either one.
Keeping the right shop system is a good outcome too.
Pricing programs
The repair order does not pick
The repair order does not pick
the pricing program.
Your numbers do.
A large repair order does not tell us how the customer will pay it. Some shops collect most retail balances by card. Others use checks, ACH, financing, fleet billing, remote payments, or a mix. We use the actual shop numbers before recommending a pricing change.
How customers pay
The shop may collect at pickup, remotely, through a commercial account, or another payment method. The share that actually runs on cards matters before we model a card pricing program.
Card mix and current cost
Debit, credit, prepaid volume, and the fees on a recent processing statement give us the real numbers needed to compare the options.
Average card transaction
Larger card payments can make processing cost more noticeable, but transaction size alone does not determine which pricing structure fits the shop.
Customer experience
The pricing program also changes what the customer sees at approval, payment, and receipt. The lowest modeled cost is not automatically the best operating choice.
We do not pick the program from the repair order
One shop may put most retail repairs on cards while another collects major balances through fleet accounts, checks, ACH, financing, or another method. We model what actually runs through the merchant account before recommending a change.
What changes
Change the payment setup.
Change the payment setup.
Keep the shop moving.
Once we know what the shop should keep and what the payment flow actually needs, we configure the new setup around the way the business already works.
Keep compatible equipment
If the current terminals, readers, or payment devices can support the approved setup, keeping them may be the better answer. We check compatibility before recommending replacements.
Configure the shop payment flows
Counter payments, deposits, remote balances, payment links, mobile service payments, and commercial billing should be configured around who collects the money and where that happens.
Support after launch
Phase 3 payment and equipment support is available 24/7 from a US based team. The shop should know who to contact and what support path applies before the new setup goes live.
Know the terms first
Processing terms, equipment arrangements, pricing, and cancellation conditions should be clear before the shop changes anything.
The goal is not more equipment. It is a payment setup that fits the way the shop already works.
Payment tools
Use the tool that fits
Use the tool that fits
how the shop collects.
Some payments happen at pickup. Others happen before the repair, from an invoice, through a payment link, or somewhere away from the shop. The payment tool should fit the workflow.
Phase 3 VT
Deposits, invoices, and remote payments
Phase 3 VT is our branded virtual terminal for shops that need to collect payments from the office without running every transaction through a physical POS.
Depending on the merchant setup, it can support payment entry, invoices, payment links, approved stored payment methods, recurring billing, and ACH when enabled.
See Phase 3 VT →
Clover
When the shop needs broader checkout tools
Worth considering when the business needs more than basic card acceptance and wants broader checkout hardware, apps, customer facing payment tools, or other point of sale functions.
Clover should not be presented as a replacement for specialized shop management software unless the actual business requirements support that change.
See Clover →
Dejavoo
Straightforward card acceptance
A practical terminal option for shops that mainly need to accept card payments at the service counter or another payment point without replacing the rest of the shop system.
See Dejavoo →
Valor
Flexible terminal setups
Another terminal option when the shop needs straightforward card acceptance through equipment configured around the approved processing and payment setup.
See Valor →
The shop software may still be the center of the operation
These payment tools do not automatically replace the software the shop already uses for estimates, repair orders, scheduling, parts, labor, or customer history. If the existing system works, we first look at how the payment layer can fit around it.
The best payment tool solves the payment problem without creating a new shop problem.
The repair payment flow
From the estimate
From the estimate
to the paid repair order.
Some repairs are paid once. Others involve a deposit, an approved change, a remote payment, or a commercial account. The payment setup should support the stages the shop actually uses.
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Approve the work
The shop determines what work is approved and what amount is due under the process the business already uses.
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Collect a deposit when needed
When the shop requires an approved deposit for parts or work, request and record that payment through the configured payment flow.
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Complete the repair
The repair order remains the operating record for the work while the payment setup stays ready for the remaining approved balance.
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Collect the remaining balance
Collect at pickup, send an invoice or payment link, accept an approved remote payment, or follow the commercial billing process the shop uses.
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Match the payment to the repair order
The shop needs a clear record that helps connect deposits, final payments, refunds where applicable, and remaining balances to the repair order.
The shop decides what work is approved and what is owed. Phase 3 handles the payment tools used to collect the approved amount.
Automotive FAQ
Before you change
Before you change
how the shop gets paid,
get these answers.
The repair order, shop software, payment tools, and pricing program can all be separate decisions. We figure out which part actually needs changing before touching the rest.
Which pricing program should an Automotive and Repair business use?
We do not choose one from the industry name or repair order size alone. Actual card volume, debit and credit mix, current processing cost, average card transaction, customer experience, and how the shop collects payment all matter. We can model the options from a recent processing statement before recommending a change.
Can I keep the shop software I already use?
Possibly. If the existing software works for estimates, repair orders, scheduling, parts, labor, and the staff workflow, we first check whether the approved payment setup can change without replacing the system the shop already knows.
Can I take a deposit before ordering parts?
Yes when the shop uses an approved deposit as part of its normal process and the payment setup supports that workflow. The shop decides when a deposit is required and what amount is due. Phase 3 provides the payment tools used to collect the approved amount.
Can I send a customer a payment link?
Yes. Payment links can give the customer a way to pay remotely from a phone or computer when returning to the shop is unnecessary. The exact options available depend on the merchant setup and payment tools being used.
Can mobile mechanics take payment in the field?
Yes when the approved setup supports it. The right option may be a mobile payment device, a payment link, or another configured payment method depending on how the business collects away from the shop.
What is Phase 3 VT?
Phase 3 VT is our branded virtual terminal for businesses that need to take and manage payments from the office without running every transaction through a physical point of sale. Depending on the merchant setup, it can support payment entry, invoices, payment links, approved stored payment methods, recurring billing, and ACH when enabled.
Can we keep an approved payment method for future charges?
Yes when the merchant setup supports it and the customer has provided the required authorization. The payment workflow can make an approved payment method available for future authorized charges without asking staff to collect the payment information again each time.
Can Phase 3 handle fleet and commercial billing?
Phase 3 can support the payment side of commercial and fleet transactions when the approved setup fits the shop workflow. This page is not presenting Phase 3 as fleet management software, accounts receivable software, commercial lending, or a complete commercial account management system.
Can I keep the terminals or readers I already have?
Sometimes. Existing terminals and payment devices may be compatible with the new setup. We check the equipment, processing relationship, and configuration before recommending replacements.
Does Phase 3 replace my repair order system?
Not automatically. Phase 3 is handling the payment side of the workflow described on this page. The shop may continue using its existing repair order, estimating, scheduling, parts, labor, and customer management tools when the payment setup can work around them.
How long does switching take?
It depends on what is changing. A simple terminal setup is different from configuring Phase 3 VT, remote payment workflows, several locations, mobile service, or a payment connection around existing shop software. We review the current setup first and give the shop a realistic implementation plan before anything changes.
Can Phase 3 handle our website too?
Yes. Phase 3 Digital can build and manage the public business website as a separate service. Website pricing is $99 a month with Phase 3 processing or $199 a month as Standalone Digital. Search and advertising services can be added separately when they make sense.
Phase 3 Digital
We can handle
We can handle
the website too.
Services change. Hours change. Staff, locations, photos, careers, contact information, and estimate request information change. We build the website, write it, host it, and keep handling the normal updates after it goes live.
Use Phase 3 Digital on its own, or pay less when you also process with Phase 3.
Website plan
With Phase 3 processing
$99 / month
Standalone Digital
$199 / month
Same managed Website service. Processing customers receive the lower price.
- Written and designed for your business
- Hosting, SSL, and Cloudflare
- Forms, calls, maps, and analytics
- Technical SEO and schema
- Normal website updates by email
Not included in this plan
Repair order software, shop scheduling, inventory systems, and payment tools
No setup fee. Month to month.
Your domain, logo, and original photos remain yours.