Free auto body estimate template
Five quick steps: your shop, the customer and vehicle, the work, the terms, and a PDF with your logo. It adds up parts, labor, refinish and sales tax for you, marks every part OEM, aftermarket or used, and ends with a signature block. Free, no sign-up.
Works on your phone. Nothing is uploaded.
Estimate maker
Make your auto body estimate
Your shop details are remembered on this device, so next time you start straight at the customer. Want to see one first? Press See an example.
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What's on the estimate
Everything an auto body estimate needs
Laid out like the estimates PanelDesk shops send every day.
Lines the way you price
Break each line into parts, labor, R&I, refinish and sublet, work it out by the hour at your own rates, or give it one price.
Sales tax on what's taxable
Enter your rate and tick the charges your state taxes. The estimate shows the taxable amount, the sales tax and the total.
OEM, aftermarket or used, on every line
Each line prints its type, such as Replace (OEM), Replace (aftermarket) or Replace (used), so the customer sees which parts aren't new OEM parts.
Vehicle and insurance details
Year, make and model, VIN, license plate, color and mileage, plus the insurance company, claim number, adjuster and deductible on insurance work.
Clear terms and a signature
How long the estimate stands, no extra work without approval, any teardown fee, storage, replaced parts and your warranty, then the customer's authorization.
Your logo and numbering
Your logo, details, rates and estimate numbers are remembered on your device, so the next estimate takes a minute.
Not sure what to charge an hour? Our labor rate guide shows how to work it out from what a technician costs, your overhead and a profit.
Estimates your customers approve online
In PanelDesk you build estimates with your own rates and line types, send them as a secure link with photos attached, see when the customer opened them, and an approved estimate becomes the repair order, then the invoice, without retyping.
Good practice
What a good repair estimate covers
The template does these for you. They protect your shop in a dispute as much as they protect the customer.
Get authorization before you start
Have the customer sign the estimate, or note how and when they approved it, before any work starts.
Ask before going over
Found more damage, or a part costs more? Contact the customer, explain the extra cost, and wait for their approval before you carry on.
Say upfront what the estimate costs
If you charge for the estimate, or for the teardown it takes to find hidden damage, tell the customer the fee before you start.
Name the parts you'll use
Mark each part as OEM, aftermarket, used or reconditioned. Customers and insurers ask, and many states have disclosure rules for non-OEM parts.
Put storage in writing
If you charge storage when a finished car isn't picked up, say on the estimate how much it is and when it starts.
Offer the replaced parts
Let customers have the parts you replace if they ask, unless the parts go back to a supplier, as a core, or to the insurance company.
Want the detail? Our guide to writing an auto body estimate goes through each step, from the teardown to keeping supplements to a minimum.
Rules for repair estimates vary by state, so check yours. If your state or city gives you a repair shop license or registration number, add it to your shop details and it prints on every estimate. This is a guide, not legal advice.
Prefer a file?
Estimate template in Word, Excel or PDF
The same layout and terms, to fill in on your computer or by hand, with your shop details and logo already on them.
Put your details on the templates
Add your shop name, contact details and logo, and every file below has them filled in. They stay on this device.
Excel
An estimate spreadsheet that adds up the lines and the sales tax for you, with a tab to choose what's taxable. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
Word
The same estimate as a Word document. Word doesn't add up, so work out the totals yourself or use the builder above.
Blank to print
A blank letter-size estimate with lines to fill in by hand, and the same terms printed on it.
Job done? Use the free auto body invoice template, or turn your estimate into an invoice from the builder above.
From our guides
The rules behind it, explained
FAQ
Auto body estimate questions
Quick answers about estimates and the free template.
Yes. Make as many estimates as you like, with no sign-up. Each PDF has a small "Made with PanelDesk" line at the bottom.
If you'll charge sales tax on the job, show it on the estimate, so the total is what the customer will pay. Enter your rate and tick which charges are taxable, and the estimate shows the taxable amount, the sales tax and the total. Which charges are taxable differs from state to state, so check yours.
That's up to you, but say so on the estimate. Parts prices move, so many shops keep it to 30 days or less. Set it under This estimate, and the estimate prints the date it runs out.
Many shops do, especially when parts have to come off to see the damage. Tell the customer the fee before you start, and enter it under Terms so the estimate states it. Rules vary by state, so check yours.
Stop and contact the customer, and the insurance company on a claim. Explain the extra work and what it costs, and carry on only once it's approved. Put it in writing, as a supplement or a new estimate.
Yes. Turn on Insurance job to add the insurance company, claim number, policy number, adjuster or appraiser and the deductible. Many insurers write the estimate in their own system, such as CCC, Mitchell or Audatex, so check what yours needs. When the job is done, Turn this estimate into an invoice makes one invoice showing the deductible the customer pays and the balance due from the insurance company.
Pick the line's type: Replace (OEM), Replace (aftermarket), Replace (used) or Replace (reconditioned). The type prints beside every line, so the customer can see which parts aren't new OEM parts. Many states have disclosure rules for non-OEM parts, and they vary, so check yours.
Yes. Switch a line to By the hour and enter the labor, R&I and refinish hours with your rates. Your rates are remembered for the next line and the next estimate. Or type each amount yourself, or give a line one price.
Yes. It's built for collision repair, but any vehicle repair estimate works: leave the columns you don't use empty and they drop off the PDF.
No. The estimate is made in your browser. Your shop details, logo, rates and sales tax settings are saved on your device only, so your next estimate starts with them, and the estimate itself is cleared when you close the tab. You can clear everything with Forget my details.
Yes, below the builder, along with a blank PDF to fill in by hand. Add your shop details and logo, and they're already on all three. The Excel version adds up the lines and the sales tax; in Word you work out the totals yourself.
PanelDesk
From estimate to invoice without retyping
PanelDesk keeps every estimate, repair order and invoice together, follows up open estimates for you, and turns an approved estimate into the repair order and invoice without retyping.
- Customers approve estimates online
- Automatic follow-ups on open estimates
- Estimate, repair order and invoice in one place
30 days free. No card, nothing to install.