Receptionist Mode & Offline-to-Online Workflow

Overview

If you work at the front desk of a garage, this guide is for you. Receptionist Mode in autoGMS is designed to make your day-to-day work fast and organised, whether you are greeting a walk-in customer, answering a phone call, or checking on a booking that came in overnight through your website.

The big idea behind Receptionist Mode is simple: every customer interaction -- walk-ins, phone calls, and online bookings -- flows into the same system. There is no need for separate spreadsheets, paper appointment books, or sticky notes on the counter. Everything lives in one place, and every customer gets a proper profile with their vehicle history, regardless of how they first contacted your garage.

Here is what this means in practice:

• A customer who books online through your website appears in the same booking list as a walk-in you just logged
• When a repeat customer calls, you can look them up by phone number and see their entire history
• Your garage builds a complete customer database automatically, just by using autoGMS for daily operations
• Managers, technicians, and receptionists all see the same bookings -- everyone stays on the same page

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How to Access Receptionist Mode

If you are a receptionist

1. Open your web browser and go to the autoGMS login page (your manager will provide the link).
2. Enter the email address and password from your welcome email.
3. After logging in, you will be taken directly to the Reception Desk -- no need to navigate anywhere.

Good to know: If this is your first time logging in, you will be using a temporary password that was included in your welcome email. You should update it right away for security.

If you are a manager or garage owner

You can also access the Reception Desk at any time:

1. Log in to your autoGMS dashboard as usual.
2. In the sidebar, look under Bookings & Jobs and click Reception Desk.

Managers see the same Reception Desk workspace but also have access to the full dashboard, analytics, and settings that receptionists do not see.

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What You Will See: The Reception Desk Workspace

When you open the Reception Desk, the screen is split into two main panels side by side.

Left Panel -- Recent Bookings

This is your live booking list. It shows every booking for your garage, regardless of how it was created.

What you will see:

• A list of bookings displayed in a table, each row showing:
  • Customer -- The customer's name (clickable to view their profile) and their phone number
  • Service -- The name of the service booked (clickable to view the booking detail) and the vehicle type
  • Scheduled For -- The date and time of the appointment, plus how the booking was created (for example, "reception" for walk-ins or "online" for website bookings)
  • Status -- A coloured badge showing the current status: Pending, Confirmed, In-Service, Completed, or Cancelled

At the top of the panel you will find:

• Status filter badges -- Clickable badges for All, Pending, Confirmed, In-Service, Completed, and Cancelled. Click any badge to show only bookings with that status. This is especially useful first thing in the morning when you want to see today's confirmed bookings, or when you want to find all pending online bookings that need to be reviewed.
• Search bar -- Type a customer name, phone number, service name, or vehicle type to instantly filter the list. This is your fastest way to find a specific booking when a customer calls or walks in.
• Pagination -- If you have many bookings, use the page controls at the bottom to browse through them. You can also change how many bookings are shown per page.

Good to know: The booking list refreshes automatically whenever you create a new booking from the walk-in form on the right. You can also return to this page at any time to see the latest state of all bookings.

Right Panel -- Walk-in Booking Form

This is where you create new bookings for customers who are physically at the counter or calling on the phone. The form is streamlined for speed -- it asks for only what you need to get a booking into the system quickly.

The walk-in form is organised into three sections:

1. Customer Details

• Customer type toggle -- Switch between Individual and Business at the top right of this section.
  • Individual is the default and is used for most customers.
  • Business is for fleet customers or companies that bring in multiple vehicles. When you select Business, additional options appear (more on this below).
• First Name and Last Name -- Enter the customer's name.
• Phone Number -- Enter the customer's phone number, including country code. The country code defaults to match your garage's region.

Good to know: As soon as you start typing a phone number, autoGMS automatically searches your existing customer database. If the customer has been here before, their name will appear in a dropdown below the phone field. Click on a match to auto-fill the customer's name and phone number. This saves you time and avoids creating duplicate customer records.

2. Vehicle Details

• Make -- Select the car manufacturer from the dropdown list (Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and so on).
• Model -- After selecting a make, the model list updates to show relevant options. If the model is not in the list, choose "Add New Model" and type it in.
• Registration Number (UK garages only) -- Enter the vehicle's registration plate and click Fetch DVLA data to automatically populate the make, model, year, and MOT status. This is a huge time saver for UK garages.

3. Service & Scheduling

• Vehicle Type -- Select the type of vehicle (sedan, SUV, van, and so on). This affects the price shown for each service.
• Service -- Choose the service the customer needs from your garage's service menu. The price is displayed next to each service name.
• Preferred Date -- Defaults to today. Change it if the customer is booking for a future date. Dates that your garage has marked as unavailable (holidays, full days) will be greyed out.
• Add Notes -- Click this link to expand a text area where you can type any special instructions, customer requests, or internal notes about the booking.

At the bottom of the form you will see two buttons:

• Reset -- Clears the entire form so you can start fresh.
• Create Booking -- Submits the booking. You will see a confirmation message and the new booking will immediately appear in the booking list on the left.

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Key Features

1. Creating Walk-in Bookings

A customer has just walked through the door without an appointment. Here is what to do:

1. You are already on the Reception Desk. Look at the Walk-in Booking Form on the right side.
2. Enter the customer's first name, last name, and phone number.
3. Check whether the customer lookup found a match. If it did, click the match to auto-fill their details.
4. Enter the vehicle make and model. For UK garages, you can type the registration plate and click Fetch DVLA data to save time.
5. Select the vehicle type and the service the customer needs.
6. The date defaults to today -- leave it as is for a same-day walk-in.
7. Add any notes if needed (for example, "Customer mentioned a rattling sound from the front left").
8. Click Create Booking.

You will see a green confirmation message saying the booking was recorded. The booking now appears in the list on the left, and your manager and technicians can see it too.

2. Creating Phone Bookings

A customer calls to book an appointment. The process is almost the same as a walk-in:

1. Start typing the customer's phone number in the phone field. autoGMS will check for existing records.
2. If the customer is found, click their name to auto-fill the form. If not, ask for their name and vehicle details.
3. Select the service and set the preferred date to the day they want to come in.
4. Add any notes from the phone conversation.
5. Click Create Booking.

The booking is created as a pending booking, ready for your team to confirm.

Good to know: There is no difference in the system between a walk-in and a phone booking -- the form is the same. The system tags walk-in bookings created from the Reception Desk as "reception" source, so you can tell them apart from online bookings later.

3. How Online Bookings Appear

When a customer books through your website's online booking widget, their booking automatically appears in your booking list with a "Pending" status. You do not need to do anything to make this happen -- it is fully automatic.

What to do when you see a new pending online booking:

1. Look at the left panel and filter by Pending status.
2. Review the booking details -- customer name, vehicle, service, and requested date.
3. If everything looks good, open the booking and confirm it (or your manager may do this step).
4. If your garage has auto-confirmation enabled, online bookings may already arrive as "Confirmed" -- in that case, no action is needed.

4. Quick Booking Panel

In addition to the Reception Desk, autoGMS offers a Quick Booking button in the top navigation bar of the dashboard. It is the calendar icon with a plus sign, visible to receptionists, managers, and owners.

How it works:

1. Click the Quick Booking button in the header bar (you can access it from any page in the dashboard).
2. A panel slides in from the right side of the screen with the same booking form you see on the Reception Desk.
3. Fill in the customer details, vehicle, and service.
4. Click Create Booking.
5. The panel closes and you are taken to the Bookings page to see your new booking.

This is perfect for when you are working on another page in autoGMS and need to quickly log a booking without navigating to the Reception Desk.

5. Customer Lookup

One of the most powerful time-saving features at the front desk is the automatic customer lookup.

How it works:

• When you type at least 3 digits into the Phone Number field on the walk-in form, autoGMS searches your customer database in real time.
• A dropdown appears below the phone field showing matching customers. For each match you will see:
  • The customer's full name
  • Their phone number
  • How many vehicles are on file for them
• Click on a match to auto-fill the customer's first name, last name, and phone number.

Why this matters: Over time, as you log bookings through autoGMS, your customer database grows automatically. Every new booking creates or updates a customer profile. After a few weeks, most repeat customers can be found just by typing the first few digits of their phone number -- no need to ask them for their details again.

Good to know: The customer lookup searches across all customers who have ever had a booking at your garage, whether they originally booked online, walked in, or called. This is the "single source of truth" that makes autoGMS so useful.

6. Business & Fleet Bookings

When a company brings in multiple vehicles at once -- for example, a rental company dropping off five cars for servicing -- use Business mode to handle it efficiently.

How to create a business booking:

1. Click the Business toggle at the top of the Customer Details section.
2. Select an existing business from the dropdown, or choose + Add New Business and type the company name.
3. If you selected an existing business, the contact name and phone number will auto-fill.
4. For fleet bookings with an existing business, you can select vehicles from their registered fleet.
5. Choose whether all vehicles get the same service or individual services for each vehicle.
6. Click Create Booking (for a single vehicle) or use the batch process for multiple vehicles.

Batch booking for businesses:

If you need to book several vehicles for the same business customer using the queue approach:

1. Fill in the vehicle details and service for the first vehicle.
2. Click Add to Queue -- the vehicle is added to a queue displayed at the bottom of the form.
3. Fill in details for the next vehicle and click Add to Queue again.
4. Repeat until all vehicles are queued.
5. Click Submit All to create bookings for every vehicle in the queue at once.

You can duplicate a queue entry (useful when multiple identical vehicles need the same service), remove individual entries, or clear the entire queue.

7. UK Registration Plate Lookup (UK Garages Only)

If your garage is located in the United Kingdom, you have access to the DVSA MOT data lookup feature.

How to use it:

1. In the Vehicle Details section, enter the vehicle's registration number (for example, BK14 WUT).
2. Click the Fetch DVLA data button.
3. autoGMS contacts the DVSA database and automatically fills in:
   • Make and model
   • Year of manufacture
   • Colour and fuel type
   • MOT status (Valid, Expired, or No history)
   • MOT expiry date
   • Most recent test result and mileage
   • Any advisories or failures from the last MOT test

This means you can create an accurate booking in seconds -- just type the plate number and let autoGMS do the rest.

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How the Reception Desk Differs from the Manager View

As a receptionist, your autoGMS sidebar shows a focused set of tools designed for front-desk work. Here is what you have access to:

What you see	What it does
Bookings	The full bookings list for your garage, with search and filters
Customers	Customer profiles and contact details. You can view customers and their history.
Invoices	View invoices associated with bookings
Reception Desk	Your main workspace — the split-screen with booking list and walk-in form
Online Booking	Settings for your garage's online booking widget

What you will not see: Financial reports, analytics dashboards, revenue tracking, bay management, inventory management, expense tracking, or team settings. These are reserved for managers and owners. This keeps your view clean and focused on what matters at the front desk.

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Managing the Daily Booking List

Here is a typical morning workflow for a receptionist:

Start of Day

1. Open the Reception Desk.
2. Click the Pending filter badge to see all bookings that need attention.
3. Review any online bookings that came in overnight or over the weekend. These will show the booking source so you can tell them apart.
4. If you have authority to confirm bookings, open each pending booking and confirm it. Otherwise, let your manager know there are bookings to review.
5. Switch to the Confirmed filter to see today's scheduled appointments.

During the Day

• When a customer arrives, search for their booking by name or phone number in the search bar.
• When a walk-in arrives without a booking, use the walk-in form on the right to log them in immediately.
• When a customer calls to book, create the booking through the walk-in form and set the date to whenever they want to come in.
• Check the All view periodically to keep an eye on the overall queue.

End of Day

• Filter by In-Service to check if any jobs are still open that should have been completed.
• Filter by Pending to see if any bookings were missed during the day.

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Confirming Pending Online Bookings

When customers book online, their bookings arrive with a "Pending" status by default. Here is how to handle them:

1. On the Reception Desk, click the Pending status badge to filter the list.
2. Click on the service name for the booking you want to review. This opens the booking detail page.
3. Review the customer's details, vehicle information, and requested service.
4. If the booking looks correct and you want to accept it, change the status to Confirmed.
5. The customer may receive an automatic confirmation notification depending on your garage's settings.

Good to know: Some garages enable auto-confirmation, which means online bookings skip the Pending stage and arrive as Confirmed automatically. If this is the case at your garage, you will not see many pending bookings -- they will already be confirmed when you check in the morning. Ask your manager if auto-confirmation is turned on.

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Tips & Best Practices

Speed Tips

• Use the phone number for lookup first. Before typing a customer's name, enter their phone number. Most returning customers can be identified in seconds this way.
• UK garages: start with the registration plate. Enter the plate number and click Fetch DVLA data before filling in anything else. It will populate most vehicle fields automatically.
• Use the Quick Booking button when you are not on the Reception Desk page. It is always available in the top bar.
• Use keyboard shortcuts. Press Tab to move quickly between form fields.

Accuracy Tips

• Always check for existing customers before creating a new booking. The automatic phone lookup helps prevent duplicate records. If you create a booking with a phone number that already exists, autoGMS is smart enough to link it to the existing customer -- but it is still good practice to select the match when it appears.
• Double-check the phone number format. Make sure the country code is correct. The form defaults to your garage's region, but if a customer has an international number, adjust accordingly.
• Add notes for anything unusual. If a customer mentions a specific concern ("brakes feel spongy", "check engine light is on"), type it in the notes field. Technicians will see these notes when they view the booking.

Organisation Tips

• Use status filters throughout the day. Filtering by Pending in the morning and by In-Service in the afternoon is a simple habit that keeps you on top of everything.
• Business bookings: use the queue feature. When a fleet customer drops off multiple vehicles, the batch queue saves time and reduces errors compared to creating bookings one at a time.
• Keep the Reception Desk open. If your computer has enough screen space, keep the Reception Desk as your primary tab. The split-screen layout means you can always see the current booking queue while creating new ones.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a walk-in booking and an online booking?

The main difference is who created it. A walk-in booking is created by you (the receptionist) through the Reception Desk form. An online booking is created by the customer through your garage's website. Both end up in the same booking list and follow the same process from there. The system tracks the source of each booking so you can tell them apart.

Can I edit a booking after creating it?

Yes. Click on the booking in the list to open its detail page. From there, you can update the service, change the date, or add notes. Some changes (like pricing) may require manager-level access.

What happens if I create a booking for a customer who already exists?

autoGMS is designed to recognise returning customers. When you enter a phone number that matches an existing customer, the system links the new booking to that customer's profile. Their vehicle history and past bookings stay connected. This is why it is helpful to use the customer lookup feature -- it keeps everything tidy.

Can customers see the bookings I create for them?

Customers receive email or SMS notifications about their bookings (depending on your garage's notification settings). They do not have a login to the autoGMS dashboard -- the notifications are the primary way they stay informed.

What if I make a mistake on a booking?

You can cancel a booking at any time before it is completed. Open the booking detail page and change the status to Cancelled. If you just need to fix a detail like the wrong service or date, open the booking and make the edit directly.

What does "auto-confirm" mean?

Auto-confirm is a setting that your manager can turn on. When enabled, online bookings skip the Pending stage and are automatically set to Confirmed. This is useful for garages that accept all online bookings without manual review. If auto-confirm is enabled at your garage, you will mainly see Confirmed and In-Service bookings in your list.

I cannot see the dashboard or analytics. Is something wrong?

No -- this is by design. As a receptionist, your view is focused on the tools you need at the front desk: bookings, customers, invoices, and the Reception Desk workspace. Financial reports, analytics, and system settings are available to managers and owners only.

How do I look up a customer without creating a booking?

Go to the Customers page from the sidebar. You can search for any customer by name or phone number and view their profile, including all past bookings and vehicles.

Can I handle both individual and business customers?

Yes. The booking form has a toggle at the top that switches between Individual and Business mode. Most walk-in customers will be individual, but if a company brings in fleet vehicles, switch to Business mode to link all the bookings under the company's account.

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The Big Picture: One System for Everything

The goal of autoGMS is to be the single system of record for your entire garage operation. Here is why that matters at the front desk:

• No more separate spreadsheets. Whether a customer booked online at midnight or walked in at 9am, their booking is in the same list.
• Your customer database builds itself. Every booking you create -- walk-in, phone, or online -- automatically adds to or updates your customer database. After a few months, you will have a rich history of every customer who has ever visited.
• Everyone is on the same page. When a technician checks the bay board, they see the same booking you just created. When the manager reviews the day's revenue, it includes every booking from every source.
• Returning customers are easy to spot. Because all interactions flow through one system, the second time a customer visits, you can greet them by name and already know what car they drive.

Receptionist Mode is designed to make this happen naturally, as part of your normal workflow. You do not need to do anything extra -- just use the Reception Desk to log bookings, and autoGMS takes care of the rest.