Job card vs job sheet vs invoice: what's the difference?

Job card, job sheet, work order, repair order, invoice — walk into ten UK garages and you will hear these used to mean slightly different things. They are not interchangeable. Getting the order right is what keeps you from doing work you cannot bill for.

What is a job card (or job sheet)?

A job card— the same thing most workshops call a job sheet— is the record of a single job before and during the work. It captures the customer’s reported fault, the vehicle and registration, the work to carry out, the parts needed and the estimated labour hours, plus a line for the customer to sign and authorise the work. Think of it as the agreement: this is what we are doing and what you have approved. You can make one in a minute with our free job card generator.

Work order, repair order — same idea

“Work order” and “repair order” are American terms for the same document. If your software or a supplier uses them, read them as a job card. The purpose is identical: authorise and track the work.

What is an invoice?

An invoicecomes after the work and bills it. It lists the parts fitted and labour charged, adds VAT if you are registered, and states the total due and your payment terms. Where the job card says “here is what we will do,” the invoice says “here is what you owe.” Our free invoice generator builds a VAT-ready one for you.

And the receipt?

A receiptconfirms the invoice has been paid — proof for a warranty claim, an insurer or the customer’s records. Grab one from the receipt template.

The flow that gets you paid

A clean job runs: booking → job card (signed) → work carried out → invoice → payment → receipt. The risk is the gap between the job card and the invoice — extra work agreed verbally that never made it onto paper and so never got billed. Note every variation on the job card as you go, and the invoice writes itself.

That is exactly what Garage Desk does: the digital job card carries parts, labour and photos straight into the invoice, so nothing agreed in the workshop gets lost on the way to getting paid.