Auto Repair Guide

Published: 2026-10-30 · Reviewed: 2026-11-04

Parts Records: Tracking What Went Where

Why this matters

A customer comes back eight months after a repair: the alternator failed, it’s under warranty, and they want it replaced free. Did you fit that alternator, or did the previous garage? Was it new or reconditioned? Which supplier did it come from, and what’s their warranty process? If the answer is “let me think,” you’re either eating the cost of a part you didn’t supply or fighting a customer over one you did. Parts records, the ordering log, the warranty register, and the core-return tracker, are what turn “I think” into “here’s the record.” They also stop the quieter bleed: parts ordered twice, parts that vanish, warranty claims never filed.

The parts ordering log

Every part ordered gets a line: date, job card number, part name and number, supplier, quantity, cost, expected delivery, and who ordered it. This log does more work than it looks like:

  • It ties parts to jobs. The job card says “alternator fitted”; the log says which alternator, from whom, at what cost, on what date. When the invoice needs justifying or the warranty needs claiming, the trail is complete.
  • It stops duplicate orders. The part that’s “still not here” was ordered twice because nobody checked the log. One log, checked before every order.
  • It exposes your real parts margin. Quoted price vs actual cost, per job. If a supplier’s prices creep up, the log shows it before your margins notice.
  • It settles supplier disputes. “We never received it” meets a dated delivery note reference. Keep delivery notes filed against the log line.

Log the order when you place it, not when the part arrives. The gap between those two dates is where parts get lost.

Warranty tracking

Every part you fit carries a warranty, from the supplier, from you, or both, and every warranty has terms: duration, mileage limit, what’s covered, what’s excluded, and the claim process. Record all of it at fitment:

  • Part, part number, supplier, date fitted, job card number, vehicle registration. This is the minimum that lets you answer the “did we fit it” question.
  • Warranty terms in plain language. “12 months / 12,000 miles, parts and labour, excludes wear items.” Give the customer a copy at handover, the warranty form, signed, and keep one on file.
  • Claim deadlines and process. Some suppliers require the failed part returned within 30 days, or a claim number before you start work. Note the process on the record when you buy the part, not when it fails.
  • A tickler for expiring warranties you offered. If you warrant labour for 12 months, you want to know when claims are valid and when they’re not, before the customer tells you.

The warranty register also protects you from the customer who “had it done here last year” when the job card says otherwise. Records beat recollection, every time.

Core returns

Many suppliers charge a surcharge on parts like alternators, starters, and brake calipers, refunded when you return the old unit (the “core”). This is real money left on the bench if you don’t track it:

  • Log every core at removal: part, job card, date removed, surcharge amount, return deadline.
  • Return on a schedule, not when the pile gets embarrassing. Weekly or fortnightly, cores sitting in the corner are surcharges you’ve paid and not recovered.
  • Record the credit. Surcharge refunded, date, amount, against which supplier account. Reconcile monthly: cores removed vs credits received. The gap is money you’re owed or cores you’ve lost.

A core log takes thirty seconds per part and typically recovers its cost in the first month. Shops that don’t track cores are donating to their suppliers.

Common mistakes

  • Parts recorded on the invoice but nowhere else. The invoice says “alternator $180”, which alternator, from whom, with what warranty? The invoice is a bill, not a record.
  • Warranty terms the customer never sees. A warranty nobody was told about is a warranty that gets argued about. Hand over the terms at handover, signed.
  • Cores piling up unreturned. Every core past its return deadline is a surcharge you’ll never see again. Schedule the returns.
  • Ordering without checking the log. Duplicate orders, wrong parts reordered, “I thought you ordered it.” The log is the single source of truth, check it first.

Templates that help

Bottom line

Log every part when you order it, record every warranty when you fit it, and return every core on a schedule. Parts paperwork is the difference between a warranty claim you win in five minutes and a fight you lose in an hour, and between surcharges recovered and surcharges donated.