A full restoration often takes months, sometimes years. For a classic car shop, this means significant upfront costs for parts and labor, while the final invoice is still a long way off. If you don’t bill accurately, you’re effectively financing your customer’s project—and risking disputes when a large sum becomes due all at once at the end.
Partial and Installment Invoices: The Right Tool
The solution is to issue progress invoices in logical stages: after disassembly and inventory, after bodywork and painting, and after mechanical work and final assembly. The customer pays for each clearly defined stage, and the shop maintains its cash flow. In CATAMA, restoration projects are billed using progress invoices, which the system automatically offsets against the final invoice.
Track working hours and parts by project
The key to accurate progress payments is ongoing tracking: Which work hours were logged, which parts were installed, and which third-party services (chrome plating, upholstery, engine repair) were included? With job coding and inventory management, every expense is linked to the project—and the progress payment invoice is generated in minutes rather than reconstructed over hours.
Transparency builds trust
Classic car customers are often enthusiasts who want to know exactly what is happening with their vehicle. A transparent project history with documented work and receipts prevents misunderstandings—and also serves as the foundation for vehicle documentation that adds value and benefits the customer when the car is later sold.
Conclusion
Long-term restoration projects require phased billing and ongoing time and expense tracking. The page “Software for Classic Car Dealerships & Classic Car Workshops” shows how CATAMA Classic helps workshops with this. The workshop software comparison provides criteria for selecting the right software.
