Why “approved” needs proof before dispatch
Local-service teams lose money and trust when a casual “sounds good” becomes an unsupported work order. The approval may be missing a price cap, signed estimate, deposit, access permission, warranty exception, safety note, or customer contact method. This card turns authorization into a verifiable handoff.
STOP AUTOMATION: do not mark a job authorized, schedule a crew, order parts, charge a card, promise warranty coverage, waive fees, or tell a customer work will begin from AI output alone. An owner, dispatcher, estimator, or office lead must verify the approval source, scope, price, payment/deposit status, access permission, and customer consent. Use NEEDS OWNER REVIEW for discounts, refunds, financing, warranty, legal, safety, or unusually large-scope decisions.
Authorization-to-proceed card
| Field | What to capture | Human review rule |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and job | Name, contact, job address, service type, estimate/invoice number, project owner, requested start window. | Match the CRM/job file before replying or dispatching. |
| Approval proof | Signed estimate, email/text approval, portal acceptance, recorded call note, purchase order, deposit receipt, or manager note. | Save the source link/screenshot/thread; do not rely on a summarized conversation. |
| Scope and exclusions | Approved work, excluded work, optional add-ons, change-order trigger, warranty/diagnosis limits. | Customer-facing wording must match the actual estimate or approved change. |
| Price/payment guardrail | Approved amount/range, deposit status, balance due, payment method, financing handoff, tax/fee notes if verified. | Owner/bookkeeper review for discounts, refunds, financing, card charges, or collections wording. |
| Access and scheduling | Preferred windows, site access, pets/tenant/HOA notes, safety hazards, parts/equipment readiness. | Dispatcher confirms live capacity before promising arrival windows. |
| CRM closeout | Authorization label, owner, due time, next customer update, crew handoff note, proof link, and stop rules. | No authorized job should sit without a next owner and due time. |
Copy/paste customer and internal notes
Thanks [Name] — we received authorization to proceed for [approved scope]. I am verifying the job file, payment/deposit status, and schedule before confirming the next step. I will update you by [time].Authorization confirmed: [proof source/link], approved scope [scope], price/payment status [verified], access notes [notes], schedule status [pending/confirmed]. Owner: [person]. Do not expand scope or promise arrival window without dispatcher/estimator approval.If anything changes before we start — scope, access, parts, pricing, or schedule — we will confirm it with you before proceeding. We do not want to rely on assumptions or incomplete approval notes.AI authorization review prompt
Act as a cautious local-service work-order authorization reviewer. Use only the verified facts below. Do not invent approval status, customer consent, price, deposit, warranty, scope, access permission, schedule, diagnosis, part availability, discount, refund, financing, or legal terms. Return: 1) missing authorization fields, 2) risky promises in the draft reply, 3) customer-safe confirmation wording, 4) dispatcher/owner questions, and 5) a STOP AUTOMATION decision if the job is not ready to mark authorized.
Verified facts:
- Customer/job:
- Approval proof source:
- Approved scope/exclusions:
- Price/payment/deposit status:
- Access/safety/scheduling constraints:
- Owner/dispatcher:
- Next update due:
- Stop rules:Fast QA before marking the job authorized
- Confirm the approval proof is saved where the next person can find it.
- Match approved scope, exclusions, price, and payment status against the estimate or work order.
- Keep schedule language separate from authorization language until live dispatch capacity is confirmed.
- Route warranty, refund, financing, card-charge, legal, or unusually large-scope decisions to the owner/bookkeeper/manager.
- Add owner, due time, proof link, and next customer update in the CRM.
Related free assets: Estimate Approval Follow-Up Templates, Estimator-to-Scheduler Handoff Checklist, and Deposit Payment Confirmation Checklist.
Disclosure: Horizon Flow is Andrew Burton's digital product catalog. This worksheet is useful without purchase; product links are labeled and UTM-tagged.