Most arguments a repair shop has with a customer were decided at the counter, days before anyone raised their voice. The crack that "wasn't there when I dropped it off." The phone that "worked fine" but arrived dead. The charger that went home in the customer's bag and is now somehow your fault.

A check-in form does not prevent any of these. It ends them in thirty seconds, because the answer is written down and the customer's name is under it.

Below is a free device intake checklist you can copy, print and use tomorrow. After it, the reasoning behind each line, so you can cut the ones your shop does not need.

The Free Device Check-In Form

Copy this into a document, put your shop name at the top and print a stack. It fits on one page.

DEVICE CHECK-IN FORM                         Ticket #: ________

CUSTOMER
Name: ______________________________  Phone: ___________________
Email: _____________________________  Best way to reach you:
                                      [ ] Call  [ ] Text  [ ] Email

DEVICE
Type: [ ] Phone  [ ] Tablet  [ ] Laptop  [ ] Desktop  [ ] Console  [ ] Other
Make / model: ___________________________________________________
Serial / IMEI: __________________________________________________
Left with us: [ ] Charger  [ ] Case  [ ] Cable  [ ] SIM  [ ] Other: ______

PASSCODE (staff only)
Passcode / PIN / pattern: _________________  [ ] Customer declined

CONDITION AT DROP-OFF                       Yes   No   Not checked
Powers on                                   [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Screen cracked                              [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Water damage                                [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Missing parts (screws, buttons, covers)     [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
Other marks, dents, scratches: __________________________________

PROBLEM, IN THE CUSTOMER'S WORDS
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Started when? ____________  All the time / comes and goes? ______
Anyone else worked on it?  [ ] No  [ ] Yes: ______________________

EXPECTATIONS
Diagnosis by: ____________   Estimated range: $______ to $______
We will contact you for approval before any work over $______

I confirm the condition above is accurate. I understand data loss is
possible during repair and that unclaimed devices are handled per
the shop's posted policy.

Customer signature: _______________________   Date: ____________
Checked in by: ____________

That is the whole form. The rest of this post is why it looks the way it does.

Why "Not Checked" Is on the Form

The condition section has three boxes per row, not one, and that is the most important design choice on the page.

A single checkbox next to "Powers on" cannot tell two very different situations apart: the device was tested and does not power on, or nobody tested it. Both leave the box empty. Six weeks later, when the customer says it worked when they dropped it off, an empty box proves nothing in either direction.

Yes, No and Not checked turn every row into a statement someone made on purpose. If your counter person was slammed and skipped a check, the form says so honestly, which is still far better than a blank that reads like a "no."

The Four Checks That Settle Most Disputes

You could list twenty condition items. Nobody fills in twenty at a busy counter. These four cover the large majority of "you broke it" conversations:

Powers on. The single most argued fact in repair. Test it in front of the customer if you can.
Screen cracked. Look at it under light, at an angle. Hairline cracks are the ones customers "didn't notice."
Water damage. Check the liquid indicator on phones that have one. Water damage changes the price, the warranty and the odds of success, so it belongs on the record before you quote anything.
Missing parts. Screws, buttons, back covers, keyboard keys. A laptop that arrives with two screws missing should not leave with a complaint about the screws you lost.

Everything else (scratches, dents, worn ports) goes in the free-text line. Write it down even when it seems obvious. Obvious to you at the counter is not obvious to the customer at pickup.

Passcodes: Ask, Record, Protect

You often cannot test a repair without getting into the device. A screen replacement needs a touch test, a battery needs a health readout, a data job needs the account. So ask for the passcode, and always give the customer the option to decline. Some will, and that is their call. Note it and tell them testing will be limited.

If you record a passcode, treat it like a key to their house:

Staff only. It belongs on your copy of the work order, never on the customer's receipt, a status update or a text message.
Not on display. A passcode written on a sticky note on the device is visible to every customer standing at your counter.
Gone when the job is done. Shred the paper copy, or clear the field, once the device is picked up.

Pattern locks are the awkward one. Draw them as a numbered 3x3 grid (1 to 9, left to right, top to bottom) and write the sequence, such as 1-4-7-8-9.

The Problem, in Their Words

"Screen issue" is useless to the tech who picks up the job tomorrow. "Screen goes black about ten minutes after unlocking, comes back if I lock and unlock" is half a diagnosis.

Write what the customer says, as close to verbatim as you can, and ask the three follow-ups on the form: when it started, whether it is constant or intermittent, and whether anyone else has opened it. A device that has already been opened by someone else is a different job, and you want to know that before you quote. If you want a deeper script for this part of the counter conversation, our step-by-step repair shop intake process covers it.

Expectations and the Signature Line

The bottom of the form is where you stop collecting information and start setting expectations. A diagnosis date, a price range, and an approval threshold ("we will call you before anything over $50") prevent the second most common argument after damage: the bill that was higher than they expected.

Then the signature. The customer is signing that the condition section is accurate, which is the line you will point at if the crack comes up again. Keep the terms short and plain. A customer will sign three sentences; they will not read a page of small print, and a page of small print they did not read is a weaker record than three sentences they did.

If you have not written your drop-off policies yet, the repair shop warranty policy and unclaimed devices posts have wording you can borrow.

Paper Forms vs. Digital Check-In

The paper form above works, and plenty of good shops run on it. Its weaknesses show up later, not at the counter:

You cannot search a filing cabinet for "the iPad from the woman in August."
The passcode sits on a sheet of paper in a tray anyone can reach.
The tech on the bench reads someone else's handwriting.
Nothing about the form tells the customer their device is ready.

Digital check-in keeps the same questions and fixes those. In techsbox, the check-in screen has an optional device passcode field and the same four condition checks (Powers on, Screen cracked, Water damage, Missing parts), each answered Yes, No, or left unanswered, plus a notes box. The passcode is masked on screen until someone presses Show, and it is printed on the shop's work order alongside the condition and the problem reported, with a customer signature line at the bottom. Every field is optional, so a quick drop-off is not slowed down by a checklist nobody asked for.

The job then lives in one place: searchable by customer, tracked through each status on the bench, and visible to the customer through an online status lookup. You can see what is included on each plan.

Make the Form Yours

Start with the template above and change it after one week of real use. Cross out any line your counter staff skip every time, and add the check you wish you had made on the job that went wrong. A short form that gets filled in every time beats a thorough one that gets filled in when someone remembers.

The goal is not paperwork. It is that when a customer says "that wasn't there before," you can turn the form around, point at their signature, and move on to fixing their device.

Device Intake Checklist for Repair Shops (Free Check-In Form)