Bay Mode decides how much structure your work orders carry as they move through the shop. It is a single shop-wide setting with two choices, Basic and Advanced, and it shapes both the desktop work order screen and the Mobile Bay app. You set it under Settings > Work Orders (see How to Configure Work Order Settings), and it applies to every work order in your shop.

Basic mode

Basic is vehicle in, vehicle out. A work order moves through two stops, Check-In and then Check-Out, and that is the whole lifecycle. It is the lightest-touch option, meant for shops that want to log that a car came in and went back out without a lot of steps in between. On the Mobile Bay app you see just two tabs, Check-In and Check-Out. Time tracking is available if you want it.

Advanced mode

Advanced adds a full quality-control lifecycle. A work order moves through four stages, Check-In, In Progress, QC, and then Closed, and you can move it backward as well as forward. On the Mobile Bay app you get a third tab, Work, which is where checklists, photos, and time tracking live during the job. Advanced mode is for shops that want inspection checklists, a dedicated QC step, and more detailed tracking on every job.

What actually changes between the two

  • Lifecycle: Basic is Check-In then Check-Out. Advanced is Check-In, In Progress, QC, then Closed.
  • Mobile tabs: Basic shows Check-In and Check-Out. Advanced adds a Work tab in the middle.
  • Quality control: the Independent QC option, which forces the QC step to be done by someone other than the technician, only applies in Advanced mode. It is ignored in Basic.
  • Inspection checklists: Advanced mode surfaces the check-in and check-out inspection lists (the Pass, Fail, and N/A items) throughout the flow, including the Work tab on the Mobile Bay app. Basic keeps the bay screen to a simple in and out.

Which should you pick

Choose Basic if you want minimum friction and mostly need a record that a vehicle came in and left. Choose Advanced if you run inspections, want a separate QC sign-off before a job closes, or want checklists and time tracking on the bay screen. You can change the setting at any time under Settings > Work Orders, and it takes effect on your next work orders.

Cancelling, in either mode

Separately from the stages above, a work order can be cancelled when the customer calls the job off. It leaves the Job Board and your open work, does not count as completed work, and cancels any appointment booked for it. Reopening puts it back at Check-In. See How to Cancel a Work Order.

A note on advancing a work order

When a work order has inspection items at a stage, you need to mark every item Pass, Fail, or N/A before you can move it to the next stage. If a work order will not advance, check that none of its checklist items are still unmarked.

Related: How to Configure Work Order Settings, How to Use the Mobile Bay App.