Email & SMS approvals
Send the estimate. They tap approve. No callback loop.
Pro is text or email to approve with e-sign — not a two-way SMS inbox. Elite adds two-way texting + message templates when you want the conversation.
Text or email to approve · Pro
Estimate
CR-V
$487
Labor + parts collapsed
Illustrative story chrome — CR-V and $487 are not live shop metrics.
You already wrote the estimate. The bay is waiting. What you should not have to do next is print a stack, leave a voicemail, and spend twenty minutes walking line items while the car sits. Email & SMS approvals on Pro send the same estimate to their phone. They review it. They tap Approve or Sign & approve. The callback loop is the thing this page kills.
This is not a two-way SMS inbox. Pro already monetizes the estimate→approve chain with a link and e-sign. When the shop wants a conversation thread, that is Elite — and we will say so, plainly, instead of pretending the inbox ships on every plan.
Delight
The link that closes, not the inbox that chats
Most shops still close work the slow way: a text of the total, then a phone tag while the customer asks what is on the ticket. Paper on the counter. “Call me back when you’ve decided.” The estimate is done. The yes is not. The bay waits.
ShopRally puts the closer on Pro. You share the estimate from the repair order by text or email. They open a review surface on their phone — the same work, the same total — and they tap Approve or Sign & approve. E-sign is included. You do not buy Elite to collect a signature. You do not download an app on their side. You do not open a chat composer to get the yes.
That honesty is the product. Prospects comparing ShopRally to a “texting CRM” should leave this page knowing exactly what ships on Pro: an approval link with e-sign. Real threads, templates, and an inbox tied to the RO live on Elite. After-hours SMS coverage is Ultra, and it is not required to send an approve link. We will not upsell the closer they already paid for.
If you have ever held a car in Estimates because the customer did not pick up, this page is for you. If you have ever rewritten the same total into a personal text and still ended up on a callback, this page is for you. Approvals is the Pro revenue closer. Two-way SMS is the Elite conversation upgrade — when conversation is the job.
Channel gate
Pro sends a link, Elite converses
Both Delight pages show the same packaging gate. This page emphasizes the Pro path. Two-way SMS inverts the emphasis. Neither page pretends the other product is included.
Customer phone · Pro approve link
Your CR-V estimate is ready — $487.
No reply field. No template picker.
Advisor RO panel
CR-V · $487
- Texted approval link
- E-signed 2:14p
No unread-thread count. No inbox list.
| Pro (this page) | Elite (see Two-way SMS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer gets | Text or email approval link + e-sign | Same approve path plus a real SMS thread |
| Advisor uses | Share from the RO · watch status | SMS inbox + message templates |
Left — Customer phone (Pro · Approve link). They get a text or an email: the CR-V estimate is ready, $487. Tapping opens the estimate review — not a messaging thread. Two actions sit on the card: Approve, and Sign & approve. There is no reply field, no template picker, no “type a message.” They decide on the estimate. You do not need to chat to get the yes.
Right — Advisor RO panel. The counter stays on the repair order they already wrote. Header: customer, CR-V, estimate total $487. Status chip starts as Shared — awaiting approve and flips to Approved or Signed when they tap. An action log can show illustrative labels such as “Texted approval link” or “E-signed 2:14p” — timestamps for the story, not fake metrics. There is no unread-thread count and no inbox list on this page. Approval writes back to the same record.
If the job is “get the yes,” Pro is enough. If the job is “answer why the rotors are on the ticket without a callback,” that is Elite — and that story lives on Two-way SMS. We keep the gate visible so packaging stays trustworthy.
On their phone
Share, review, tap yes
This is the customer-first walk. Numbered on their device — not as a generic three-step block. The chrome you saw in the hero is the same surface, expanded.
1
Share the estimate
2
Open on the phone
3
Review the work
4
Approve or Sign & approve
5
Done on their side
6
Shop closes the loop
1. Share the estimate. The advisor texts or emails the approval link from the RO they are already on. Pro does not open a two-way inbox when you share. One link. Same estimate they would see on paper — without the stack on the counter.
2. Open on the phone. They tap the message. What opens is the digital estimate / approve surface, not an app download and not a login wall. If you want the paperless estimate story in full, that lives on Digital estimates. This page’s job is the tap that follows.
3. Review the work. They see the total, the labor and parts lines, and — if the shop shared inspection evidence first — the photos and findings that support the ticket. They see what they are saying yes to before they tap. That is the whole point of sending the estimate instead of a dollar amount in a personal text.
4. Approve or Sign & approve. Two clear actions from live chrome. Approve confirms the work and the total. Sign & approve adds e-sign on Pro so the shop has a signed yes on the same RO. Still not a chat thread. We will not invent disclosure copy, resend timers, expiration settings, or an Approve-versus-Sign toggle until product-legal confirms them. Until then, the buttons you ship are the buttons we show: they sign on their phone.
5. Done on their side. The phone moves to a confirmation state — Approved, or signed. They are not required to text back “ok do it.” The yes is the tap.
6. The shop closes the loop. Approved work can move to WIP so the board matches what the customer just said yes to. The advisor may drag the card. The happy path is that approved work belongs in WIP. We do not claim a forced auto-drag or an automation that files the RO for you. Card = RO, same job board the floor already uses.
Looking for back-and-forth texting? That is Elite two-way SMS — see Two-way SMS. Approvals on Pro already close the sale with a tap.
After the tap
What the counter sees after yes
The advisor never leaves the repair order to collect an approval. Share lives on the RO / estimate workspace: a “Share approval” control, channel picker = text or email. That is the Pro framing. After share, status is waiting for the customer, then Approved, or Signed.
When they sign, the floor can move. The board can match the yes. Approved work can sit in WIP next to the cars that are actually in a bay — not in a phantom Estimates column because nobody called them back. You still own the drag. ShopRally does not pretend the card jumps columns without you.
E-sign is captured on their phone as Sign & approve. We describe it as signed on their phone, not as a third-party brand, and we do not mock a legal-settings drawer we have not confirmed.
What this page will not mock: an SMS inbox, a template library, an after-hours assistant, or Stripe text-to-pay. Those stories belong on Two-way SMS and on Payments. Approvals stays on the closer.
- Text the link from the RO you’re already on.
- When they sign, the floor can move — board matches the yes.
- Need to answer “why is it $487?” in a thread? That’s Elite — upgrade when conversation is the job.
RO workspace
Share approval · text or email
Board peek
Work in progress
1#1047
ApprovedCR-V
The CR-V can sit in WIP after the yes. You still own the drag.
Evidence first
Evidence, then the tap
People say yes faster when they can see the work, not because a landing page invented a conversion rate. The Pro chain is already there: inspect, share the findings, write the estimate, send the approve link. Photos and lines support the tap. Two-way chat about those findings is optional, and it is Elite.
Digital estimates are the surface they open. Inspections are how many shops earn the yes before the total hits the phone — share the evidence, then send the link. Inspection share and approve are both Pro. Talking through a finding in a thread is Elite. We will not pretend you need Elite to show them the work.
This is not a promise that evidence auto-approves the ticket. It is the honest sequence the floor already runs, now without a printout and a callback. Pair this page with digital estimates for the paperless ticket; keep inspections as a quieter tertiary so the redesign does not grow a third related card.
- 1Inspection share (optional)
- 2Digital estimate on phone
- 3Approve / Sign & approve
Pro already monetizes evidence → approve. Elite chat is optional.
Honest packaging
What this is / isn’t, by plan
Approvals-scoped ladder only. No fake “% faster approvals” row. Ultra after-hours is listed so nobody thinks they must buy nights to send a link — and so nobody thinks after-hours is a phone product.
| Capability | Pro | Elite | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text or email approval link | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customer e-sign (Sign & approve) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Approve status writes back to RO / can move to WIP | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Two-way SMS inbox + message templates | — | Yes | Yes |
| After-hours SMS assistant | — | — | Yes (SMS only; not required for approvals) |
| AI review reply drafts | — | — | Yes (Reviews product — not an approvals feature) |
Pro. Close the estimate on their phone. Text or email the link. They approve or they sign. Status writes back to the RO. Approved work can move to WIP. This is enough for many shops. Reviews inbox is also on Pro — that is a different product, and we will not mix review replies into estimate approve.
Elite. Add conversation when the counter needs threads and templates. The approve path does not go away. Elite wraps a two-way SMS inbox around the same customer and RO. See Two-way SMS.
Ultra. After-hours SMS assistant covers nights — still SMS, never a voice line — and it is orthogonal to daytime approve links. Customers can open an approval link whenever they get it. You do not need Ultra, and you do not need “Elite plus Ultra,” to collect a yes at 9 p.m. AI review reply drafts (you publish) are a Reviews feature. They do not draft estimate approvals.
Packaging
Questions about this feature
Is this two-way SMS?
Do customers need an app?
What’s the difference between Approve and Sign & approve?
Can I still talk to the customer if they have questions?
Does Pro include Reviews inbox too?
Is Ultra required to get after-hours approvals?
How does this connect to inspections?
Works next to
Pairs with
- On EliteTwo-way SMSReal threads when you need conversation, not only an approve link. Same gate as this page, inverted emphasis: inbox and templates are the Elite wedge.Open
- On ProDigital estimates & invoicesShare the paperless estimate they open on their phone before they tap approve. Approvals is the tap; digital estimates are the ticket they review.Open
Also: Inspections — evidence before the yes (share and approve are both Pro).
Reserve a founding seat
Founding shops get Pro, Elite, or Ultra at launch. Approvals that close on Pro ship with founding Pro — upgrade to Elite when the inbox is the job. You do not buy a higher tier to send an estimate and collect a signed yes.
Launching Q4 2026 · no card · we'll invite you at launch
Built by a shop owner · Launching Q4 2026