Track Vehicle Damage from Report to Insurance Settlement

Vehicle damage is unavoidable in rental operations, but losing track of it is not. The Damages module lets you record and track vehicle damage from inspections and returns, following each case from the first report through repair, cost, insurance, and settlement.

What this feature is

Damages is a dedicated record-keeping area inside the VEVS Car Rental Software admin area. Instead of noting a scratch on a paper form or in an email thread, you create a structured record that stays attached to the vehicle and, where relevant, to the reservation that caused it. Each record holds the repair status, the incident details, the exact damage location, supporting photos and videos, the repair cost breakdown, how the cost is shared between the parties, and the progress of any insurance claim.

Where to access it

Open Fleet Operations → Damages. The page shows a searchable list of damage records. Click Add Damage to create a new record, or click a row to edit an existing one. Records created here also appear in the vehicle's own Damages tab and contribute to its open-damage count, so the fleet view and the damage list stay aligned.

Capturing the damage details

The Details card captures the basics of a record:

• Repair Status — Reported, Under review, Sent for repair, Repaired, or Closed.
• Vehicle — the vehicle the damage belongs to.
• Odometer reading — the mileage at the time the damage was recorded.
• Damage category — the type of damage, for example a scratch, dent, or tyre issue.
• Severity level — Minor, Moderate, or Severe.

These five fields are the backbone of the record: the status shows where the case stands, category and severity support filtering, and the odometer reading ties the damage to a point in the vehicle's life.

Incident details

The incident section records what happened and who was involved. Driver identifies who was driving when the incident occurred, and Incident Date captures the date and time. Description of incident is a free-text account, so staff can write the facts in their own words rather than forcing them into categories.

A Police report switch reveals Report date and Report number when turned on. Those fields appear only when relevant, which keeps the form short for the majority of minor cases while still allowing a formal record where a report exists.

Linking a damage to its reservation

You can link a damage record to the reservation it came from using Find Reservation, which searches by reservation ID, customer name, email, or phone. Once linked, the customer's name, email, and phone are displayed, along with any other damages already recorded for the same reservation. From there you can Open reservation to jump to the booking or Remove reservation if the link was made in error.

Linking turns a damage note into a customer-facing case: it tells you who to contact, which rental agreement applies, and whether the same booking has produced other records. It also unlocks the option to pull inspection media from the reservation.

Documenting the damage

The Damage Details section is where the evidence lives:

A detailed Description field sits alongside the diagram and media, so the record can combine a precise location, a written account, and visual evidence. That combination is what makes a damage record defensible if a customer later disputes responsibility.

Repair cost and settlement

The Repair Cost section breaks the cost into Repair, Parts & Materials, Towing, Cleaning, and Administration. Each of these fields is required, and the Total Amount is calculated automatically from the values you enter.

The Settlement section records how that total is shared between the parties responsible: the Customer charge, the amount covered by the Insurance company, and the amount covered by a Third party. You can copy in the insurer's Approved Amount where applicable. The Rental company share is calculated automatically as the Total Amount minus the amounts paid by the customer, insurance company, and third party, which makes it immediately clear what your business is absorbing.

The Insurance section tracks the claim with Insurance company, Claim ID, Claim status (Submitted, Rejected, Approved, Paid, or Closed), Approved Amount, and Paid date. Keeping the claim status current turns the damage list into a reliable picture of outstanding money.

How to record a damage

1. Open Fleet Operations → Damages and click Add Damage.
2. Choose the Vehicle, then set the Repair Status, Damage category, and Severity level.
3. Add the incident details and, if a police report exists, switch on Police report and fill in the date and number.
4. Link the reservation where the damage occurred, if there is one.
5. Mark the location on the Interactive Vehicle Diagram and attach photos or videos.
6. Enter the Repair Cost breakdown, then the Settlement and Insurance details as needed.
7. Click Save.

Finding and filtering records

Above the list, dropdown filters narrow the view by category, status, severity, and vehicle, and the search box finds records by Reservation ID. This answers practical questions quickly: which severe damages are still open, what is waiting on an insurer, or what happened to a particular vehicle.

Business benefits

A single record replaces scattered notes with one place where the incident, evidence, cost, and recovery are held together. That shortens the gap between noticing a problem and charging for it, and gives whoever handles the customer conversation the full picture. The automatic rental company share shows the real cost to the business, not only what is recovered.

Changes to an existing record are recorded and can be reviewed under History, creating an audit trail that matters when a figure is questioned by an insurer or internally. Internal Notes give the team somewhere to record context that should not appear in customer-facing material.

Practical use cases

Setup and permissions

Before the module is usable, enable it under Configurator → Business Modules; until then the menu item is hidden. Editing is only available to users with permission to manage damages — everyone else sees the page read-only, which is a sensible default for staff who need visibility but should not change cost or settlement figures.

Because each repair cost field is required, agree internally how you treat a line that does not apply to a case; consistency keeps totals comparable and reporting meaningful.

Best practices

• Record the damage as soon as it is found, while the odometer reading and circumstances are still fresh.
• Click the exact spot on the diagram rather than describing a location loosely.
• Link the reservation so the customer and any other damages from the same booking stay together.
• Upload media at inspection, or load it from the reservation, before cleaning or repair.
• Move the Repair Status forward as work progresses.
• Keep the claim status and paid date current so outstanding insurance money is visible.

Conclusion

The Damages module gives every vehicle incident a proper home: a status, a location, evidence, a cost, and a settlement trail. For rental owners and managers, that means fewer forgotten charges and clearer conversations with customers and insurers.