Vehicles — your shop's catalog of everything you've ever wrapped

Who it's for

The owner or manager keeps the vehicle catalog tidy and can delete records. Front-desk staff add vehicles when opening a new job or taking down a customer's details. Designers pull up a vehicle's dimensions to check square footage before starting artwork. Production and installation staff use the vehicle profile to confirm wheelbase, coverage area, and install hours before pulling material or scheduling time. Everyone who creates a job touches a vehicle, because every job is tied to one.

Where it fits

Vehicles are the link between customers and jobs. A customer can have many vehicles; each vehicle can have many jobs. When you open the new-job wizard, one of the three steps is picking (or creating) a vehicle. The vehicle's square-footage data flows directly into quote estimates, so getting it right here saves time later. See Jobs for the full job workflow and Customers for how vehicles appear on a customer's profile.

Overview

A vehicle in Wraptor is the physical thing you are wrapping — a cargo van, pickup truck, box truck, boat, trailer, or anything else. Each vehicle record stores the owner (customer), the year, make, model, type, color, VIN, license plate, wheelbase, wrap square footage for a full and three-quarter wrap, estimated install hours, and free-text notes.

Wraptor ships with a built-in vehicle catalog covering the most commonly wrapped makes and models — commercial vans (Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, RAM ProMaster), pickup trucks (F-150, Silverado, Sierra, RAM 1500–3500), box trucks, cars, SUVs, trailers, boats, motorcycles, RVs, and specialty vehicles. When you select a vehicle from the catalog, Wraptor automatically fills in the square footage and install-hour estimates. You can always edit those values.

A parallel template database stores verified square-footage numbers for specific year/body-style combinations. When you pick a template match, those verified numbers replace the catalog defaults.

The vehicle list at /vehicles is a cross-customer directory of every vehicle in the shop. You can also reach individual vehicles from a customer's profile page.

Vehicle list (/vehicles) The shop-wide directory. On desktop it shows a table with one row per vehicle: Vehicle (year/make/model, linked), Type, Color, Customer (linked), VIN, and Jobs (a count). A counter chip shows how many vehicles are on file. On mobile it shows tappable cards with the vehicle name, customer name, VIN (truncated), and type badge.

Search box — type to find vehicles by make, model, VIN, or customer company name. On desktop, submit the search to filter the table; on mobile, results filter as you type.
Add Vehicle button — opens the full new-vehicle form at /vehicles/new.
Row actions menu — three-dot menu on each row: Edit (goes to the vehicle profile) or Delete.

New vehicle form (/vehicles/new) The full form for adding a vehicle. Fields: Customer (required — select from your customers list or create a new one on the spot), Template Lookup (search or browse the built-in catalog), Year, Make (required), Model (required), Wheelbase, Vehicle Type (required), Color, VIN, License Plate, Full Wrap Sq Ft, 3/4 Wrap Sq Ft, Install Hours, and Notes. Saving takes you straight to the new vehicle's profile.

Vehicle profile (/vehicles/[id]) The full record for one vehicle. It shows:

Header — year, make, model as the title; customer name (linked to their profile) and vehicle type beneath.
Vehicle Details card — type, wheelbase, color, VIN (in monospace), and license plate. Beneath those is a Dimensions panel showing full wrap sq ft, 3/4 wrap sq ft, install hours, and wheelbase, with an Edit button that lets you update those four values inline without navigating away.
Jobs card — every job for this vehicle with job number, title, and current stage. Clicking a job opens it directly.

Capabilities

Adding vehicles — three ways

Full form (/vehicles/new) — every field including template lookup, customer selection, dimensions, VIN, notes.
Quick-add dialog — a compact pop-up that appears when you're inside the new-job wizard (or anywhere a vehicle is needed on the fly). It uses the same vehicle search but only asks for make, year, color, and wheelbase. Wraptor fills in square footage from its type defaults.
On a customer profile — clicking Add in the Vehicles section on a customer's profile opens the new-vehicle form with that customer pre-selected.

Template lookup — auto-filling dimensions

When adding a new vehicle, the form shows a Template Lookup panel before the make/model fields. You have two ways to use it:

Search — type a query like "F-150 2021 SuperCrew" and pick from a list of matched templates. Results show make, model, body style, year, and square footage.
Browse — drill down through four cascading dropdowns: Make → Model → Year → Body Style. As soon as you select a body style, Wraptor fills in the full and three-quarter wrap square footage and install hours from the verified template data.

Once a template matches, those numbers populate the dimension fields. You can still edit them. If your vehicle isn't in the template database, the vehicle-type dropdown on the form uses a generic default by type (for example, Cargo Van defaults to 300 sq ft full wrap).

Vehicle type and icons

Every vehicle has a Vehicle Type — a free-text label drawn from the template database (Car, SUV, Pickup Truck, Cargo Van, Box Truck, Trailer, Bus, Boat, Motorcycle, Watercraft, Golf Cart, UTV, ATV, Snowmobile, RV, or Other). Wraptor displays a matching icon next to the type on the list and form. Types come from the shop's template database; "Other" is always available.

Panel breakdown

When a template is matched during vehicle creation and it has per-panel data, a Panel Breakdown section appears. It lists each wrapped panel (hood, roof, doors, fenders, quarter panels, bumpers, rockers, tailgate, bed sides, sliding doors, rear doors) and its individual square footage. You can expand or collapse it.

Editing dimensions inline

On the vehicle profile, the Dimensions panel shows full wrap sq ft, three-quarter wrap sq ft, install hours, and wheelbase. Clicking Edit (or Set dimensions if the values are blank) puts those four fields into edit mode right on the profile page without a page navigation. Wraptor saves when you click the check mark.

Editing a vehicle's core details

The Vehicles area doesn't have a full edit form. On a vehicle's profile, the make, model, type, color, VIN, and license plate are shown as read-only details — only the Dimensions panel (above) can be edited there. The Edit item in the profile's actions menu just reopens the same profile; it doesn't open a fillable form. To change a vehicle's core details after it's been created, edit it from the job it's attached to — the job's vehicle panel lets you update those fields inline (see Jobs). If a vehicle was created with the wrong make or model entirely, you can also delete it and add it again.

Deleting a vehicle

Delete is in the three-dot actions menu on the list row or profile. Wraptor asks for confirmation, shows the vehicle name, and warns that the vehicle and all its jobs will be permanently deleted. Deletion is blocked if the vehicle has any active (not-yet-complete) jobs — you must finish or delete those first. Completed jobs are deleted along with the vehicle in a single operation. Quotes that referenced the vehicle are kept but unlinked from it.

Creating a customer on the fly

On the new-vehicle form, the customer dropdown has a + button that opens a compact new-customer dialog (company name, email, phone, address) without leaving the vehicle form. The new customer is added to the dropdown and selected automatically.

Shop-wide directory vs. customer profile

The /vehicles list shows all vehicles across all customers, useful when you remember a vehicle but not the customer (e.g., you know it's a red Sprinter and need to find who it belongs to). The customer profile shows only that customer's vehicles.

Step-by-step tasks

Add a vehicle with template lookup
1. Go to Vehicles and click Add Vehicle (or open /vehicles/new).
2. Select a Customer from the dropdown. If the customer doesn't exist yet, click the + button to create them.
3. In the Template Lookup section, type the make and model (e.g., "Ford Transit") or use Browse to drill down by Make → Model → Year → Body Style.
4. Select the matching template. The square footage and install hours fill in automatically.
5. Verify or adjust Year, Make, Model, Wheelbase, Vehicle Type, Color, VIN, and License Plate.
6. Click Create Vehicle. You land on the vehicle profile.
Add a vehicle without a template match
1. Open the new-vehicle form.
2. Skip (or ignore) the Template Lookup; enter Year, Make, Model manually.
3. Select a Vehicle Type from the dropdown. Wraptor fills in generic defaults for that type.
4. Enter Color, VIN, License Plate, and any Notes as needed.
5. Review and adjust the Full Wrap Sq Ft, 3/4 Wrap Sq Ft, and Install Hours if the defaults are wrong.
6. Click Create Vehicle.
Update a vehicle's dimensions from the profile
1. Open the vehicle profile (/vehicles/[id]).
2. In the Dimensions section under Vehicle Details, click Edit (or Set dimensions if blank).
3. Update Full Wrap Sq Ft, 3/4 Wrap Sq Ft, Install Hours, and/or Wheelbase.
4. Click the check mark to save. The panel closes in place — no page reload.
Find a vehicle
1. Open Vehicles.
2. Type into the search box — it matches make, model, VIN, or customer name.
3. On desktop, submit to filter the table; on mobile, results filter live.
4. Click the vehicle name to open the profile.
Add a vehicle quickly inside a job
1. In the new-job wizard, on the Vehicle step, click New Vehicle if the customer's vehicle isn't listed.
2. Search or type the vehicle make and model, enter year, color, and wheelbase if known.
3. Click Create Vehicle. The new vehicle is selected automatically and the wizard continues.
Delete a vehicle
1. Make sure the vehicle has no active (in-progress) jobs — complete or delete those first.
2. On the vehicle list or profile, open the three-dot menu and click Delete.
3. Confirm. The vehicle, its completed jobs, and all associated files and notes are permanently removed. Quotes that referenced it are kept but the vehicle link is cleared.

Settings & permissions

Who can see and use Vehicles

Access is controlled by the Vehicles permission ("Vehicle database"). By default it is granted to:

Manager — full access (all permissions), including delete.
Designer — has the Vehicles permission; can view, add, and edit.
Production — has the Vehicles permission; can view, add, and edit.
Installer — has the Vehicles permission; can view, add, and edit.

Owners always have full access. Custom roles can be granted or denied the Vehicles permission in Settings → Team.

The Vehicles permission is enforced everywhere: the vehicle screens redirect anyone whose role lacks it, and the underlying save/edit actions reject them too. The Vehicles link is also hidden from the menu (mobile and desktop) for roles without the permission. Since all four default roles include it, your standard team is unaffected — only a custom role with Vehicles removed will be blocked. On top of that, the plan gate applies: Free Claim shops can't reach the operational dashboard at all, so they never see Vehicles.

Plan tiers

The vehicle database is part of every paid plan (Solo, Starter, Pro, Business, Franchise). There is no limit on how many vehicles you can store. The Free Claim tier does not reach the operational dashboard at all — those shops are confined to the Marketing area — so they cannot access Vehicles.

Tips & common pitfalls

Always use template lookup for commercial vans. Cargo vans and box trucks have the biggest variance in wrap area based on wheelbase and roof height. A 130" low-roof Transit and a 148" extended high-roof Transit are very different jobs — the template lookup accounts for that; the generic type default does not.
Square footage drives quotes. The full-wrap and 3/4-wrap values on a vehicle feed directly into quote calculations. If you see quote estimates that look off, check whether the vehicle's dimensions are set correctly.
Deleting is permanent and cascades. Deleting a vehicle removes all its jobs (and everything hanging off those jobs — files, notes, time entries, invoices). Export or note anything you need before confirming.
Quotes are unlinked, not deleted. Unlike jobs, quotes that referenced a deleted vehicle are not removed — they stay on the customer's record but lose the vehicle reference. You may see old quotes with a blank vehicle field.
"Other" as a vehicle type. If you type a custom make/model that isn't in the catalog, the type defaults to "Other" and no square footage is pre-filled. Fill in dimensions manually so quote calculations are accurate.
Editing vs. the profile. The vehicle profile at /vehicles/[id] serves as both the detail view and the edit entry point — the actions menu takes you to the edit form (the new-vehicle form pre-filled). For dimensions only, use the inline edit on the profile instead.
VIN is optional. Wraptor stores VIN but doesn't validate the format. It's useful for cross-referencing insurance documents or identifying fleet vehicles, but there's no check that it's a real 17-character VIN.

Customers — every vehicle belongs to a customer; the customer profile lists all their vehicles.
Jobs — every job is optionally tied to a vehicle; the job wizard's vehicle step creates or selects from this catalog.
Quotes — quotes reference a vehicle and use its square footage for estimates.
Fleets — a fleet account is a customer whose vehicles are grouped and managed as a fleet; fleet job management links back to vehicle records here.
Inventory — material usage on a job is calculated against the vehicle's square footage.
Workflow map — where vehicle setup sits in the lead-to-invoice flow.