Customer data in the shop: what to keep, and why
Which contact, vehicle, and consent details are worth keeping, and why a loose note is not the record.
The minimum that works
Name, phone, email if they offer it, and the vehicle with its plate. That is enough to book, to notify, and to find the history. Add an address or a second number when you need it to invoice or to reach someone.
A customer without a vehicle is a name. A vehicle without a customer is a plate you cannot call. The two should be linked on the sheet, not on separate piles.
What the data is for
For the order, the booking, the estimate, the invoice, and the inspection, MOT, or service reminder. If a detail does not serve one of those, think before you ask for it.
Consent to be contacted has to be clear. A phone number is not permission for every kind of message. A due-date reminder is one thing. A generic promotion is another.
A note is not the file
A comment on paper or in a chat disappears when the shift changes. What the next person must know — a part on order, a price accepted, a car that cannot be moved — belongs on the order.
Notes are for the shade of the fact, not the fact. «Prefers a call in the afternoon» can be a note. «The pads are ordered and due Thursday» has to be something anyone can find.
Who can see it
The shop team sees what they need to do the work. A customer on the portal sees their own car, not the rest. Do not share the board login so someone can «just look at their car». That login shows too much.
If someone asks you to delete their details or to stop writing, do it on the same path they used and stop using that contact for reminders. Keeping data for its own sake does not fill the calendar.