Guides
The mobile detailing SOP checklist: opening, running, closing
A daily SOP checklist for a detailing van: van open, per-job and van close routines, written so a second technician can run the whole day without asking.
What to take away
- An SOP is not a description of good practice. It is the list a tired person follows at the end of a long day.
- Three routines cover almost everythingvan open, per-job, and van close.
- Write each line as an action with an object. Check equipment is not an instruction; drain and rinse the extractor tank is.
- The close routine is the one that gets skipped and the one that prevents tomorrow's failure.
- Keep the checklist in the van, physically or on the phone, and initial it. A checklist nobody signs is a poster.
Routine 1: Van open, before the first drive
- Confirm today's route, access notes and gate codes are loaded and readable.
- Check water tank level against planned jobs and known use per vehicle.
- Check fuel or battery state against the day's expected draw.
- Confirm containment equipment is present, dry and undamaged.
- Check chemical stock against the day's services, including dilutions already made up.
- Confirm all containers are labeled, including secondary bottles.
- Count clean towels and applicators against the day's jobs, with a margin.
- Check the spares boxfuses, fitting, washer, trigger, one pad of each type in use.
- Confirm safety itemsgloves, eye protection, first aid kit, extinguisher, cones.
- Check that heavy equipment is secured for driving.
- Confirm inspection light and camera or phone are charged.
Nine and ten are the two that matter after a rushed close the night before.
Van open checks
- Route and gate codes loaded
- Water tank level checked
- Fuel or battery state checked
- Containment equipment present and dry
- Chemical stock and labels checked
- Towels and spares counted
- Safety items and heavy equipment secured
Routine 2: Per job, in order
On arrival
Per job, in order
- Park where the van does not block the customer or a neighbor, and where hoses will not cross a public path.
- Greet the customer and confirm the booked scope aloud.
- Walk the vehicle and photograph existing damage, all sides, wheels, interior, before touching anything.
- Confirm the condition tier against the booking. If it differs, apply the written rule before starting, not after.
- Confirm site conditionsspace, shade, water and power if you are using theirs.
- Lay containment before any water is used.
During the work
- Follow the written running order for the packageinterior dry work, wheels and tires, wash, decontamination, correction, protection. Do not improvise the order.
- Keep wheel tools separate from paint tools at all times.
- Change wash media and water when they are dirty, not when the stage ends.
- Keep chemicals off hot panels and out of direct sun.
- Record any defect found that the customer should know about.
Before handover
Per job, in order
- Inspect under your own light, from more than one angle, before calling the job finished.
- Recover contained water and account for it. Nothing goes to a storm drain.
- Reload and secure the van before the walk-around, so nothing is left behind.
- Walk the vehicle with the customer. Point out what was done and what was not, including anything on the exclusion list.
- Record completionstage times, materials used, anything found, anything agreed.
- Take payment or confirm the invoice arrangement in words the customer repeats back.
Step thirteen is compliance, not housekeeping. Wash water carries hydrocarbons, brake dust, and metals. The EPA's fact sheet on best practices for vehicle maintenance and washing treats it as a pollutant source.
Reducing the volume produced is the cheapest way to manage it. The EPA's WaterSense breakdown by wash stage shows where that volume goes.
Routine 3: Van close, at the end of the day
- Drain and rinse the extractor tank. Leaving it is how a van starts smelling.
- Rinse and hang wash media and towels; bag anything for laundering.
- Clean and dry brushes and applicators, and separate wheel tools from paint tools.
- Wipe down and inspect pads; discard anything contaminated.
- Flush lines and drain what should not freeze or sit.
- Refill water if the morning route depends on it.
- Refuel or put batteries on charge.
- Restock chemicals, towels and consumables to the reorder point.
- Replace anything used from the spares box, today.
- Clean and dry containment equipment and check it for damage.
- Enter today's job records: times, materials, findings, payments.
- Read tomorrow's route and note anything needing preparation.
- Secure the van and its contents.
Nine and eleven are the two most often skipped. Nine costs you a day when the spare is not there; eleven costs you a price list that slowly stops matching reality.
Van close tasks
- Drain and rinse extractor tank
- Rinse and hang wash media
- Clean and dry brushes and applicators
- Flush lines and drain
- Refill water and charge batteries
- Restock chemicals and spares
- Enter job records and read tomorrow's route
Weekly additions
- Deeper clean of the extractor and vacuum, including filters.
- Inspect cords, plugs, hoses and fittings for wear rather than for dirt.
- Service checks on the generator or battery bank per the manufacturer's interval.
- Reconcile chemical usage against jobs done, which is your materials cost per job.
- Review overruns and late finishes, which feeds the buffer sizing in the scheduling method.
- Check the vehicletires, fluids, lights, and the load restraints.
Making the checklist stick
Three things separate a used checklist from a decorative one.
It is short enough to finish. If a routine cannot be completed in the time available, it will be abandoned entirely rather than partially.
It is signed. Initials and a date, per routine. Not to police anyone, but because the record is what tells you which step failed when something goes wrong.
It is revised by the people who use it. Every line was added because something went wrong. When a technician finds a line that no longer makes sense, change it rather than letting them ignore it, which is part of the induction described in how to hire reliable staff.
Keep the completed records where you can find them. Job times and materials are operational data, and the financial half of the same discipline is what the IRS describes as a system that clearly shows income and expenses.
Where these routines come from
The per-job order follows the handoff map in the operations and workflow guide, and the open and close routines follow directly from how the van is built and loaded, which is covered in the equipment and setup guide.
Common questions
Paper or an app?
Whichever gets completed. Paper survives a dead battery; an app is easier to review. Many operations run paper in the van and enter records at close.
Who writes the SOP?
The owner drafts it, the technicians correct it after a fortnight of use, and the corrected version becomes the standard. A checklist written entirely from an office collects steps nobody performs.
How often should it change?
Whenever something goes wrong that a line would have prevented. Otherwise, review it once a season.
Is a checklist necessary for a solo operator?
More so, arguably. A solo operator has nobody to notice the missed step, and the close routine is exactly what a tired person skips.
