The problem
Many bodyshop inquiries start with 'how much to fix this scuff?', and the customer has to drive in so someone can look. An estimator seeing 25 walk-in estimates a month at 20 minutes each spends over 8 hours on them, and plenty are for jobs that never come in or that could have been priced from photos.
What the AI does
Build a form on Tally's free plan with the customer's contact details, registration, a description and photo uploads (up to 10 MB a file). Tally's free plan emails each response to you and connects to Zapier. A two-step Zap adds every request as a row in a Google Sheet, so nothing gets lost in an inbox. Reply the same day with a price range for simple scuffs and dents, or an inspection slot for anything structural or for insurance work.
A worked example
A three-bay bodyshop in Sunderland gets about 25 estimate inquiries a month. They put a Tally photo form on their website and Facebook page, and Zapier logs each request in a shared Google Sheet with a column for the reply.
Before
25 walk-in estimates a month at 20 minutes each: over 8 hours
After
About 12 priced from photos at 8 minutes each and 13 still inspected: about 6 hours, with same-day replies
What it's worth
About $266£200€238A$384C$376 a month: 2.4 hours of estimating saved, worth about $112£84€100A$161C$158 at an assumed $47£35€42A$67C$66 an hour, plus 1 extra $399£300€357A$576C$564 smart repair a month won by replying the same day (an assumption), about $160£120€143A$230C$226 at an assumed 40% margin. Tally's and Zapier's free plans cover 25 requests a month.
How to set it up
- Build a Tally form: name, phone, email, registration, where the damage is, and up to 4 photo uploads with a note on which angles to take.
- Say on the form that any price is a guide and the final price follows an inspection, and ask whether the customer is claiming on insurance.
- In Zapier, connect Tally to Google Sheets so each request becomes a row, and test it with a dummy request.
- Reply to every request the same day with a price range or an inspection slot, and mark it in the sheet.
- Delete photos and details of customers who don't go ahead after a set period, and say so on the form.
What goes wrong
- Photos hide damage. Never fix a price for anything beyond a scuff or small dent without seeing the car.
- The form collects personal data. Add a short privacy note and keep requests only as long as you need them under UK GDPR.
- Zapier's free plan allows 100 tasks a month; each request uses about 1, so a busier shop may need Pro at $19.99 (about $20£15€18A$29C$28) a month billed yearly.