Number Plate and Document Capture at Service Centres
Read number plates at the workshop gate, pull up the appointment and history from the DMS, and capture walk-around, dashboard and document photos into a pre-filled job card.
- Industry:
- Automotive & Mobility
Who it is for
- Workshop or Service Manager
- Service Advisor
- Dealer Principal
- OEM After-Sales Network Head
The problem
Most dealer workshops see a rush at the reception bay in the morning, when service advisors type registration numbers, look up appointments, note odometer and fuel and walk around each car with a paper checklist. Errors and shortcuts at this step follow the vehicle through the whole visit.
Typing errors at reception
A mistyped registration number pulls the wrong history or creates a duplicate vehicle record in the DMS.
Morning queues
Customers wait while advisors key in details that could have been read from the car itself.
Pre-existing damage disputes
Without dated photos, a scratch noticed at delivery becomes an argument about whether the workshop caused it.
No reliable turnaround data
Gate-in and gate-out times are entered by hand, so workshop turnaround and bay utilisation reports cannot be trusted.
What we build
We build a reception capture system for the workshop. An ANPR camera at the gate reads the number plate, including high-security registration plates and BH-series plates, and looks up the vehicle and any appointment in the DMS. At the reception bay, a tablet app guides the advisor through walk-around photos, a dashboard photo from which odometer, fuel level and warning lamps are read, and photos of the RC, insurance and PUC where needed. Damage marks and readings pre-fill the job card for the advisor to confirm. The customer receives the photos on WhatsApp, and a gate-out read closes the visit timestamp.
- Reads Indian number plates, including high-security registration, BH-series and two-wheeler plates
- Matches plates to appointments and vehicle history in the DMS
- Reads odometer, fuel level indicator and warning lamps from a dashboard photo
- Guided walk-around photos with damage marks stored on the job card
- Captures RC, insurance and PUC images into the vehicle file
- Gate-in and gate-out timestamps for turnaround and bay utilisation reports
How it works
- 01Read the plate at the gateAn ANPR camera reads the plate as the vehicle enters and records the gate-in time.
- 02Match in the DMSThe plate is matched to the vehicle record and today's appointment; unmatched or uncertain reads go to the advisor.
- 03Walk-around and dashboard captureThe advisor follows the tablet guide for walk-around, dashboard and document photos.
- 04Confirm the job cardOdometer, fuel, warning lamps, damage marks and customer concerns pre-fill the job card, and the advisor confirms each field.
- 05Share with the customerThe customer receives the walk-around photos and job card summary on WhatsApp.
- 06Close at gate-outA second plate read at exit closes the visit and feeds turnaround reports.
Architecture
- Edge capture
- ANPR camera at the gate
- Reception tablet app
- Edge box for plate reading
- Vision
- Plate detector and reader
- Dashboard cluster reader
- Walk-around damage marker
- Workshop systems
- DMS vehicle and appointment API
- Advisor job card review
- Document store
- Customer and reporting
- WhatsApp notifications
- Turnaround and bay utilisation dashboards
- Photo archive with retention rules
Inputs and outputs
Inputs
- Gate camera stream
- Reception tablet photos of exterior, dashboard and documents
- DMS vehicle master and appointment list
- Customer concerns captured by the advisor
- RC, insurance and PUC images where required
Outputs
- Plate reads with gate-in and gate-out times
- Pre-filled job cards
- Dated walk-around photo record per visit
- Turnaround and bay utilisation reports
- Customer acknowledgement of reception photos
Where people stay in control
The service advisor confirms the vehicle match and every pre-filled job card field before work starts. Damage marks are agreed with the customer at reception, so the photo record reflects both sides' view.
Integrations
- Dealer management system, OEM-supplied or third-party
- ANPR camera and gate hardware
- WhatsApp Business API
- OEM after-sales reporting portal
- SMS gateway
Guardrails
- Low-confidence plate reads always go to the advisor
- Gate cameras framed on plates, not faces, with footage retained only as your policy sets
- Plate reads used only for the service visit and reporting
- Customers can see every reception photo
- Advisor edits to pre-filled fields are logged
Compliance notes
- Gate signage and the job card notice explain what is captured and why, in line with notice and purpose limitation under the DPDP Act 2023.
A typical pilot
Duration: 3 weeks
One workshop's gate and reception bay, covering all service visits during the pilot, with the advisor confirming every read.
Deliverables
- 01Camera placement and reception flow design
- 02ANPR and tablet capture live at the pilot workshop
- 03DMS lookup and job card pre-fill
- 04Accuracy and turnaround report
- 05Plan for other workshops in the group
What we measure
- Plate read accuracy
- Reads compared with advisor-confirmed registration numbers, split by day, night and plate type.
- Reception time per vehicle
- Time from gate-in to job card creation, before and during the pilot.
- Walk-around completeness
- Share of visits with the full set of reception photos.
- Damage disputes
- Count of delivery-time damage disputes logged during the pilot period.
FAQs
01What about dirty, damaged or non-standard plates?
Reads below the confidence threshold go to the advisor for confirmation, and the report shows accuracy by plate condition. Non-standard fonts and decorative plates are common, so we tune on footage from your gate.
02Can we use our existing CCTV?
Sometimes. Plate reading needs a camera angled at plate height with suitable shutter speed and lighting, so we check your current cameras and recommend a dedicated ANPR unit where needed.
03Does it work for two-wheeler workshops?
Yes. Two-wheeler plates are smaller and mounted at varied heights, so gate design matters more, and we plan camera placement accordingly.
04Which DMS do you integrate with?
We work with the DMS your OEM or dealer group uses, through its APIs where available or a staging integration otherwise. The DMS remains the system of record.
Related use cases
- Automotive & Mobility
RC, Insurance and PUC Document Extraction
Extract and cross-check registration, chassis, owner, hypothecation and validity details from RC, insurance, PUC and fitness documents for used-car, fleet and onboarding teams.
- Automotive & Mobility
Used Car Inspection and Damage Detection
Guided photo capture and damage detection for used-car evaluations, with panel-wise damage maps, odometer and chassis checks and draft refurbishment items for evaluators to confirm.
- Automotive & Mobility
Service Booking and Reminder Voice Agent
A voice agent that calls customers when service is due, books workshop slots in the DMS, answers inbound booking calls and runs post-service follow-ups in Hindi, English and regional languages.
- Automotive & Mobility
Warranty Claim Document Processing
Pre-check dealer warranty claims before OEM submission: extract job card, VIN, odometer, labour and parts data, test it against policy and flag gaps for the warranty desk.
Founded by Akhilesh Mittal. 8 years building a security platform for a New Zealand company. IIT ISM Dhanbad and IMT Ghaziabad. Builds production agentic AI.
Pick one showroom, workshop or claim queue to start
Book a discovery call and we will scope a short pilot on your own photos, documents or call recordings, with the measures agreed up front.