Marking damage on the diagram

Damage markers turn a vague "scratch on the door" into a precise, photographed record pinned to an exact spot on the vehicle. This is the part of an inspection that protects you when condition is questioned later — at handover, on return, or when a customer disputes a charge. This guide covers the whole job: the body diagram, dropping and editing markers, the area/severity/note/photos behind each one, where the damage categories come from, and how new damage can drive the verdict on an inbound report.

Marking damage is part of building a draft, so it is completely free. You only ever spend a credit (about £1) at the very end, when you sign off the report. Placing, editing and re-photographing markers all day costs nothing — see understanding credits if you want the full breakdown of what is paid and what is free.

#Where damage marking lives

Damage marking sits on the Inspection tab of a report, in the Body diagram section, alongside the walkaround photos. If you haven't started a report yet, see creating and completing an inspection report — you build the report first, then work through its sections.

You can come back to the diagram as many times as you like while the report is still a draft. Everything you do here saves as you go, so there's no separate "save" step to remember while marking damage.

#One thing to do first: save the report

The diagram needs the report to exist before it can attach markers to it. On a brand-new report, fill in the vehicle and basics and let it save first — then the diagram becomes interactive and tapping it works straight away.

#The vehicle diagram

In the Body diagram section you'll see a line drawing of the vehicle that matches its body type. The Body type selector lets you pick the shape that fits what you're inspecting:

• Car / SUV
• Van
• HGV / Truck
• Minibus / MPV
• Classic

The body type is filled in automatically from the vehicle's details where they're known, so the markers you place sit on a silhouette that actually resembles the vehicle. If the auto-pick is wrong, just change the Body type selector and the diagram redraws straight away. The body type is purely about which diagram you draw on — it doesn't change anything about pricing or the vehicle record.

#How the silhouette is laid out

The exterior view is an "unfolded" outline so every panel is reachable in one picture:

• Top of the diagram is the front of the vehicle (bonnet, windscreen, front bumper).
• Bottom is the rear (boot/tailgate, rear window, rear bumper).
• Left edge is the near-side (kerb side / passenger side in the UK).
• Right edge is the off-side (driver's side).
• The centre column is the top-down body — roof and glass.

There's a separate interior view for cabin damage, so seats, trim and dash marks don't get muddled with exterior panels. Switch between the two using the Exterior / Interior tabs above the diagram.

#Drop a marker

Tap the spot on the diagram where the damage is. A marker drops at that exact point and a short form opens so you can describe it.

Place one marker for each separate piece of damage rather than lumping several together. A marker per defect keeps the record clear, makes individual items easy to discuss or charge for, and means each photo set is tied to the right spot. Two scuffs on the same door are two markers, not one.

#The form pre-fills from where you tapped

To save you time, the form opens with the Zone already guessed from where on the silhouette you tapped — tap near the top and it offers "Front bumper"; tap the lower-left and it offers a near-side rear panel, and so on. It's only a best guess to get you started; you can override the Zone (and everything else) before saving.

#Describe each marker

For every marker you can record the following.

#Zone

The panel or area the damage is on — for example front/rear bumper, bonnet, roof, boot/tailgate, the four doors (front/rear, near/off-side), the four wings, the four wheels, windscreen, rear window, or the near-side and off-side mirrors. There's an Other option for anything that doesn't fit, and a dedicated set of interior zones when you're working in the interior view. The Zone is required.

#Sub-zone (optional)

If your template defines finer detail for a zone, a Sub-zone selector becomes available so you can be more specific (for example a particular corner of a bumper). It only switches on when the chosen zone actually has sub-zones set up; otherwise it stays greyed out and you can ignore it. Sub-zones come from your template's damage taxonomy (see below).

#Damage type

A required choice of what kind of damage it is. Out of the box the options are:

• Scratch
• Dent
• Scuff
• Paintwork
• Crack
• Missing part

These categories are what feed the indicative cost estimate used by the inbound verdict (covered later), so picking the right one matters beyond just description. Your template can tailor this list — see the damage taxonomy section.

#Remarks (note)

A short free-text note describing the damage, e.g. "10cm scuff, nearside rear door, through to primer". Keep it factual and specific — measurements and exact locations are what make a record hold up if it's ever queried.

#Photos — up to six per marker

Attach up to six photos of that specific damage. A close-up plus a wider shot that shows where the damage sits on the vehicle is usually the most convincing pair; add more angles or distances if the damage is significant. There's a built-in image editor so you can crop or rotate before attaching. Uploaded photos attach to the marker when you save it; on an existing marker you'll see its current photos as thumbnails and an Add more photos option.

You'll see a recommended minimum (commonly "min 2 photos") — that figure comes from your template, and if your template sets a hard minimum, it's enforced at sign-off (more on that below).

When you're done, choose Save marker (or Save changes when editing). The diagram updates instantly and a running count shows underneath, e.g. "3 markers."

#Editing or removing a marker

Tap an existing marker on the diagram to reopen its form. From there you can:

• change any field — zone, sub-zone, damage type, remarks;
• add more photos (up to the six-photo total);
• choose Delete marker to remove it entirely.

This is all free and unlimited while the report is a draft. Once the report is signed off, the whole report — diagram and markers included — becomes read-only and can't be edited (see "After sign-off" below).

#The damage taxonomy — making categories fit your business

The zones, sub-zones, damage types and any indicative cost bands all come from your damage taxonomy, which lives in the inspection template that the report is using. You can tailor it so it matches how your business actually records condition. Keeping everyone on the same categories means damage is recorded consistently across every inspector and vehicle, which is exactly what you want when you're comparing a vehicle's condition over time or settling a dispute.

The taxonomy can define:

• Damage codes — your own labelled codes that appear alongside the standard damage types.
• Sub-zones — finer locations within a zone, which drive the optional Sub-zone selector.
• Severities and cost bands — the damage-type list and the indicative £ figures behind them.

You set all of this up in building inspection templates and checklists. Which template a given report uses is decided automatically by how templates match — by vehicle type and inspection type, with a fallback to your default template — so the right categories appear without you choosing them each time.

#Why precision matters

A clear, marker-by-marker record is what settles a dispute. Because each marker is pinned to a position on the diagram and backed by its own photos and note, there's no ambiguity about what was there, where, and when. When the report is signed off, every photo — walkaround and damage alike — is watermarked with the registration, the inspector and a timestamp, so the evidence is self-dating and clearly attributed if it's ever produced later.

#Handover vs return

The real value shows on a hire. Mark damage at handover and again on return: side by side, new damage becomes obvious, and you've got the photographed, located, timestamped evidence to act on it. For a deeper look at how handover and return inspections fit a rental, see the rental lifecycle.

#Inbound reports and the verdict

On an inbound inspection — a vehicle coming back to you — new damage can drive the report's verdict. When your template's verdict rules apply, the finished report shows a verdict (for example concerns) with a short rationale, so anyone reading it can see at a glance whether the vehicle came back clean or with concerns, backed by the markers that led there.

Two common rules:

• New damage over a threshold. vehReports adds up an indicative cost across all your damage markers (driven by each marker's damage type), and if the total exceeds the £ threshold set in your template, the verdict comes back as concerns with a rationale like "New damage estimate £950 exceeds £500 threshold." This is exactly why choosing the correct damage type on each marker matters.
• Refuel required. If your template flags refuelling at return as a concern and the vehicle came back needing fuel, that's added to the rationale too.

If none of the rules trip, the verdict is a clean pass. An inspector can also set the verdict by hand, and a manual choice always wins over the automatic rule. When a verdict comes back as concerns or fail, your owners and managers can be alerted by email or SMS — see choosing which notifications you get. Only inbound reports carry a verdict; other inspection types don't. For what each inspection type is for, see inspection types explained.

#Tips and common pitfalls

• One marker per defect. Resist grouping. Separate markers are easier to discuss, photograph and charge for.
• Get the close-up and the context shot. A tight photo of the damage plus a wider one showing its position is the pairing that wins arguments.
• Pick the right damage type. It's not just a label on inbound reports — it feeds the cost estimate behind the verdict.
• Check the body type matches. If the diagram doesn't look like the vehicle, switch the body type before placing markers.
• Mark "damage-free" too. A clean inbound report with no markers is itself useful evidence — it records that the vehicle came back without new damage.

#What if…

…I tapped the wrong spot? Save the marker anyway, then tap it to edit, or delete it and tap the correct spot. You can also just change the Zone in the form without moving the marker.

…the damage spans two panels? Use the panel where most of the damage sits, note the spread in the remarks, and add a wider photo. If you need both panels logged separately, place a marker on each.

…there's no Sub-zone option? That zone has no sub-zones defined in your template — it's optional, so leave it and carry on. Add sub-zones to the template if you want finer detail next time.

…I've run out of credits? No problem — you can still build the whole draft and mark every bit of damage. Credits are only needed to sign off, and the draft is saved while you top up. See topping up and pricing.

…I need to add a photo after sign-off? You can't edit a signed-off report — it's locked as the permanent audit copy. If something was missed, create a new report for the vehicle. See signing off, sending and managing a report.

…sign-off is blocked over photos? If your template sets a minimum number of photos per damage marker, the "before sign-off" panel will tell you which markers are short and how many they need. Add the missing photos to those markers, then sign off.