A beyond-economical-repair report is a technician's written conclusion that the equipment cannot be repaired, and why. It must contain the identification of the customer and the equipment including the serial number, the date and place of the inspection, a description of the fault, the diagnosis and measurements carried out, the specific reason the equipment cannot be repaired, a recommendation and signatures. A template to download in PDF and DOCX is below. It serves as the basis for an insurer, a complaint, a replacement or the write-off of the equipment.
Where to download the beyond-economical-repair report template?
The template is a blank two-page A4 form. The first page carries the identification of the parties and the equipment, the fault description and a table of measurements taken, the second the reason, the condition of the equipment after the inspection, recommendations, attachments and signatures.
Download the template in PDF · Download the template in DOCX
Free, no registration and no e-mail. The template is in Czech. Adapt the DOCX to your industry: for boilers add a field for flue gas, for refrigeration the type and quantity of refrigerant. The template is not legal advice; if the report is required by an insurer or a manufacturer, check their own requirements.
What is a beyond-economical-repair report for?
The report serves someone who was not at the inspection. The service company issues it for the customer, but in practice it is read by a third party that decides based on it.
- The insurer assesses an insurance claim and wants to know whether the damage can be remedied by repair. What details it requires is set by its policy terms.
- The seller handling a complaint needs proof that the defect cannot be remedied so that it can offer a replacement, a discount or a refund.
- The customer is deciding whether to buy new equipment. Without a written justification it looks like the service company "just wants to sell them a new one".
- The accountant or asset manager removes the equipment from the asset register and needs proof of why the company is writing it off.
- The service company itself defends itself against a later accusation that the equipment could have been repaired and the technician simply did not try.
The same rule follows from all five cases: the report must stand without further explanation. Whoever reads it cannot call the technician.
What must a beyond-economical-repair report contain?
A beyond-economical-repair report must contain ten details:
- Report and order number, and where applicable the complaint or insurance claim number.
- Customer identification: company or personal name, company ID (IČO), address, contact person.
- Equipment identification: kind, manufacturer, model, serial number and year of manufacture.
- Date and place of inspection, i.e. where the equipment stood and when the technician saw it.
- Fault description and findings: what the customer reported and what the technician actually found.
- Diagnosis and measurements carried out, with the measured values and the instrument used.
- Reason the equipment cannot be repaired: technical, economic, or unavailability of parts, with supporting evidence.
- Condition of the equipment after inspection: in operation with limitations, shut down, or dismantled.
- Recommendation: replacement, write-off, an alternative solution, or further assessment.
- Technician and signatures: the technician's name, their qualification if the kind of equipment requires one, and signatures for the contractor and for the customer.
The serial number and year of manufacture are left out most often, and yet without them neither the insurer nor the seller can match the report to a specific unit. If the nameplate is missing or illegible, write that in the report and attach a photo.
How to substantiate the reason?
The sentence "the equipment cannot be repaired" is not enough. Whoever reads the report needs to know which of the three reasons applies and what substantiates it.
| Reason | What to write | How to substantiate it |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Which part is damaged and why it can be neither repaired nor replaced | Measured values, photos of the damaged spot |
| Economic | An estimate of the repair cost and the price of comparable new equipment | A repair calculation, a quote or price list for new equipment |
| Unavailability of parts | Which part is missing and with whom you checked availability | A statement from the manufacturer or supplier, the date of the enquiry |
With an economic reason, do not forget that the decision belongs to the customer. The technician documents the figures and recommends, the customer decides whether they want the repair anyway. The report should express that in its wording too: "the repair is not economically worthwhile", not "the repair is not possible".
With unavailability of parts, a date helps. A part that is not in stock today may be available in a month, and a report without the date of the enquiry then looks like an excuse.
How does it differ from a service report and a work report?
They differ in purpose. A service report and a work report record what the technician did: tasks, material, time and the outcome of the job. They serve mainly for invoicing and as proof of the scope of the work.
A beyond-economical-repair report records a conclusion: what the technician found and why there will be no repair. It is not about hours or material but about the justification on which someone else decides. That is why it has its own fields for the reason, the evidence, the condition of the equipment after inspection and the customer's statement, which an ordinary service report lacks.
In practice both documents often come out of one visit. The service report captures the diagnosis as work to be invoiced, the beyond-economical-repair report draws the conclusion from it. Merging them into one form is not worth it, because each is aimed at a different reader.
What does the report mean in a complaint?
For the sale of goods to a consumer, rights arising from defective performance are governed by the Czech Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the subsection on the sale of goods to consumers from Section 2158). Under Section 2169(2) the seller may refuse to remedy a defect if that is impossible or unreasonably costly. Under Section 2171(1) the buyer may then demand a reasonable discount or withdraw from the contract, among other cases when the seller has refused to remedy the defect or when it is evident that the defect will not be remedied within a reasonable time. Under Section 2172 the defect is notified to the seller, or to whoever is designated to carry out the repair. Wording (in force for 2026): Act No. 89/2012 Coll. on zakonyprolidi.cz (in Czech).
In such a situation the report from the service company is supporting material, not a decision. What the buyer gets is decided by the seller under the law and the contract. The service company only describes what it found; do not write a legal assessment into the report.
What mistakes are made most often in the report?
- A conclusion without a reason. "Cannot be repaired" with no explanation will be accepted by neither the insurer nor the seller, and the customer will not believe it.
- Missing serial number. The report then cannot be assigned to a specific unit, especially when the customer has two identical pieces of equipment at one site.
- Missing measured values. A diagnosis without figures looks like a guess.
- Condition after inspection not stated. Did the equipment stay in operation, or did the technician shut it down? For equipment that can endanger safety, this is the detail people ask about first.
- Missing customer signature, or no explanation of why it is missing. An empty field with no note is worse than the name of the person who received the report.
- The report is written only back in the office. With the delay, details the technician saw on site are lost, and the photos have to be hunted down on the phone.
How to issue the report directly from the order?
The fewest mistakes happen when the report is created on site from the order, where the customer, site and equipment already are. In ServisBook you set your own document title in the report template, so it can become a beyond-economical-repair report. You add your own fields to the template for the reason and the evidence (text, number, date or yes/no), photos from the order and signatures for the contractor and for the customer. With the Equipment module switched on, an equipment block with type and serial number is added as well.
The customer signs the report with a finger on the phone or tablet and the signature is placed in the PDF together with the name and date. Closing it freezes the PDF, so later changes to the order no longer alter the document the customer received. Details are on the report with signature page, the price on the pricing page.
If you issue a beyond-economical-repair report a few times a year, the template above is enough. The app pays off once you start looking up reports and job records by customer.
Frequently asked questions
Who issues a beyond-economical-repair report?
It is issued by whoever inspected the equipment and carried out the diagnosis, usually the service company and its technician. If the insurer, the seller or the contract requires an authorised service centre or a specific technician's qualification, check that in advance. Requirements vary by industry and by who wants the report.
Is a beyond-economical-repair report mandatory?
Whether it is required depends on who asks for it, typically the insurer, the seller in a complaint or the contract with the customer. Even without such a requirement it is worth issuing, because it protects the service company when the question of why the equipment was not repaired comes up later.
What is the difference between technical and economic irreparability?
Technical irreparability means the repair cannot be done or would not return the equipment to a safe and working condition. Economic means a repair is possible but is not worthwhile compared with the value of the equipment or the price of a new one. For an economic reason, the report therefore needs both amounts.
What if the customer disagrees with the report's conclusion?
Write their statement directly into the report and have them sign it. The signature then confirms that the customer received the report, not that they agree with the conclusion. It does not settle the dispute, but it is clear when and in what condition the equipment was inspected and who claimed what.
Does the customer pay for the diagnosis when the equipment cannot be repaired?
Outside a complaint, that is determined by your contract or price list, not by the report itself. So write into the report what diagnosis and measurements were carried out and how long they took. The customer then sees what they are paying for and the office has a basis for the invoice.
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