What does eVHC mean?
eVHC stands for Electronic Vehicle Health Check. It is the digital evolution of the traditional Vehicle Health Check (VHC) — the inspection process that UK workshops, franchised dealerships, and independent garages use to assess a vehicle's condition during a service, MOT, or repair visit.
Instead of a technician walking around a vehicle with a clipboard and paper form, eVHC software runs on a tablet or phone. The technician works through a digital checklist — assigning a traffic-light status (red for critical, amber for advisory, green for passed) to each item, taking photos of any defects, and submitting the results instantly to the service advisor.
How eVHC works
The eVHC process replaces every step of the traditional paper-based health check with a digital equivalent:
Vehicle check-in
The technician enters the vehicle registration number. eVHC software like Ollo Inspect automatically retrieves vehicle data and MOT history via the DVSA MOT API — no manual lookup, no mistyped VINs.
Digital inspection
The technician works through customisable check sections — brakes, tyres, fluid levels, lights, suspension, bodywork — on a mobile-friendly interface designed for gloved hands and bright workshop lighting. Each item gets a red, amber, or green status, with optional photos captured directly in the app.
Advisor review and pricing
The service advisor sees results arrive in real time on a dashboard. They review findings, add pricing for any red or amber items (parts cost, labour cost, total price), and generate a professional, branded health check report with traffic-light severity that customers understand at a glance.
Customer approval — no phone tag
The report is sent to the customer by SMS and email. They open it on their phone — no app to download, no login required. They see photos of the actual problems, understand what's urgent vs advisory, and authorise or decline each repair item with a digital signature. No voicemail, no chasing, no waiting.
Why workshops are switching to eVHC
Paper VHCs have been the industry standard for decades, but they have fundamental problems that digital health check software solves:
| Paper VHC | eVHC (Electronic) |
|---|---|
| Hand-written forms — illegible, lost, or damaged | Digital records — always legible, never lost, full audit trail |
| No photo evidence — "trust me, it needs doing" | Photo evidence on every finding — customers see the problem |
| Customer calls back and forth — phone tag, delays | Online portal — customer approves from their phone in minutes |
| Manual pricing — calculator, scraps of paper | Smart pricing — standard vs premium parts, bulk actions, audit trail |
| No data — can't measure authorisation rates or conversion | Full analytics — dashboard, KPIs, conversion tracking by technician |
| Single-site only — can't see other branches | Multi-site — one dashboard across every location |
eVHC and DVSA compliance
Ollo Inspect integrates directly with the DVSA MOT History API, so vehicle check-in is automatic — enter a registration number and the system retrieves make, model, MOT status, and advisory/failure history from previous tests. This isn't just about convenience; it means your technicians start every inspection already knowing the vehicle's history, and your customers see a report that references real DVSA data.
The digital audit trail — who checked what, when, with photos and customer authorisation — provides a level of accountability that paper systems fundamentally cannot match. Every status change, every price edit, and every customer decision is timestamped and logged.
Who uses eVHC software?
eVHC software is used by a wide range of automotive businesses across the UK:
- Franchised dealerships — manufacturer-brand workshops running VHCs as part of routine service and MOT workflows
- Independent garages — standalone workshops replacing paper forms with digital inspections to compete on professionalism
- Dealer groups — multi-site operations needing a single dashboard across all locations, with per-site reporting
- Service centres — fast-fit and service chains processing high volumes of health checks daily
- MOT test stations — garages offering MOT tests that want to augment the MOT with a more detailed visual health check
Key features of eVHC software
Not all eVHC systems are created equal. Ollo Inspect includes features that go beyond a simple digital form:
- AI-powered descriptions — generate dual descriptions for each finding: technical language for your team, plain English for the customer. Choose formal or friendly tone.
- Traffic-light severity reporting — red (critical/safety), amber (advisory/monitor), green (passed). The same system used on MOT advisories.
- Photo and video evidence — capture and attach media to any check item. Customers see the actual problem, not a description of it.
- Online customer portal — token-based access means no app download, no login, no password. Just a secure link by SMS or email.
- Professional PDF reports — branded, single-page health check reports with traffic-light severity that customers instantly understand.
- 28-state workflow tracking — granular visibility into every step, from inspection through authorisation to completion.
- Multi-site management — one platform, real-time visibility across all your workshops, with per-site reporting and role-based access.
- Smart pricing — offer standard vs premium parts, apply bulk actions across multiple items, override prices with a full audit trail.
- DVSA MOT integration — automatic vehicle data and MOT history retrieval at check-in.
- Offline-first PWA — works without internet connection in the workshop, syncs when back online.
How much does eVHC software cost?
Ollo Inspect offers transparent, VAT-inclusive pricing with no setup fees and free onboarding:
- Starter — £79/month: Single site, unlimited health checks, core features, email support
- Professional — £149/month: Multi-site, AI-powered descriptions, advanced reporting, priority support
Both plans include DVSA MOT integration, the customer portal, and professional PDF reports. A free trial is available — no credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
What does eVHC stand for?
eVHC stands for Electronic Vehicle Health Check. It is the digital version of a Vehicle Health Check (VHC) — the inspection process UK automotive workshops and dealerships use to assess a vehicle's condition during a service, MOT, or repair visit.
How does eVHC differ from a paper VHC?
A traditional VHC uses paper forms that technicians fill in by hand. eVHC replaces this with a digital interface on a tablet or phone, allowing technicians to capture photos, assign traffic-light severity ratings (red/amber/green), generate branded PDF reports, and send them to customers for online approval — all without printing a single sheet of paper.
Is eVHC DVSA compliant?
eVHC software like Ollo Inspect integrates with the DVSA MOT History API to automatically retrieve vehicle data and MOT history during check-in. The digital health check process supports DVSA standards for vehicle inspection reporting, and the full audit trail — including photos, timestamps, and customer authorisations — provides evidence that paper-based systems cannot match.
How much does eVHC software cost?
Ollo Inspect eVHC software starts from £79 per month for the Starter plan and £149 per month for the Professional plan. There are no setup fees, onboarding is free, and contracts are flexible. A free trial is available at inspect.ollosoft.io/signup.
Do customers need to download an app to see their eVHC report?
No. eVHC reports are delivered via a secure link sent by SMS or email. Customers open the link in their phone's browser — no app download, no login, no password. They view a branded, mobile-friendly report with photos and traffic-light severity, then approve or decline repairs with a digital signature.
Get started with eVHC
Switching from paper to electronic vehicle health checks is the single most impactful change a UK workshop can make to increase repair authorisation rates, reduce admin time, and build customer trust. Ollo Inspect makes it easy — set up in minutes, no long contracts, and your team will actually want to use it.