Workshop HQ vs Marlin
Marlin is a substantial tyre and mechanical business platform with deep customer-order, inventory, accounting, supplier, branch and tyre-industry capabilities. Workshop HQ is our recommendation for independent mechanical workshops that prioritise the clearest live repair-order workflow, focused technician evidence and a transparent motorist decision experience.
Our verdict
Which product is the better choice?
Workshop HQ is the stronger overall choice for Australian mechanical workshops wanting one modern service story from future booking to paid invoice. Marlin's stock, tyre, accounting and multi-branch depth makes it a credible specialist alternative for larger tyre-led operations, but Workshop HQ leads the day-to-day repair workflow and customer experience. Workshop HQ will include the major supplier and accounting integrations workshops rely on. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are being set up now, with Xero next. Further high-value supplier and accounting connections will continue to be added after these initial releases.
This is Workshop HQ's conclusion. Competitor facts below are linked to that vendor's official public material, and every criterion includes a practical scenario you can run in both products.
Where Marlin is strong
- Deep tyre and mechanical retail coverage across customer orders, inventory, packages, promotions, supplier orders, accounts, reporting and branch operations.
- A Business Planner that distinguishes enquiries, bookings, quotes and confirmed work orders and manages workshop activity and customer communication.
- A Marlin mobile app for technician job updates, comments, statuses, photos and videos, plus a customer portal for order details and published attachments.
- Electronic supplier invoice services, SMS and email through Megalink, Xero support, extensive documentation and enterprise multi-company options.
Where Workshop HQ leads
- A dedicated repair order keeps planned, observed, recommended, authorised and completed work distinct before invoicing.
- Reception reads promise times, technician clocks, checksheet progress, customer decisions and blockers together in the live control view.
- The technician phone experience concentrates on assigned repair work, structured checks, measurements, notes, photos, video and messages.
- The customer portal presents a live customer-facing job stage and structured findings rather than primarily exposing order details and attachments.
- Grouped recommendations combine evidence, price and approve, decline or question responses that return directly to the repair order.
- Simple public Australian pricing and a modern cloud workflow make the product easier to evaluate for an independent mechanical workshop.
- Product decisions remain close to a founder with 13 years of daily mechanical workshop operating experience.
Side-by-side evidence
Compare the operational difference, then test it.
| Criterion | Marlin | Workshop HQ | Test before choosing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning and live workshop control | Marlin's Business Planner manages enquiries, bookings, quotes and confirmed work orders with colour-coded states, customer messages, order comments, follow-ups and web enquiries. Marlin Business Planner | Workshop HQ connects future booking preparation to a live repair-order view where promise time, technician activity, checksheet progress, customer decisions and blockers reveal what needs intervention now. Diary and promise-time evidence | Schedule two vehicles with different customer promises, delay one decision and one part, then identify the at-risk commitment and next responsible role without opening several modules. |
| Core job record | Marlin uses customer orders across quotes, sales orders and invoicing, with the Business Planner connecting confirmed orders to workshop activity. Its official documentation describes a rich commercial order model. Marlin planning and orders | Workshop HQ keeps a dedicated repair order as the operational centre so planned, observed, recommended, authorised, declined and completed states remain clear before the final invoice is created. Repair-order operating model | Run a diagnostic job that produces approved, declined and monitored recommendations, then confirm the operating record and final invoice distinguish every state without manual reconstruction. |
| Technician mobile workflow | Marlin Mobile lets technicians receive and update job information, add comments, change statuses and capture photos and videos from workshop tablets or smartphones. Marlin Mobile overview | Workshop HQ gives technicians a focused phone workspace for assigned repair orders, tasks, clocks, job-matched checksheets, measurements, notes, photos, video, messages and safe completion. Technician mobile app | Ask a technician to find assigned work, record time, complete a structured measured inspection, attach item-level photo and video evidence, message reception and finish safely on one phone. |
| Customer portal and decisions | Marlin's portal gives customers order information and published attachments through links sent with sales orders, invoices and credits. Customers verify access with vehicle registration; enabling the portal requires its Firebase integration partner. Marlin Customer Portal | Workshop HQ's private portal combines the latest customer-facing job stage, structured checksheet, measurements, explanations, item media, walkthrough video and grouped priced recommendations with approve, decline and question responses. Customer transparency evidence | Open both customer experiences on a normal phone, identify the current job stage, understand a fault from structured evidence, respond to two priced groups and verify those decisions return to the live job. |
| Inventory, tyre and commercial depth | Megabus positions Marlin for tyre and mechanical businesses with point of sale, stock, accounting, ecommerce and multi-site capability. Its documentation covers packages, promotions, trade-ins, supplier orders and complex customer accounts. Megabus product overview | Workshop HQ supports repair-order parts, inventory, purchase orders, invoices, payments and counter sales. Tyre retailers needing specialist promotions, trade-ins or enterprise stock flows should test those requirements before choosing. Workshop invoicing evidence | Use the business's real tyre packages, supplier order, receiving, stock transfer, discount, trade-in and counter-sale scenarios to distinguish required specialist depth from unused catalogue breadth. |
| Supplier and accounting connections | Marlin publishes electronic supplier invoices through Megalink, customer email and SMS, and broader supplier services. Its documentation also records Xero integration and other partner connections. Marlin Megalink integrations | Workshop HQ will include the major supplier and accounting integrations workshops rely on. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are being set up now, with Xero next. Further high-value supplier and accounting connections will continue to be added after these initial releases. These connections are committed rollout items, not claims that unfinished integrations are available today. Provider access, approval and release testing still apply, so a workshop with an immediate day-one dependency should confirm the current release status. Committed integration rollout | List every required catalogue, supplier invoice, ordering, accounting and messaging connection, then demonstrate its complete repair-order data flow, exception visibility and reconciliation outcome. |
| Branches and enterprise operation | Megabus publishes multi-site Marlin capability, while its help system documents branch-aware orders, customer accounts, reporting and advanced multi-company purchasing through an enterprise package. Marlin product and multi-site overview | Workshop HQ uses strict workshop tenant separation and role-controlled accounts for the current product. Businesses requiring a specific group, branch or consolidated enterprise structure should verify that model before migration. Workshop account separation | Map every company, branch, shared customer, stock pool, staff role, intercompany purchase and consolidated report, then prove access and financial boundaries with representative records. |
| Pricing, setup and product direction | Megabus does not publish a simple Marlin monthly price on the reviewed product and documentation pages, so workshops should request a current quote including setup, modules, integrations, support, branches and any enterprise requirements. Megabus product enquiry | Workshop HQ publishes $99 for two users, $149 for six and $249 for 15 per month plus GST, with the complete core workflow in every plan. Feedback reaches the workshop-owner founder and product decision-maker directly. Workshop HQ pricing | Compare a twelve-month written quote covering every required user, branch, module, integration, setup, training, migration, messaging and support cost, then evaluate who controls future product decisions. |
Choose Marlin when
- The business is tyre-led and depends on deep inventory, promotions, packages, supplier, trade-in or retail transaction functionality.
- Complex customer accounts, multi-branch, multi-company or enterprise purchasing controls dominate the buying decision.
- Marlin-specific supplier, accounting, HR, Podium or other established services must be available at migration.
- The team wants the established Marlin customer-order and back-office model and accepts its setup and support-led configuration approach.
Choose Workshop HQ when
- The business is an independent mechanical workshop whose daily pressure centres on repair orders and customer promise times.
- Technicians need job-matched inspections, measurements and visual evidence in a focused phone experience.
- The workshop wants motorists to understand the live job, see faults clearly and respond to priced recommendations in context.
- The team wants an available modern workflow with transparent public prices and direct access to product leadership.
- Supplier and accounting integrations are being planned around a stronger repair-order foundation rather than defining the entire platform.
A fair demonstration script
Run the same difficult day in both systems.
- 1Schedule two vehicles with different customer promises, delay one decision and one part, then identify the at-risk commitment and next responsible role without opening several modules.
- 2Run a diagnostic job that produces approved, declined and monitored recommendations, then confirm the operating record and final invoice distinguish every state without manual reconstruction.
- 3Ask a technician to find assigned work, record time, complete a structured measured inspection, attach item-level photo and video evidence, message reception and finish safely on one phone.
- 4Open both customer experiences on a normal phone, identify the current job stage, understand a fault from structured evidence, respond to two priced groups and verify those decisions return to the live job.
- 5Use the business's real tyre packages, supplier order, receiving, stock transfer, discount, trade-in and counter-sale scenarios to distinguish required specialist depth from unused catalogue breadth.
- 6List every required catalogue, supplier invoice, ordering, accounting and messaging connection, then demonstrate its complete repair-order data flow, exception visibility and reconciliation outcome.
- 7Map every company, branch, shared customer, stock pool, staff role, intercompany purchase and consolidated report, then prove access and financial boundaries with representative records.
- 8Compare a twelve-month written quote covering every required user, branch, module, integration, setup, training, migration, messaging and support cost, then evaluate who controls future product decisions.
Official sources used
These sources were checked on 7 August 2026. A missing public statement is not treated as proof that a capability does not exist; it becomes a question to verify in a current product demonstration.
Marlin
Megabus automotive software products
Official Megabus positioning for Marlin across tyre and mechanical workshop planning, point of sale, stock, accounting, ecommerce, business intelligence and multi-site operation.
Open official sourceMarlin
Marlin Business Planner
Official documentation for enquiries, bookings, quotes, confirmed work orders, workshop activity, customer follow-ups, messages, order comments and web enquiries.
Open official sourceMarlin
Marlin Mobile App overview
Official documentation for technician job information, status updates, comments, photos, videos, customer communication and supported workshop mobile devices.
Open official sourceMarlin
Marlin Customer Portal
Official documentation for portal access, customer-order information, published attachments, vehicle-registration verification, order and invoice links, branding and Firebase requirements.
Open official sourceMarlin
Marlin Megalink
Official documentation covering electronic supplier invoice delivery, supplier services, customer email and SMS, integration configuration and Marlin HR journal delivery.
Open official sourceFrequently asked questions
Is Workshop HQ better than Marlin?
Workshop HQ is our recommendation for independent Australian mechanical workshops prioritising repair-order continuity, live promise control, technician evidence and motorist transparency. Marlin is a credible specialist option where tyre retail, deep stock, accounting or multi-branch complexity dominates. Workshop HQ will include the major supplier and accounting integrations workshops rely on. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are being set up now, with Xero next. Further high-value supplier and accounting connections will continue to be added after these initial releases.
Does Marlin have a technician mobile app and customer portal?
Yes. Marlin publishes a mobile app for job updates, comments, statuses, photos and videos, plus a portal for customer-order information and published attachments. Workshop HQ goes further by presenting live customer-facing stage, structured checks, item evidence and grouped priced decisions together.
Which product is better for tyre businesses?
Marlin deserves serious evaluation for tyre-led retailers needing specialist inventory, packages, promotions, trade-ins, supplier and multi-branch functions. Workshop HQ is positioned most strongly for independent mechanical workshop operations and their complete repair and customer workflow.
Does Workshop HQ have supplier and accounting integrations?
Yes, Workshop HQ will be an integrated platform. Workshop HQ will include the major supplier and accounting integrations workshops rely on. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are being set up now, with Xero next. Further high-value supplier and accounting connections will continue to be added after these initial releases. Marlin's existing connections are an earlier release-timing advantage, not evidence that Workshop HQ will remain unintegrated. These connections are committed rollout items, not claims that unfinished integrations are available today. Provider access, approval and release testing still apply, so a workshop with an immediate day-one dependency should confirm the current release status.
Put the Workshop HQ claim to work.
Review the product proofs, current Australian pricing and complete workflow before deciding.