Workshop HQ vs Workshop Mate
Workshop Mate is an established Australian web-based system with unlimited-user pricing, conventional job and invoice administration, inventory, barcoding, Xero and MYOB connectivity, and Burson EzyParts. Workshop HQ is our stronger overall recommendation because it connects future-job preparation, live promise control, focused technician evidence, a transparent customer portal, grouped decisions and invoicing around one repair order.
Our verdict
Which product is the better choice?
Workshop HQ is our recommendation for Australian mechanical workshops that want the most advanced connected operating workflow and customer experience. Workshop Mate's released integrations and unlimited-user price are relevant current strengths, but they do not outweigh Workshop HQ's repair-order continuity, live control and visual customer transparency. 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 Workshop Mate is strong
- A published Australian Standard plan at $88 plus GST per month with unlimited users and no lock-in contract.
- Released Xero and MYOB accounting connections plus Burson EzyParts ordering and service-information access.
- Established job cards, quotes, invoices, bookings, service history, reminders, inventory, barcoding, staff levels and live job clocking.
- Australian ownership and support, a 14-day trial, optional setup and data-import assistance, and paid one-to-one training.
Where Workshop HQ leads
- The booking can prepare likely work, parts and job-matched checksheets without presenting the vehicle as already in progress.
- Reception can read promise time, job stage, technician activity, inspection progress, customer decisions and blockers together.
- Technicians receive a focused phone workflow for assigned jobs, tasks, clocks, structured checks, measurements, notes, photos, video and messages.
- The private customer portal presents a live customer-facing stage, structured findings, visual evidence, grouped price and approve, decline or question responses.
- Authorised completed work carries from the repair order into invoicing without reception reconstructing the job.
- 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.
- Workshop feedback reaches a founder and product decision-maker with 13 years operating a successful mechanical workshop.
Side-by-side evidence
Compare the operational difference, then test it.
| Criterion | Workshop Mate | Workshop HQ | Test before choosing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking and live-day control | Workshop Mate publishes a booking diary for organising dates and times, job allocation, user levels, clock-on and clock-off activity, and live job progress. Its own buying guide also describes booking assignment, real-time status and priority management. Workshop Mate buying guide | Workshop HQ combines future-job preparation with promise times, live stages, technician clocks, inspection progress, customer decisions and blockers so reception can see which commitment needs intervention. Booking and promise-time evidence | Prepare two future bookings, delay one approval and one part, then identify the customer promise at risk from the live view without asking the technician or opening several records. |
| Repair-order continuity | Workshop Mate publicly describes jobs, invoices and quotes together and allocates every sale or job for reporting. Its public feature page does not explain an equivalent dedicated booking-to-repair-order-to-invoice evidence trail, so that sequence should be demonstrated. Workshop Mate features | Workshop HQ keeps the repair order at the centre while the job is planned, inspected, explained, authorised and completed, then carries the authorised commercial result into the invoice. Repair-order operating model | Follow planned, observed, recommended, authorised, declined and completed work through one vehicle visit and confirm each state remains distinct when the final invoice is created. |
| Technician mobile workflow | Workshop Mate is web based and accessible from devices, publishes job clocking, and uses its EasyPhoto app to attach images or documents from a phone or tablet. Test the exact technician navigation, checks and completion controls on an ordinary phone. Workshop Mate mobile and job features | Workshop HQ provides a focused technician phone surface for assigned repair orders, tasks, clocks, checksheets, measurements, notes, photos, video, workshop messages and controlled completion. Technician mobile app | Give a technician one assigned job and ask them to clock on, complete a measured failed check with photo and video, send an update and finish the task without entering office screens. |
| Customer evidence and decisions | Workshop Mate publishes image and document attachment, email and SMS, reminders, completion messages and service history. The reviewed official pages do not describe an equivalent live portal combining structured checks, media, grouped pricing and approve, decline or question responses. Workshop Mate customer features | Workshop HQ gives the motorist a private branded portal with the current customer-facing job stage, customised checksheet, measurements, explanations, photos, videos, grouped recommendations, price and recorded responses. Customer experience evidence | Open the real customer link on a phone, understand one measured fault from its media, approve one priced group, decline another and ask a question; confirm every response returns to the repair order. |
| Inventory and barcoding | Workshop Mate publishes parts inventory, stocktake control, prescribed parts, flexible customer pricing, barcoding for parts and services, Capricorn reporting and sales analysis. Workshop Mate inventory features | Workshop HQ supports inventory records, repair-order parts, purchase orders, standalone counter-sale invoices and commercial reporting. A workshop whose decision depends on specialist barcode hardware should verify that exact current workflow. Parts and invoicing evidence | Run a repair-order part, low-stock purchase, received item and barcode-heavy counter sale with the actual hardware, supplier process and stock valuation controls the workshop uses. |
| Supplier and accounting integrations | Workshop Mate publishes Xero and MYOB accounting integration and Burson EzyParts ordering with service information. Its pricing page notes that charges apply per integration. Workshop Mate 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 | Demonstrate every required supplier and accounting flow from a real repair order through ordering, cost and price handling, invoice sync, payment reconciliation, corrections and visible failures. |
| Published Australian pricing | Workshop Mate publishes one Australian Standard plan at $88 plus GST per month with unlimited users, advanced features, automatic backup and upgrades, no installation and no lock-in contract. Integration charges apply separately. Workshop Mate Australian pricing | Workshop HQ publishes $99 for two users, $149 for six and $249 for 15 per month, plus GST. Every paid plan includes the complete core workflow; extra users are $12 per month and SMS is 10 cents. Workshop HQ pricing | Price a full twelve months using the real staff count, SMS volume, integration charges, setup, training, storage, migration and any locations rather than comparing the headline subscription alone. |
| Setup, support and product direction | Workshop Mate publishes Australian ownership and support, a 14-day free trial, an optional $1,060 plus GST getting-started package with import and training, and additional paid one-to-one training. Workshop Mate setup package | Workshop HQ is led by a founder who has operated a successful mechanical workshop for 13 years. Feedback can reach the product decision-maker directly and be evaluated across the complete operating workflow. Operator-built product model | Bring one difficult front-desk, technician and customer handover to each vendor; assess how accurately it is understood, who decides the product response and how a safe improvement would be tested. |
Choose Workshop Mate when
- Unlimited staff access at the lowest published monthly subscription price is the leading buying requirement.
- Xero, MYOB or Burson EzyParts must be released and demonstrated before an immediate migration.
- Barcoding and conventional parts-inventory administration carry more weight than the live customer repair experience.
- The team already prefers a broad browser-based jobs, sales and invoicing model and does not need deeper workflow change.
Choose Workshop HQ when
- Reception needs to control a busy day through customer promise times, live stages, decisions and blockers.
- Technicians need a dedicated phone experience rather than broad office software accessed on a mobile browser.
- Custom checksheets, measurements, photos and video must become a clear customer-facing report.
- Customers should see live job-stage information and respond to grouped priced work in the same private portal.
- The workshop wants the strongest long-term platform and a direct feedback path to an experienced workshop-owner product lead.
A fair demonstration script
Run the same difficult day in both systems.
- 1Prepare two future bookings, delay one approval and one part, then identify the customer promise at risk from the live view without asking the technician or opening several records.
- 2Follow planned, observed, recommended, authorised, declined and completed work through one vehicle visit and confirm each state remains distinct when the final invoice is created.
- 3Give a technician one assigned job and ask them to clock on, complete a measured failed check with photo and video, send an update and finish the task without entering office screens.
- 4Open the real customer link on a phone, understand one measured fault from its media, approve one priced group, decline another and ask a question; confirm every response returns to the repair order.
- 5Run a repair-order part, low-stock purchase, received item and barcode-heavy counter sale with the actual hardware, supplier process and stock valuation controls the workshop uses.
- 6Demonstrate every required supplier and accounting flow from a real repair order through ordering, cost and price handling, invoice sync, payment reconciliation, corrections and visible failures.
- 7Price a full twelve months using the real staff count, SMS volume, integration charges, setup, training, storage, migration and any locations rather than comparing the headline subscription alone.
- 8Bring one difficult front-desk, technician and customer handover to each vendor; assess how accurately it is understood, who decides the product response and how a safe improvement would be tested.
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.
Workshop Mate
Workshop Software Features
Official Australian feature page covering jobs, quotes, invoices, Xero and MYOB, reminders, inventory, diary, clocking, EasyPhoto, barcoding, service history, EzyParts, reporting and support.
Open official sourceWorkshop Mate
Workshop Mate Australian pricing
Official Australian pricing page publishing the $88 plus GST Standard plan, unlimited users, advanced features, no lock-in contract, automatic backup and separate integration charges.
Open official sourceWorkshop Mate
Workshop Mate Getting Started Package
Official setup offer describing account configuration, available data import, remote training, accounting and EzyParts setup, EasyPhoto, communications and the published package price.
Open official sourceWorkshop Mate
Five things to look for in workshop management software
Official Workshop Mate article describing its booking, job assignment, live progress, inventory, mobile accessibility, reporting, unlimited users and 14-day trial position.
Open official sourceFrequently asked questions
Is Workshop HQ better than Workshop Mate?
Workshop HQ is our stronger overall recommendation for workshops prioritising live promise-time control, a focused technician app, visual customer transparency and repair-order continuity. Workshop Mate has released integrations and lower unlimited-user headline pricing, but those points do not make its complete operating model stronger. 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.
Is Workshop Mate cheaper than Workshop HQ?
Workshop Mate publishes $88 plus GST per month with unlimited users, while Workshop HQ starts at $99 plus GST for two users. Workshop Mate states that integration charges apply separately. Compare the real annual cost including integrations, SMS, setup, training and the workflow value each platform delivers.
Does Workshop Mate already integrate with EzyParts and Xero?
Workshop Mate currently publishes Burson EzyParts plus Xero and MYOB integration. Workshop HQ is setting up EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro now, with Xero next and further connections to follow. The difference is current release timing, not whether Workshop HQ will be integrated.
How should workshops compare Workshop HQ and Workshop Mate?
Run the same future booking, live technician job, measured inspection with photos and video, grouped customer decision, invoice, supplier order, stock transaction and migration sample in both systems on the actual devices the team will use.
Put the Workshop HQ claim to work.
Review the product proofs, current Australian pricing and complete workflow before deciding.