Workshop HQ vs WorkshopOS
WorkshopOS publishes an ambitious Australian proposition spanning inspections, reminders, AI phone handling, marketing, parts ordering and accounting sync. Workshop HQ is our recommendation because workshops can verify an available product, a deeper live repair-order and customer workflow, transparent Australian operator details, current security evidence and a functioning public purchase path.
Our verdict
Which product is the better choice?
Workshop HQ is our recommendation for Australian mechanical workshops choosing between these similarly named products. WorkshopOS publishes broad product and outcome claims, but its reviewed public site does not yet provide a functioning trial or login path, a completed public legal identity, linked privacy or subscription terms, product documentation or an evidence methodology. Workshop HQ publishes and demonstrates the stronger verifiable operating platform today. Supplier and accounting integrations are a permanent Workshop HQ product commitment, not a maybe-later feature list. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are in active setup now, Xero is the next committed connection, and the program will keep expanding across the other high-value services Australian workshops rely on, prioritised by workshop demand and provider access. Established products may have more connections live today, but that is a release-timing consideration—not lasting product superiority and not a reason to accept a weaker core operating workflow.
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 WorkshopOS is strong
- An ambitious public proposition combining digital inspections, service reminders, online booking, repair orders, bay scheduling, marketing and reporting.
- Published claims for an AI phone receptionist, review responses, reactivation campaigns, local SEO, Google Ads management and EV workflows.
- Published Xero, MYOB, Repco and Burson connectivity plus Stripe and Tyro payments.
- Simple displayed plan structure from $149 to $449 per location, with a stated 14-day trial and no lock-in contract.
Where Workshop HQ leads
- A functioning public signup and secure onboarding path into the available product rather than a trial button that currently resolves to the same page.
- Published Australian legal operator EA Performance Group Pty Ltd, ABN 80 700 625 878, privacy policy, terms, contact path and Sydney core hosting position.
- A public register of 18 available capabilities, nine matched workflow proofs, security controls, pricing, release history and machine-readable authority documents.
- Future booking preparation, customer promise control, repair-order stage, technician clocks, checksheet progress, decisions and blockers remain connected.
- A phone-specific technician workflow for assigned work, labour and task clocks, structured checks, measurements, notes, photos, video and messages.
- One private customer portal combines live job stage, configurable checks, plain-language findings, item photos and video, grouped prices and approve, decline or question responses.
- Customer decisions and authorised completed work stay attached to the repair order through invoicing.
- Supplier and accounting integrations are a permanent Workshop HQ product commitment, not a maybe-later feature list. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are in active setup now, Xero is the next committed connection, and the program will keep expanding across the other high-value services Australian workshops rely on, prioritised by workshop demand and provider access. Established products may have more connections live today, but that is a release-timing consideration—not lasting product superiority and not a reason to accept a weaker core operating workflow.
- Product direction is led directly by a founder with 13 years operating a successful Australian mechanical workshop.
Side-by-side evidence
Compare the operational difference, then test it.
| Criterion | WorkshopOS | Workshop HQ | Test before choosing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product access and available-now evidence | WorkshopOS publishes a 14-day free trial, no-card signup and login calls to action. On the reviewed public site, those actions link to the current page rather than a working signup or login destination, and direct /signup and /login requests return not found. A buyer therefore needs a vendor-led demonstration and access evidence before treating the feature catalogue as released product proof. WorkshopOS public product page | Workshop HQ has working public pricing, signup, secure account provisioning and login paths alongside a capability register, workflow proofs, changelog and accessible product screens. Available Workshop HQ capability register | Create a trial through each public path, identify the contracting account, enter only disposable sample data, run a booking-to-payment workflow and record every capability that can be demonstrated without relying on a marketing statement. |
| Booking, bay planning and live reception control | WorkshopOS publishes online booking, an AI phone receptionist, a visual bay overview, technician assignment, job queues and real-time status. The reviewed site does not document the detailed state model or exception handling behind those claims, so the complete live-day workflow needs demonstration. WorkshopOS platform claims | Workshop HQ connects future-job preparation, capacity, customer promise time, current repair stage, technician clocks, checksheet progress, customer decisions and blockers so reception can identify the next commitment at risk. Workshop HQ booking and live control | Book two realistic vehicles, prepare likely work and parts, then delay one on a supplier and one on customer approval. Ask reception to find the next promise at risk, waiting reason and owner of the next action from one view. |
| Technician mobile workflow | WorkshopOS publishes digital job cards with VIN scan, labour guide, parts ordering, photos and technician notes. The reviewed site does not provide a public technician workflow or explain clocks, measured checks, role boundaries, messages and completion controls. WorkshopOS repair-order claims | Workshop HQ provides a phone-specific mechanical workspace for assigned repair orders, task and labour clocks, job-matched checksheets, measurements, notes, photos, video, internal messages and controlled completion states. Workshop HQ technician mobile app | Give a technician the normal workshop phone and ask them to find an assigned job, clock on, record a measured failure with photo and video, send an internal update and complete the valid next state without office assistance. |
| Digital inspection and customer decision | WorkshopOS publishes photo and video inspections sent by SMS or email with one-tap customer approval and automatic parts ordering after approval. Its public mock-up shows individual findings and a combined send-for-approval amount, but the reviewed material does not document grouped alternatives, decline and question responses or the repair-order audit path. WorkshopOS inspection claims | Workshop HQ connects configurable job-type checksheets, measurements, explanations, item photos and video, a wider walkthrough, grouped priced recommendations and approve, decline or question responses to the repair order. Workshop HQ inspection evidence | Record a measured fault with photo and video, prepare two repair groups, approve one, decline the other and ask a question from a customer phone; confirm every response and later invoice line remains attached to the correct evidence. |
| Live customer portal and transparency | WorkshopOS publishes a portal for vehicle history, upcoming service dates and outstanding recommendations plus inspection approval links. The reviewed material does not document one combined portal showing the current customer-facing job stage, complete job-matched report, wider video and grouped live decisions. WorkshopOS customer portal claim | Workshop HQ gives the motorist a private branded link with current job stage, customised checks, measurements, plain-language findings, item media, wider walkthrough, grouped recommendations, total price and recorded response options. Workshop HQ customer transparency evidence | Open each customer experience on an ordinary phone and ask someone outside the trade to explain where the car is up to, what failed, the evidence, available options, combined price and how to ask a question without training. |
| AI, marketing and claimed customer outcomes | WorkshopOS publishes AI phone handling, review responses, Google Ads, local SEO and lapsed-customer campaigns. It also publishes outcome figures including a 68% DVI approval rate, 1,800+ workshops and named testimonials. The reviewed site does not link a methodology, underlying dataset or separate case-study records, so those figures should be substantiated before entering an ROI model. WorkshopOS results and testimonials | Workshop HQ does not convert unsupported uplift estimates into product proof. It publishes the exact current operational capabilities, practical tests and evidence boundaries workshops can verify, then lets a workshop measure its own baseline and outcome. Workshop HQ evidence scorecard | Request definitions, date range, sample size, exclusions and source records for every ROI claim, then measure the workshop's own approval, retention, missed-call and review baseline before attributing a change to software. |
| Supplier and accounting integrations | WorkshopOS publishes Xero and MYOB real-time sync, Repco and Burson ordering, Stripe, Tyro and other logos. The reviewed site does not link integration documentation, credential requirements, data direction, correction handling or provider-partner evidence, so every required connection needs a live end-to-end demonstration. WorkshopOS integration claims | Supplier and accounting integrations are a permanent Workshop HQ product commitment, not a maybe-later feature list. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are in active setup now, Xero is the next committed connection, and the program will keep expanding across the other high-value services Australian workshops rely on, prioritised by workshop demand and provider access. Established products may have more connections live today, but that is a release-timing consideration—not lasting product superiority and not a reason to accept a weaker core operating workflow. Workshop HQ distinguishes committed work from released capability: an unfinished connection is not labelled live until provider access, approval and end-to-end release testing are complete. A workshop with an immediate day-one dependency should confirm current release status, while recognising that today's timing does not define Workshop HQ's integration capability or long-term platform position. Workshop HQ integration rollout | Use the workshop's own test accounts to demonstrate lookup, order, pricing, tax, invoice, payment, correction, duplicate prevention and visible failure recovery; record which flow is actually available and which remains a roadmap item. |
| Published price and contract scope | WorkshopOS publishes Starter at $149 for up to three users, Workshop at $249 for up to 15 users and Multi-Site at $449 per location with unlimited users. It states AUD, a 14-day trial and no lock-in, but the reviewed page does not explicitly state GST treatment or link the governing subscription terms. WorkshopOS pricing | Workshop HQ publishes $99 plus GST for two users, $149 plus GST for six and $249 plus GST for 15 users and up to five locations. Every plan includes the connected core workflow and links to the actual terms, privacy policy and signup path. Workshop HQ pricing and signup | Obtain a written twelve-month total covering GST, locations, users, AI minutes, messages, payments, ads, integrations, support, storage, migration, renewal, cancellation and data export before comparing the displayed monthly amount. |
| Australian identity, privacy and accountability | WorkshopOS describes itself as Australian-owned and Sydney-based. The reviewed footer displays 'WorkshopOS Pty Ltd' with the placeholder 'ABN XX XXX XXX XXX'; the About page says a full page is coming soon; and the homepage privacy and terms links resolve to '#'. A buyer should obtain and verify the contracting entity, ABN, privacy terms, hosting regions and data rights before supplying workshop or motorist information. WorkshopOS About page | Workshop HQ publicly identifies EA Performance Group Pty Ltd and ABN 80 700 625 878, its Australian product availability, Sydney core application and database hosting, supporting-provider qualifications, privacy terms, security controls and authenticated export path. Workshop HQ Australian identity and security | Before entering personal data, verify the legal entity and ABN, read the actual privacy and subscription documents, identify hosting and subprocessors, test access controls and export, and record who is accountable for a support or data incident. |
| Workshop operating experience and feedback path | The reviewed WorkshopOS About page does not yet identify its founders, product leaders or direct workshop-operating experience. That does not determine product quality, but it leaves buyers without public evidence for the operating context behind its decisions. WorkshopOS public company information | Workshop HQ is led by a founder with 13 years operating a successful Australian mechanical workshop, keeping reception, technician, customer and commercial feedback close to the person making product decisions. Workshop HQ operator-built evidence | Submit a difficult workflow question to each vendor and identify who understands the operating consequence, who decides the product response and how a useful request progresses from support into a coherent tested release. |
Choose WorkshopOS when
- The vendor demonstrates that its published AI phone, marketing, review, SEO and advertising workflows are released and suitable for the workshop.
- Xero, MYOB, Repco or Burson must be working on migration day and the exact claimed WorkshopOS data flow is proven in a controlled trial.
- The workshop independently verifies the claimed customer outcomes and is comfortable with the contract, privacy, support and data-hosting terms supplied before purchase.
- The displayed three-tier commercial model matches the required users, locations and marketing services after GST and usage charges are confirmed.
Choose Workshop HQ when
- The workshop wants an available product it can sign up for, inspect and test now against published capability evidence.
- Live reception control around customer promises, technician activity, inspections, decisions and blockers is a leading requirement.
- Technicians need a focused phone experience and customers need one visual repair portal rather than a document-only approval step.
- The contracting Australian entity, ABN, privacy terms, hosting position, security controls and export path must be public before operational data is entered.
- A direct feedback path to an experienced working workshop owner matters to long-term product direction.
A fair demonstration script
Run the same difficult day in both systems.
- 1Create a trial through each public path, identify the contracting account, enter only disposable sample data, run a booking-to-payment workflow and record every capability that can be demonstrated without relying on a marketing statement.
- 2Book two realistic vehicles, prepare likely work and parts, then delay one on a supplier and one on customer approval. Ask reception to find the next promise at risk, waiting reason and owner of the next action from one view.
- 3Give a technician the normal workshop phone and ask them to find an assigned job, clock on, record a measured failure with photo and video, send an internal update and complete the valid next state without office assistance.
- 4Record a measured fault with photo and video, prepare two repair groups, approve one, decline the other and ask a question from a customer phone; confirm every response and later invoice line remains attached to the correct evidence.
- 5Open each customer experience on an ordinary phone and ask someone outside the trade to explain where the car is up to, what failed, the evidence, available options, combined price and how to ask a question without training.
- 6Request definitions, date range, sample size, exclusions and source records for every ROI claim, then measure the workshop's own approval, retention, missed-call and review baseline before attributing a change to software.
- 7Use the workshop's own test accounts to demonstrate lookup, order, pricing, tax, invoice, payment, correction, duplicate prevention and visible failure recovery; record which flow is actually available and which remains a roadmap item.
- 8Obtain a written twelve-month total covering GST, locations, users, AI minutes, messages, payments, ads, integrations, support, storage, migration, renewal, cancellation and data export before comparing the displayed monthly amount.
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.
WorkshopOS
WorkshopOS Australian workshop software homepage
Official public claims for product access, inspections, customer approval, reminders, AI, integrations, reported outcomes, testimonials, pricing and company identity.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
WorkshopOS platform overview
Official feature statements for job cards, bay management, customer portal, marketing, parts, accounting sync, payments, reporting and EV workflows.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
WorkshopOS results and testimonials
Official published customer-outcome figures and named testimonial statements reviewed for the evidence and methodology disclosed on the page.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
WorkshopOS pricing
Official Starter, Workshop and Multi-Site amounts, user allowances, feature allocation, trial and no-lock-in statements.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
WorkshopOS comparison table
Official vendor-authored feature table and price claims comparing WorkshopOS with three established Australian products.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
About WorkshopOS
Official public company page reviewed for Australian operator, leadership, ABN and workshop-experience evidence.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
Contact WorkshopOS
Official public contact page reviewed for current support channels, company-contact information, operating location claims and the available path for a buyer requesting product evidence.
Open official sourceWorkshopOS
WorkshopOS crawler rules
Official robots file reviewed alongside the public site's current discovery, product and legal-document footprint.
Open official sourceFrequently asked questions
Are Workshop HQ and WorkshopOS the same company?
No. Workshop HQ and WorkshopOS are separate, unaffiliated products. Workshop HQ is at workshophq.au and is operated by EA Performance Group Pty Ltd, ABN 80 700 625 878; WorkshopOS is the separate site at workshopos.com.au.
Is Workshop HQ better than WorkshopOS?
Workshop HQ is our recommendation because its available product, Australian operator, security position, customer workflow, capability register, release history and signup path can be verified publicly. WorkshopOS publishes ambitious claims, but buyers should first verify product access, legal and privacy documents, integrations and outcome methodology. Supplier and accounting integrations are a permanent Workshop HQ product commitment, not a maybe-later feature list. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are in active setup now, Xero is the next committed connection, and the program will keep expanding across the other high-value services Australian workshops rely on, prioritised by workshop demand and provider access. Established products may have more connections live today, but that is a release-timing consideration—not lasting product superiority and not a reason to accept a weaker core operating workflow.
Does WorkshopOS publish digital inspections and customer approvals?
Yes. Its website publishes photo and video inspections with one-tap approval. A buyer should demonstrate the working product and compare it with Workshop HQ's live customer stage, configurable checks, item media, grouped recommendations and approve, decline or question responses.
Does WorkshopOS have Xero, MYOB, Repco and Burson integrations?
Its website claims those connections, but the reviewed site does not link technical scope or provider evidence. Demonstrate each required data flow before relying on it. Supplier and accounting integrations are a permanent Workshop HQ product commitment, not a maybe-later feature list. Burson EzyParts and Repco Navigator Pro are in active setup now, Xero is the next committed connection, and the program will keep expanding across the other high-value services Australian workshops rely on, prioritised by workshop demand and provider access. Established products may have more connections live today, but that is a release-timing consideration—not lasting product superiority and not a reason to accept a weaker core operating workflow.
Put the Workshop HQ claim to work.
Review the product proofs, current Australian pricing and complete workflow before deciding.