Comparison · checked 8 November 2026
BayAutomate vs Workshop Mate
Workshop Mate is Australian mechanical workshop software with job cards, a booking diary, parts inventory, Xero/MYOB accounting, automatic reminders by letter, email and SMS, clock on/off job management and NSW prescribed-parts (Form 2) support. BayAutomate covers the core workshop flow and focuses on automating each handoff, from inspection to quote to parts, supplier bill, invoice and follow-up. It is in early access, so where Workshop Mate has live integrations or a longer track record, we say so below.
Early access: BayAutomate is onboarding Australian workshops now. Anything marked Coming soon or Planned isn't available yet. Everything else is included on every plan.
| Area | Workshop Mate from the vendor's public pages, checked 8 November 2026 | BayAutomate |
|---|---|---|
| Booking diary and online bookings | Yes: booking diary | IncludedTechnician and bay diary, service durations, clash warnings, online booking requests, booking to job with no retyping. |
| Digital inspections with photos | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedPhone inspections with photos, measurements and traffic-light findings that turn straight into quote lines. |
| Inspection findings become quote lines | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedPhone inspections with photos, measurements and traffic-light findings that turn straight into quote lines. |
| Online quote approval, line by line | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedQuote lines with margin shown, a secure link for the customer, line-by-line approval, declined work kept for later. |
| Approved work reserves stock and drafts POs | Parts inventory | IncludedApproved work reserves stock and drafts purchase orders for shortfalls. Partial receipts and backorders tracked. |
| Supplier invoice capture and PO matching | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedBills and credit notes read by AI, matched to purchase orders and deliveries, duplicates blocked, price changes held. Review, automatic-draft or autopilot mode. |
| Actual job cost (FIFO parts + loaded labour) | Clock on/off job management | IncludedQuoted vs committed vs actual cost per job, using real receipt costs and each technician's loaded labour rate. |
| Customer timeline / CRM | Customer and vehicle records | IncludedEvery booking, quote, approval, job, invoice, payment, message and note on one customer and vehicle history. |
| Follow-ups, win-back and campaigns | Automatic reminders by letter, email and SMS | IncludedService reminders, quote chasing, declined-work follow-ups, win-back journeys, campaigns and attribution. Real SMS/email delivery is coming soon (see Email and SMS). |
| Warranty and comeback tracking | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedComebacks linked to the original job, true cost of $0 warranty work, supplier warranty claims. |
| Trade accounts, credit holds, statements | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedCredit limits, automatic credit holds with owner override, oldest-first payment allocation, monthly statements, account portal. |
| Counter sales / POS | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedBarcode counter sales, split payments, refunds and end-of-day cash-up. Card payments are taken on your own EFTPOS terminal. |
| Accounting integration | Yes: Xero and MYOB | Coming soonQueued, retry-safe posting of invoices and payments is built and tested against the Xero sandbox. Not yet connected to live Xero files. |
| Parts supplier ordering | Integrations (charged per integration) | PlannedAwaiting provider agreements. No partnership exists today. Purchase orders are prepared inside BayAutomate. |
| Online card payments | Not publicly confirmed | PlannedPay-by-link for invoices. Today BayAutomate records payments you take on your own terminal. |
| Data migration | Not publicly confirmed | IncludedFree with a 6-month subscription. Scope confirmed from what your current software can export. |
| Published pricing | Official pricing page: Standard $80 + GST per month, no lock-in, with charges per integration. | $79 / $129 / $179 per month + GST. Every feature on every plan. Pricing |
| Market maturity | Live with workshops | Early access |
Where Workshop Mate is stronger today
- Low, simple published price with no lock-in.
- NSW prescribed-parts (Form 2) support.
- Live accounting integrations.
Where BayAutomate goes further
- Inspections to quotes to parts to invoice in one automated flow.
- Line-by-line online approvals and declined-work follow-ups.
- Supplier bill matching and actual job profit.
- Free data migration with a 6-month subscription.
Sources: workshopmate.com.au/au/workshop-software-pricing, workshopmate.com.au/au/Workshop-Software-Features (checked 8 November 2026). "Not publicly confirmed" means we couldn't find it on their public pages, not that it is missing. Workshop Mate is a trademark of its owner. BayAutomate is not affiliated with or endorsed by Workshop Mate. Corrections welcome via our contact page.
Questions
Is BayAutomate cheaper than Workshop Mate?
BayAutomate is $79, $129 or $179 per month + GST, with every feature on every plan. Official pricing page: Standard $80 + GST per month, no lock-in, with charges per integration.
Can I move from Workshop Mate to BayAutomate?
Yes. Data migration is free with a 6-month subscription, with the scope confirmed from your export.