Comparison · checked 8 November 2026
BayAutomate vs Workshop Software
Workshop Software is an established cloud workshop system used in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It offers online bookings, vehicle inspections sent to customers' phones, job management, automated service reminders, SMS, stock, supplier management, WorkshopPay payments, reporting and business intelligence. 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 Software 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 Software from the vendor's public pages, checked 8 November 2026 | BayAutomate |
|---|---|---|
| Booking diary and online bookings | Yes: online customer bookings | IncludedTechnician and bay diary, service durations, clash warnings, online booking requests, booking to job with no retyping. |
| Digital inspections with photos | Yes: paperless inspections to customers' phones | IncludedPhone inspections with photos, measurements and traffic-light findings that turn straight into quote lines. |
| Inspection findings become quote lines | Inspections auto-compiled into job details | IncludedPhone inspections with photos, measurements and traffic-light findings that turn straight into quote lines. |
| Online quote approval, line by line | One-click go-ahead from inspection | 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 | Stock levels and reorders | IncludedApproved work reserves stock and drafts purchase orders for shortfalls. Partial receipts and backorders tracked. |
| Supplier invoice capture and PO matching | Supplier orders, invoices and payments dashboard | 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) | Technician productivity and profitability tracking | IncludedQuoted vs committed vs actual cost per job, using real receipt costs and each technician's loaded labour rate. |
| Customer timeline / CRM | Vehicle history | IncludedEvery booking, quote, approval, job, invoice, payment, message and note on one customer and vehicle history. |
| Follow-ups, win-back and campaigns | Automated service reminders, one-click automations | 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 | Integrates with accounting systems | 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 | Supplier management (catalogue integrations: see vendor) | PlannedAwaiting provider agreements. No partnership exists today. Purchase orders are prepared inside BayAutomate. |
| Online card payments | Yes: WorkshopPay | 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 | Pricing is not shown on the features page. See workshopsoftware.com. | $79 / $129 / $179 per month + GST. Every feature on every plan. Pricing |
| Market maturity | Live with workshops | Early access |
Where Workshop Software is stronger today
- Established, with live payments (WorkshopPay) and accounting integrations.
- Business-intelligence reporting, loan-car management and serial-number tracking.
- Inspections are already live with customers.
Where BayAutomate goes further
- Approved work reserves stock and drafts purchase orders automatically.
- Supplier bills matched to PO and receipt, with real costs landing on the job.
- Warranty/comeback cost tracking and trade accounts with automatic credit holds.
- Free data migration with a 6-month subscription.
Sources: workshopsoftware.com/features/ (checked 8 November 2026). "Not publicly confirmed" means we couldn't find it on their public pages, not that it is missing. Workshop Software is a trademark of its owner. BayAutomate is not affiliated with or endorsed by Workshop Software. Corrections welcome via our contact page.
Questions
Is BayAutomate cheaper than Workshop Software?
BayAutomate is $79, $129 or $179 per month + GST, with every feature on every plan. Pricing is not shown on the features page. See workshopsoftware.com.
Can I move from Workshop Software to BayAutomate?
Yes. Data migration is free with a 6-month subscription, with the scope confirmed from your export.