If you run a workshop in Australia or New Zealand and search for workshop software, most of what comes back is American or British. Those systems often don’t handle GST properly, can’t look up a local rego, and treat Xero as an afterthought.
This guide covers what’s different between the AU and NZ markets, what to check before you buy, and how the main trans-Tasman options line up on the things that matter locally. Where a vendor’s own public material doesn’t confirm something, we say so rather than guess.
What We’ll Cover
Why “Built Locally” Matters
GST Handling
Australia (10%) and New Zealand (15%) both use GST. American software expects state sales tax or no tax at all, and UK software uses VAT with different rules. Getting this wrong means incorrect invoices, manual adjustments on every transaction and a messy GST return.
Vehicle Registration Lookups
In New Zealand, workshop software can look up a vehicle by plate from official NZ vehicle records and get make, model, year, VIN and WoF expiry. Australia has state-based systems. Software built for the US has no idea these records exist, so you type every vehicle in by hand.
The Difference in Practice
Manual vehicle entry: find the VIN, type in make, model and year, double-check for typos
With rego lookup: enter the plate, click search, the details populate
A minute or two saved on every new vehicle adds up over a year.
Accounting Integration
Xero dominates small business accounting in both countries. MYOB is also significant, particularly in Australia. American workshop software typically integrates with US QuickBooks, which is a dealbreaker for most shops on Xero.
Support Hours
When something breaks at 9am on a Wednesday in Auckland, you want help then. A US vendor is asleep; a UK vendor means calling at 10pm. Local companies answer during local business hours.
Key Differences: Australia vs New Zealand
| Factor | Australia | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| GST Rate | 10% | 15% |
| Vehicle Inspections | Roadworthy (varies by state) | WoF (Warrant of Fitness), nationwide |
| Rego Lookup | State-based systems | One national vehicle register |
| Primary Accounting Software | Xero, MYOB | Xero (dominant) |
| Currency | AUD | NZD |
Inspection Requirements
New Zealand: the WoF system is nationwide and standardised, and it’s changing. From 1 November 2026, light vehicles aged 4 to 14 years that were first registered on or after 1 November 2019 move from an annual WoF to a two-yearly one (the 2013 to 2019 cohort follows on 1 November 2027), new vehicles get their second WoF at 4 years instead of 3, and vehicles over 26 years go from six-monthly to annual. Vehicles 14 to 26 years old stay annual. Your software needs to track WoF due dates per vehicle and send reminders on the right interval.
Australia: requirements vary by state. NSW has pink slips, Victoria has roadworthies, Queensland has safety certificates. Software needs to handle your state’s rules, or at least not assume a single national standard.
Parts Suppliers
Supplier networks differ between the two countries, and some workshop software integrates with specific supplier catalogues and pricing. If that matters to you, ask each vendor which suppliers they connect to in your country. Hoist’s parts supplier integrations are on the roadmap, not live today.
The Options Compared
The products with a real presence on both sides of the Tasman, on the things that matter locally. Prices are each vendor’s published list price as at August 2026; check their sites before deciding, because they change.
| Product | Published price | NZ rego lookup | WoF tracking | Xero | Built and supported from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoist | $140 + GST a month (NZD); 3 users included, $10 a month per extra user. | Yes, from official NZ vehicle records. 5c cached, 24c live, published | Yes, WoF expiry from the lookup, text and email reminders | Yes, two-way (customers, invoices, payments, credit notes) | New Zealand (Upper Hutt) |
| MechanicDesk | NZ tiers from $85 a month (NZD), per their NZ pricing page; extra users and SMS charged on top | Yes, through a third-party service (their integrations page); rate not published | Yes, WoF and rego reminder scheduling (their NZ features page) | Yes | Australia, with an NZ 0800 number and an NZ partner for setup and training |
| Workshop Software | AUD $119, $149 and $249 + GST a month, plus $20 per extra user (their pricing page, AUD only) | Yes, via a third-party data service, 59c per lookup on pre-purchased credits (their knowledge base) | Vehicle details come back from the lookup (their knowledge base) | Yes | Australia |
| Auxo Workshop (MTA-owned) | RRP from $99 + GST a month (Essentials) and $199 (Pro), per their site, with a $299 Elite tier marked coming soon; per-lookup and per-SMS rates not published | 20c a lookup, though they do not publish the rate | Yes | Yes | New Zealand |
Two notes on that table. First, Hoist is the newest product here; MechanicDesk and Workshop Software have had a decade longer to build out features like native mobile apps and MYOB support, and if you need those, they’re ahead. Second, every product that does NZ rego lookups pays a data provider for them, Hoist included, so compare per-lookup rates rather than treating any “included” claim at face value.
We built Hoist, so we’re biased. The reason we built it is the gaps in this table: published NZD pricing, rego lookup and WoF tracking built in rather than typed in, and support from people in New Zealand.
What to Check Before Buying
Must-haves for AU/NZ workshops
- Correct GST handling (10% AU / 15% NZ)
- Local rego/plate lookup, with the per-lookup cost stated
- Xero integration (or MYOB for some AU workshops); test it during the trial with a real invoice
- Prices published in AUD or NZD
- Support during your business hours
- WoF tracking (NZ) or state-specific inspection tracking (AU)
Worth asking about
- Parts supplier integration with the suppliers you actually use
- SMS reminder cost per message
- Payment options (online pay link, EFTPOS terminal integration)
- Where your data is hosted
Red Flags
- Pricing only shown in USD
- No mention of GST in the documentation
- VIN lookup only (no plate/rego lookup)
- Support hours listed in US/UK time
- QuickBooks integration only (no Xero)
- “Sales tax” configuration instead of GST
If You Operate in Both Countries
You need software that handles both GST rates, both currencies and both inspection systems. That’s rare; most products are built for one market and adapted for the other. Ask the vendor to show you an NZ invoice and an AU invoice from the same account before you sign.
Built for NZ Workshops
Hoist is workshop software designed for New Zealand mechanics: rego lookup from official NZ vehicle records, GST set up out of the box, two-way Xero sync, WoF and service reminders, and NZ-based support. $140 + GST a month, 3 users included, $10 a month per extra user. Try it free for 14 days.