If you’re a mobile mechanic, your workshop is a van and your office is your phone. The software has to do the whole job from the kerb: look up the car before you arrive, quote it, get the quote approved, invoice it, take payment, and book the next one. No laptop, no going back to the desk.
This guide is for mobile mechanics in New Zealand: what to run from your phone, how each step works, and where Hoist fits, including what it doesn’t do.
Rego lookup before you arrive
Plate in, make, model, year, VIN and WoF expiry out
Quote approved from a link
Customer taps approve on their phone; no paper, no “I never agreed to that”
Invoice and get paid on site
Invoice off the job card, pay link or card terminal, receipt emailed before you leave
A Mobile Job, Start to Finish
Here’s the sequence, and what the software needs to do at each step.
| Step | What you need from your phone | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Booking comes in | Online booking you can approve or auto-confirm; it lands in your calendar; the customer gets a text confirmation | Essential |
| Before you leave | Rego lookup so you know the exact model and WoF expiry, and can check parts before you drive out | Essential |
| On site | Open the job card, clock on, add photos and notes, write the quote, send it as a link for approval | Essential |
| Job done | Invoice straight off the job card with GST, take payment by pay link, card terminal or bank transfer, email the receipt | Essential |
| Afterwards | Invoice and payment sync to Xero; WoF and service reminders go out by text and email when due | Important |
| Parts | Parts reserved against the job so you don’t sell the same filter twice; low stock drafts a purchase order | Important |
The Steps That Matter Most on the Road
Look the car up before you arrive
A rego lookup from official NZ vehicle records gives you make, model, year, VIN and WoF expiry from the plate the customer texted you. You turn up with the right oil filter and you already know whether to mention the WoF. For machinery, Hoist takes engine hours instead of an odometer.
Get the quote approved from a link
You find a split CV boot on top of the service. Add it to the quote, send the link, the customer taps approve while they make a cup of tea. The approval is on the job card, so there’s no argument at invoice time. This is the single biggest dispute-killer for mobile work.
Invoice and take payment before you leave
Invoice straight off the job card: labour, parts, GST, done. Send a HoistPay online pay link the customer pays on their phone, take a card on an EFTPOS terminal, or record a bank transfer or cash. Chasing payment from a driveway you left three days ago is how mobile mechanics lose money.
Let the reminders do the rebooking
WoF and service reminders by text and email, sent automatically when due, with a booking link. Customers who booked once become customers who book every year without you ringing round. Note the WoF change from 1 November 2026: newer light vehicles move to two-yearly WoFs, so set your reminder rules accordingly.
App or Browser? And the Offline Question
Workshop software is “mobile” in one of two ways: a native app you install from the App Store, or a web app that runs in your phone’s browser. Native apps can sometimes work offline and use phone features more deeply; browser apps need no install, are always on the latest version, and work on any phone or tablet.
Where Hoist stands
Hoist runs in the browser on any phone or tablet. There’s no app to install, and there’s no offline mode: it needs a connection. That’s the right trade-off for most mobile mechanics working in towns and cities, and the wrong one if you spend your days in dead zones.
If you work rural, check your carrier’s coverage map for the areas you actually drive. A common setup is to do the rego lookup and open the job card while you still have signal (in the van, before you head down the drive), then finish the invoice once you’re back in coverage. If you need to write up jobs with no signal at all, a native app with offline sync is the better fit, and we’d rather tell you that now than after you’ve moved your data.
What It Costs
Hoist is $140 + GST a month, with 3 users included and $10 a month per extra user. For a one-van operation that’s the whole bill, apart from per-text charges for SMS and per-lookup charges for rego lookups. The 14-day trial needs no card.
Testing Mobile Before You Commit
During your trial, run a real job from your phone and nothing else:
- 1 Look up a rego and check the details are right, including WoF expiry.
- 2 Create a job, add a photo and a part, send a quote link to your own phone and approve it.
- 3 Invoice it and send yourself a pay link. Pay it with a real card for $1 if you can.
- 4 Check the invoice landed in Xero and the payment matched.
- 5 Do it all on one bar of signal. That’s the real test for mobile work.
Run your mobile mechanic business from your phone
Rego lookup, quotes approved from a link, invoicing off the job card, pay links and reminders, in the browser on any phone. 14-day free trial, no card.
Try Hoist Free for 14 Days