Looking for a SAM workshop software alternative?

If your workshop runs on desktop SAM, you've likely noticed the direction of travel. Auxo — the MTA-owned company behind SAM — now sells browser-based products alongside it: webSAM, and its newer cloud platform Auxo Workshop, which Auxo's CEO has said existing SAM customers can begin migrating to. Auxo hasn't announced an end-of-life date for desktop SAM, but the whole market, your own vendor included, is heading to the cloud.

Which means at some point you'll be choosing a new system — on your timeline or someone else's. And here's the part worth sitting with: whenever that happens, you're changing systems either way. New screens, new workflows, retraining the front desk, migrating your customer and vehicle history. The only question is whether you use that moment to pick the best system for your workshop, or default to the one on the letterhead.

This page lays out what to check before you decide, and how Hoist compares — factually, so you can make the call yourself.

A quick history, for context

SAM, built by the TSI Group, has been New Zealand's incumbent workshop software for decades. The MTA (Motor Trade Association) bought the SAM and Systime businesses in December 2020 and rebranded them as Auxo Software in 2021. Auxo's current line-up spans desktop SAM, webSAM (a browser-based version), and Auxo Workshop (its newer cloud product).

None of that is a criticism — SAM earned its install base. But when the vendor's own energy is going into its cloud products, it's reasonable to evaluate the whole market before you invest in learning a new system.

What to look for when you're leaving a desktop system

Whatever you move to, hold it to these five tests:

1. Genuinely cloud, not desktop-in-a-browser. There's a difference between software built for the web and a desktop lineage moved into a browser. Cloud-native systems work the same from the workshop PC, your laptop at home, and your phone at a parts supplier — with nothing to install or patch.

2. A real data migration path. Your customer list, vehicle records, and job history are the most valuable thing in your current system. Ask any vendor exactly what comes across, in what format, and who does the work. "You can export a CSV" is not a migration plan.

3. Native Xero sync. Most NZ workshops run their books on Xero. Invoices, payments, and contacts should flow through automatically — not via manual exports or a third-party connector that breaks quietly.

4. NZ-specific features. Rego lookup against NZTA/Carjam data, WOF reminder handling, and invoicing that treats 15% GST as the default rather than a configuration option. Software built for another market makes you fight it on all three.

5. Transparent pricing. If you have to request a quote to find out what you'll pay, you can't compare options — and you can't predict what happens to your bill as you add staff. Per-user pricing in particular deserves a close look: a modest base price plus a per-seat charge grows every time your team does.

Hoist vs Auxo's options

Figures below are from each vendor's public pages as at July 2026 — check their sites for current numbers.

Two honest notes on that table. First, Auxo's feature sets are Auxo's to describe — where we can't verify a claim from public material, we've said so rather than guessing. Ask them directly and compare. Second, staying inside the SAM family has a genuine advantage: familiarity. If your team knows SAM's workflow cold and you want the smallest possible change, that's a legitimate reason to choose webSAM or Auxo Workshop. Just price the per-user model over a few years and make sure "smallest change" is actually what you're buying — any of these options is still a new system to learn.

What Hoist gives you day to day

Beyond the comparison rows, here's what running your workshop on Hoist actually looks like:

• Digital job cards — jobs move from booking to invoice without paper, and every tech can see the current state of a job from any device.
• Scheduling — a booking calendar built around bays and technicians, not a generic diary.
• Invoicing with 15% GST handled correctly — NZ GST is the default, not a setting.
• Native Xero sync — invoices and payments flow to your accounts without re-keying.
• NZTA/Carjam rego lookup — type a plate, get the vehicle. No manual data entry for new vehicles.
• SMS reminders — WOF and service reminders go out automatically, which is where repeat work comes from.
• Mobile app — check jobs, customers, and vehicles from wherever you are.
• NZ-based support — the team is in Upper Hutt. When you ring, you get someone who knows both the product and what a Friday afternoon in an NZ workshop looks like.

Migrating from SAM: what actually moves

This is the question that decides most switches, so here's the straight answer.

What comes across: your customers, vehicles, and service history — the core records that make your database worth something. Rego lookup fills in vehicle details going forward, so imported records get richer over time rather than staying frozen.

Who does the work: the Hoist team assists with the migration. You're not handed an import template and wished good luck — we do the heavy lifting of mapping and importing your data, and we'll be upfront during onboarding about exactly what your specific SAM export contains and how each part maps across.

How long it takes: most of the elapsed time is in getting a clean export from your current system and checking the imported data together. The sensible pattern is to run your free trial with your real data in it — so you're evaluating Hoist with your actual customers and vehicles, not demo records.

Frequently asked questions

Can I import my SAM data into Hoist? Yes. Customers, vehicles, and service history can be migrated, and the Hoist team assists with the process rather than leaving you to do it alone. Get in touch early so there's plenty of time to take a clean export from your system.

What happens to my WOF and service reminders? Reminder dates come across with your vehicle records, and Hoist's SMS reminders take over from there — your customers keep getting their WOF and service nudges without a gap. It's worth doing the switch in a quiet week and spot-checking a handful of vehicles you know well.

Am I locked into a contract? Hoist starts with a free trial, and pricing is a flat monthly plan — see hoist.nz/pricing for current terms. For SAM, webSAM or Auxo Workshop contract terms, check your agreement with Auxo, especially any notice periods, so you can time a switch cleanly.

Should I just move to webSAM or Auxo Workshop instead? Maybe — and this page isn't arguing otherwise. They're the continuation of NZ's most established workshop software, backed by the MTA. The point is simpler: moving off desktop SAM is a system change whichever way you go, so you owe yourself a real comparison before signing on to per-user pricing for the next decade. Some workshops will compare and still choose Auxo. That's a fine outcome — it just shouldn't happen by default.

Compare properly, then decide

You're going to spend time learning a new system sooner or later. Spend an hour first making sure it's the right one.

Start a free trial — or look at the pricing and put it next to the Auxo quote on your desk. If you'd like your SAM data loaded into the trial so you're comparing with real jobs and real customers, talk to the team in Upper Hutt and we'll set it up.

Also comparing other options? See Hoist vs Mechanic Desk.

Sources: Auxo — About · Auxo — webSAM · Auxo — Workshop pricing · Scoop — MTA buys SAM and SAS automotive IT businesses (Dec 2020) · AutoTalk — SAM and Systime parent rebrands as Auxo Software · AutoTalk — Auxo launches new management software for smaller workshops · Capterra NZ — Auxo Workshop