Hoist vs Workshop Software

Comparing local and global options. Workshop Software is a Sydney-built platform selling into several countries, while Hoist is built for the New Zealand market. Workshop Software is the larger and longer-established product, with multi-branch support and parts-supplier integrations. Where the two differ most for a NZ workshop is the currency you are billed in, and what the per-use charges add up to once you are running.

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A Hoist work order: the customer, their Hilux with its WoF expired, and a pending front brake job with its labour and parts

Feature comparison

FeatureHoistWorkshop Software
Two-way customer textingIncluded. Replies land in a thread against the customerA paid add-on: $299 + GST a month, a $1,250 set-up fee, then the texts on top
Connected mailboxIncluded. The email about a job lands beside the job. One mailbox is in the plan, then $10/month each after
Deferred work trackingDeclined work stays on the vehicle, ready to quote next visit
Support channelsLive chat, phone and email for every customer, from our own team in Upper Hutt on NZ timeLive chat around the clock. Phone and email 8:30am to 5:00pm Australian time. Priority support on Platinum only
Data migrationWe do it for you. Customers, vehicles and service historyAn additional fee on Silver and Gold. Included only on Platinum
Vehicle Rego Lookups5c cached / 24c live, published59c per lookup on prepaid credits, per their knowledge base
Pricing currencyNZD, publishedAUD, no NZD price list published
Additional Users$10/month (3 included)$20/month
Xero IntegrationTwo-way sync: customers, invoices, payments and credit notes
SMS12c per message sent, in NZDFrom A$0.11 a message by volume, billed in Australian dollars
Digital inspectionsYour own templates, with photos, on the one planFrom Gold (A$149) up. Not on Silver
Online bookingsFrom your own website, on the one planFrom Gold (A$149) up. Not on Silver
WoF due datesThe WoF date comes back with the rego lookupTyped in: their help docs describe a prompt to enter the Rego/WOF due date when you invoice
Job cards and estimatesEstimates approved from a link, then the card becomes the GST invoice in one click
Customer and vehicle historyEvery visit, spend and balance on one file, with WoF and CoF dates per vehicle
Stock and partsParts held for the job, counts adjust themselves, purchase orders drafted from low stock
Technician schedulingBays and techs on one calendar, drag to reschedule
Built & supported fromNew Zealand (Upper Hutt)Australia (Sydney)
Mobile AccessHoist mobile app for iOS and Android, plus the browser, on the one planFree app on every plan; the advanced app from Gold up
  • Included
  • Partly
  • Not offered

Questions worth asking any vendor

What will I pay for my whole team, with everything I use switched on?
Hoist: $140 + GST a month with 3 users, then $10 a month for each extra person. Every feature is on, so there is no tier to climb.
When a customer replies to a text, where does the reply go?
Hoist: Into a thread against that customer in Hoist, not onto somebody’s personal phone.
Where does the email about a job end up?
Hoist: Beside the job. One connected mailbox is included, then $10 a month for each one after.
What happens to the work a customer says no to?
Hoist: It stays on the vehicle as deferred work, already priced, and comes up next time it is in the bay.
What does a rego lookup cost, and does the WoF date come back with it?
Hoist: 5c cached or 24c live, published. The WoF date comes back on the lookup; the CoF date is entered when it is renewed.
Who moves my data across?
Hoist: We do it for you: customers, vehicles and service history.
Who picks up when I need help, and where are they?
Hoist: Our own team in Upper Hutt, by live chat, phone or email, on New Zealand time.
Can my techs use it on their phones, on the plan I am buying?
Hoist: Yes. The Hoist mobile app for iOS and Android is on the one plan.

Pricing comparison

Hoist

$140/month + GST

  • One flat rate, no tiers and no per-feature upsells
  • Every feature included, 3 users included
  • Additional users $10/month; SMS 12c; lookups 5c cached / 24c live

See Hoist pricing

Workshop Software

$119-$249/month AUD, no GST for NZ

  • Three published monthly tiers: Silver $119, Gold $149, Platinum $249
  • Annual billing discounts these by up to 20%, from A$99/month on Silver
  • Additional users $20/month
  • Two-way SMS is an add-on: $299 + GST a month plus a $1,250 set-up fee
  • Electronic inspections and online bookings start at Gold
  • Priority support and included data import only on Platinum, their top tier
  • Rego lookups charged at 59c each on prepaid credits
  • No NZD price list: NZ customers are billed in Australian dollars, with no GST added

Key highlights

Hoist

  • Built, priced and supported in New Zealand, in New Zealand dollars
  • Rego lookups at 5c cached against their 59c, on a NZ plate you look up all day
  • Two-way texting in the plan, where theirs is a $299/month add-on with a $1,250 set-up fee
  • Extra users at half their rate, and we do your migration for you

Workshop Software

  • Established platform with a large international user base
  • Multi-branch support and annual billing discounts
  • Deep parts integrations: Repco, Burson, Capricorn, NAPA ProLink, PartsTech
  • Human live chat around the clock, and Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks

In their words

Automotive businesses across New Zealand run their day on Hoist. This is what they say about it.

  • I have been using the Hoist software in the workshop for a few months now and it is great. I can quickly add customers and vehicles, and create work orders in a flash using templates for common jobs, which is much better than the old invoice system we were using. It's quick and easy to communicate with customers: a couple of mouse clicks when the job is done and they get a personalised text message.
    KyleIn Tune Autos, Timaru

Frequently asked questions

How does pricing compare?
Hoist is $140/month NZD + GST, with 3 users included and $10/month per extra user. Workshop Software publishes three monthly tiers at $119, $149 and $249 + GST in Australian dollars, with up to 20% off on annual billing, which takes Silver to about A$99. Their headline can land near ours, so the difference is in the meters. Extra users are $20/month there against $10 here, exactly double, and that gap widens with every person you put on. Electronic inspections and online bookings also start at Gold, A$149, where they are in our one plan. Vehicle lookups are 59c each on prepaid credits against 5c cached or 24c live here, which is the one that adds up in a shop doing WoFs all day. And their list price is in Australian dollars with no NZD price list published, so what you actually pay moves with the exchange rate.
Does Workshop Software work in New Zealand?
Yes, and properly. They publish a New Zealand phone number, and their New Zealand registration lookup fills in the vehicle details at 59c a lookup on prepaid credits per their knowledge base. The one thing worth checking for a NZ shop is currency: they publish in Australian dollars with no NZD price list, so what you pay moves with the exchange rate. Ask them to quote you in NZD before you sign.
What does Workshop Software do better than Hoist?
It’s the larger and longer-established product. It has multi-branch support and a deep set of parts-supplier integrations, Repco, Burson, Capricorn, NAPA ProLink, PartsTech and TireConnect among them. It also discounts by up to 20% on annual billing, which we do not. If you run several branches or want supplier ordering inside the system, those are genuine points in its favour.
What comes included with Hoist that costs extra there?
Two-way customer texting is the clearest one, and it is not close. There it is a paid add-on at $299 + GST a month on top of your plan, with a $1,250 set-up fee to switch it on and the messages charged on top of that. With us it is in the $140 + GST a month, and replies land in a thread against the customer instead of on someone’s personal phone. Then a connected mailbox so the email about a job sits beside the job, and deferred work tracking so work declined in March is waiting on the vehicle in September, neither of which they advertise. Support is the third. They do publish a New Zealand phone number, so we are not going to pretend they are unreachable, and they run human chat around the clock, but their phones work Australian hours, 8:30am to 5:00pm, and priority support is a Platinum line item on their pricing page, where here every channel is open to every customer on the one plan: live chat, phone and email, from our own team in Upper Hutt, working your hours.
Can I switch from Workshop Software to Hoist?
Yes. We move your customer records, vehicle history and job templates across for you, and help you get set up. Get in touch before you cancel anything so there is time to take a clean export.

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Workshop Software pricing and features were checked against their own published material, October 2026. Rates and plans change, so confirm anything that matters directly with them. If you notice an inaccuracy, please contact us and we'll correct it.

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