Workshop Software vs Auxo Workshop

Workshop Software and Auxo Workshop both sell into New Zealand and Australia, and the headline prices are close, so the decision comes down to the details. Auxo Workshop is owned by the New Zealand Motor Trade Association and launched in August 2024. Workshop Software has been building automotive software since 1992, released its first version in 2013, and runs more than 9,400 users across five countries. Auxo has been shipping quickly this year and has closed real gaps. What has not changed is accounting, vehicle technical data, what the mobile app can do, and what training costs.

What is Workshop Software?

Workshop Software is cloud workshop management software for independent automotive workshops, mechanical repairers and multi-site groups. It runs the booking diary and workboard, job cards, quoting and invoicing, inventory, electronic inspections, automated service reminders and a customer portal, with reporting through Workshop Intelligence. It connects natively to Xero and QuickBooks Online on every plan, and is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store. Intuit reviews listed apps against its published technical and security requirements, and runs its own security scan of them every year. Vehicle technical data is available through WorkshopData, powered by HaynesPro, inside the job card. There are free native apps for iOS and Android, and on Gold and above the app carries the full job workflow. Pricing starts at AUD $99 per month on annual billing, and New Zealand workshops are billed in Australian dollars. There is a 14 day free trial with full features and no credit card required, and no lock-in contract. See full pricing.

What is Auxo Workshop?

Auxo Workshop is a cloud workshop management system from Auxo Software, based in Auckland and owned by the New Zealand Motor Trade Association since 2021. It launched on 29 August 2024 as a new cloud product aimed at smaller workshops, alongside SAM, Auxo’s longer-running system, which is still sold and still supported. It covers job management, invoicing, reminders including WOF reminders, a digital workboard, stocktake and inventory, a dashboard and a technician performance report. Online bookings and parts and inventory sit on the Pro plan. Its eWOF inspection module, SmartCheck Pro, is a paid add-on for Pro subscribers, and it added Windcave card payments and Burson EzyParts parts ordering during 2026. Pricing is $99 plus GST for Essentials with two users, $199 plus GST for Pro with five, and $299 plus GST for Elite with seven, though Elite is unreleased. Additional users are $19 each, including technicians. Auxo sells into New Zealand and Australia only.

Feature Comparison

Pricing Comparison

At one user the entry prices are level. At two users Auxo is cheaper, because Essentials includes two where our Silver includes one, and their additional user rate of $19 is a dollar under ours. Their outbound SMS at $0.10 a message is competitive too. Where the money actually moves is training and billing terms. Auxo charges $215 plus GST an hour for training, remote or on site, plus travel. Workshop Software includes human one to one onboarding and your data migration: customers, vehicles, suppliers, products and vehicle history. On a typical changeover that is the largest single line in the comparison and it appears on neither price list. Auxo publishes monthly pricing only. Workshop Software publishes an annual rate roughly seventeen per cent below monthly, so on a three year view the gap widens again.

Xero Only, or Xero and QuickBooks

Auxo integrates with Xero and does it well. Invoices, payments and purchase orders appear in Xero immediately, and the integration is listed on the Xero App Store. Xero is also the only accounting integration they have. QuickBooks appear nowhere across their website, their learning centre or their published product updates. For a New Zealand workshop on Xero that row is a draw. For an Australian workshop on which is a large share of the market, it decides the question before you reach anything else. Workshop Software is native on Xero and QuickBooks Online on every plan, and is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store.

Repair Times, Not Just a Rate Card

WorkshopData puts manufacturer repair times, service schedules, torque settings and wiring information inside the job card, powered by HaynesPro, from AUD $69 a month. You quote labour from real figures rather than from memory, which is one of the quietest places a workshop leaks margin. Auxo publishes no vehicle technical data product. Its labour tool is a pricing matrix, which sets your own rates rather than telling you how long the job should take. Its vehicle data lookup returns registration details, which identifies the car rather than the work.

The Phone App: Technician Tool or the Whole Job

Both products have a native app, so the question is what you can finish on it. Auxo Workshop Mobile is deliberately built for technicians. Its published capabilities are viewing the day’s jobs, customer, vehicle and job details, service history, recording parts used, job notes, job status and time clocking. It does not do invoicing, payments, bookings or reporting. Workshop Software’s advanced app, on Gold and above, carries the full job workflow: electronic inspections, bookings, quoting, invoicing end to end, photos, clock on and off and push notifications. If the phone is a technician’s tool in your workshop, Auxo’s scope may be exactly right. If the phone is where the owner or service advisor works, it is not.

What Other Workshops Say

Workshop Software has 261 published reviews across Google, Capterra and the Xero App Store, so you can read what other workshops make of it before you spend anything. Auxo Workshop has one review on Capterra. Its Xero App Store listing has none, and it has no G2 listing. Behind the product sits Auxo Software with three decades in Australasian automotive software and the backing of the New Zealand Motor Trade Association, so this is not a startup risk profile. But on the newer cloud product specifically, there is very little independent experience to read.

Two Years On, the Top Tier Is Still Unreleased

Auxo Workshop launched in August 2024 and has shipped quickly through 2026: stocktake and inventory, a technician performance report, Windcave card payments, Burson EzyParts parts ordering and the SmartCheck Pro eWOF module. Credit where it is due, several gaps that existed a year ago are closed. Their Elite tier remains unreleased almost two years after launch, and so do several of the features listed against it. Multi-site operation and a public API are not offered on any tier. Workshop Software released its first version in 2013. Multi-site, the public API, WorkshopWeb, electronic inspections and Workshop Intelligence are shipped and in use across more than 9,400 users rather than listed on a price page.

Support Across More Than One Time Zone

Online chat is staffed by people 24 hours a day. Phone and email run 8:30am to 5:00pm in both Australia and the United Kingdom on one global phone system, and the two teams cover each other, so a New Zealand workshop ringing at seven in the evening reaches a human in the United Kingdom rather than a voicemail box. Auxo is New Zealand based and supports New Zealand business hours. A small local team often answers faster inside those hours, and cannot cover the rest of the clock. Both are worth weighing.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Workshop Software if your accounting is QuickBooks rather than Xero, you want manufacturer repair times in the job card, you want the owner or service advisor running the whole job from a phone, you would rather not pay $215 an hour for training, you want annual billing, you run more than one site or need an API, you want support outside New Zealand hours, or you want to weigh 261 published reviews rather than one. Auxo Workshop may suit you if you are on Xero and will stay there, you want a vendor owned by the New Zealand Motor Trade Association with your data held locally, you are moving across from SAM, you need NZTA-approved eWOF inspections specifically, you run two to five users and want them included in the plan price, or your lookup and SMS volumes make the per-transaction rates matter more than the subscription. Both are quick to trial, so the fairest test is a fortnight of your own jobs through each. Start a free trial.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Workshop Software cheaper than Auxo Workshop?

It depends on your user count and your billing terms. Workshop Software Silver is AUD $99 per month on annual billing with one user. Auxo Essentials is $99 plus GST per month with two users, so at two users Auxo is cheaper, and their additional users are $19 against our AUD $20. Two things run the other way: Auxo charges $215 plus GST per hour for training where our onboarding and data migration are included, and Auxo publishes monthly pricing only where our annual rate is roughly seventeen per cent below monthly.

Does Auxo Workshop integrate with QuickBooks?

No. Xero is Auxo’s only accounting integration. QuickBooks appear nowhere on their website, in their learning centre or in their published product updates. Workshop Software connects natively to Xero and QuickBooks Online on every plan, and is a listed app on the Intuit QuickBooks App Store.

Does Auxo Workshop have vehicle technical data?

No. Auxo publishes no manufacturer repair times, torque settings or wiring information. Its labour tool is a pricing matrix that sets your own rates, and its vehicle data lookup returns registration details rather than repair information. Workshop Software offers WorkshopData, powered by HaynesPro, from AUD $69 per month, delivered inside the job card.

Does Auxo Workshop have digital inspections?

Yes. SmartCheck Pro is an NZTA-approved eWOF inspection module, available as a paid add-on for Pro plan subscribers and charged per inspection. If you need NZTA-approved eWOF specifically, that is something Workshop Software does not offer. Workshop Software includes electronic inspections on Gold and above at no extra charge, with photos and customer approval.

What can the Auxo mobile app do?

It is built for technicians. Its published capabilities are viewing the day’s jobs, customer, vehicle and job details, service history, recording parts used, job notes, job status and time clocking. It does not handle invoicing, payments, bookings or reporting. Workshop Software’s advanced app, on Gold and above, carries the full job workflow including electronic inspections, bookings, quoting, invoicing end to end and push notifications.

How established is Auxo Workshop?

Auxo Workshop launched on 29 August 2024 and has shipped steadily through 2026, adding stocktake and inventory, a technician performance report, Windcave payments, Burson EzyParts and its SmartCheck Pro eWOF module. Its Elite tier remains unreleased, and it has one review on Capterra, none on the Xero App Store and no G2 listing. Behind it sits Auxo Software, owned by the New Zealand Motor Trade Association since 2021, with three decades in Australasian automotive software.

Does Auxo Workshop support multi-site workshops?

Multi-site operation and a public API are not offered on any Auxo tier. Workshop Software supports multi-site and franchise operations on Platinum, priced per site, along with WorkshopWeb and the public API at that tier.

Which countries does each support?

Auxo sells into New Zealand and Australia only. Workshop Software publishes pricing for Australia and New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa, with New Zealand billed in Australian dollars, and hosts on Amazon Web Services in Australia, the United States and Europe.

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Comparison based on information published by each vendor at the time of writing. Software pricing and features change, so please verify details with each vendor before you commit. Last reviewed August 2026.