MechAxis vs Workshop HQ: team value and repair control

Choose MechAxis when you want the daily repair process and the owner's follow-up work in the same workspace. Gold connects inspections, approvals and parts purchasing; Platinum adds warranty cases, fleet access, capacity planning and revenue recovery. For a growing team, the included staff allowance is another concrete reason to shortlist it. Our recommendation is strongest for workshops that need to manage what happens after the first invoice as carefully as the work on the hoist.

The reviewed monthly MechAxis Gold price is AUD $149 including GST for up to ten users. Workshop HQ Professional lists $149 plus GST for six users, with extra users at $12 plus GST each. For eight people, those published subscription figures are $149 and $190.30 including GST respectively. That is a subscription comparison, not a claim that every feature or usage allowance is identical. SMS, media storage, payment services and required integrations can change the full bill. Recheck both pricing pages before ordering.

Consider a ute that needs brakes today and suspension work later. In MechAxis, capture the inspection, price the findings and retain the customer's line-level decisions. Approved work becomes tasks while deferred work remains available for a later conversation. On Platinum, the recovery queue brings unapproved quotes, overdue invoices, uninvoiced jobs and due services into view. Staff still decide whether contact is appropriate. The advantage is a place to manage the next action instead of expecting someone to remember it.

For a parts-heavy workshop, test more than whether a quote can include a part. Create a purchase order for a job, receive only what arrived and check the remaining quantity. MechAxis Gold and Platinum connect purchasing and stock to workshop work. Authorised staff can inspect the job's recorded costs and missing-cost notices. If a replacement part later fails, Platinum warranty cases connect the investigation to the original vehicle, job, invoice and supplier evidence.

Workshop HQ describes a customer portal with live repair stages, photos, video and approvals, and includes its core inspection workflow across paid plans. Those are meaningful capabilities. MechAxis Silver does not include digital inspections: choose Gold or Platinum for that workflow. If video presentation or a particular customer-stage display decides your purchase, compare it directly. A vendor page is evidence of a published offer, not an independent test of either product.

Invite the people who actually receive cars, inspect them and prepare invoices. Run one part-approved repair, one delayed delivery and one returning vehicle. On Platinum, add a fleet contact and test which documents that person can see. MechAxis gives you 30 days with Platinum features and no card required, so the evaluation can include both daily work and the follow-up queue. Choose the plan whose workflow and ongoing cost fit the workshop after the trial ends.