Guide
What is Mech Central? A guide to workshop software for mechanics
Mech Central is workshop software for Australian mechanics. This guide explains what it does, how a job moves through it, how it sits alongside InspectaCar and what it costs, so you can decide whether it is worth a month of your time.
What Mech Central is
Most workshops run on a whiteboard, an invoice book, a diary and the owner’s memory. Mech Central replaces that with one app. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or desktop, and it can be added to the home screen so it opens like any other app. There is nothing to install and no server to look after.
It is built for mechanical workshops only. That shows in the details: every document carries the rego and odometer, every car has a history you can search by registration, and the service you invoice today sets the reminder for the next one. It runs on the TradeCentral platform, the software our other trades use, set up so that a workshop sees only the workshop tools.
A job from booking to reminder
- Book it in. A customer books through your workshop web page or you take the call. Either way the car’s rego and history are attached to the booking.
- Plan the day. Today’s board shows what is in the shop, what is waiting on parts and what is ready for pickup, so nobody has to ask.
- Quote it. Price the job from your saved labour rates, your log book service menu and the parts you have used before. The customer gets a link and approves on their phone.
- Show the work. Take a photo of the worn part next to the new one. Photos are taken at the car and queue if there is no signal.
- Invoice it. The invoice carries the rego, odometer and vehicle, with the photos on it, and goes to the customer as a link.
- Bring them back. The service you just did sets the next reminder. It goes out with the rego in it, by email or SMS.
What is included
| Area | What you get |
|---|---|
| Running the day | Bookings, today’s board, and a workshop web page with a booking form. |
| Cars and customers | Rego search, a full history for every vehicle, and customer import from Excel or CSV. Vehicles link to their owners by phone number and name. |
| Pricing and paperwork | Quotes the customer approves online, invoices with photos, a log book service menu, parts memory and saved labour rates. |
| Keeping customers | Service reminders by email, and by SMS once you switch texting on. |
| Inspections | Vehicle inspection reports for workshop jobs, including tyres, service history and OBD notes. |
| The team | Unlimited logins, with control over who can see prices, profit and revenue. |
The full list, with a page on each feature, is on the Mech Central features page.
How it fits with InspectaCar
InspectaCar and Mech Central do different jobs. InspectaCar is built around one thing: a guided inspection on your phone that ends in a branded online report and PDF. It is the better fit for pre-purchase and condition inspections, Deep Inspection and dealer condition reports. It does not do bookings, quotes or invoices.
Mech Central is the workshop around the car. It has its own inspection reports for workshop jobs, so a workshop can keep them next to the quote and the invoice. You can use either on its own, or both. They are separate sites with separate accounts and billing, so trying Mech Central changes nothing in your InspectaCar account.
Who it suits, and who it does not
Mech Central suits you if you…
- Run a workshop, or a mobile mechanic business, that books cars in and sends quotes and invoices.
- Want one history per car, searchable by rego.
- Lose repeat work because nobody sends a service reminder.
- Have a team that needs their own logins without a per-seat fee.
InspectaCar on its own is enough if you…
- Mainly inspect cars for buyers, dealers or wholesalers and hand over a report.
- Already invoice and book jobs in another system you are happy with.
- Want Deep Inspection or the dealer condition report.
- Only need the report, not the shop software around it.
What it costs
The first month is free with the whole app included, and no credit card is needed. After that it is $189 a month inc GST for the whole workshop, month to month. There are no per-seat fees and no feature tiers, so a larger team costs the same. These prices were checked on 18 October 2026; the Mech Central pricing page always shows the current plan.
Getting started
- Create a Mech Central account. It takes about two minutes and needs no card.
- Set your labour rates and look through the log book service menu.
- Import your customer list from Excel or CSV if you have one.
- Book in a real car, quote it, invoice it and set the reminder.
When you are ready, try our mechanic software.