Mobile mechanic software that quotes on the driveway and invoices before you pack up

Tradify, ServiceM8 and Fergus are capable field-service apps with longer track records and, in ServiceM8's case, a bigger add-on marketplace than ours. Where they differ from OneBookPlus is what a job is: to a general field-service app a car is another job line, so the vehicle history lives in your head or in the job notes, and you still add Xero for accounting and something else for a booking page. OneBookPlus is built around the vehicle and the mobile workflow, with VIN-keyed service history, kerbside quote-to-invoice, on-the-spot payment and accounting on the same data, from $0/month. Compare the all-in monthly cost rather than the job-app price alone, and pick on whether you want vehicle records or generic job cards.

Yes. The free plan includes 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month and up to 250 contacts, which is enough to run a sole-trader van while you are getting started. You also get a branded booking page, GST and ABN on every invoice, and the mobile app for quoting and invoicing at the kerb. Starter at $29/month lifts the invoice and quote caps and adds Stripe payments on the invoice, and you move up when the job volume justifies it.

Yes, that is exactly what OneBookPlus is built for. Open the app at the kerb, enter or scan the VIN to auto-fill the vehicle details, build an itemised quote with labour, parts and a callout fee, and the customer taps Accept on their own phone. When the job's done, convert the quote to a GST-compliant invoice with one tap and send it before you leave. Everything works on your phone, and the customer pays the invoice by card on theirs.

Customers pay straight from the invoice link by card or bank transfer, on their own phone at the kerb. Tapping their card on your phone is not live: Tap to Pay on iPhone is built but stays switched off in the public app until Apple grants the distribution entitlement, so take the card on whatever terminal you already carry if you want it card-present. Card payments through the link are processed by Stripe (processing fees and a 2.5% OneBookPlus platform fee apply), and payments made through the pay link reconcile back against the invoice automatically, so you're not chasing the money next week.

Yes. Every quote and invoice automatically calculates 10% GST and displays your ABN, meeting ATO tax-invoice requirements. Labour, parts and callout fees are itemised separately. At BAS time you export a GST summary, GST collected on invoices and GST credits on parts and expenses, in one click to hand to your accountant. Note that you only charge GST if your business is registered for GST (required once turnover reaches the ATO threshold; optional below it).

Yes. OneBookPlus keeps a customer-vehicle directory indexed by rego and VIN. Decode the VIN to auto-fill make, model, year, engine and transmission, then every job, photo and invoice attaches to that vehicle. Next time the customer calls, you can see exactly what you did last visit and what you flagged to watch, so you quote the right parts and look like you remember their car.

Roadworthy and safety inspections (VIC Roadworthy Certificate, NSW pink-slip e-Safety, QLD Safety Certificate and the equivalents in other states) can generally only be issued by a licensed tester or accredited inspection station, most mobile mechanics aren't set up to issue them on-site. OneBookPlus does give you a digital inspection checklist with photo evidence for pre-purchase and condition reports you can hand a customer, and you can attach any certificates you are licensed to issue to the vehicle and job record. Always follow your state regulator's rules on who can perform and lodge a statutory inspection.

Most mobile mechanics carry the travel as a separate callout or service-call line rather than burying it in the labour rate, because the driveway job that took forty minutes and the one an hour away are not the same job. Keep it as its own line item on the quote so the customer can see what they are paying for, and set it by zone or distance if your area is spread out. Some operators waive or credit the callout when the work goes ahead, which is a marketing decision rather than an accounting one, and in OneBookPlus it is a discount line on the same quote so the invoice still shows what was charged and why. Whatever you settle on, price it against the real cost of running the van, not from what a competitor's website says.

Yes. The usual pattern is: photograph what you have found, send the price and scope to the customer, and get their reply before you touch it. In OneBookPlus that approval and the extra line sit on the same job as the original quote, so the final invoice shows the agreed original work and the approved extra separately instead of arriving as one larger number the customer has to take on trust. Keeping the message and the photo on the job record is also what protects you if the amount is questioned later. Australian Consumer Law expects repairs to be authorised, so treat the written approval as part of the work, not paperwork you do afterwards.

The iPhone app keeps working while you are offline. Records you create or edit in a dead spot are held in a queue on the device and sent as soon as the phone has a signal, and the lists you opened recently stay readable rather than showing an empty screen. Anything that needs the network at that moment, such as taking a card payment or emailing an invoice to the customer, waits until you are back online. In practice you can finish a job in an underground carpark and let it upload when you drive out. The queue lives on that device until it syncs, so give the app a moment with bars before you close it.

Yes, with an automotive focus. ServiceM8, Tradify and Fergus are general field-service apps that dispatch generic jobs well, but a vehicle is just another job to them and you still add Xero for accounting and a separate booking page. OneBookPlus is built around the vehicle and the mobile workflow, VIN-keyed service history, kerbside quote-to-invoice, on-the-spot payment, plus accounting, marketing and reviews on the same data. For a mobile mechanic who wants vehicle records rather than generic job cards, it replaces the job app and the accounting tool together, from $0/month.