Managing Customers, Suppliers, Vehicles, and Products

This guide explains how to create and manage the core records in Workshop Software: customers, vehicles, suppliers, and products. Understanding these records is essential for day-to-day workshop operations.

Creating and Editing Customers

Customers are the foundation of Workshop Software. Every vehicle, booking, and invoice links back to a customer record.

1. Go to the Customers page from the main menu.
2. Press the + icon to create a new customer, or use the quick action icons next to an existing customer to edit, add a vehicle, add a booking, add an invoice, or send a text/email.
3. Set the customer type:
   • Individual — shows separate first and last name fields.
   • Company — shows a single name field. This setting only affects the name fields and has no other impact.
4. Set the payment type:
   • Cash (Cash on Delivery) — the customer pays immediately after a job.
   • Account — the customer has a payment term (e.g. 7 or 14 days). You can set the specific payment term on the customer record. You can also override this on individual invoices.
5. Fill in key contact details:
   • Mobile number — required for sending SMS messages.
   • Email — required for emailing invoices, quotes, and reminders.
   • Preferred method of contact — controls how reminders are sent (SMS or email).
6. Optional pricing adjustments:
   • Hourly Rate — sets a fixed labour rate for all labour lines on this customer’s invoices.
   • Discount — reduces the price from retail price.
   • Markup — increases the price based on cost price.
7. Use Context 1, 2, 3 fields and Notes for any additional information.
8. Linked records (vehicles, invoices, bookings) appear at the bottom of the customer profile.

Adding Vehicles

Vehicles in Workshop Software must always be linked to a customer — they cannot be created independently.

1. Open a Customer profile and click Add Vehicle.
2. Enter the Registration number and vehicle details.
3. To save time, use Registration Lookup (the magnifying glass icon). Enter the registration number and state, then press the button to auto-fill vehicle details. This uses registration lookup credits (starting from 39c each). To activate this feature, go to Integrations > Automotive > Registration Lookup.
4. Use the calendar icon to enter dates (recommended for accuracy):
   • Rego Due Date — triggers rego renewal reminders if enabled.
   • Next Service Date — triggers service reminders if enabled. Be mindful that adding a date here will start sending reminders if the reminder system is active.
5. Use the Star icon to transfer vehicle ownership to a different customer or to view the vehicle’s service history.
6. Linked records (invoices, bookings) appear at the bottom of the vehicle profile.

Creating and Managing Suppliers

Suppliers are the businesses you purchase parts and products from.

1. Go to the Suppliers page and press the + icon to create a new supplier.
2. Set the supplier type:
   • Non-Biller — you pay this supplier directly (e.g. a local parts shop).
   • Biller — this supplier is a buying group or payment intermediary (e.g. Capricorn, Repco Account). Mark the buying group as a Biller, then link individual suppliers to that biller.
3. For suppliers paid through a biller: create the supplier (e.g. Burson), set them as Non-Biller, and select the biller (e.g. Capricorn) in the biller field. Workshop Software will understand that invoices from Burson are paid through Capricorn.
4. Add contact information, notes, and other details as needed.
5. Linked records appear at the bottom of the supplier profile.

Creating Products — Parts (Stock Items)

Products in Workshop Software can be parts (stock items), labour lines, or bundles.

1. Go to the Products page and press the + icon.
2. Set the type to Part (stock item) and fill in:
   • Item Code — your internal product code.
   • Description — the product name shown on invoices.
   • Optional Description — additional detail.
   • Searchable Tags — words not in the code or description that you still want to search by.
   • Group — categorise the product for sales reports and stock takes. Groups can also be used with the price matrix feature in Settings.
   • Supplier and Brand — link to an existing supplier.
3. Set stock levels:
   • Quantity on Hand — updates automatically when you process customer invoices (decreases) and supplier invoices (increases).
   • Minimum Stock and Maximum Stock — for stock monitoring.
   • Location — the physical warehouse location.
4. Set pricing:
   • Retail Price — what the customer pays.
   • Cost Price — what you paid.
5. Toggle options:
   • Tax/GST Free — for products not subject to tax.
   • Don’t Update Quantity — for non-stocked items where you don’t want automatic stock adjustments.
   • Serialized Product — tracks serial number history.
6. Add Comment (prints under the product line on invoices) and Job Card Comment (prints under the product line on job cards).

Creating Products — Labour Lines

Labour lines track the time and cost of work performed on a vehicle.

1. Create a new product and set the type to Labour.
2. Fill in the item code, description, and pricing:
   • Retail Price — your hourly labour rate charged to customers.
   • Cost Price — what it costs your business per hour. This is optional if your mechanics use the clock on/off feature, as labour cost will be calculated automatically from the mechanic’s profile.
3. Set the Default Labour Quantity — the number of hours that auto-populates when this labour line is added to a job.
4. Decide whether to mark it as a Service:
   • Service ON — when this labour line is used, Workshop Software records the date as a service and calculates the next service due date for that vehicle. This is essential for service reminders to work.
   • Service OFF — the labour is recorded but no service date is calculated. Use this for non-service work (e.g. diagnostics, repairs not tied to a service interval).
5. You need at least one labour line that is not marked as a service, plus one that is marked as a service.

FAQ

Can I add a vehicle without a customer?
No. Vehicles must be linked to a customer. Create or open the customer first, then add the vehicle from their profile.

What is the difference between a Biller and a Non-Biller supplier?
A Non-Biller is a supplier you pay directly. A Biller is a buying group (like Capricorn) that you pay on behalf of multiple suppliers. Link suppliers to their biller so Workshop Software tracks payment routing correctly.

Why do I need a labour line marked as a Service?
When you use a service-type labour line on a job, Workshop Software records the date as a service visit and calculates when the next service is due. Without this, service reminders cannot be sent.

Do I need to manually update stock levels?
No. Stock adjusts automatically when you process customer invoices (stock goes down) and supplier invoices (stock goes up). Use Stock Take for corrections.

Related Articles

• Settings and Profile Setup in Workshop Software
• How to Add a New Customer
• Adding a Vehicle
• How to Add a New Supplier
• How to Add a Product

Also Explore

• Customer Management — Feature Overview
• Vehicle History — Feature Overview
• Workshop University: Lifetime Customer Value — Why Retention Beats Acquisition