What an HGV workshop should ask of its software

Eight questions to ask

1. 01

   Is there an inspection sheet for the vehicles you actually service?

   A generic checklist makes the mechanic type what the form should already say. A truck, a trailer and a van are not the same inspection, and a sheet for the wrong one is a sheet nobody finishes.

   Workbay

   A 64-item DVSA safety inspection and a 68-item Service Inspection for trucks and trailers, a pre-MOT check for cars and vans (48 items), and a health check and a service sheet besides — all loaded on day one. A vehicle only ever sees the sheets for its type.

2. 02

   Does it work with no signal?

   The pit, the yard and the back of the unit are where signal dies. An inspection that cannot be saved there is one done on paper and typed in afterwards.

   Workbay

   The inspection runner, the job card, labour, parts and photographs are held on the device and sent when signal returns. A force-quit loses nothing and duplicates nothing. The offline guide says exactly what does and does not need a connection.

3. 03

   Does a failed check become something that follows the vehicle?

   A fail written on a sheet is forgotten by the next visit. A defect recorded against the vehicle is not.

   Workbay

   A fail raises a defect on the vehicle with its severity, the note and the photograph. The next visit starts from what was found last time, and putting it right is recorded against it.

4. 04

   Does it keep the test dates, and who is allowed to set them?

   A reminder is only as good as the date behind it, and a date something else can quietly move is a date nobody trusts.

   Workbay

   Every vehicle carries its MOT or annual test date, tachograph calibration and service date. The test dates are typed in off the certificate and nothing else sets one, so passing a pre-test check does not move it and a reminder cannot fall silent because you did the check. A date turns amber three weeks out and red once it has passed; service dates are projected from mileage.

5. 05

   What happens to an old invoice when you change a price?

   Some systems work out an invoice's figures from the current price list, so changing a rate quietly rewrites history. It surfaces the first time an accountant or a customer asks why last year's invoice has moved.

   Workbay

   Prices, costs and labour rates are written onto the line when it is added. Changing the price list or a mechanic's rate afterwards moves nothing that was already recorded.

6. 06

   Can it handle fleet customers on account?

   Commercial work is mostly on account at thirty days: terms, a credit limit, statements, and somebody chasing.

   Workbay

   Customers carry payment terms and an optional credit limit. An account invoice is chased by email before and after it falls due, and a statement of account goes to account customers on the first of each month.

7. 07

   Do the estimate, the invoice and the payment live with the job?

   Retyping a job into an accounts package is where lines get lost.

   Workbay

   Estimates go out by email and come back approved with one tap, then convert to the job. The invoice is numbered, rendered with the job report and emailed by Workbay on Standard, or issued and chased by Stripe on Premium, which also takes card, Tap to Pay and bank transfer. Invoices, VAT and statements export as files for the accountant; Workbay does not connect directly to accounting software.

8. 08

   Is it priced per seat?

   Per-seat pricing punishes you for putting a tablet in every bay and a phone in every pocket.

   Workbay

   Standard is £79 a month, VAT reverse-charged for one user licence; Premium is £149 a month, VAT reverse-charged for the whole team. There are no add-ons, no setup fee and no per-person pricing, and the first 14 days are free with no card.

Where Workbay is not the right answer

Saying where a product stops is more useful than a list of what it does. Workbay is not the right choice if you need any of these today:

• Counter sales with no vehicle. Every job is raised against a vehicle, so a walk-in buying a battery cannot be recorded as a sale.
• Inspection sheets of your own design built in the app. The sheets are maintained by Workbay and cannot yet be edited there; a sheet of your own is something to ask for.
• A second login on the cheapest plan. Standard has one user licence; Premium has unlimited.
• Invoices pushed straight into accounting software. They export as files for the accountant.
• Issuing an MOT certificate. Only a test centre can; Workbay's sheets are the check a workshop carries out before the test.
• Tap to Pay on an iPad. It needs an iPhone or an Android phone; the iPad is for the inspection runner.

Fair questions

Is Workbay built for HGV workshops?

Yes. It was built with a commercial-vehicle workshop, and its service sheet is the one that workshop had used for years; the safety inspection is laid out the DVSA's way. It covers vans and cars as well, so a workshop that sees all three runs one system.

Which vehicles does it cover?

Trucks, trailers, vans and cars. Each vehicle only ever sees the inspection sheets for its type.

Can mechanics use it with gloves on?

Yes. Pass and fail are 60-point targets, sized for nitrile gloves at arm's length on a trolley-mounted iPad, and every status pairs a colour with a mark and a word so it reads the same in full sun.

Does it work with no signal in the yard?

Yes for the work itself: jobs, sheets, labour, parts and photographs are held on the device and sent when signal returns. Taking a card payment, looking a vehicle up by registration and the diary need a connection.

How much does it cost, and is there a trial?

Standard is £79 a month, VAT reverse-charged for one user licence; Premium is £149 a month, VAT reverse-charged for the whole team. There are no add-ons, no setup fee and no per-person pricing, and the first 14 days are free with no card.