Garage management software for independent Irish workshops, grown from the job system we built for JTK

JTK Motors needed one place to run workshop jobs, keep track of customers, send invoices and see what was happening across their locations. The garage software on the market was mostly dated, expensive or built for large dealerships rather than independent workshops like theirs. The alternative was patching something together from spreadsheets and generic tools, with jobs, customers and invoices kept in different places.

Built around one real workshop first

We built the system as custom software shaped around the way JTK works rather than a generic idea of a garage, so every feature came from what a working workshop needs day to day. Jobs are booked and tracked with a clear view of the whole workshop, customer records keep each vehicle's history together, and purchase orders to suppliers sit alongside the jobs they're for. Invoices and job cards are produced automatically, and customers get emails as their job moves along.

VAT worked out on every line

Irish garages charge 13.5% VAT on labour and on parts supplied as part of a service, and 23% on standalone goods like tyres. Generic invoicing tools tend to get that wrong, so MotorWorks applies the right rate to each line of an invoice by itself. Outstanding balances are easy to keep track of too.

Designed for many garages from the start

It soon became clear that other independent garages had the same problem, so we designed MotorWorks to serve many garages, instead of stretching a system built for one garage to fit. Each garage's data is kept completely separate, and each gets its own web address, such as yourgarage.motorworks.ie, with the option of using its own domain. Staff sign in with a role that suits their job, whether that's admin, manager, reception or finance, so everyone sees what they need.

MotorWorks is now a live product at motorworks.ie, alongside the websites and SEO we build for garages. Its job management, invoicing and customer records were proven in everyday use at JTK Motors first.

Like MyReviews, it grew out of our client work. When the same problem keeps turning up, we build software other businesses can use too, rather than a one-off fix for a single client.

Good software often starts as the answer to one business's problem, because real use proves the idea before anyone invests in growing it. If software is meant for many businesses, it needs to be designed that way from the start rather than adapted later. Details like how VAT applies to each line of a garage invoice are exactly where generic tools let a trade down.

Read more about our web design and custom software services, or see more web design case studies and other automotive projects.