WrenchDesk compared
WrenchDesk vs Excel for running a garage
Excel is where most workshops start, and for good reason: it's already on the computer, it costs nothing extra, and you can shape it however you like. The trouble starts when the workshop grows past one person and one sheet.
What Excel does well
- It's free, or already paid for, and everyone knows the basics.
- You can add a column for anything, the moment you think of it.
- For a price list or a simple monthly sum, it's hard to beat.
Where it stops working for a workshop
- One file, many people. The advisor, the technicians and the accountant can't all work in it at once without copies going out of step. Someone ends up with "final-final-2.xlsx".
- Nothing happens by itself. A sheet doesn't remind a customer about the next oil change, doesn't tell you a part is running out, and doesn't notice an invoice is three weeks overdue.
- Invoices are hand-made. Tax numbers, VAT, the Saudi QR code and the next invoice number are all typed by someone, and one typo is a wrong invoice.
- No link between the job and the shelf. Parts used on a job and parts in stock live in different places, so they drift apart, and the difference is money.
- The customer can't see anything. Estimates go out as photos of a screen, and approvals come back as a voice note.
- Anyone can change anything. There's no record of who changed a price or deleted a row.
Side by side
| Excel | WrenchDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Several people working at the same time | ✗ | ✓ |
| Job card with mileage, photos and checklist | Your own template | ✓ |
| Estimate the customer approves on the phone | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tax invoice with numbering, VAT and the ZATCA QR | By hand | ✓ |
| Stock that goes down when a part is used | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reminders and follow-ups on WhatsApp | ✗ | ✓ |
| Who changed what, and when | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reports without building them | Formulas | ✓ |
| Cost | Free | Monthly plan |
| Shape it any way you like | ✓ | Within the product |
Moving your sheets across
You don't have to start from nothing. Save your customer list and your parts list as CSV or Excel, and import them from Customers and Parts & Stock. A preview shows what will be added before anything is saved. Keep the old file as an archive, and keep Excel for anything WrenchDesk doesn't need to do: every list in WrenchDesk exports back to Excel when you want it.
Try it with your own data: the free trial needs no card, and you can import your sheets on day one.