Frequently asked questions

Yes. Explore the live demo with example garage data. No registration or payment card is needed. Choose a demo user on the sign-in screen, such as an admin, mechanic or reception account, to look around and try the features before choosing a plan.

We offer a shared demo rather than a free trial of your own account. When you’re ready, choose a monthly or annual plan and we’ll set up your own account.

Open the Garage Invoice demo

Choose a monthly or annual plan on our Pricing page, then fill in the setup form with your business details and logo. The form takes about 3 minutes. Once we receive it, we’ll set up your account in under 15 minutes and let you know when it’s ready to use.

There’s nothing to download or install. Garage Invoice runs in your web browser on a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet or a mobile phone, so you can use it at the front desk, in the workshop or on the road. It works in all modern browsers, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera.

Our help centre has step-by-step guides for every part of the app, and our support team is here to help if you get stuck.

Yes. We can import your customers, vehicles, appointments, job cards, invoices, payments, estimates, credit notes, expenses, items and vendors at no extra charge.

Contact us with the name of your current system, and we’ll confirm what can be imported and explain how to prepare your data.

The monthly and annual plans include the same features, with unlimited staff logins. That covers online booking, inspections, job cards, invoicing and reporting, with no limit on the number of customers, invoices, quotes or job cards. Prices exclude VAT, and there’s no long-term contract.

A few things are charged separately:

• Detailed vehicle lookups. Basic registration lookups are included with no limit. Detailed lookups are charged in addition to your subscription.
• Payment provider fees. If you take payments online or by card, your payment provider’s fees apply.
• Text messages. Unlimited SMS uses the Garage Invoice SMS gateway with your own Android phone, so your mobile provider’s charges and usage conditions apply. If you use another SMS provider instead, its charges apply.
• Optional services. Any other optional service charges are separate from your subscription.

See our Pricing page for current prices.

You can pay by debit or credit card, PayPal or Direct Debit when you choose your plan. Your subscription renews automatically each month or each year until you cancel.

To change your payment method:

1. Log in to My Account on our website.
2. Open the My Subscriptions tab and click Change Payment.
3. Choose an automatic payment method, such as a debit or credit card, Direct Debit or PayPal. If Manual Renewal is selected, your subscription won’t renew automatically.

If a payment is outstanding: open the Orders tab in My Account, find the order with a pending status, click Pay and complete the checkout.

Full guide: How to update my subscription payment details

Yes. There’s no long-term contract. Cancel before your next renewal and you won’t be charged again.

Cancelling and access
You can cancel your subscription through My Account on our website. You keep full access until the end of the period you’ve already paid for. After that, normal access ends, but account administrators can still sign in to export your data while it remains available.

Exporting your records
Use Utilities → Export All Data to download your records as CSV files for Excel or Google Sheets. This includes customers, vehicles, appointments, job cards, invoices, quotes, payments, expenses and other business records. Invoices, job cards, quotes and other supported documents can also be downloaded in bulk as PDFs in a ZIP file.

Reactivating
If you decide to return while your data is still retained, select Reactivate Subscription to restart on the same plan.

Data retention
After your access ends, your data is kept for one month, so administrators can still export it or you can reactivate. After that month, it is permanently deleted. Backup copies are kept for 30 days.

For refunds, see our Refund Policy.

Logging in

1. Go to garageinvoice.co.uk and click Log in in the top right corner.
2. Enter the email address (or username) and password you used when you signed up, and click Log In.
3. Under My Garage Invoice Apps, click your app. Here you’ll find your personal app link and your app login details.
4. Click Log In, then enter your app email address and password.

Your My Account login for our website can be different from your Garage Invoice app login. You don’t need to go through My Account every time: bookmark your personal app link, or add it to your home screen, to go straight to your app’s login page.

Forgotten your password?
Open your app’s login page and click Forgot Password? under the Login button. Enter your email address and we’ll send you a password reset email. Check your inbox and your spam folder, open the email, click Reset Password and enter your new password twice.

Full guides: How to access my app and I forgot my password

Staff access
Each staff member has their own login, and you control what they can view, create, edit or delete. Access can be restricted to records they created or were assigned, while technicians have a simpler workspace for their own job cards, appointments and tasks. You can deactivate a staff account to end their access, including remembered logins. An Activity Log helps you review actions taken in your account.

Login protection
Passwords are securely hashed. Two-factor authentication and passkeys are supported, and administrators can require two-factor authentication for everyone.

Data protection and backups
Your data travels over encrypted HTTPS connections, and sensitive integration settings are encrypted. Your database is backed up automatically every four hours by default, with integrity checks and off-server cloud storage. Backups are kept for 30 days, and an additional backup is taken before each system update.

MOT reminders are sent automatically before each vehicle’s MOT due date, by email, text message or both.

MOT reminder

1. Open the vehicle and click the Reminders tab.
2. Click New Reminder and choose MOT.
3. Turn Email Reminders and SMS Reminders on or off, and choose when the first reminder goes out (for example, 2 weeks before). Turn on Send second reminder if you want a follow-up.
4. Click Save Reminder.

MOT reminders don’t need repeating. Once a reminder is sent, it moves on to the next MOT due date automatically.

Service reminder
Choose Service instead, select one or more services, check the message and pick when to send it. To repeat it, for example every year, turn on Repeat this reminder and choose how often.

Reminders for many vehicles
Use Bulk MOT Reminders. Reminders aren’t created for vehicles whose MOT due date is already in the past, so run the Bulk MOT Date Updater first to fetch up-to-date MOT dates.

Full guides: Create an MOT, service or custom reminder and Create a recurring reminder

Garage Invoice can send text messages for appointments, vehicle collection, and MOT and service reminders, and you can send invoices and quotes by text too. You can turn each automatic message on or off and edit its wording.

Choose the SMS service that suits you:

• Garage Invoice SMS. Send unlimited text messages through your own Android phone. You’ll need a suitable mobile plan, and your mobile provider’s charges and usage conditions still apply. To set it up, open Settings, choose SMS, select the Garage Invoice SMS tab and follow the steps to install the Garage Invoice SMS app on your phone and scan the QR code.
• An SMS provider, such as Twilio or Clickatell. With a supported provider, customers can reply to your messages.

Contact us if you need help checking the requirements.

Setup guides: Garage Invoice SMS, Twilio and Clickatell

Yes. Add the booking form to your existing website or share a direct booking link, including on your Facebook page. Customers select a service and drop-off time, then submit their details. You review and confirm each booking request, so you stay in control of your diary.

To add the form

1. In your app, open Settings and choose Appointments.
2. Go to the Form tab.
3. Copy the code under Embed form and paste it into a page on your website. Or copy the link under Form link and share it on your website, on Facebook, or directly with customers by email or text message.

If your website won’t accept the code, contact us and we’ll help.

See an example booking form · Full guide

Yes. Emails to your customers can go out through the built-in Garage Invoice email service, or from your own email account so they come from your garage’s address. Supported options include Microsoft 365 and Outlook, Gmail and Google Workspace, Zoho, iCloud Mail and your own SMTP server.

Connect your email account from the Apps & Integrations menu in your app. If you can’t see the option you need, contact our support team and we’ll enable it on your account.

Enter a registration and Garage Invoice fills in the vehicle details, so there’s less typing and fewer mistakes.

Basic lookups are included in your plan, with no limit:

• UK vehicles: make, model, fuel, engine size, colour and year, MOT and tax status, and available MOT history.
• Irish vehicles: make, model, year, colour and NCT due date.
• Isle of Man vehicles: basic vehicle details.

Detailed lookups give you more data points for each vehicle, including the VIN, and can include detailed tyre information for UK vehicles. You choose free or paid lookups in your settings. Paid lookups are charged in addition to your subscription.

If lookups stop working, contact our support team.

More about VRM lookups

1. Click Settings near the bottom of the sidebar, open Sales & Operations and click Invoices. You can also click the cog button on the Invoices page and choose Invoice Settings.
2. Under Prefix and Number, change the Invoice Number Prefix and the Next Invoice Number.
3. Choose the Invoice Number Format: Number Based (000001), Year Based (YYYY/000001), 000001-YY or 000001/MM/YYYY.
4. Check the Invoice number preview, which shows the next three numbers, and click Save Settings.

An invoice number is only taken when an invoice is finalised, so drafts don’t use up numbers.

Full guides: Change invoice prefix and Set next invoice number

Yes. Garage Invoice connects to QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and FreeAgent. You can sync invoices, payments, expenses, items, customers, credit notes, estimates and suppliers. The connection method and supported information depend on your accounting package.

The sync works one way, from Garage Invoice to your accounting software. When you set it up, map your Garage Invoice tax rates and expense categories to the matching ones in your accounting software, so every record lands in the right place.

You can also export invoices and customers as files to import into QuickBooks, Xero or Sage.

Contact us with the software you use, and we’ll confirm how the connection works and any setup requirements or additional costs.