Auto parts and workshops
Accounting software for workshops and spare parts dealers
Every service bill, distributor bill and receipt writes its own entry, so the month closes with the cash counted, the bank ticked and every garage's dues sorted by age.
In short
SimpleERP is accounting software for motorcycle workshops and spare parts dealers. Service bills, distributor bills, receipts and salaries post balanced journals, garage and fleet credit shows in ageing, and the trial balance is ready any day.
Illustration: saving invoice INV-2026-0213 moves stock, posts the customer ledger, records tax and updates the dashboard in one step.
An accounting day at Kirinyaga Road Moto Spares
Cash, mobile money and credit all come through the same counter at Kirinyaga Road Moto Spares. On a normal Saturday the shop takes about $1,600: $700 in cash, $550 by mobile money and $350 billed on credit to garages and a delivery fleet that runs forty motorcycles.
The old routine was a cash book written at closing time and a credit notebook per garage. The accountant visited once a month and rebuilt sales, purchases and tax from the bill books, and the owner learnt his real profit only after the year end.
In SimpleERP the service bill posts the sale, the tax, the cost of the parts and the garage's receivable together. A mobile money receipt lands in the account it was paid into, and the owner opens the P&L for last week whenever he wants it.
Which ledger accounts does a spares shop with a workshop need?
Most of them are seeded on day one, and documents post to them on their own. You add a few of your own, such as a separate account for the fleet's advance or the workshop's rent.
- Every document writes a balanced journal, linked back to the bill that caused it.
- Manual journals for what no document covers, with Post disabled until debits equal credits.
| Account | Posted by | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Cash in hand | Cash receipts, cash expenses | Counted cash agrees with the register every evening |
| Bank and mobile money | Transfers, mobile money and cheque receipts, supplier payments | Statement lines ticked off in the reconciliation |
| Accounts receivable (garages, fleet) | Credit service bills and counter invoices, receipts | Ageing by customer, nothing over 60 days unexplained |
| Accounts payable (distributors) | Purchase bills, supplier payments | Supplier statement agrees with the distributor's |
| Stock in hand | Bills, invoices, transfers, counts | Stock value report agrees with the ledger |
| Sales and cost of goods sold | Every invoice | Margin by product looks sane |
| Output tax and tax to reclaim | Invoices and bills | Sales and purchase registers before the VAT return |
| Salaries payable, salary advances | Payroll runs | Advances due match what mechanics owe |
How do I see which garage or fleet owner is slow to pay?
The receivables ageing sorts every customer's dues into current, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days. When the fleet manager says he paid in full, the customer statement shows each bill, each receipt and what is still open.
- Receipts settle the oldest bills first, or the ones you pick.
- Copy reminder writes the message with bill numbers, amount and days overdue.
- Credit limit warns at billing time before a slow payer gets more credit.
Illustration of receivables ageing: 2,441 to collect across 5 buckets, with customer totals.
What does month end look like for a workshop?
Tick the bank statement against the bank register until the difference is zero. Compare the sales register with what the accountant will file, count the fast-moving parts, then set the lock date so nobody edits a closed month by mistake.
- Bank reconciliation by ticking cleared lines against the statement balance.
- Trial balance, P&L and balance sheet for any dates, straight from posted lines.
- Lock date that the database enforces; moving it back needs its own permission.
One system
What feeds the books
Service bills, distributor bills, receipts, payments, expenses and payroll each post their own journal, so the ledger is never re-keyed.
Auto parts and workshops
Part numbers as SKUs, invoices that mix parts and labour, and garage credit with ageing.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howInventory for spares shops
Part numbers as SKUs, stock by counter, warehouse and workshop store, and a reorder level on every fast-moving spare.
See howPayroll for mechanics
Monthly salaries for mechanics, helpers and counter staff from attendance, with incentives and recovered advances on the payslip.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No bank feeds: bank entries are recorded and reconciled by hand
- No multi-currency; every document is in your base currency
- Tax returns are not filed and e-invoices are not issued from inside the product
- No profit by vehicle or by job card; use sales by customer and by product with margin
Getting started
Start with accounting
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Enter opening balances
Bring in each garage's and fleet owner's dues, each distributor's balance and your cash and bank balances as of your start date with the opening balances wizard.
Run the trial balance
Every posted document is already in the ledger; the trial balance and P&L are ready on any date.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can I see labour income separately from parts sales?
Yes, through the sales by product report. Labour charges are service products, so they appear as their own lines next to the spare parts, with margin shown for the parts. Both post to sales in the ledger.
The delivery fleet pays once a month for forty bikes. How do I track that?
Make the fleet one customer with a 30-day payment term and a credit limit. Every service bill adds to its balance, the monthly payment settles the oldest bills first, and the statement you send lists every bike's bill by number.
My accountant uses his own package. Can he still work with this?
He can log in with the Accountant role and use the trial balance, ledgers, tax summary and registers directly. Every report exports to CSV if he wants to check figures in his own tools.
What if a mechanic takes $120 from the cash drawer as an advance?
Record it as a salary advance in payroll with a monthly recovery, paid from the cash account. Cash in hand drops by $120, the advance shows against his name, and each payslip recovers the instalment until it is settled.
Related
Keep reading
Auto parts and workshops
Part numbers as SKUs, invoices that mix parts and labour, and garage credit with ageing.
Read moreInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
Read morePayroll for mechanics
Monthly salaries for mechanics, helpers and counter staff from attendance, with incentives and recovered advances on the payslip.
Read more
See how accounting works in SimpleERP for auto parts and workshops
Seven days free. No card. Your first invoice in minutes.