When the invoice pile gets out of hand, the instinct is to hire help. A part-time admin at one day a week costs A$1,200–1,600 a month once you include super and overheads — and a good chunk of that day goes to typing supplier invoices into MechanicDesk. Automation does that specific job better, for a fraction of the cost, and never calls in sick. Here's how to think about it.
| Feature | Data Entry Pro | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | From A$79/month | A$1,200+/month for one day a week |
| Invoice entry speed | Batch of 50 while you do other work | One at a time, human pace |
| Accuracy | 99%+ AI extraction, review before entry | Varies by person and day |
| Availability | 24/7 — queue invoices any time | Their rostered hours |
| Sick days / holidays / turnover | Never | Yes — and retraining each time |
| Other admin tasks (calls, bookings) | No — it only does invoices | Yes — humans are versatile |
If invoices are the main backlog: automate them first — it's the cheapest, most reliable fix.
If you still need help with phones, bookings and customers: hire for those — and don't waste the hire's time on typing.
Many workshops do both: automation handles the invoice grind, the human does the work that actually needs a human.
No — and it isn't meant to. It replaces one specific, repetitive task: entering supplier invoices and matching POs in MechanicDesk. If invoices are the bulk of your admin backlog, automation is dramatically cheaper. If you need phones answered and customers chased, hire a human and let the software do the typing.
A part-time admin at one day per week costs roughly A$14,000–19,000 a year. Data Entry Pro's Professional plan (600 invoices/month) is A$1,788 a year. If invoice entry is the job, automation is about a tenth of the cost.
Minutes. Create an account, enter your MechanicDesk credentials in Settings, and upload your first invoice. There's no training period — the 7-day free trial with 10 invoices is exactly for this.
Move up a plan tier. Going from 200 to 600 invoices a month costs an extra A$70/month — compare that to adding another admin day each week.
7-day free trial. 10 invoices on us. No credit card required.