Frequently Asked Questions
What is PettyLogs?
PettyLogs is a business operations platform for repair shops, service centres, and multi-location businesses. It connects transactions, receipts, repair jobs, parts, customer history, and reporting in one system, but it is not accounting software.
How do repair jobs work?
Open a job card, scan the label plate or VIN sticker with your phone, add notes, labour, and parts, then move the repair through to completion. Mark the job finished to produce a collection report. Each payment recorded auto-generates a numbered tax receipt in the cash book — all listed on the collection report for the customer.
How does parts ordering work?
Raise a part request from a repair job or cash sale, even if the item is not yet in stock. PettyLogs tracks it with pending-stock status until it is fulfilled, with clear traceability from request to receipt.
Does PettyLogs track serial numbers and identifiers?
Yes. PettyLogs adapts to your business type — IMEI and serial for phones and electronics, VIN and licence plate for workshops, rating plates for appliances, and more. The Customer Devices register lists every registered unit from cash sales, repair intake, and manual entry. Each device links to repair jobs and sales for a full service history.
What is the Customer Devices register?
A searchable list of customer-owned equipment in your organisation. Devices appear automatically when sold through cash sales or when you create a repair with a serial or identifier. You can also register devices manually, upload photos, edit customer details, and start a new repair from any row.
How does PettyLogs scheduling work?
The Schedule module gives you day, week, month, and agenda views for standalone appointments plus repair and cash-sale bookings. Assign calendars and resources such as staff, subcontractors, bays, vehicles, or rooms, drag appointments into open slots, manage an appointment backlog, and print a day sheet. It does not send reminders or change a repair's status automatically.
How does tax work in PettyLogs?
Set your tax rate once per organisation and PettyLogs calculates it automatically on sales, receipts, parts, and labour where needed.
Are the digital cash book and receipts connected?
Yes — one register, not two systems. The digital cash book is your daily petty cash tool: opening balance, income, expenses, bank deposits, and transfers per till. Log income manually for an instant numbered receipt. Recorded payments from Cash Sales and repair jobs feed the same book when you add those modules — Cash Sales requires Reporting, and Repairs requires Cash Sales (enabling Repairs activates the full chain). Add Reporting for cash counts and printable daily reports. Manual income receipts with the customer's email appear in My Purchases alongside cash sales and repair jobs.
What are the Digital Cash Book and the Company Cash Book?
The Digital Cash Book is your main till register per cash point — daily opening balance, income and expenses, with live balance tracking. Income entries auto-generate receipts. Add Reporting for cash counts, printable day reports, and financial reports across both registers. The Company Cash Book is a separate global register for internal movements like salaries and warranty claims.
Can PettyLogs export to Xero?
Yes. PettyLogs exports transaction summaries and financial reports to Xero so your accountant gets clean, audit-ready data.
Does PettyLogs support multiple branches and users?
Yes. Each location can have its own cash points, users, and permissions, while reporting can stay separate by location or roll up across the organisation.
How does AI label scanning work?
Snap a product label or VIN plate photo and PettyLogs reads make, model, and serial or VIN into the job card. Licence plates are entered manually — they are not on VIN stickers.
Do I need a credit card?
No. The Digital Cash Book is free forever, and the demo does not require a card either.
Is PettyLogs really free?
Yes. The Digital Cash Book is free forever, including up to 5 users, 1 branch, and 1 cash point. Add paid modules only when you need them.
Can I track my repair or view my receipts as a customer?
Yes. Create a free account with the same email you gave the shop. My Purchases shows cash book receipts and cash sales linked to that email, plus repair jobs with live status and printable collection reports that list every payment receipt — one numbered receipt auto-generated for each payment recorded. Get notified when a repair is ready to collect.
Do I need to register an organisation to use PettyLogs?
No. You can create a free account just to use My Purchases, and register an organisation later if you want to run your own business on PettyLogs.
Is PettyLogs accounting software?
No. PettyLogs is operations software for running the business day to day, while still feeding clean data to your accountant through reports and Xero export.
How is PettyLogs different from a POS system?
It handles POS-style sales, but also manages the workflow around them: repair jobs, parts ordering, item history and identifiers, cash book activity, multi-branch operations, and customer tracking.