An Australian boatyard lives on the hardstand: boats coming out on the travel lift or up the slipway for antifoul, prop speed, insurance surveys, and repairs, sitting on stands for days or weeks, then going back in. The yard's money is made in that cycle, and it leaks in the gaps: quotes that never became jobs, hours that never hit the invoice, and a hardstand clogged with boats nobody is working on. Boatyard software closes those gaps.
This guide covers what boatyard software should handle for an Australian yard and what to look for.
- The yard earns in the haul-work-relaunch cycle and leaks in the gaps.
- The core needs are lift and slipway scheduling, work orders, labour, and hardstand billing.
- Work orders should run from quote to approval to invoice.
- Hardstand days are revenue and should be billed like any other space.
- Antifoul season needs a schedule, not a whiteboard.
#Lift and slipway scheduling
The travel lift or slipway is the yard's bottleneck: every job starts and ends with it. A schedule of haul-outs and relaunches keeps the bottleneck moving, spreads the antifoul-season rush, and tells customers honestly when their boat can come out. Without it, the yard runs on the loudest phone call.
#Work orders from quote to invoice
Every job should live as a work order that moves through stages: quoted, approved by the customer, in progress, done, invoiced. That discipline means no work starts without agreement and no finished work goes unbilled. With each job tied to the boat and owner, the yard builds a service history that makes the next quote faster and better.
#Labour and hardstand billing
Unbilled hours are the quietest leak in a yard: the extra half day on a stubborn skin fitting that never reaches the invoice. Logging labour against the job captures it. And hardstand days are revenue too, an assignable space like a berth, so storage on the hard should bill automatically, the same way as berths and with GST handled through recurring billing.
#What to look for
- 1A haul-out and relaunch schedule for the lift or slipway.
- 2Work orders from quote to approval to invoice.
- 3Labour logged against each job.
- 4Hardstand storage billed automatically with GST.
- 5Every job tied to the boat and owner, building a service history.
Marine OS is built for marinas first and is in early access. It handles work orders with estimates, haul-out scheduling, labour, storage, and billing. Deep parts procurement and warranty workflows are areas we would scope in a demo rather than overclaim, so book one and we will show you honestly what is ready.
Run your yard without the leaks
Marine OS tracks haul-outs, work orders, labour, and hardstand billing in one system. It is in early access with a 7-day free trial, no credit card required.
7-day free trial. No credit card required.
#Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Related reading: marina management software in Australia and dry stack storage software.
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