Available now
Customer SMS, on one bill
Automatic updates as a job moves — booked in, started, stage changes, completed — or a one-off message from the job. Credits are prepaid, from 66c down to 48c.
Comparison
TMS Teamwork vs PanelDesk for South African panel shops.
Both run a panel shop from quote to invoice. The difference is what you pay to get there, and what you have to sign up for on the side.
PanelDesk is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to TMS Teamwork (Pty) Ltd. TMS, Teamwork, TMS Team Work, and Teamwork Management System are marks of their respective owners. Everything below is drawn from TMS Teamwork's public website, checked July 2026, and from a quote a South African workshop received in 2026. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
What it costs your team
Per seat, or per plan
TMS Teamwork charges R465 per seat, so the bill grows with every person you add. PanelDesk plans include your team.
| Team size | TMS Teamwork | PanelDesk | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 users | R1 395 | R990 (Core) | R405 |
| 5 users | R2 325 | R1 490 (Operations) | R835 |
| 8 users | R3 720 | R1 990 (Workforce) | R1 730 |
TMS totals are the confirmed R465 per seat excluding VAT, multiplied by team size. PanelDesk plan prices were checked in July 2026 and carry no VAT; extra seats beyond a plan's included users are R90 each. What each product includes at those prices differs — see our pricing page for exactly what you get.
Keeping customers updated
What it costs to SMS your customers
TMS charges R285.20 a month including VAT just to switch SMS on, then 70c a message on top, split across two suppliers. PanelDesk has no monthly SMS fee.
| Messages per month | TMS Teamwork | PanelDesk | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 SMS | R598 | R330 | R268 |
| 1 000 SMS | R948 | R660 | R288 |
| 2 000 SMS | R1 648 | R1 160 | R488 |
| 5 000 SMS | R3 748 | R2 900 | R848 |
TMS totals are the quoted R248 per month for the SMS function, plus 70c per message. PanelDesk totals are the per-message rate only, with no monthly fee.
| TMS Teamwork | PanelDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee before your first SMS | R285.20 incl VAT | None |
| Per message | 70c ex VAT (50c provider + 20c Teamwork) | 66c – 48c, no VAT |
| Suppliers to contract with | Two — E-communicate, plus TMS Teamwork | One |
| A prepaid bundle covers | The 20c Teamwork counter only | The whole message |
| Unused balance | Teamwork counters carry over, the provider's do not | Sits in your balance |
| To switch it on | Sign a provider contract, hand over SMTP credentials | Toggle it on, buy credits |
One supplier, one invoice
The cents barely matter. What adds up is the monthly fee, the second contract, the SMTP credentials, and a bundle that only covers part of the message. With PanelDesk you buy credits and send.
PanelDesk prices carry no VAT because PanelDesk is not VAT-registered. TMS figures are shown excluding VAT, which is the fair basis for a VAT-registered workshop that claims its input VAT back.
Side by side
Feature by feature
A dash means we could not find it stated publicly — not that it is missing. If we have something wrong here, tell us and we will fix it.
| Feature | TMS Teamwork | PanelDesk |
|---|---|---|
| Core workshop workflow | ||
| Estimates and quoting | ||
| Job cards | ||
| Final costing | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Photos and documents on the job | ||
| Production stages board | Stages you define yourself | |
| Staff clocking and timesheets | ClockIT | Kiosk or NFC |
| Payroll estimates from clocked hours | Gross, overtime, paid leave | |
| Talking to customers | ||
| Customer SMS updates | Second supplier + monthly fee | Built in, no monthly fee |
| Secure quote and invoice links | With view tracking | |
| Online accept or decline on a quote | ||
| Automatic follow-ups and reminders | Rolling out | |
| WhatsApp send from the job | Opens with message ready | |
| Integrations | ||
| Audatex assessments | In progress | |
| BAMS | ||
| Lightstone Auto | ||
| AutoMX | In development | |
| Accounting sync | Sage, in development | |
| Your data | ||
| Import your TMS history | Original PDFs, stored & viewable | |
| Import a Sage Pastel customer list | Free, self-serve | |
| Export everything, any time | ZIP of records and files | |
| How you buy and run it | ||
| Runs in the browser | Installs as an app | |
| Prices published online | Mostly by quote | |
| Users included in the price | R465 per seat | 3 to 8 by plan |
| Free trial without a card | 30 days | |
AvailableIn progressNot publicly stated
What you get with PanelDesk
Built to keep the job moving
Rolling out
Automatic follow-ups on quotes and invoices
Quote nudges, expiry reminders, and invoice payment reminders over email and SMS — with quiet hours and consent built in. Rolling out to plans now.
Available now
Nothing to install, nothing to host
Runs in the browser, installs as an app on desktop or phone. No server to buy, back up, or patch — and the same job is live for everyone on the floor.
Switching
Your history comes with you
Moving off TMS does not mean starting from zero. Your original quote, invoice, parts order, and attachment PDFs come across from a TMS export, stored safely and viewable inside PanelDesk, and your Sage Pastel customer list imports free.
Our Audatex integration is still being finished, so if that is what your shop runs on today, talk to us about timing before you move.
Comparison FAQ
TMS Teamwork vs PanelDesk FAQs
The questions panel shops ask most often when weighing the two up.
If you want published pricing, your team included rather than charged per seat, customer SMS on one bill, and software you can open from any browser, then yes. Shops move to us from TMS Teamwork mostly on cost and to stop running a workshop server. If a live Audatex link is critical to you today, talk to us about timing first — ours is still being finished.
They price by quote rather than publishing a price list, so it depends what you are quoted. The written quote we have seen puts the licence at R465 excluding VAT per seat, the SMS function at R285.20 a month including VAT, and messages at 70c excluding VAT each. PanelDesk publishes its prices, so you can hold the two side by side.
On the figures we can compare, yes. TMS is R465 per seat, so five users is R2 325 a month before a single SMS. PanelDesk's Operations plan covers five users at R1 490, with no VAT added and no monthly SMS fee. What each product includes differs, so compare the plans too.
It changes what a bundle actually buys. Of the 70c, 50c goes to E-communicate on a contract you sign yourself, and 20c to Teamwork. Their bundles buy the 20c counter only — so the provider's share is still billed separately, and the quote says those counters do not carry over. With PanelDesk, one credit sends one SMS.
Yes. Your original quote, invoice, parts order, and attachment PDFs come across from a TMS ZIP export, stored safely and viewable inside PanelDesk. Your Sage Pastel customer list imports free. Any once-off fee depends on how much data you bring, confirmed upfront.
No. The 30-day trial needs no card, and most shops run a few live jobs alongside their current system first. If you move, your history comes with you — and you can export everything out of PanelDesk any time.
Try it on a few real jobs
Thirty days, no credit card, and no need to switch anything off while you look. Run a couple of quotes through PanelDesk and see how it handles your workflow.