Carz vs Rental Car Manager
Rental Car Manager (RCM) is a Brisbane-based rental system, part of Jonas Software since December 2023, with customers who have run on it since 2009. It is built around bookings: your website, the counter and travel agents such as Rentalcars.com. Carz is car rental software for independent Australian operators, including those who hire cars by the week to gig-economy drivers. If you are looking at Carz as a Rental Car Manager alternative, here is where each one fits.
| Dimension | Carz | Rental Car Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Car rental software for independent operators, including weekly hire to gig-economy drivers | Rental management built around website, counter and travel-agent bookings |
| Company | Built for Australia | Based in Brisbane; part of Jonas Software since December 2023 |
| Price | AUD $7 per rented car per month, ex GST. $0 for cars in the yard. Billing capped at AUD $1,400 a month ex GST (200 rented cars without GPS) | Not published on its site; the startup package leads to a contact form |
| Setup and contract | No setup fee, no seats, cancel any month | No implementation costs and a month-to-month contract, per its own pages |
| Trial | 14 days free, no credit card | Free demo system, at no cost and with no ongoing obligation |
| Payments | Stripe, Square and PayTo; the deposit is held through Stripe | Stripe online and Stripe card readers at the counter; VostroPay for online card payments, payment links and stored cards |
| Renewals and collections | Rentals renew, charges run every Monday, and arrears go to collections; a failed payment shows up straight away | Weekly billing is not mentioned on its site |
| Investor portal and payouts | Built in: investor portal, weekly investor report and payouts | Not advertised |
| Travel-agent bookings | Not offered | Rentalcars.com, Motorhome Republic and other agents; bookings arrive in real time, with commission reports |
| Driver check-in | Drivers onboard from a link, upload their licence and sign digitally | Online check-in, electronic signing and vehicle inspections on a tablet |
| AI agents | Answer calls, WhatsApp, web forms and Instagram; AUD $3 per booking renewal | Not advertised |
Carz costs AUD $7 per rented car per month, ex GST. Nothing for cars not on rent, no setup fee, and billing capped at AUD $1,400 a month ex GST (200 rented cars without GPS).
Looking at more than two options? See Rental Car Manager alternatives, with each option’s own published facts.
Checked against Rental Car Manager’s own site, 11 October 2026. Sources: Rental Car Manager · Stripe partnership · VostroPay · Agent integration · Availability engine · Hands-free pickup · GPS tracking · Toll management · Benefits · Startup package · What’s new
Where Carz wins
- Weekly charges go out every Monday on their own, rentals renew, and arrears go to collections.
- Square and PayTo alongside Stripe, so weekly rent does not depend on a single payment provider.
- An investor portal with a weekly report and payouts, for cars that investors fund.
- The price is on the site: AUD $7 per rented car per month ex GST, nothing for cars in the yard, no setup fee.
- Drivers onboard from a link, upload their licence and sign the agreement digitally, with no counter needed.
- Profit and loss split by driver type, for fleets that serve Uber, Ola, courier and NDIS drivers at once.
- AI agents that answer calls, WhatsApp, web forms and Instagram, for AUD $3 per booking renewal.
Where Rental Car Manager is the better fit
- A long local record: customers on the system since 2009, and one since around 2005.
- Bookings from travel agents such as Rentalcars.com and Motorhome Republic land in real time, with agent rates and commission reports.
- A rules-based availability engine that allocates vehicles across all your locations.
- Card payments at the counter through Stripe readers, plus VostroPay for online payments and payment links.
- Automated toll matching. Carz charges tolls and fines to the card on file.
Buyer questions
How much does Rental Car Manager cost?
It does not publish a price. Checked on 11 October 2026, there is no pricing page in its sitemap, and the startup-package page leads to a contact form. Its own pages do say there are no implementation costs and that the contract is month to month. A monthly figure in a software directory is a third party’s estimate, so ask RCM for a written quote.
Is Rental Car Manager Australian?
Yes. It is based in Brisbane and has been part of Jonas Software since December 2023. Its customers include Australian and New Zealand operators who have used it since 2009, and one since around 2005.
Does Rental Car Manager handle weekly or subscription rental?
Its site does not mention weekly, long-term or subscription billing. What it describes is booking management, a rules-based availability engine, travel-agent connections, and card payments through Stripe and VostroPay, including stored cards for repeat payments. If weekly hire is most of your business, ask RCM to show you a weekly renewal in its demo system.
When is Rental Car Manager the better choice?
When your bookings come from travel agents such as Rentalcars.com and from the counter, you run several locations, and you want automated toll matching in the same system. Carz has no travel-agent bookings. If your cars are on weekly hire to gig-economy drivers, that is the job Carz is built for.
How do I move from Rental Car Manager to Carz?
Carz has not published a migration tool, so plan to re-enter your fleet rather than import it. Adding a car takes minutes: register it, upload the rego documents and set the weekly rate. Drivers then onboard from a link and sign their agreement digitally. Before you leave RCM, export the reports and booking history you want to keep. Its contract is month to month, so you can run both for a few weeks.
Can Carz take bookings from Rentalcars.com like Rental Car Manager does?
No. Carz does not connect to travel agents, and RCM does. If a large share of your bookings comes through agents, that alone may decide it. Carz works with direct customers instead. Its AI agents answer calls, WhatsApp, web forms and Instagram, and weekly charges run on their own.
Is Carz cheaper than Rental Car Manager?
We cannot say, because RCM does not publish its price. Carz costs AUD $7 per rented car per month ex GST, nothing for cars in the yard, with no setup fee. With 30 cars on rent that is AUD $210 a month ex GST. Put that next to a written RCM quote for the same fleet.
Growing, and want fixed, fair pricing?
Carz is a flat AUD $7 per rented car, and nothing for a car off the road. See it running on your own fleet.