Accounting for garages and car valeting – what is required in 2026?
The foundation is the staff register, the till system and work orders linking hours, parts and invoicing. Garages need approval from the Public Roads Administration, and car valeting, tyre changing and tyre storage have their own approval scheme at the Labour Inspection Authority. From 15 June 2026 the motor trade is also covered by a generally applicable minimum wage, at rates from NOK 208 to 237 per hour.
The staff register
Garages and car valeting are covered by the staff register requirement. The register has to be kept as you go and show who is working and when the working day begins and ends. This is one of the areas where inspections hit hardest, because the register has either been kept or it has not – it cannot be reconstructed afterwards.
The till system and cash sales
Where the customer pays on the spot in cash, by card or through a relevant payment solution, the sale has to be registered as it happens in a till system meeting the cash register rules, with a Z-report and reconciliation at the end of the day – see Cash sales and cash registers
The work order is the heart of garage accounting
A work order should link the customer and the vehicle, what was agreed, the hours used, the parts taken out, and what was actually invoiced. Without it, hours and parts are not connected to the income, and the garage does not know which jobs are profitable. Separate labour and parts in the accounts. Both are normally VAT-liable at 25% on an ordinary Norwegian repair, but the split is necessary to understand the margin – and to handle warranty work correctly.
Parts and inventory
Parts in stock at the year end have to be documented as inventory, and parts taken out for a job have to be costed against that job. Parts taken for the business's own vehicles or for private use are withdrawals and have to be treated as such – see Inventory at the year-end close
Tyre changing and tyre hotels
A tyre hotel is a service running over time. Where the customer pays for a season or a year, the income has to be accrued – not recognised in full on payment. At the same time a responsibility arises for the customer's tyres, which are not the garage's inventory. The customer's tyres must not sit in the stock. See Accruals
Garage approval
Garages carrying out work that requires approval have to be approved by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and the approval is tied to the type of activity and the qualifications. The approval is a precondition for taking the work – not a formality to be sorted out later.
Valeting, tyre changing and tyre storage have their own approval
This is a different scheme, at the Labour Inspection Authority. Businesses carrying out car washing, valeting, tyre changing or tyre storage have to be approved and registered, and the approval can be withdrawn. Two different approval regimes at two different agencies – and a business doing both garage work and valeting can need both. Losing an approval stops that part of the operation – see Lost your approval in the cleaning register for how equivalent cases are handled.
HSE cards
HSE cards are required in parts of the industry. Check what applies to the specific activity with Arbeidstilsynet, and remember the card attaches to the person and the employment – so it has to be followed up on new hires.
A new minimum wage from 15 June 2026
From 15 June 2026 the motor trade became covered by a generally applicable minimum wage. It is a new industry in the scheme, and the rates are binding. Rates as at September 2026: a newly qualified skilled worker NOK 223.50, a skilled worker after one year's experience NOK 237.00, an unskilled worker over 18 NOK 208.00, and an unskilled worker over 18 with at least one year's experience NOK 212.00 per hour. The rules cover employees working on repair, servicing, maintenance, painting, panel work and warehouse work. There are specific exceptions, including for businesses mainly buying and selling vehicles, glass replacement and repair, or petrol stations. The rates are revised, so check the current level with Arbeidstilsynet before agreeing pay. Rates from before 15 June 2026 cannot be carried on.
Work clothing and occupational health services
The scheme also covers a requirement for necessary work clothing and safety footwear for the relevant employees, which the employer has to pay for. For valeting, tyre changing and tyre storage, from 15 June 2026 these requirements also became part of the conditions for keeping the public approval. That makes work clothing an approval question, not only a health and safety one. The industry can also have a duty to be affiliated with an approved occupational health service.
Insurance settlements, warranties and the business's own vehicles
Insurance settlements: the garage supplies the service to the customer, while the insurer often pays. The sale is still the garage's turnover with ordinary VAT, and the customer's excess is part of the same sale – not separate income. Warranty and complaints: rectification under the garage's own warranty is normally not a new sale. Where the work is covered by a supplier's warranty, the supplier is the counterparty, and it is a sale to the supplier. Own vehicles: the garage's own cars, demonstrators and trade-ins have to be classified correctly – inventory or fixed asset? That decides both the depreciation and the VAT treatment. Subcontractors: where external firms are used for paint, panel work or anything else, whether it is a service purchase or hired labour has to be settled.
Common mistakes
The staff register is filled in afterwards. The work order is not linked to hours, parts and the invoice. Parts for the business's own vehicles are taken without documentation. Tyre hotel income is recognised on payment. Customers' tyres sit in the inventory. The two approval schemes are confused. Pay rates from before 15 June 2026 are carried on. The excess in an insurance settlement is booked as a separate type of income. We can set up work order and stock routines, the till, the staff register and payroll under the new rates.
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This is general guidance, not advice on your specific case. Deadlines, rates and amounts change – always check the current rules, or get in touch with us.
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