Booking a stranger to wash your car shouldn't feel like a leap of faith.
Before a pro can take a booking, their ABN, photo ID and insurance are checked. Your deposit is only charged once they accept, and reviews only come from completed bookings. Here's how each of those works.
ABN-verified professionals
Every merchant is verified with a valid Australian Business Number and reviewed before they can accept bookings.
Stripe-secured payments
Stripe holds your deposit until a pro accepts. When the job is complete, the rest is charged to the same card or sent to you as a link.
Updates at every stage
Confirmed, started, running late, complete: each step sends you an update, and you can message your merchant inside the booking.
For customers
What you get the moment you tap book, before the pro even arrives.
Every pro is ABN-verified
Before a single booking is accepted, we check each merchant's Australian Business Number against the Australian Business Register. If it is not valid and active, they don't list. The business name the register returns is put in front of the person reviewing their application.
Government photo ID, reviewed before approval
Every merchant uploads a government-issued photo ID during onboarding, and it is reviewed before they can be approved. Once they are approved, the file is deleted.
Proof of insurance before a pro can list
Every pro uploads proof of public liability insurance during onboarding, and it is reviewed before they can be approved to take bookings.
A deposit that is only taken when a pro says yes
You pay a deposit when you book. Stripe holds it, and it is only charged once the pro accepts the job. If the pro cancels on you, it is refunded. When the pro marks the job complete, the rest is charged to the same card, or we send you a link to pay it.
Stripe handles every payment
Payments and payouts run on Stripe, the same payment infrastructure used by Amazon and Atlassian. Autara never sees or stores your card details. They go straight from your browser to Stripe over an encrypted connection.
Reviews are tied to real bookings
Only the customer on a completed booking can leave a star rating. We don't allow merchants to write, edit, or pay for reviews, and we remove anything that breaches our community guidelines. What you see is what other real customers thought.
Chat stays on Autara
All conversation between you and the pro happens in the Autara app or web booking. If a pro asks you to pay them off-platform, that is a red flag: tell us at support@autara.au.
A clean car shouldn't cost the street.
Wash water carries detergent, brake dust and oil into the stormwater drain, and in most Australian suburbs that drain runs to the creek. Every pro accepts our environmental terms before they can take a booking: water capture, drain management, safe chemical disposal, and their council's rules.
Agreed at onboarding
Not a badge a pro opts into later. It's a step they pass before their first job.
See something off? Tell us.
A suspicious listing, an inappropriate message, or a pro that made you uncomfortable. Email us, and include your booking reference if you have one.