HelmOps vs DockMaster: 2026 Comparison
HelmOps and DockMaster serve different people. DockMaster runs the marina, boatyard or dealership: slip maps and reservations, storage and lease billing, service work orders, fuel and accounts receivable, with a Windows desktop product, a web product and a mobile app for service technicians. HelmOps runs the yacht: expenses, maintenance by running hours, crew certificates, tasks and trips for the captain and crew. A yacht berthed at a DockMaster marina can use both without overlap.
Marina, boatyard and marine dealer management software
DockMaster pricing and product availability checked as of October 2026.
Feature Comparison
These platforms serve different users, so we cover where their scope overlaps, maintenance and billing, and where each is the right tool. DockMaster facts come from dockmaster.com, checked on 14 October 2026.
| Criterion | HelmOps | DockMaster |
|---|---|---|
| On-Vessel Operations | ✓Expenses, maintenance, crew certificates and rest hours, tasks and trips, run by the captain and crew. | Not in scope; DockMaster is built for the marina, yard and dealership. |
| Maintenance and Work Orders | ✓Hour meters with readings, running-hours service intervals, due-soon and overdue alerts to the owner and captain, and calendar due dates. | Service work orders with estimates, technician scheduling and time tracking, run by the service department for its customers. |
| Slips and Storage | Not offered; HelmOps does not manage berths. | ✓Marina map with drag-and-drop slip assignment, transient and long-term reservations on a calendar, and storage and lease billing. |
| Billing and Accounting | Receipt scanning, categories, approvals and a cash ledger, with expenses linked to trips. Marina fees are logged as expenses. | ✓Marina billing, fuel sales, accounts receivable and a general ledger. |
| Platforms and Offline | Web and iOS; no Android store app. Expenses with receipt photos, maintenance logs, tasks, trips and cash entries recorded without a signal are queued on the device and sent when the connection returns. Inventory, hour-meter readings and crew certificates need a connection, as do screens not opened before. | Windows desktop, a web product, and a mobile app for service technicians that works offline. |
| Crew | ✓Crew certificate expiry reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days, and MLC hours-of-rest records. | Not in scope; DockMaster tracks marina technicians, not yacht crew. |
On-Vessel Operations
HelmOps
Expenses, maintenance, crew certificates and rest hours, tasks and trips, run by the captain and crew.
DockMaster
Not in scope; DockMaster is built for the marina, yard and dealership.
Maintenance and Work Orders
HelmOps
Hour meters with readings, running-hours service intervals, due-soon and overdue alerts to the owner and captain, and calendar due dates.
DockMaster
Service work orders with estimates, technician scheduling and time tracking, run by the service department for its customers.
Slips and Storage
HelmOps
Not offered; HelmOps does not manage berths.
DockMaster
Marina map with drag-and-drop slip assignment, transient and long-term reservations on a calendar, and storage and lease billing.
Billing and Accounting
HelmOps
Receipt scanning, categories, approvals and a cash ledger, with expenses linked to trips. Marina fees are logged as expenses.
DockMaster
Marina billing, fuel sales, accounts receivable and a general ledger.
Platforms and Offline
HelmOps
Web and iOS; no Android store app. Expenses with receipt photos, maintenance logs, tasks, trips and cash entries recorded without a signal are queued on the device and sent when the connection returns. Inventory, hour-meter readings and crew certificates need a connection, as do screens not opened before.
DockMaster
Windows desktop, a web product, and a mobile app for service technicians that works offline.
Crew
HelmOps
Crew certificate expiry reminders at 90, 60 and 30 days, and MLC hours-of-rest records.
DockMaster
Not in scope; DockMaster tracks marina technicians, not yacht crew.
When DockMaster Is the Better Choice
Choose DockMaster if you run a marina, boatyard, storage facility or marine dealership and need slip reservations, storage billing, service work orders and accounting. It is not a vessel management system and is not trying to be one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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