AroFlo is Australian-built job management trusted by over 26,000 tradies, covering the full lifecycle from first call to final invoice with scheduling, GPS tracking, compliance, and supplier integrations. FlowSpec does one move. It turns a spoken job into a Xero draft quote in about 30 seconds, priced from your own Xero items. A full operations platform, or a specialist for the quote.
See it draft a real quote into Xero.
Side-by-Side
| Feature | FlowSpec | AroFlo |
|---|---|---|
| Speak the job into a quote | Yes, voice to draft quote | Form-based, build from templates and catalogues |
| Quote creation time | About 30 seconds | 5-15 minutes (template-based with item selection) |
| Drafts the quote into Xero | Yes, native Xero draft quote | Creates quote in AroFlo, syncs invoices to Xero |
| Prices from | Your own Xero items, your own sell prices | AroFlo catalogues with supplier pricing and markups |
| Trade slang recognition | Yes, GPO, RCD, PRV, TMV and many more | Search catalogues by code or description |
| GST auto-calculated | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling and dispatching | Left to your scheduling tools | Yes, calendar scheduling with real-time updates |
| GPS tracking | Left to your fleet tools | Yes, real-time technician and asset tracking with geofencing |
| OH&S and compliance | Left to your compliance tools | Yes, SWMS, JSAs, and OHS checklists with mandatory sign-off |
| Supplier integration | Left to your supplier relationships | Yes, live supplier catalogues and purchase orders |
| On-site payments | Left to Xero invoicing | Yes, via Stripe and Square integration |
| Timesheets | Left to your payroll tools | Yes, digital timesheets from job timers |
| Team management | Multi-seat with shared Xero connection | Full staff management, scheduling, GPS, and contractor tracking |
| Accounting integration | Xero (native, two-way) | Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, Saasu |
| Best for | Any trade, quoting from experience on site | Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and field service teams wanting full job management |
AroFlo covers the full job lifecycle: quoting, scheduling, compliance, timesheets, supplier orders, and invoicing. FlowSpec is the specialist. It does one thing (the spoken Xero quote) and does it fast. See the full FlowSpec comparison hub to line it up against other tools.
Quoting Speed
Both tools produce a quote. The starting point and the time to get there differ. Walk through the same hot water system replacement in each.
Both tools get the quote to the customer. AroFlo wraps it into a full job lifecycle with scheduling, compliance, and invoicing. FlowSpec gets the priced Xero draft done in about 30 seconds so the quote reaches the customer while the conversation is still warm.
Setup
How quickly you get to your first quote depends on which tool you choose and how much of your business you want it to manage.
FlowSpec connects to your Xero account and syncs your items as a price list. Your Xero sell prices carry across. Record your first voice memo and the draft quote lands in Xero. From sign-up to first quote is measured in minutes.
AroFlo onboarding involves configuring your job workflows, importing customer data, connecting supplier catalogues, mapping account codes to your accounting software, and training your team on the platform. The onboarding fee is A$1,299 and the process is supported by the AroFlo team. AroFloGo (the entry tier at A$39/user/month) offers self-service setup for smaller teams. For businesses setting up a full operations platform, that guided investment gets the foundation right.
Many tradesmen spend 45+ minutes per quote after hours. Across a week that builds to 5+ hours of admin that stays on the tools instead.
The Core Difference
Two Australian-built tools with two different scopes. Here is the honest read on each.
FlowSpec is a specialist quoting tool. It takes a spoken description of a job and turns it into a priced Xero draft quote, and it puts all its weight into that one move. It reads trade abbreviations like GPO, RCD, PRV, and TMV among many more, and it learns each user’s own phrasing over time. It prices each line from your own Xero items and calculates GST. It matches or creates the client in Xero and drafts the quote as a native draft. Scheduling, compliance, timesheets, and supplier ordering stay with the tools you already run.
AroFlo is a full job management platform, founded in Australia by an electrician and built from the ground up for trade and service businesses. It carries quoting, scheduling, GPS tracking, OH&S compliance with SWMS and JSAs, digital timesheets, purchase orders from live supplier catalogues, invoicing, and on-site payment collection via Stripe and Square. It connects to Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, and Saasu. In 2021, AroFlo joined the Simpro Group, which also includes Simpro, BigChange, and ClockShark. Over 26,000 tradies across Australia and New Zealand use AroFlo, with particular strength in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and fire protection trades. AroFlo holds a 3.91 out of 5 rating on the Xero App Store from 17 reviews.
AroFlo is built for the trade business that wants its entire operation in one platform. FlowSpec is built for the tradesman who knows the job and wants the price in Xero before the next call comes in. When quoting speed is the bottleneck, the spoken quote earns its place.
Xero Integration
Both tools talk to Xero. The depth and direction of that connection shapes how your bookkeeper works.
Xero sits at the centre of how FlowSpec works. Every quote FlowSpec makes is a Xero draft quote with the right line items, the matched contact, and your account codes. Your Xero items sync in as your price list, so your prices come out of Xero and your quotes go straight back into Xero. One sync, clean data end to end.
AroFlo transfers customer and supplier contacts, purchase orders, invoices, credit notes, payments, and staff timesheets to Xero through its integration layer. AroFlo is the system of record for quoting, job management, and operations. Xero receives the financial output. The setup requires mapping general ledger codes, tax codes, and tracking categories between the two systems. Some users report that sync reliability depends on getting the mapping configured correctly at setup. AroFlo also connects to MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, and Saasu for businesses using other accounting platforms.
Fair’s Fair
AroFlo serves over 26,000 tradies across Australia and New Zealand. When any of these describe your setup, it is likely the better fit.
You want job management from first call to final invoice in one platform
AroFlo handles the full lifecycle: a customer calls, you create the job, schedule the tradesman, track their arrival via GPS, complete compliance paperwork on site, log materials and time, generate the invoice, and collect payment through Stripe or Square. For trade businesses that want one platform across office and field, AroFlo keeps the whole workflow in one place. FlowSpec handles the quoting step and leaves operations management to your existing tools.
Compliance is part of every job
AroFlo generates SWMS, JSAs, and OH&S checklists on demand from saved templates, with mandatory sign-off before work starts. For electrical contractors working under AS/NZS 3000 compliance, plumbers with hot work permits, or any trade where safety documentation is a regulatory requirement, having compliance built into the job workflow means paperwork follows the job. FlowSpec focuses on the quoting step and leaves compliance documentation to your safety tools.
You order materials from Australian trade suppliers regularly
AroFlo connects to live supplier catalogues and lets you raise purchase orders directly from a job, with current trade pricing pulled into the quote. For plumbing businesses ordering through Reece or electrical contractors sourcing from Middy’s or L&H, having supplier integration inside the same system as the quote and the job reduces ordering steps. FlowSpec drafts the quote and leaves purchasing to your supplier relationships or Xero.
You need GPS tracking and digital timesheets for field teams
AroFlo tracks technicians in real time via GPS, logs travel and on-site time automatically, and pulls hours straight into digital timesheets for payroll. For trade businesses with field teams spread across multiple sites, knowing where your crew is and what their hours look like saves the Friday timesheet chase. FlowSpec creates the quote and leaves time tracking to your payroll and scheduling tools.
AroFlo is an established platform with real depth for Australian trade businesses. If quoting is where your evenings go, FlowSpec gets the spoken Xero quote done in about 30 seconds.
Pricing
How the cost works differs as much as the feature set.
Unlimited quotes, voice input, Xero item sync, trade slang recognition, and GST handling. Every feature is included. Connect to Xero and start quoting the same day.
See flowspec.com.au/pricing for the current rate.
AroFloGo starts at A$39 per user per month with self-service setup, covering scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and timesheets. AroFlo (the full platform) adds GPS tracking, compliance, supplier integrations, and advanced reporting, with a minimum of three users and a one-off onboarding fee of A$1,299.
Contact AroFlo for full pricing details.
AroFlo delivers a full operations suite for its per-user price: scheduling, GPS, compliance, timesheets, supplier integration, and invoicing. FlowSpec puts that investment into one thing, the 30-second path from site visit to priced Xero quote. Give back 5 hours a week of quoting admin and it covers its cost quickly.
The FlowSpec Fit
FlowSpec is purpose-built for one scenario: getting the quote out in about 30 seconds from site.
You quote from experience, straight from what you know
A plumber quoting a hot water replacement or an electrician quoting a switchboard upgrade. You know what the job needs and what it costs. You want the price on paper fast. FlowSpec is built for that: speak the job, get the Xero draft.
You run Xero and want quotes to land there as native drafts
With Xero as your system of record for invoicing and bookkeeping, FlowSpec drafts quotes straight into Xero with matched account codes, line items, tax types, and the right contact, priced from your own Xero items. One sync, one source of truth. AroFlo syncs financial data to Xero downstream, but quotes and job data stay inside AroFlo.
You want to start quoting today, with zero setup time
FlowSpec connects to your Xero account and your items sync as the price list. The first voice quote can go out on the same day you sign up. AroFloGo offers self-service setup at A$39/user, and the full AroFlo platform involves a guided onboarding process. Both are appropriate for their scope: AroFlo is setting up a complete operations platform, FlowSpec is connecting a quoting tool to Xero.
AroFlo is more platform than you need right now
AroFlo is built for trade businesses that want scheduling, GPS tracking, compliance, timesheets, and supplier ordering in one platform. If you are a sole trader or a two-person team doing residential work, the GPS tracking, SWMS generation, supplier catalogue, and advanced reporting modules go beyond what you need. FlowSpec covers the quoting step. It gets the quote from your head into Xero.
You want your evenings back
Quote from the ute in about 30 seconds and keep the kitchen table for dinner. Every fitting, valve, length of pipe, and hour of labour is captured from your voice memo and priced from your own Xero items.
Weighing up other tools too? See how the spoken Xero quote sits against FlowSpec vs Fergus, FlowSpec vs Simpro, or browse the full comparison hub.
FAQ
Yes. AroFlo handles job management, scheduling, GPS tracking, compliance, timesheets, and invoicing. FlowSpec handles the quoting step, turning a spoken job into a priced Xero draft in about 30 seconds. Both connect to Xero, so your bookkeeper sees consistent data. A tradesman using AroFlo for operations can use FlowSpec to get quotes out faster than building them through AroFlo's quoting workflow.
They solve different problems. AroFlo is a full job management platform covering scheduling, dispatch, GPS tracking, compliance, timesheets, purchase orders, invoicing, and supplier integrations. FlowSpec is a specialist voice quoting tool that drafts the Xero quote in about 30 seconds. If you run a trade business that needs scheduling, compliance documentation, supplier ordering, and GPS tracking in one platform, AroFlo covers that breadth. If quoting is where your evenings go, FlowSpec handles that one step.
AroFlo quoting is built into its job management workflow: you create a quote from templates, add items from supplier catalogues, set labour rates and markups, and send it to the customer. FlowSpec starts from your voice: describe the job in a 30-second memo and it matches each item to your own Xero price list, calculates GST, and drafts the quote straight into Xero. AroFlo quotes live inside AroFlo and sync to Xero downstream. FlowSpec quotes are native Xero drafts from the start.
AroFlo quoting works through form-based templates where you select items from catalogues, set quantities, and apply markups. Voice-to-quote from a spoken job description is what FlowSpec is built for. The two tools approach quoting from different starting points: AroFlo from a structured job management workflow, FlowSpec from a voice memo that lands as a Xero draft.
AroFloGo is the entry-level tier for smaller operations or tradies getting started. It covers scheduling, quoting, invoicing, and timesheets at A$39 per user per month with self-service setup. AroFlo is the full platform with GPS tracking, compliance management, inventory, supplier integrations, purchase orders, and advanced reporting. AroFlo requires a minimum of three users and includes a guided onboarding process. Both are made by the same company, now part of the Simpro Group.
Yes. FlowSpec drafts quotes straight into your Xero account, so a Xero subscription is part of the setup. AroFlo integrates with Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, and Saasu, so it supports multiple accounting platforms.
FlowSpec fits Xero trades who want the quote done in about 30 seconds. Watch it turn a spoken job into a priced Xero draft.
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