Fergus is a full job management platform trusted by 25,000 tradies across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, covering quoting, scheduling, invoicing, payments, and health and safety. 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 platform for the whole job, or a specialist for the quote.
See it draft a real quote into Xero.
Side-by-Side
| Feature | FlowSpec | Fergus |
|---|---|---|
| Speak the job into a quote | Yes, voice to draft quote | Template-based, type and search |
| Quote creation time | About 30 seconds | 5-15 minutes (build from template) |
| Drafts the quote into Xero | Yes, native Xero draft quote | Creates quote in Fergus, syncs invoices to Xero |
| Prices from | Your own Xero items, your own sell prices | Fergus price books (CSV supplier imports, 150+ suppliers) |
| Trade slang recognition | Yes, GPO, RCD, PRV, TMV and many more | Search from price book by keyword |
| GST auto-calculated | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling | Left to your scheduling tools | Yes, drag-and-drop calendar with Google Calendar sync |
| Job tracking | Left to your other tools | Yes, status board with job cards, phases, and notes |
| Invoicing | Raised in Xero | Built-in, auto-populated from job data |
| On-site payments | Via Xero | Fergus Pay (Tap to Pay, credit card on-site) |
| Health and safety | Left to your safety tools | SWMS forms, certificates, checklists (Pro plan) |
| Team management | Multi-seat with shared Xero connection | Full staff scheduling, GPS tracking, timesheets |
| Accounting integration | Xero (native, two-way) | Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks |
| Mobile app | PWA on any phone, native apps in progress | FergusGo native iOS and Android |
| Best for | Any trade, quoting from experience on site | Trades needing full job management in one platform |
Fergus covers the full job lifecycle: quoting, scheduling, tracking, invoicing, payments, and safety. 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 switchboard upgrade in each.
Both tools get the quote to the customer. Fergus wraps it into a job management workflow with scheduling and approval tracking. FlowSpec gets the priced Xero draft done in about 30 seconds so the quote reaches the customer while the conversation is still warm.
System of Record
Where your quote data lives matters. It shapes how your bookkeeper works and where your numbers come from.
FlowSpec uses Xero as both the price list and the destination. Your Xero items sync in as your price list, so every line carries your own sell price. The quote lands as a native Xero draft with the right contact, account codes, and tax types. Your bookkeeper sees it in Xero straight away, the same place they already work.
Fergus maintains its own quote and job data, with its own price books and customer records. When a job reaches invoicing, the invoice, contact, and payment sync to Xero in real time. Quotes stay inside Fergus. For tradies who want their job management, scheduling, and quoting all in one system and then push the financial data to Xero for their bookkeeper, that architecture makes sense.
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 tools built for two different problems. 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 and job tracking stay with the tools you already run.
Fergus is a full job management platform built by a tradesman, Dan Pollard, who used it to grow his own NZ trade business from 4 to 24 staff. Founded in 2012 in Auckland and now headquartered in Sydney, Fergus carries quoting, scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, on-site payments via Fergus Pay, health and safety documentation, team management with GPS tracking, and integrations with 150+ trade suppliers. It connects to Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks, so your accounting platform is flexible. For the tradesman who wants one platform for every stage of the job, Fergus covers that ground.
Fergus is built for the trade business that wants full job management alongside their quotes. 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.
Fergus syncs invoices, contacts, and payments to Xero in real time, so your bookkeeper sees the financials flow through. Fergus also connects to MYOB and QuickBooks, giving you flexibility if you move accounting platforms later. Quotes and jobs live inside Fergus, with Xero serving as the downstream accounting layer. For tradies whose bookkeeper already works in Xero, the data arrives there. For tradies who want the quote itself to land as a native Xero draft, FlowSpec keeps that path direct.
Fair’s Fair
Fergus is a solid platform with 25,000 tradies on it. When any of these describe your setup, it is likely the better fit.
You want quoting, scheduling, and invoicing in one platform
Fergus covers the full job lifecycle. You can quote, schedule, track, and invoice a job through to payment in one platform. For tradies who want one login for every stage of the work, that means fewer tools and data in one place. FlowSpec handles the quoting step and leaves scheduling and job tracking to your other tools.
You need on-site payments and tap-to-pay
Fergus Pay lets you take credit card payments on site via tap-to-pay, with the payment syncing to your accounting automatically. For service trades where the job is done and paid in the same visit, that closes the loop at the door. FlowSpec handles quoting and leaves payment collection to Xero and your payment provider.
You need health and safety documentation built in
Fergus Pro includes SWMS forms, safety certificates, and checklists attached to each job. For trades where safety documentation is part of the daily workflow, having it inside the job card keeps everything together. FlowSpec focuses on the quoting step and leaves safety documentation to your existing safety tools.
You use MYOB or QuickBooks instead of Xero
Fergus integrates with Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks, so your accounting platform stays flexible. FlowSpec is built around Xero specifically. If your bookkeeper runs MYOB or QuickBooks, Fergus connects to those. If your bookkeeper runs Xero and you want the quote to land there as a native draft, FlowSpec does that.
Fergus is a proven platform with real traction across AU and NZ trades. If quoting is where your evenings go, FlowSpec gets the spoken Xero quote done in about 30 seconds.
Pricing
Both tools charge per user per month. The difference is what each dollar buys.
Unlimited quotes, voice input, Xero item sync, trade slang recognition, and GST handling. Every feature is included.
See flowspec.com.au/pricing for the current rate.
Essentials at A$48/user/mo (quoting, scheduling, invoicing, job tracking). Pro at A$72/user/mo adds checklists, forms, job phases, purchase orders, and health and safety. Timesheet-only users at A$22/mo. Contractor users at A$4/day.
14-day free trial, month-to-month.
Fergus delivers a full job management suite for the per-user price: scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, payments, and safety documentation. FlowSpec puts that investment into one thing, the fastest 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
An electrician quoting a switchboard upgrade or a plumber quoting a hot water replacement. You know what the job needs and what it costs. You just 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 the right account codes, contact, and tax types, priced from your own Xero items. One sync, one source of truth. Fergus syncs financial data to Xero downstream, but quotes stay inside Fergus.
You want to quote from site rather than the office
Record a voice memo walking back to the ute. FlowSpec handles item matching, your own sell prices, GST, and the Xero draft. The quote is done in about 30 seconds while the job is still fresh in your head.
You already have scheduling and job tracking sorted
Some tradies already run their calendar in Google, their job notes in a notebook, and their invoicing in Xero. For that setup, a full job management platform may include features beyond what you need. FlowSpec covers the step that takes the most time. 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 cable, 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 Tradify, FlowSpec vs ServiceM8, or browse the full comparison hub.
FAQ
Yes. Fergus handles scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, and payments. FlowSpec handles the quoting step, turning a spoken job into a priced Xero draft in about 30 seconds. Both connect to Xero, so your accounting stays in one place. A tradesman using Fergus for job management can use FlowSpec to get quotes drafted faster than typing them into Fergus manually.
They cover different ground. Fergus is a full job management platform with quoting, scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, payments, health and safety, and team management. FlowSpec is a specialist voice quoting tool that drafts the Xero quote in about 30 seconds. Fergus covers the full job lifecycle in one platform. FlowSpec handles the quoting step faster for trades whose accounting already lives in Xero.
Fergus quoting is template-based: you create a quote inside Fergus, search or add line items from your price book, set markups, and send a branded PDF for customer email approval. That process is thorough and works well inside the broader Fergus job workflow. 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. For tradies who know the price and want it on paper fast, the voice route saves the typing.
Fergus quoting works through templates and manual line-item entry in the Fergus app. Voice-to-quote from a spoken job description is what FlowSpec is built for. The two tools approach quoting from different starting points: Fergus from a structured form inside a broader job management workflow, FlowSpec from a voice memo that lands as a Xero draft.
Speed and where the quote lands. FlowSpec drafts the Xero quote in about 30 seconds from a voice memo, with items auto-matched to your own Xero price list. The quote lands as a native Xero draft, ready for your bookkeeper. Fergus creates quotes inside its own system and syncs to Xero downstream. For the shortest path from site visit to priced Xero quote, FlowSpec is built for that single step.
Yes. FlowSpec drafts quotes straight into your Xero account, so a Xero subscription is part of the setup. Fergus integrates with Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks, so it supports a wider range of 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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