NextMinute is a project-based job management platform from New Zealand built for builders and tradies running larger jobs. FlowSpec does one thing deeply: speak the whole job and get a priced quote drafted into Xero from your own items in about 30 seconds. Here is how they compare for Australian tradies.
See it draft a real quote into Xero.
Side-by-Side
| Feature | FlowSpec | NextMinute |
|---|---|---|
| Voice input | Yes, whole-job natural language | Talk-to-text for timesheet notes only |
| How quoting works | Speak the job, AI parses all line items at once | Build from supplier price books, templates, or manual entry |
| Speed to draft | About 30 seconds | Manual line-by-line or template-based |
| Xero connection | Two-way API: syncs items in, drafts quotes out | Two-way: invoices, contacts, supplier bills, timesheets, payments |
| Prices from | Your own Xero items | Imported supplier price books maintained in NextMinute |
| Learns your phrasing | Yes, per-user phrase memory | No voice input, no phrase learning |
| Gantt scheduling | Quoting specialist | Full Gantt chart with drag-and-drop task planning |
| Timesheets | Via Xero or your payroll app | Built-in, syncs to Xero Payroll |
| Progress claims | Via Xero (quote to invoice) | Built-in progress claims and variations |
| Site diary | Not included | Built-in site diary with photos |
| Mobile app | Web app (native apps coming soon) | Native iOS and Android with full feature set |
| Pricing model | One plan, per seat (AUD) | Flat monthly by team size (AUD, plus GST) |
| Built for Australian trades | Yes, Australian company (Canberra) | Founded in New Zealand, now AU-headquartered |
| Try it | The demo drafts a real quote into Xero | 10-day free trial, no credit card |
| Price | One all-inclusive, per-seat plan (AUD) | A$199/mo (3-9 users), A$349/mo (10-14), custom (15+) |
NextMinute is a project-based job management platform founded in New Zealand, now AU-headquartered, built for builders and tradies running larger jobs. FlowSpec is an Australian-built Xero quoting specialist with whole-job voice parsing. Different tools for different workflows.
Quoting Approach
FlowSpec listens to a voice memo and produces a priced quote. NextMinute builds quotes from imported supplier price books and reusable templates.
NextMinute gives you structured quoting with supplier price books that update automatically when you re-import, plus saved templates for repeat job types. FlowSpec gives you a faster path to the quote itself: speak the job, get a draft in Xero with your own sell prices on every line. For tradies quoting several jobs a day from site, that difference in seconds adds up across the week.
Xero Depth
Both tools have two-way Xero integrations. Where your prices live and how the quote gets there are different.
FlowSpec syncs your Xero items in as your price list, so every quote is priced at your own sell rates with your markup already in. It drafts a real Xero quote with line items, the matched or created contact, account codes, and tax types. The quote sits in Xero ready to review and send. Xero is your system of record throughout.
NextMinute uses imported supplier price books for quoting. You bulk-import price lists from your suppliers, and updates flow into your templates automatically when you re-import. Invoices, contacts, supplier bills, payments, and timesheets sync with Xero, but your quote pricing lives inside NextMinute, built from supplier cost data rather than your Xero items. If your bookkeeper updates sell prices in Xero, those changes live separately from your NextMinute price books.
FlowSpec treats Xero as the single source of truth and works within it. NextMinute treats itself as the project hub and syncs accounting data to Xero. For a tradesman whose bookkeeper already has Xero set up with items and sell prices, FlowSpec uses that work directly. NextMinute asks you to maintain pricing through its own supplier price book system. You can read the longer walkthrough at voice quoting for Xero in Australia.
Scope
FlowSpec goes deep on one step. NextMinute covers the full project lifecycle.
FlowSpec is built to get a quote from your head into Xero as fast as possible. Voice input, trade slang recognition, per-user phrase memory, disambiguation, and your own Xero sell prices on every line. Everything after the quote (invoicing, payments, reporting) stays in Xero where your bookkeeper already works.
NextMinute covers the full project lifecycle for builders and tradies running larger jobs. Quote the project, plan it on a Gantt chart, assign tasks to staff, track time, record site diaries with photos, raise progress claims, manage variations, purchase materials, and invoice the client. For project-based businesses that want every step in one system, NextMinute replaces several separate tools.
The choice depends on what you need. If your bottleneck is getting quotes out fast and you already run Xero for the rest, FlowSpec solves that step deeply. If you manage multi-week builds or renovation projects with crews, Gantt scheduling, and progress claims, NextMinute covers more ground. The two are complementary: both connect to Xero, so some businesses could use FlowSpec for quoting speed alongside NextMinute for project coordination.
A Worked Example
Say Tom runs a small building business and keeps his sell prices in Xero. Here is how the same bathroom reno quotes on each tool.
The job, spoken from site:
“Bathroom reno, strip out existing tiles and fixtures, waterproof the wet area, supply and install new shower screen, vanity unit with basin, toilet suite, wall tiles twelve square metres, floor tiles six square metres, tapware package, and forty hours labour across the project.”
On FlowSpec
Tom speaks the whole job in one take while inspecting the existing bathroom. FlowSpec matches “shower screen”, “vanity unit”, “toilet suite”, “wall tiles”, “waterproofing”, and “tapware” to his Xero items at his sell prices, sets the GST, and drafts the quote into Xero with the contact, account codes, and tax types in place. The total reflects his actual margins, ready to review and send from Xero in about 30 seconds.
On NextMinute
Tom opens NextMinute, creates a new project, and builds the quote using his saved bathroom renovation template or by pulling items from his imported supplier price books: strip-out, waterproofing, shower screen, vanity, toilet, tiles by the square metre, tapware, and labour. He adjusts quantities and pricing for each line, brands the quote with his logo, and sends it to the client for one-click acceptance. Once accepted, he can plan the project phases on a Gantt chart and raise progress claims as stages complete.
Because Tom’s sell prices already live in Xero, FlowSpec quotes straight from his own books, and the whole job goes from voice to Xero draft in one step.
Fair’s Fair
NextMinute is rated 4.93 out of 5 on the Xero App Store with 55 reviews. If any of these fit how you work, it is worth evaluating.
You run project-based work like builds, renovations, or landscaping
NextMinute is built for tradies running larger, multi-week projects. Gantt chart planning, site diaries, progress claims, variations, and back-costing give you control over complex jobs that unfold across stages. For a builder managing a house build or a major reno, that project coordination layer is what sets NextMinute apart.
You need Gantt scheduling and progress claims
NextMinute includes Gantt chart scheduling with drag-and-drop task planning, automatic staff assignment, and progress claim invoicing tied to project stages. For construction businesses that invoice against milestones, these features keep the project financials and the build timeline in one place.
You have a team of 3 or more and want flat-rate pricing
NextMinute charges a flat monthly fee by team size rather than per-user, so a 5-person team pays A$199 per month rather than per-head rates. Every user gets every feature on every plan. For growing teams, the flat-rate model can work out cheaper than per-user pricing.
You want free onboarding and ongoing support included
NextMinute includes unlimited setup, training, and ongoing support for life on every plan. For a business that wants hands-on help getting started and a team to call when something changes, that support model is a genuine differentiator.
The FlowSpec Fit
FlowSpec is built for the tradesman who runs on Xero and wants the fastest path from a spoken job to a priced quote.
Your sell prices already live in Xero
FlowSpec syncs your Xero items in as your price list and quotes at your own sell prices, your markup included. NextMinute uses imported supplier price books, so your quoting prices come from supplier cost data rather than your Xero items. If your bookkeeper manages your sell prices in Xero, FlowSpec uses that work directly.
You want to speak the job and get a Xero draft
Speak the job from the ute in natural language and FlowSpec reads your trade slang, matches your Xero items, sets the GST, and drafts the quote. One voice memo, one complete quote. NextMinute supports talk-to-text for timesheet notes, but quoting is built from supplier price books and templates, item by item.
You run shorter service jobs, not multi-week projects
If you are a plumber, sparky, or maintenance contractor running several jobs a day rather than month-long builds, FlowSpec solves your bottleneck: getting quotes out fast. You handle scheduling however works for you and FlowSpec handles the quoting speed. NextMinute shines on longer projects where Gantt planning and progress claims add real value.
Xero is your system of record
If Xero already runs your bookkeeping, FlowSpec keeps the quote stage there too, priced from your own items and drafted with the right codes. One home for prices, quotes, and invoices. NextMinute treats itself as the project hub and syncs accounting data to Xero, which works well for project management but means pricing lives in two places.
NextMinute manages the full project lifecycle from quoting to progress claims. FlowSpec goes deep on the quoting step and drafts it into Xero in about 30 seconds, priced from your own items.
Pricing
NextMinute charges flat monthly by team size. FlowSpec is one plan, per seat, billed in AUD.
One all-inclusive plan, per quoting seat, billed in Australian dollars. Every feature is included at every seat count. See the pricing page for the current rate. 20% off annual billing. The first 100 customers lock that rate for life.
Flat monthly pricing by team size: A$199 per month plus GST for 3 to 9 users, A$349 per month plus GST for 10 to 14 users, and custom pricing for 15 or more. Every user gets every feature on every plan. Month-to-month, cancel any time. 10-day free trial with no credit card required.
NextMinute starts at 3 users. A solo tradesman or 2-person team would need to check with NextMinute on available plans. FlowSpec starts at one seat.
Questions
FlowSpec is a voice-to-Xero quoting specialist built in Australia: speak the whole job in natural language and FlowSpec drafts a priced quote into Xero from your own Xero items in about 30 seconds. NextMinute is a project-based job management platform from New Zealand that covers quoting, Gantt scheduling, timesheets, progress claims, and invoicing for builders and trade businesses. Both connect to Xero, and the choice comes down to whether you want deep voice quoting with Xero as your single source of truth, or a broader project management system for larger jobs.
Yes, NextMinute has a two-way Xero integration. Contacts, sales invoices, supplier bills, payments, credit notes, and timesheets sync between NextMinute and Xero. NextMinute uses imported supplier price books for quoting rather than pulling your Xero items as the price list. FlowSpec syncs your Xero items in as your price list and drafts completed quotes back into Xero with line items, the matched contact, account codes, and tax types, keeping Xero as the single source of truth for pricing.
NextMinute offers flat monthly plans based on team size: A$199 per month plus GST for 3 to 9 users, A$349 per month plus GST for 10 to 14 users, and custom pricing for 15 or more users. All plans include every feature. FlowSpec charges per quoting seat in Australian dollars; see the pricing page for the current rate.
NextMinute supports talk-to-text for timesheet notes, but quoting is manual: you build quotes from imported supplier price books or saved templates. FlowSpec takes a natural-language voice description of the whole job, parses it into line items, matches each to your Xero items at your sell prices, and drafts the quote into Xero in about 30 seconds.
NextMinute is strongest for project-based work like new builds, renovations, and landscaping projects. Its Gantt chart scheduling, progress claims, variations, and site diaries are designed for longer jobs. For service tradies who run many shorter jobs each day and want to get quotes out fast from site, FlowSpec is built specifically for that speed. FlowSpec quotes from your Xero items in about 30 seconds with voice input.
Both connect to Xero, so they can coexist on the same Xero organisation. You could use FlowSpec for fast quoting and NextMinute for project scheduling and job tracking. In practice most businesses pick one workflow, and the choice depends on whether your bottleneck is quoting speed (FlowSpec) or project coordination across a team (NextMinute).
Ready to See It?
Speak a job, watch FlowSpec draft a priced quote into Xero from your own items. Takes about 30 seconds.