Two Australian-built AI quoting tools at a similar price point, built for the same tradies. QuoteMate estimates materials with live Bunnings and Reece pricing, a free tier, and native mobile apps. FlowSpec turns a spoken job into a priced Xero draft quote in about 30 seconds, using your own Xero items as the price list. Same goal, two different starting points.
See it draft a real quote into Xero.
Side-by-Side
| Feature | FlowSpec | QuoteMate |
|---|---|---|
| Voice-to-quote workflow | End to end: speak the job, get a priced Xero draft | Voice-to-text input within quoting interface |
| AI capability | Parses full job descriptions, matches to Xero items, learns your phrasing | Estimates materials and quantities from plain-English descriptions |
| Quote creation time | About 30 seconds | Under 2 minutes |
| Prices from | Your own Xero items, your own sell prices | Live Bunnings + Reece supplier pricing |
| Xero integration | Native Xero draft quote (items, contact, account codes, tax) | One-tap invoice sync to Xero, contact auto-create |
| Free tier | Trial (5 quotes, 7 days) | Yes, unlimited quotes (Square 1.7% on payments) |
| Trade slang recognition | GPO, RCD, PRV, TMV, and more, with per-user phrase memory | AI understands tradie language naturally |
| GST auto-calculated | Yes | Yes |
| Supplier price integration | Prices from your Xero items | Live Bunnings + Reece API + PDF price list import |
| On-site payments | Left to Xero or your payment tools | Square tap-to-pay (1% Pro, 1.7% Free) |
| Job pipeline | Left to your job management tools | 9-stage pipeline with automated follow-ups |
| Offline mode | Requires connection | Full offline quoting, syncs on reconnect |
| Pricing | One all-inclusive, per-seat plan | Free forever, Pro $49/mo or $328/yr ($27.33/mo) |
| Mobile app | PWA on any phone, native apps in progress | Native iOS + Android + web |
| Best for | Any trade, quoting from experience into Xero | Material-heavy trades with live supplier pricing |
Two AI quoting tools at a similar monthly price, built in Australia for Australian trades. The core difference: where your prices come from and where your quote lands. See the full FlowSpec comparison hub to line it up against other tools.
How the AI Works
Both tools use AI and both accept voice input. The difference is what happens after you speak. Walk through the same electrician quoting a switchboard upgrade in each.
Both tools save time on quoting. The difference: FlowSpec turns one voice memo into a finished Xero draft in a single pass. QuoteMate uses AI to suggest materials with live pricing, and you build the quote from those suggestions. For an experienced tradesman who knows the job and wants the Xero quote done in 30 seconds, FlowSpec is the faster path.
Pricing Sources
Where prices come from shapes how you use the tool, and how your margins work.
FlowSpec syncs your Xero items in as your price list, so every line in every quote carries your own sell price, the one you already set in Xero. When you adjust an item in Xero, the next quote picks up the new figure. The margin you put on an RCD or an hour of labour is the margin that lands on the page. One price list, in Xero, used everywhere.
QuoteMate pulls real-time cost prices from Bunnings and connects to the Reece API for plumbing trade pricing. You can also snap a photo of any supplier price list and QuoteMate imports the products and prices automatically. You set your markup on top of the supplier cost. For trades buying materials at retail or from Reece accounts, those live prices stay current as suppliers update them. QuoteMate prices from the supplier; FlowSpec prices from your Xero items.
An established tradesman with negotiated supplier rates already has the right prices in Xero. FlowSpec quotes from those prices. A tradesman who buys from Bunnings at shelf price gets live accuracy from QuoteMate’s catalogue integration.
Xero Integration
Both tools talk to Xero. The depth of that connection is where they part ways.
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 or created contact, account codes, and tax types. 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 tap, clean data end to end, with your own sell prices the whole way through.
QuoteMate carries its own quoting and invoicing, and offers one-tap Xero sync to push invoices into your accounting. It auto-creates contacts in Xero and supports bulk export. The quoting and pricing happen inside QuoteMate, with Xero receiving the invoice data downstream. When Xero is already the home of your bookkeeping and you want the quote itself to start and end in Xero, FlowSpec keeps that path direct.
Fair’s Fair
QuoteMate is a solid tool. When any of these describe your setup, it is likely the better fit.
You want live Bunnings and Reece pricing in your quotes
QuoteMate pulls real-time pricing from major Australian hardware retailers and connects to the Reece API for plumbing trade pricing. For material-heavy trades where supplier costs change often, live catalogue pricing keeps your quotes accurate to the current shelf price. FlowSpec prices from your own Xero items rather than supplier catalogues.
You want a free quoting tool with the option to upgrade later
QuoteMate’s free tier includes unlimited quotes and invoices, professional PDFs, and live supplier pricing. Customer payments go through Square at 1.7%. You can use it indefinitely and upgrade to Pro only when you want AI material estimation, your logo on documents, and lower payment fees. FlowSpec has a 7-day, 5-quote trial and then a paid per-seat plan.
You take card payments on site
QuoteMate integrates Square tap-to-pay directly. Customers pay on site with their card or phone, with the payment recorded against the invoice. For tradies collecting payment at job completion, that built-in tap-to-pay saves carrying a separate payment terminal. FlowSpec leaves payments to Xero and your existing payment tools.
You quote from remote sites with unreliable mobile coverage
QuoteMate has full offline quoting: create quotes without internet and sync them when you reconnect. For rural or remote job sites where coverage drops, that offline capability means the quote still gets done on site. FlowSpec requires an internet connection for the voice-to-Xero pipeline.
QuoteMate is a capable quoting app with live supplier pricing and a generous free tier. When the spoken Xero draft is the move that saves your evenings, FlowSpec gets it done in about 30 seconds.
Pricing
Both sit around $50 per month at the paid tier. The structure underneath is different.
Unlimited quotes, voice input, Xero item sync, trade slang, phrase memory, GST handling, every feature included. Trial: 5 quotes over 7 days.
See flowspec.com.au/pricing for the current rate.
Free tier: unlimited quotes, live supplier pricing, Square payments (1.7%). Pro at $49/mo or $328/yr ($27.33/mo): adds AI materials, logo, lower Square fees (1%), all PDF templates. 14-day Pro trial.
Cross-platform: one subscription covers iOS, Android, and web.
QuoteMate’s free tier is a genuine advantage for tradies starting out. FlowSpec’s per-seat plan includes every feature from day one. At the paid tier, both land near $50 per month. The annual option brings QuoteMate to $27.33 per month, nearly half. The question is which tool fits your quoting workflow, and that comes down to pricing source and Xero depth.
The FlowSpec Fit
FlowSpec is purpose-built for one scenario: getting the quote into Xero in about 30 seconds from site.
You already know the job and want the fastest possible quote
An electrician quoting a switchboard upgrade or a plumber quoting a hot water swap. You know the items and the price. You just want it on paper fast. FlowSpec turns one voice memo into a complete priced Xero draft in about 30 seconds. QuoteMate’s AI suggests materials and you build from there, which takes longer when you already know what the job needs.
You run Xero and want quotes to start and end there
With Xero as your system of record, FlowSpec drafts quotes straight into Xero with the right account codes, contact, and tax types, priced from your own Xero items. One sync and one pipeline from voice to sent quote. QuoteMate syncs invoices to Xero as a downstream step; FlowSpec makes the quote a Xero object from the start.
You have negotiated supplier rates already set in Xero
When your sell prices are already dialled in through Xero items, live supplier pricing adds a step rather than saving one. FlowSpec uses those prices directly. The margin you set on an item in Xero is the margin that lands on the quote, every time, with the arithmetic handled by Xero.
You want the tool that learns your trade language
FlowSpec’s disambiguation engine recognises trade abbreviations like GPO, RCD, PRV, TMV and many more, and builds per-user phrase memory over time. When you say “20-amp breaker,” FlowSpec remembers which Xero item you meant last time. That context improves with every quote you do.
Weighing up other tools too? See how the spoken Xero quote sits against FlowSpec vs ServiceM8, FlowSpec vs Tradify, or browse the full comparison hub.
FAQ
They serve the same step in the workflow (creating a quote), so most tradies would pick one. The decision comes down to where you want your prices to come from. FlowSpec prices from your own Xero items, your own sell prices. QuoteMate prices from live Bunnings and Reece catalogues. If you want the quote to land as a native Xero draft, FlowSpec handles that directly. If you want live supplier cost pricing and on-site Square payments, QuoteMate handles that.
QuoteMate has a free tier with unlimited quotes and invoices, professional PDFs, and live supplier pricing. On the free tier, customer payments go through Square at a 1.7% platform fee. The Pro plan ($49 per month or $328 per year) adds AI material suggestions, all PDF templates, lower Square fees (1%), and business logo on documents. FlowSpec has a free trial with 5 quotes over 7 days, then one per-seat plan with everything included.
FlowSpec is voice-first end to end: speak a 30-second description of the whole job, and FlowSpec parses every item, matches each one to your Xero price list, calculates GST, and drafts the complete quote into Xero. One recording and one tap. QuoteMate uses voice-to-text as an input method within a quoting interface, where you dictate text and the AI suggests materials with live supplier pricing. Both use AI and voice, but FlowSpec turns the voice memo into the finished Xero quote in one pass.
FlowSpec is built around Xero. It syncs your Xero items in as your price list, and every quote it creates is a native Xero draft quote with the right line items, contact, account codes, and tax types. Your prices come out of Xero and your quotes go straight back. QuoteMate syncs invoices to Xero with one-tap push, auto-creates contacts, and supports bulk export. FlowSpec treats Xero as the source of truth for pricing and the destination for quotes. QuoteMate treats Xero as an accounting sync for invoices.
Yes. QuoteMate pulls real-time pricing from major Australian hardware retailers including Bunnings, and connects to the Reece API for live plumbing trade pricing. This is genuinely useful for material-heavy trades where supplier cost fluctuates. FlowSpec takes a different approach: it prices from your own Xero items, the sell prices you already set, so your margins stay exactly where you put them.
FlowSpec requires Xero. It drafts quotes straight into your Xero account and uses your Xero items as the price list. QuoteMate works independently with its own quoting and invoicing, and offers Xero sync as an add-on feature for pushing invoices into your accounting.
FlowSpec is built for trades who quote on Xero. Watch it turn a spoken job into a priced Xero draft in about 30 seconds.
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