One table, checked 23 October 2026
Job management software in Australia: six compared
ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, AroFlo, NextMinute and TrackYaTradie side by side: how each one charges, where job costing starts, and what each does for quotes, scheduling, invoicing, payments and your books.
In short
Job management software runs a trade business's quotes, schedule, jobs and invoices. The six main options in Australia compared here differ most on three things: how they charge (per user, by jobs, by crew size or flat), which plan job costing starts on, and which accounting software they sync with. Match those to your crew before features.
We build TrackYaTradie, so read its column knowing it. Every other cell comes from that company's own site. Simpro is left out because its site refused our check on 23 October 2026, so we could not confirm its current details.
How each one charges
Checked 23 October 2026 on each company's own pricing page. List prices in AUD, a month.
| Software | How it charges | Starting price | Free trial | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | By jobs a month; unlimited users on paid plans | Free for 1 user and 30 jobs; Starter $29 for 50 jobs | 14 days, no card | Includes GST |
| Tradify | Per user, per month | Lite $48 per user; Pro $52; Plus $62 | 14 days, no card | Ex GST |
| Fergus | Per user, per month | Essentials from $53; Professional from $77 | 14 days on Essentials, no card | Not stated |
| AroFlo | Per user, sliding scale, minimum 3 users | From $80 per user | Free demo, no trial listed | Not stated |
| NextMinute | By crew-size band | Tradie Growth from $199 for 3 to 9 users | 10 days, no card | Plus GST |
| TrackYaTradie (ours) | One flat price per business, by number of tradies | $35 for 1 tradie; $79 for up to 3 | 14 days, no card | All prices in AUD |
Promotions are left out: Fergus was running a discount until December when we checked. AroFlo also advertises a setup offer, so ask what setup costs. Prices change, so confirm with each company before you decide.
What each one does
Checked 23 October 2026. "Not listed" means we could not find it on the pages we checked, not that it cannot be done.
| ServiceM8 | Tradify | Fergus | AroFlo | NextMinute | TrackYaTradie (ours) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clients accept quotes online | Yes | Pro and up | Yes, approved from the email | Yes | Yes, one-click approval | Yes, the client types their name |
| Job costing | Job Costing, Premium ($149) and up | Costing and bill tracking, Pro and up | Cost Report on every job card | Job tracking with a P&L view of each job | Back-costing, actuals vs estimate by job or stage, every plan | Live profit on every job, alert at 85% of the invoice, every plan |
| Scheduling | Scheduling with a dispatch map | Scheduler with Google Calendar sync | Calendar | Scheduling | Gantt chart | Calendar, tradies rostered by the day |
| Staff locations (GPS) | Live staff locations and a shift GPS report | Staff locations in real time | GPS tracking | AroPoint GPS trackers | Not listed | No |
| Timesheets | Job time and shift time | Pro and up | Yes | Yes | Yes, every plan | Hours per tradie per day, from the phone |
| Deposits and progress invoicing | Progress invoices, Starter and up | Progress invoicing, Pro and up | Staggered progress invoicing | Progress and deposit invoicing | Progress claims | Payment stages as a % of the price |
| Card payments | Stripe, plus Tap to Pay on iPhone | Online credit card payments | Fergus Pay | AroFlo Payments, powered by Stripe | Not listed | Card and bank debit, through Stripe |
| Accounting sync | Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online | Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks Online | Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB | Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon | Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks | Xero only |
| Apps | iPhone, iPad and Android, plus an online dashboard | Desktop, iPhone, iPad and Android | Fergus Go on iOS and Android, plus a web login | App Store and Google Play, plus a web login | Desktop, tablet and mobile | iPhone, Android and web |
What a crew of 1, 3 or 8 pays a month
Starting prices only mean something once you multiply them out for your own headcount. These are the list-price sums for everyone logging in as a full user, on the plan each company needs for job costing where that matters.
| Software and plan | 1 person | 3 people | 8 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tradify Pro (costing starts here), + GST | $52 | $156 | $416 |
| Fergus Essentials, from | $53 | $159 | $424 |
| AroFlo, from (3-user minimum, sliding scale) | $240 | $240 | Ask AroFlo |
| NextMinute Tradie Growth (3 to 9 users), from, + GST | $199 | $199 | $199 |
| ServiceM8 Premium (Job Costing starts here, 500 jobs), inc GST | $149 | $149 | $149 |
| TrackYaTradie (Sole Trader, Starter, Pro) | $35 | $79 | $149 |
Checked 23 October 2026, list prices, no promotions. "From" means the company shows a starting price. Fergus also offers timesheet-only users from $26 a month, which lowers its sum if some of the crew only log hours. ServiceM8 is priced by jobs, not people: Starter ($29, 50 jobs) and Growing ($79, 150 jobs) cost less but do not include Job Costing. TrackYaTradie Pro covers up to 10 tradies.
Which one fits which business
Lots of small call-out jobs
ServiceM8 is built around booking and dispatching service work, with a dispatch map, live staff locations and unlimited users on its paid plans, and you pay by the number of jobs. A busy month can push you up a tier, and its Job Costing starts on Premium. Tradify also shows staff locations on its scheduler and is priced per user. Head-to-head: TrackYaTradie vs ServiceM8.
A small crew that wants an all-rounder
Tradify and Fergus both cover quotes, scheduling, timesheets, invoices and accounting sync with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks. Both are priced per user, so do the sum for your headcount. On Tradify, quote acceptance, progress invoicing, timesheets and costing are on Pro; on Fergus, every job card has a Cost Report. Head-to-heads: vs Tradify and vs Fergus.
A bigger service business with stock and compliance
AroFlo is the deepest of the six, says it suits sole traders through to operations with more than 40 technicians, and adds inventory, compliance, GPS tracking with AroPoint and a wide set of accounting integrations. It has a 3-user minimum and you start with a demo, not a trial. Head-to-head: TrackYaTradie vs AroFlo.
A residential building crew of three or more
NextMinute is priced by crew size, puts every feature on every plan, and tracks actual costs against the estimate by job or by stage, with Gantt scheduling and progress claims. Its plans start at three users and its trial is 10 days.
Project work where you want each job's profit, live
TrackYaTradie (ours) is one flat price per business, from $35 a month for a sole trader to $249 for up to 25 tradies, and every job shows its profit as hours and supply costs land, with an alert when costs reach 85% of the invoice. It is deliberately lean: no dispatch map, GPS, inventory or purchase orders, and it syncs with Xero only. See pricing.
Six things to check in a trial
- Quote to job to invoice without retyping. Send a real quote, accept it as the client, and turn it into an invoice. Count the times you type the same line twice.
- Costs against the quote while the job runs. Log a day of hours and a supplier docket, and see whether the software tells you the job is still making money. Put a recent job through the job profit calculator to see what that number should look like.
- The crew's phones. Have an apprentice log hours on the phone they actually carry, iPhone or Android.
- Your books. Connect your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file and check one invoice lands the way your bookkeeper wants it.
- Deposits and stages. Set up a deposit and two progress claims on a bigger job, and check what the client sees.
- The bill as you grow. Work out next year's price with two more people and twice the jobs, not just today's.
Want the wider stack, including the accounting apps? Read the best tradie apps in Australia. Leaving Tradify in particular? The best Tradify alternatives roundup has a crew-of-three sum. Down to two? See Tradify vs ServiceM8 and Tradify vs AroFlo.
Questions about job management software
What is the best job management software in Australia?+
There is no single best one; it depends on the work. For lots of small call-out jobs, ServiceM8 prices by jobs a month with unlimited users on its paid plans. For a well-known all-rounder, Tradify and Fergus, both priced per user. For a bigger service business with stock and compliance, AroFlo. For residential building crews of three or more, NextMinute. For live profit on every job at one flat price, TrackYaTradie, from $35 a month.
Which job management software has job costing on every plan?+
On their own sites, checked October 2026: NextMinute says every plan has the full feature set, including back-costing; Fergus says every job card has a Cost Report; and TrackYaTradie has live job profit on every plan. ServiceM8 starts its Job Costing feature on the Premium plan, and Tradify starts costing and bill tracking on Pro.
What does job management software cost for a crew of three?+
At list prices checked October 2026: Tradify Pro is 3 x $52 = $156 a month plus GST, Fergus Essentials is from 3 x $53 = $159, AroFlo is from 3 x $80 = $240, NextMinute Tradie Growth is from $199 plus GST, ServiceM8 depends on jobs not people ($29 to $149 inc GST for the plans in the table), and TrackYaTradie Starter is $79 for up to 3 tradies.
Is job management software the same as accounting software?+
No. Job management software runs the work: quotes, the schedule, the hours, the job costs and the invoices. Accounting software such as Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks handles the books: the bank feed, GST, BAS and payroll. The two should sync, so check that the job software you pick works with the accounting software your bookkeeper uses.
Do I need job management software as a sole trader?+
Not always. If you do a few jobs a month and bill by the hour, an accounting app that sends quotes and invoices may be enough. Once you quote fixed prices, carry materials, or juggle several jobs at once, job software earns its place by showing what each job really cost. ServiceM8 has a free plan for one user and 30 jobs a month, and TrackYaTradie has a flat sole trader plan.
Sources
Checked 23 October 2026. Every competitor detail on this page comes from the company's own site.
- ServiceM8: Australian pricing and plan features
- ServiceM8: quoting and invoicing
- ServiceM8: payments
- ServiceM8: accounting integrations
- ServiceM8: feature overview (dispatch map, staff locations)
- ServiceM8 help centre: the Android app and its differences from iOS
- Tradify: Australian pricing and plan features
- Tradify: scheduling
- Tradify: invoicing and online payments
- Fergus: Australian pricing
- Fergus help centre: What does Fergus cost?
- Fergus help centre: Cost Report
- Fergus: quoting
- Fergus: invoicing and Fergus Pay
- Fergus help centre: Fergus Go overview
- AroFlo: pricing
- AroFlo: quoting and estimating
- AroFlo: invoicing and billing
- AroFlo: job tracking
- AroFlo: GPS tracking (AroPoint)
- AroFlo: integrations
- NextMinute: Australian pricing
- NextMinute: quoting
- NextMinute: invoicing and progress claims
- NextMinute: back-costing
- NextMinute: integrations overview
- NextMinute: mobile app
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