You are comparing job management software for tradies, and every page you read shows a different price. Some leave out GST. Some charge per job and some per user, and almost none show what happens when you get busier.
The short answer: use each vendor’s own Australian pricing page, note whether GST is included, then price your own jobs and people. On those pages ServiceM8 charges by jobs a month, from A$29 to A$349 including GST.1 Tradify charges A$48 to A$62 a user before GST,2 and AroFlo from A$80 a user.3 Then check how invoices reach Xero or MYOB, because that is where the work goes wrong.
- 01 · QuoteThe quote is written
Job software Quote 4410 Sample
- Switchboard upgrade$4,200.00
- 02 · JobThe job is booked
Job software Job 2205 Booked
- Crew2 field staff
- 03 · Time and partsHours and parts go on
- Timesheets on the job
- Supplier bills on the job
- 04 · VariationExtra work is added
Job software Variation Added
- Extra power point$155.00
- 05 · InvoiceA person approves
Approve invoice 5101?$4,355.00, with the variation
- 06 · AccountsIt reaches Xero or MYOB
Xero Invoice 5101 Arrived
$4,355.00
After it is approved in the job software.
At the end of the day The software’s price is set by steps 1 to 5. Step 6, the handover to your accounts, is where errors show up.
Per job or per user: what each product charges
| Product | Published price a month | Charged on | GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM81 | Free A$0 (30 jobs, 1 user); Starter A$29; Growing A$79; Premium A$149; Premium Plus A$349 | Jobs a month, unlimited users on paid plans | Included |
| Tradify2 | Lite A$48, Pro A$52, Plus A$62 per user | Users | Before GST |
| AroFlo3 | From A$80 per user, minimum 3 users | Users, on a sliding scale | Not stated |
| Fergus4 | “From” prices, with a banner offer | Not stated | Not stated |
| Simpro | No AUD price found on 31 October 2026 | Not found | Not found |
Every price is from the vendor’s own Australian page, read on 31 October 2026. Prices change, so check the page before you buy. ServiceM8’s page says “Prices are in AUD and include GST”.1 Tradify’s says “AUD per user/month. Ex GST.”2
Fergus prints “From” prices without saying whether they are per user or per business,4 so it is not priced here. Simpro’s Australian pricing page could not be read on the day. Ask Simpro for a quote.
A worked example on sample data
A$ a month by jobs a month, 4 people
- ServiceM8, GST included
- Tradify Lite, before GST
| A$ a month by jobs a month, 4 people | 40 | 150 | 300 | 500 | 600 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8, GST included | 29 | 79 | 149 | 149 | 349 |
| Tradify Lite, before GST | 192 | 192 | 192 | 192 | 192 |
Sample business: 2 office users and 2 field staff. ServiceM8 steps up at 50, 150, 500 and 1,500 jobs.
Source: ServiceM8 and Tradify Australian pricing pages, read 31 October 2026. The business is sample data.
Sample data, not a client’s. A business has 2 office users and 2 field staff, so 4 people. It completes 40 jobs a month. ServiceM8 is A$29 a month, GST included. Tradify is A$192 on Lite, before GST. AroFlo is up to A$320, GST not stated.
At 600 jobs a month ServiceM8 is A$349 and Tradify is still A$192. The gap is not a verdict. It depends on how many people need a seat, and the totals are not on one basis. Put your own numbers into the free job software cost calculator.
The sums, line by line
| Product | The sum | A$ a month |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | 40 jobs falls in Starter (up to 50) | A$29, GST included |
| Tradify Lite | 4 users × A$48 | A$192, before GST |
| Tradify Pro | 4 users × A$52 | A$208, before GST |
| Tradify Plus | 4 users × A$62 | A$248, before GST |
| AroFlo | 4 users × A$80 (a starting rate) | Up to A$320, GST not stated |
ServiceM8’s Free plan covers 30 jobs and 1 user, so a second user needs a paid plan.1 Tradify’s and AroFlo’s pages do not say whether a field person who only uses the phone app needs a paid seat.
What happens as your jobs grow
A$ more a month · orange: biggest step
From the plan prices of A$29, A$79, A$149 and A$349. The steps come at 50, 150 and 500 jobs.
Source: ServiceM8 Australian pricing page, read 31 October 2026 (GST included)
Only Premium Plus lists a price for jobs over its cap, 20c a job.1 On the other plans, ServiceM8’s page says you can keep working “for another 7 days”; if the plan has not reset by then, “you’ll be prompted to upgrade your plan”.1 Tradify moves the other way: each person you add costs A$48 to A$62 a month.2 AroFlo says its per-user rate falls as users are added, and publishes no lower rate.3
A rule of thumb follows from the models. A big crew with few jobs suits a per-job price. A small crew with many jobs suits a per-user price. Your own numbers decide it.
What the monthly price leaves out
| Extra | Charged | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 card payments1 | Per transaction, by plan | 1.89% + 30c on Free, down to 1.19% + 30c on Premium Plus |
| ServiceM8 Office Agent Pro1 | A month, on paid plans | A$49 |
| ServiceM8 extra SMS1 | Per SMS, over the plan’s allowance | 10c |
| Tradify SMS quotes and invoices2 | Per message | A$0.20 |
| Tradify Instant Website2 | A month | A$19 |
On a sample A$1,000 card payment, ServiceM8’s Starter rate of 1.69% + 30c takes A$17.20. Premium Plus’s 1.19% + 30c takes A$12.20. Tradify’s page states “Ex GST” beside its plan prices and does not repeat it beside the add-ons.2 Add the extras you will use before you compare totals.
Four checks before you choose
- Crew phones. Check that every field person can run the app on the phone they carry. Ask the vendor whether a person who only uses the phone app needs a paid seat, and get the answer in writing.
- The pricing model. Per job or per user? Count both at the size you expect in a year.
- The sync direction. Ask which way invoices, clients and payments travel to Xero or MYOB, who approves, and what the software does when an invoice fails.
- The cost when volume doubles. Price the next plan up or the next person, not only today’s.
The cheapest product today is not always the cheapest next year. Run both sizes. Then ask each vendor for a trial on one real job, from quote to Xero or MYOB, before you move the whole business.
How invoices reach Xero
| Item | What ServiceM8’s help says |
|---|---|
| Invoices | “Invoices are sent to Xero when Approved from the Invoicing page (in the Online Dashboard, or the mobile app).” |
| Invoices made in Xero | “Invoices created in Xero are not sent to ServiceM8.” |
| Zero-value invoices | “Invoices with a value of zero will not be sent to Xero when approved.” |
| Clients and materials | Sent to Xero only with an approved invoice. After that, changes in either program update the other “within 30 minutes”. |
| Payments | Payments received in Xero against an exported invoice are synced to ServiceM8 “within 30 minutes”. |
| Tax settings | Changes in Xero sync to ServiceM8. Changes made in ServiceM8 “will not sync back to Xero”. |
That is ServiceM8’s own help.5 Tradify’s page says its Xero connection “syncs invoices, contacts, and financial data in real time”, and does not say which way each one travels.8 It also says Tradify “does not currently offer a public API or self-service API keys (as of September 2026)”, which matters if you later want a workflow built against it.
None of the vendor pages read here set out MYOB’s rules in the detail ServiceM8 gives for Xero. Ask each vendor for them in writing.
Where the sync to Xero breaks
A zero-value invoice
An approved invoice worth 0.00 is not sent to Xero. ServiceM8’s help says it needs line items of some value.
A duplicate invoice number
If the number already exists in Xero, ServiceM8 shows an error: the invoice number must be unique.
The wrong Xero organisation
With several organisations, an approved invoice may sync to a different one. The fix is to re-integrate with the right one.
All three are on ServiceM8’s own help pages.67 In each case the invoice stays in the job software and never reaches your books. A weekly look at invoices approved in the job software but missing in Xero finds all three.
Switching without losing a month
- Export first. Take your clients, open jobs and price list out of the old system before you cancel anything.
- Map your accounts. Match each income account and tax rate in Xero or MYOB to the new software, then check them on the first invoice.
- Split by date. Finish open jobs in the old system and start new ones in the new, so no job lives in both.
- Test one job end to end. Run a quote, an invoice, the arrival in Xero or MYOB, and the payment.
- Keep the old system read-only. Keep a full export of its jobs and invoices, so you can still look up an old job after you cancel.
This is a working checklist. Adjust it to the software and the accounts you run.
Run the same job through both
| Step (sample) | Current system | System you are considering | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote total, excluding GST | A$4,500.00 | A$4,500.00 | Same |
| Variation added, excluding GST | A$350.00 | A$350.00 | Same |
| Labour on the job | 36.0 hours | 34.5 hours | Differs |
| Invoice in the job software, including GST | A$5,335.00 | A$5,335.00 | Same |
| Same invoice in Xero or MYOB | A$5,335.00 | A$5,335.00 | Same |
Before you switch, run one test job through your current system and the one you are weighing. Never send the test invoice to a real customer. Record each result, whether anyone typed it in again, and where it landed in Xero or MYOB. ServiceM8’s Xero wizard asks you to “Set the Tax setting”,9 so write down the setting you chose in each system.
Download the invoice handover trial worksheet. It has a sample, a blank sheet and a sign-off line for a person. For a build that checks invoices, download the Invoice Check acceptance cases: four sample cases with the hold expected for each. Both are sample data and decide nothing.
Where a person stays in charge
Rules check
Approved jobs against invoices in Xero or MYOB, with the same flags every week.
Claude reads
Job notes and supplier bills, and the one-line note beside a flagged job.
You decide
Every flagged job goes to a named person, who decides what happens to it.
I build workflows that read your job software and your accounts through their APIs, where the vendor has one. Rules compare approved jobs with what reached Xero or MYOB. A person decides what to do with each flag.
Start with a free fit check by email at the foot of this page. Invoice Check then checks each invoice from Simpro, ServiceM8 or AroFlo before it reaches Xero or MYOB. It costs A$3,900 (AUD, no GST charged).10 Once the software is chosen, the Job Profit Report shows what each job earned, at A$5,900 (AUD, no GST charged).10
If you are not sure where to start, the Workflow Audit is A$990 (AUD, no GST charged). It is a 60-minute call, a read-only review of your systems and a written report, with a fixed quote for each of the top 3 things worth automating.10
Questions
How much does ServiceM8 cost in Australia?
On its Australian page, read 31 October 2026, plans run from A$0 to A$349 a month including GST, by jobs a month. Paid plans have unlimited users.
Is Tradify priced per user?
Yes. Its Australian page lists A$48, A$52 and A$62 per user a month, before GST.
Does Simpro publish an Australian price?
No Australian dollar price was found on Simpro’s pages on 31 October 2026. Ask Simpro for a quote.
Does ServiceM8 sync with Xero both ways?
Partly. Invoices go to Xero when approved, and invoices created in Xero are not sent back. Payments received in Xero sync back to ServiceM8.
What does the calculator leave out?
Card fees, SMS charges, add-ons, set-up and training. It shows cash a month only.
Sources
- 1. ServiceM8, “Pricing Plans | ServiceM8 AU”, read 31 October 2026: servicem8.com/au/pricing
- 2. Tradify, “Pricing & Plans” (Australia), read 31 October 2026: tradifyhq.com/au/pricing
- 3. AroFlo, “AroFlo Pricing | Field Service Management Software”, read 31 October 2026: aroflo.com/pricing
- 4. Fergus, “Pricing” (Australia), read 31 October 2026: fergus.com/au/pricing
- 5. ServiceM8 Help Center, “How the sync with Xero works”, read 31 October 2026: support.servicem8.com/…/how-the-sync-with-xero-works
- 6. ServiceM8 Help Center, “Resolving Xero invoice synchronization issues”, read 31 October 2026: support.servicem8.com/…/resolving-xero-invoice-synchronization-issues
- 7. ServiceM8 Help Center, “Resolving Xero invoice number conflicts”, read 31 October 2026: support.servicem8.com/…/resolving-xero-invoice-number-conflicts
- 8. Tradify, “Tradify API | Have Your Say!” (“Does a Tradify API exist?”), read 31 October 2026: tradifyhq.com/integrations/api
- 9. ServiceM8 Help Center, “How do I connect ServiceM8 to Xero?”, read 3 November 2026: support.servicem8.com/help-center/servicem8-add-ons/xero/how-do-i-connect-servicem8-to-xero
- 10. Works Better, “Pricing”, “Simpro to Xero integration” and “Workflow Audit”: worksbetter.ai/pricing (Invoice Check A$3,900; Job Profit Report A$5,900; Workflow Audit A$990; AUD, no GST charged), worksbetter.ai/simpro-xero-invoice-automation, worksbetter.ai/job-profitability-reporting and worksbetter.ai/workflow-audit
Not sure which to fix first?
Get a free fit check by email and I will say whether it is worth automating. No call needed. The next step is a A$990 workflow audit: the top 3 things worth automating, with a fixed quote for each.
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