Best WorkflowMax Alternative for Architects and Engineers

Workflowmax alternative

Practice management, made for architects and engineers.

WorkflowMax helps businesses manage jobs alongside Xero. As architecture and engineering firms grow, though, they need more than jobs and timesheets. They need fees by stage, variation control, WIP and resourcing across disciplines. Total Synergy is built for exactly that, and it’s used by A&E practices across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

→Built only for architecture and engineering practices

→18,000+ A&E users run $3B+ a year through Total Synergy

→24/7 support from local teams who know A&E

RATED BY A&E FIRMS

Trusted by 18,000+ A&E professionals across Australia, New Zealand and the UK

The short answer

Three reasons A&E firms leave WorkflowMax.

Built for A&E, not every kind of job

WorkflowMax serves accountants, agencies, trades and consultants alike. Total Synergy serves one industry, so stages, disciplines, fee types and variations work the way your practice already runs, with no workarounds.

Fee control that goes deeper

Bill by stage, phase or discipline, using percentage complete, lump sum or hourly. Track variations against your base fee and see WIP across every project. That’s the detail directors and finance teams need as a practice grows.

A partner focused on A&E for the long term

Choosing a practice management system is a decade-long decision. Total Synergy has been dedicated to A&E practices for 26 years, with local implementation teams and a product roadmap shaped entirely by architects and engineers.

Head to head

Go ahead, compare for yourself.

Built only for A&E firms

Project Fee Structures

Reporting & Dashboards

Onboarding & support

Total Synergy

Purpose-built for A & E firms with tools that connect projects, time, and billing in one place.

Supports multiple fee types (fixed fee, hourly, variations) within a single project, so quoting, invoicing and reporting stay clean and admin stays low.

Embedded PowerBI dashboards that give you instant insight into project performance, job profitability, WIP and resource utilisation.

Fast, responsive support with consultative onboarding from A&E specialists who understand your firm.

WorkflowMax

A generalist job management tool not designed specifically for A&E firms, often requiring workarounds for industry-specific project structures.

Cannot support variable fee types within one project, forcing firms to split work into multiple jobs and increasing admin overhead and the risk of invoicing errors.

Limited reporting, particularly around job profitability, often requiring exports to Excel and manual data handling to understand performance.

Many users report a hands-off experience, with limited guidance and inconsistent support, particularly following the BlueRock acquisition of the WorkflowMax brand (now WorkflowMax by BlueRock).

Built only for A&E firms

Total Synergy

Purpose-built for architecture and engineering, start to finish

workflowmax

A generalist job management tool not designed specifically for A&E firms, often requiring workarounds for industry-specific project structures.

Project Free Structures

Total Synergy

Supports multiple fee types (fixed fee, hourly, variations) within a single project, so quoting, invoicing and reporting stay clean and admin stays low.

workflowmax

Cannot support variable fee types within one project, forcing firms to split work into multiple jobs and increasing admin overhead and the risk of invoicing errors.

Reports & Dashboards

Total Synergy

Embedded PowerBI dashboards that give you instant insight into project performance, job profitability, WIP and resource utilisation.

Workflowmax

Limited reporting, particularly around job profitability, often requiring exports to Excel and manual data handling to understand performance.

Onboarding and Support

Total Synergy

Fast, responsive support with consultative onboarding from A&E specialists who understand your firm.

WorkflowMax

Many users report a hands-off experience, with limited guidance and inconsistent support, particularly following the BlueRock acquisition of the WorkflowMax brand (now WorkflowMax by BlueRock).

Customer Story

How Lab-works Architecture Transformed Project Visibility

ARCHITECTURE Practice

AUSTRALIA

87%

Faster Invoicing

8 Hours

Back a Month

“In hindsight, I should have just started with Total Synergy on day one. I would definitely recommend it. If you’re taking your business seriously, and you want to make sure your projects are performing, then it’s a no brainer.”

TIM HANSEN

Director

“I would definitely recommend Total Synergy. The development that’s going into it is incredibly good. The user interface is so great. I can find everything I need in a couple of clicks.”

STEPHANIE MOORE

Operations Manager

“There’s big opportunity for us to be more profitable, and Total Synergy is part of how we get there.”

MATTHEW KING

Managing Director

Switching

Moving off WorfklowMax takes weeks, not quarters.

Every onboarding is guided by a dedicated Total Synergy consultant through a structured programme of live sessions. We configure Total Synergy around how your firm works, and help your team bring your data across.

Week 1 – Scoping session

Tell us how your firm runs, including rates, project structure and invoicing. We then set up your Synergy site to match.

Weeks 2-4 – Data migration

Your team loads clients, staff and historic data using our upload templates, with a consultant on hand to help. We also get your invoice templates ready.

Week 5 – Go live & team training

Role-based training for all users, project managers and finance. After go-live, you get follow-up sessions with your consultant over your first six months.

get a demo

Talk to our A&E Project Experts Today

Our experienced team is here to guide you through how Total Synergy can transform your project management approach.

Take the first step toward transforming your practice. In just one demo, our team will show you how Total Synergy simplifies project management, project finances, and project analytics for over 18,000 A&E professionals.

“Total Synergy was the tool that actually spoke our language.”

OLIVIA HAMILTON, OFFICE MANAGER

LAB-WORKS ARCHITECTURE

Compare systems today

Frequently Asked Questions from WorkflowMax Users

Why are A&E firms moving away from WorkflowMax?

WorkflowMax is a generalist job management software tool, built for professional services firms and other job-based businesses rather than for A&E firms, which often means workarounds are needed for industry-specific project structures. Many users have also reported a less consistent experience with support and guidance since the BlueRock acquisition of the WorkflowMax brand, when WorkflowMax (WFM) by BlueRock took over from Xero’s original product. That prompts firms to look for a WorkflowMax alternative built for architects and engineers. Total Synergy gives these firms project management, time tracking, invoicing and job costing in one place.

Can Total Synergy handle multiple fee types on one project, unlike WorkflowMax?

Yes. Total Synergy supports fixed fee, hourly, and variation billing within a single project, so quoting, invoicing and reporting stay clean and admin stays low. WorkflowMax cannot support variable fee types within one project, which forces firms to split work into multiple jobs, adding both admin overhead and risk of billing errors. With Total Synergy, your timesheets, WIP and job profitability stay attached to a single project, so you can see how each fee type is performing without stitching reports together.

How does reporting in Total Synergy compare with WorkflowMax?

Total Synergy includes embedded Power BI dashboards that give instant insight into project performance, job profitability, WIP and resource utilisation. WorkflowMax’s reporting is more limited, particularly around job profitability, often requiring exports to Excel and manual data handling just to understand how a job actually performed. With Total Synergy, job costing and capacity planning are visible without rebuilding a spreadsheet each month, which makes it a stronger project management solution for firms that need to see profitability while a project is still running.

Is Total Synergy purpose-built for A&E in a way WorkflowMax isn't?

Yes. Total Synergy is built specifically around architecture and engineering project structures, fee types, and reporting needs, whereas WorkflowMax serves a broad range of job-based industries, from professional services firms to creative agencies. That purpose-built fit means less time spent forcing A&E-specific project structures into a generalist project management tool. Firms comparing other options, such as Projectworks, can see how it stacks up on our Projectworks alternative page.

What should I expect from onboarding and support when switching from WorkflowMax to Total Synergy?

Total Synergy provides consultative onboarding from A&E specialists alongside fast, responsive, ongoing support. This is a notable point of difference for firms who found WorkflowMax‘s support hands-off, with limited guidance and inconsistent responsiveness, particularly since the BlueRock acquisition, when WorkflowMax by BlueRock replaced Xero‘s original product. Your team gets help from people who understand how architects and engineers run projects, rather than generic job management guidance.

Does Total Synergy offer a Xero integration, and can it handle quoting, timesheets and invoicing?

Yes. Total Synergy offers a Xero integration, as well as QuickBooks Online, MYOB AccountRight Live, Sage and Wiise, so your accounting software stays aligned with project billing. If your firm relies on the WorkflowMax Xero integration today, you can keep Xero as your ledger and move project management and job costing into a platform designed for A&E. You can build a quote from staff costs, consultants, contractors and expenses, record time through timesheets and timers, and issue invoices against the same project. Because time tracking, job costing and invoicing share one record, WIP and job profitability are clear at every stage.

How does resource planning in Total Synergy compare with WorkflowMax?

Total Synergy’s resource planning shows who is working on what, their availability and any conflicts, so capacity planning happens against real project budgets. Leave feeds into availability, so you no longer track it in Google Calendar or alongside Asana, Trello or Jira boards used for task management. Project templates give each new job a consistent starting structure and purchase orders keep consultant and contractor costs against the project budget.