It’s time to break free (from WorkflowMax) and get an ERP

If you’re a WorkflowMax customer, you’re doubtless aware of the big news from last year. 

In March 2023, Xero announced the official retirement of its project management application, WorkflowMax. They signed an acquisition agreement for the software with BlueRock. This tech-led business advisory firm is expected to offer a new WorkflowMax product with similar functionality sometime early this year (2024).

You can take this news the hard way, hold out to see what the future brings, or instead, look at it as an opportunity to step up your game. If you do want to hang on in there, you’ll be facing some uncertainty as to what the new WorkflowMax, or the integration and implementation process for the updated solution, will look like.

The reality is that WorkflowMax is – or should we say ‘was’ – always a niche solution designed to support jobbing and time management. It needs other solution components to be an operational system - it’s not a standalone, complete business solution.

For those on Xero, the ability to ‘bolt-on’ WorkflowMax to fill the project management gap was probably welcome at the time. However, the decommissioning of WorkflowMax offers you the opportunity to reflect on whether you are the same small business that originally invested in the solution. Or if you’re now all grown up and evolved, and have more mature needs and expectations of your business software.

If you fall into the second category, then looking for another 'bolt-on' application for project management is probably doing your business a disservice. Instead, take a step back and consider if the demise of WorkflowMax is an inconvenience or a sign that it’s time to graduate to a solution designed to better support your business as it is now, and enable a bright, shiny future.

So perhaps now is the right time to break free – and do things properly? To implement a single, fully integrated business system: A modern cloud-based ERP.

First, certainty is worth its weight in gold when it comes to your business systems. Today’s ERPs are, by and large, tried and true (the ones we implement most definitely are!). You know what functionality you’re getting right now, rather than having to wait around and second guess what a reimagined WorkflowMax will bring to the table. With seamless upgrades and an ongoing vendor investment in development, you won’t find your solution randomly ‘retired.’

Second, everything you liked about WorkflowMax is already in an ERP. Jobbing and time management are part of an ERP application, with no third-party solution and integration required. There are no APIs to maintain or replace when one or other application is upgraded, reducing IT costs, complexity, and stress.

Third, with a fully integrated ERP system, you only need to work with a single vendor who knows your business, its needs and technology environment, inside and out. So not only is support consolidated and simplified, but so are your supplier invoices. Your IT and AP teams will thank you for that.

Fourth, once it’s done, it’s done. An ERP will replace both WorkflowMax and your current FMIS in one go. Yes, it’s an all-or-nothing choice - but it does offer significant competitive advantages for a growing enterprise.

Within three to five months, you could be running your business on a cloud-based, evergreen, highly secure and scalable application that offers more than WorkflowMax and an FMIS ever could. You get everything you need in that one solution – from all your financial functions to jobs, time sheets, customer management, sales and procurement, to 360-degree visibility (and reporting) of everything that’s happening across your business - in one cohesive solution.

Fusion5 is a highly experienced and trusted ERP implementation partner. We have enduring relationships with our clients based on our ability to deliver what we promise and add long-term value. 

We’ve got piles of industry awards for both large and small ERP projects across myriad industries, but more importantly, our clients recognise our role in their success.  

To find out more about why your next move could be the best one you’ve made, download our factsheet below.