Hour Cap vs WorkflowMax
A focused WorkflowMax alternative for teams who live in Xero. Xero retired the original WorkflowMax and handed the brand to BlueRock. If you used it mainly to track time and push invoices to Xero, you don't need the full job management weight that replaced it. Hour Cap is the lighter, Xero-first option.
Why people are looking for a WorkflowMax alternative
Xero retired the original WorkflowMax in mid-2024 and licensed the brand to BlueRock, a separate company, who relaunched it as WorkflowMax by BlueRock. Existing customers had to either migrate to BlueRock's version or move to another tool.
For teams that used WorkflowMax mainly to track billable time and push it to Xero, the new tool is more than they need. The reaction from that group has been consistent: forced re-training, a heavier feature set than the original, and an invoicing experience that has not landed well with users who just want to bill hours through Xero.
If your team's centre of gravity is Xero, not job management, you don't need a WorkflowMax replacement. You need a tool that hands clean time entries to Xero and gets out of the way.
Side-by-side comparison
The features that matter when you're tracking time and billing through Xero.
| Feature | Hour Cap | WorkflowMax |
|---|---|---|
| Xero invoice line items | 4 grouping modes | Consolidated or per-task only |
| Descriptions on invoices | Always included | Optional, concatenated into task |
| Retainer management | ||
| Timer across midnight | Auto-splits by day | No auto-split |
| Duration input | 1h30m, 1:30, 8h, 30m | HH:MM only |
| Timesheet approvals | Full workflow | Submit and lock only |
| Billable rate levels | Project, member, org | Staff rate only |
| Free plan | ||
| Xero tracking categories | 3-level cascade | Job-level only |
| Void and re-invoice |
Your clients see real detail on every invoice
WorkflowMax gives you two options when exporting to Xero: a single consolidated line item, or one line per task category. Individual time entry descriptions get concatenated into the task field, which often results in a messy block of text.
For hourly work, Hour Cap gives you four granular grouping modes. Every mode preserves the actual descriptions your team wrote, so clients always see meaningful line items.
Built-in retainer tracking
WorkflowMax has no retainer management. The workaround is to create recurring job templates and use Xero's recurring invoices, but there's no hours budget, no remaining hours visibility, and no alert thresholds.
Hour Cap has dedicated retainer tracking with automatic billing period resets, real-time progress bars, configurable alerts, and an invoice flow for completed hourly periods or started fixed-fee periods.
Hour Cap also bills fixed-fee projects at the agreed remaining balance and fixed-fee retainers at a fee per started period. Logged time measures delivery effort against the budget; it is not added to those fees as another hourly charge. The four time-entry grouping modes apply to hourly billing, while fixed fees use a project or period line.
- Weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, or custom periods
- Dashboard shows hours used, remaining, and days left
- Alert thresholds when usage hits a percentage you set
- Invoice a retainer period directly from the invoice wizard
A timer built for how the day runs
Few timers handle a session that runs past midnight cleanly, and most accept time in only one rigid format.
Hour Cap's timer persists across page navigations, auto-splits at midnight into separate daily entries, and accepts flexible duration formats like 1h30m, 1:30 or 1.5, so you can type time the way you think about it.
Submit, review, approve or reject with a reason
WorkflowMax timesheets have a simple submit-and-lock model. Once submitted, entries lock. There's no formal review cycle, no per-member approver assignment, and no rejection with reasons.
Hour Cap has a full approval workflow. Assign specific approvers per team member. Managers review, approve, or reject with a reason. For members who require approval, only approved entries are eligible for hourly invoicing. Employees get notified and can recall submissions.
What WorkflowMax is built for
WorkflowMax does things Hour Cap doesn't.
Full job management
If you need leads, quotes, job costing, purchase orders, and expense tracking in one tool, WorkflowMax covers those areas. Hour Cap is focused on time tracking and invoicing.
Custom invoice templates
WorkflowMax has Word-based custom invoice templates with Task/Staff/Date grouping for printed PDFs. Hour Cap pushes invoices to Xero and relies on Xero's branding themes.
Pricing at a glance
Hour Cap
RecommendedPrices in USD, per month billed annually. Monthly billing: Team $12 for two users, Business $36 for four; extra users $6 on Team or $9 on Business. Xero and retainers require Team or above; approvals and activity logging require Business.
WorkflowMax by BlueRock
Now a separate product run by BlueRock, not Xero. Priced per user in USD, so Essentials starts around $25/mo and Pro around $75/mo. 14-day trial. Confirmed mid-2026, re-check current vendor pricing.
Common questions
Why are people looking for a WorkflowMax alternative?
WorkflowMax was retired by Xero in mid-2024 and replaced with WorkflowMax by BlueRock, run by a separate company. Existing customers had to migrate or move on. Many teams used WorkflowMax mostly for time tracking and Xero invoicing and do not need the full job management depth of BlueRock; for them a lighter, focused Xero invoicing tool is a better fit.
Is Hour Cap a direct WorkflowMax replacement?
Not for the full job management surface. Hour Cap focuses on time tracking, retainers, fixed-fee project invoicing, worker cost estimates, approvals, and pushing invoices to Xero. If you used WorkflowMax mainly for those, Hour Cap is a faithful, lighter replacement. If you relied on quoting, supplier management, or deep production scheduling, Hour Cap will not cover those.
How does Hour Cap compare to BlueRock's WorkflowMax?
BlueRock's WorkflowMax keeps the original job-management feature breadth and is priced accordingly. Hour Cap focuses on hourly and fixed-fee billing, retainers, worker cost estimates and Xero draft invoices. For teams whose centre of gravity is Xero rather than job management, Hour Cap is faster to learn and easier to live with day to day.
What does WorkflowMax do that Hour Cap does not?
WorkflowMax covers quotes and estimates, lead and opportunity tracking, purchase orders and supplier invoicing, document storage, and detailed job costing across multiple cost types. Hour Cap estimates worker costs and margins from dated pay rates, but does not cover those wider job-management features. If you need them, WorkflowMax (now BlueRock) is the broader tool.
How does pricing compare?
BlueRock's WorkflowMax pricing scales by user count and feature tier and starts well above Hour Cap. Hour Cap is priced per organisation: Free for one user, Team at $10/month billed annually ($12 billed monthly) for two users, Business at $30/month billed annually ($36 billed monthly) for four users, with modest per-seat fees beyond. For a small team that just wants time and Xero invoicing, Hour Cap is meaningfully cheaper.
Can I export my WorkflowMax data and bring it across?
Hour Cap does not have a direct WorkflowMax importer. Most teams pick a cutover date, finish open jobs in WorkflowMax, then start fresh in Hour Cap. Xero contacts sync automatically on connect, so the slow part (rebuilding the client list) is handled for you.
Ready to switch?
Start tracking time in minutes. Connect your Xero account and your contacts sync automatically. No migration needed.
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Read comparisonComparison note: competitor features and pricing were researched on a best-effort basis in June 2026 and can change at any time. We aim to be accurate and fair, but details may be out of date, so always confirm the latest information on the vendor's own website before making a decision. Hour Cap capabilities on these comparison pages were reviewed on 6 September 2026. Plan requirements apply; prices shown as annual equivalents require annual billing.