This is a valuable opportunity to consider your best fit software, uplevel your systems and re-map your operations to be more efficient and streamlined
There is no "do nothing" option - so get your plan in place!
Read on to understand the what, how and when….
Understand the WorkflowMax Retirement
JUNE 2024
In June 2024 WorkflowMax will be retired. You will no longer be able to use the program.
Before this date you need to make a changeover!
WORKFLOWMAX BY BLUEROCK
WorkflowMax by Bluerock has acquired the brand and is building a "like for like" product from ground up.
Beta will be released Dec 2023 and migrations commence Feb 2024. You will need to initiate your changeover, it will not be automated for you.
FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
WorkflowMax by Bluerock will have the same functionality and have plans to develop more as time goes on.
Knowing best fit criteria for your Project Management software is imperative as the changeover is an opportunity to reset!
MIGRATION
There will be a migration tool for WFM by Bluerock. Other software alternatives also have migration tools. There are exclusions of what will be bought across - this is the same across other softwares too.
You will need a tech savvy team member or support to changeover successfully.
Step 1: Assess Your Needs
The truth is 5 - 10 years ago when most businesses came onto WFM there were NOT a lot of great alternatives. Over the years many businesses developed parallel spreadsheets across three main areas: revenue forecasting, capacity / resource planning, and end of month invoicing. NOW is the time get things consolidated and streamlined to move forward successfully
If you had the opportunity for a fresh slate, a streamlined operation, a peaking utilisation, and a redistribution of admin time into productive momentum.....would you take that opportunity? THIS is that opportunity
Here is a checklist to assess your software needs:
Assess your basic needs: i.e. capturing time and cost, purchase orders, invoicing, basic reporting
Assess your more advanced needs: i.e. capacity planning, revenue forecasting, detail in reporting, integrations
Assess your business specific needs: i.e. specific reporting, integrations, transmittals, extended project management, spreadsheets to be replaced, ideal automations, additional functionality
Your end to end Operational Process Flow - work through the ideal systems and processes that take an enquiry through to full project completion. Leads, Sales, Delivery, Finance, Offboarding / Repeat
Download the FULL detailed Needs Assessment Workbook here
Step 2: Review the Top Contenders
Business Sense has chosen to partner with the following WorkflowMax alternatives. They all shine in different areas, and are a great alternative for WorkflowMax users.
Download the FULL Workbook with the WorkflowMax AlternativesCheatsheet link here
ProjectWorks is perfect for businesses needing clear revenue forecasting, comprehensive resource planning, effective visibility on projected burn, budget and staff utilisation as well as clear cost and revenue monitoring.
Ideal for: Software services, management consulting, engineering, architecture, cyber-security, digital agencies, and other specialized consultancies. Frequently used by businesses with 10+ staff
Total Synergy combines planning, management, collaboration and accounting tools — specific to architecture and engineering — in one, central place. It has bespoke features such as managing transmittals and project setup specifications relevant to this industry.
Ideal for: Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Work Guru is such a great piece of software! Some key features that stand it apart are capacity planning and scheduling, flexible invoicing, real time stock control, revenue forecasting and flexibility to setup approval workflows within the platform. WorkGuru deploys improvements and new features often - developing with the needs of customer
Ideal for: Engineering, Architecture, Manufacturing, Fabrication, Workshops, Professional Services
Workflow Max By Bluerock will have beta released in Dec 2023, with migrations commencing Feb 2024
They are building a ‘like for like’ product to WorkflowMax. It is suitable for service-based model that measure time and materials (expenses) as part of a job costing function.
Ideal for: Consulting, Architecture, Engineering, Agency, Professional Services
Step 3: Plan Your Changeover Roadmap
This is a crucial step: having a roadmap in place to guide your business will make for a strategic, smooth and successful changeover. Make it simple and use our template!
Download the FULL detailed Changeover Roadmap here
About Heidi
I'm an Operations Consultant and have been a WorkflowMax Partner for over 10 years. I work across NZ and Australia.
Service based businesses grow and evolve over time and as a result systems can become ad-hoc, outdated, disconnected and with all sorts of miscellaneous workflows - reducing team productivity, giving an inconsistent client experience and making true business metrics hard to access
I help businesses to better streamline their operations and be more strategic and efficient with how their process, people and tech work together.
Drawing on a decade of experience working with hundreds of businesses, I focus on working out best fit software and aligning it with your process and people - tying it all together with your team so it works properly and sticks! The result: a more productive team, happier client experience and a clear repeatable profitable business
Whether you simply want straight changeover implementation and support, or you want to strategically use this opportunity to up-level your end-to-end operations - we are here to make this a great experience!
Here are some common questions I am hearing from businesses using WorkflowMax, and some answers to support you:
How should I prepare for the changeover?
Review your current WorkflowMax file is clean and tidy. Ideally you want to start off with a good clean file HOWEVER don't stress, you can always tidy it after the migration - it is all coming across anyway
The migration of data from WorkflowMax will be facilitated by the migration tool, and will bring across your data that is in WorkflowMax to that date. I recommend to choose a Monday to “go live”, and not on a day when you are going to be under pressure to produce reports or raise invoices. There should be minimal disruption, but giving some buffer is advised. Your team will then ONLY enter timesheets in the new platform.
Calendarise time to re-write reports with the all new report builder.
Calendarise time to manually import any Custom Invoice/Quote templates.
Ensure that prior to inviting staff in, you have time to set up Staff Roles for new permissions functionality
Prepare your team for a potentially different experience with Work In Progress while Bluerock is working through potentially known bugs.
You will also need to reconnect and re-map to your Xero file as well as any other 3rd party integrations
Will we need to give additional training to transition to the new WorkflowMax platform?
It is unlikely that you’ll need extra training. Having tested in beta – I can confirm that the interface is very familiar and follows a similar logic to what you’re used to – even though it is a somewhat more modern view. I will be providing a cheatsheet with videos to clients for their timesheet users on their first day live
What are the main changes with the new Bluerock product?
Bluerock has promised to deliver a “like for like” product – and to date it appears they have been successful in doing that! There are some minor enhancements that will be beneficial to some businesses, but nothing that will fundamentally change the way you use and operate the platform. You can learn about them by going to Go to workflowmax2.com - scroll down the home page to the section called "You Asked, We Listened"
We use PowerBI Dashboard Reporting connected to WorkflowMax – will this also transition easily?
You will need to talk to your PowerBI person about this. They will need to connect PowerBI to the WorkflowMax by Bluerock API and remap the data points. Talk to them about their capacity and cost to do this, so that you can have minimal interruption to using your dashboards
What do I do with my old WorkflowMax file?
You’ll keep paying your subscription until you cancel. Or if you don’t cancel prior to 26 June 2024, it will cease at that point. Be aware that as soon as you cancel, your WorkflowMax file disappears (it does not remain open for the remainder of your paid billing period). Ensure you’ve migrated before cancelling. For safety, you can also export out all your WorkflowMax data and stored documents – if you’re stuck on how to do this, be in touch.
Business Sense has been a WorkflowMax partner for over 10 years, and is a foundational WorkflowMax by Bluerock partner.
We’re here to help you make a successful and smooth transition.
If you are going to take care of the migration yourself, choose Business Sense Consulting as your WorkflowMax partner (you’ll see it’s a dropdown box). This will tag us as your partner, and gives you the benefits of accessing greater support from myself and my team! You’ll be able to enjoy quick answers by email (complimentary) and access to periodic “office hours” Q&A sessions where your team can come and get support and ask any questions, alongside other businesses at no extra cost!
I have a number of smaller clients that we will be migrating in the first 14 days of the new WorkflowMax being available. There is also a queue developing with various "go live" dates earmarked - quite a range of business size and industry
