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Xero

Workbench + Xero integration

No double handling between jobs and Xero

For civil and trade contractors across Australia and New Zealand. Run the job in Workbench, keep the books in Xero, and nobody enters the same cost twice.

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A contractor in a hard hat and hi-vis vest using Workbench on a tablet in front of a demolition site and an excavator, beside a card showing the Workbench and Xero logos linked together.

Over 400 contractors across Australia and New Zealand have chosen Workbench.

  • McConnell Dowell
  • Freyssinet
  • Alstef Group
  • Lucas Total Contract Solutions
  • Leed Engineering and Construction
  • Brockman Engineering

What you no longer do twice

Code a cost once, and month end already has it

Supplier invoices, progress claims and journals reach Xero coded to the job and account. Nobody re-enters a docket at month end.

Open a job and the numbers are already up to date

Record a payment in Xero and it comes back onto the job, so you see what the job has actually cost.

One timesheet costs the job and feeds payroll

Crew hours go in once, against the job. Workbench applies allowances and Australian Award Interpretation, then exports the hours to Xero Payroll for your pay run.

Our timesheets are entered directly into Workbench, which captures all of the labour costs directly against the project. We then use Xero as our payroll system, and Workbench is able to export that data directly across to reduce double handling and create efficiencies.

Fiona Zacharias Finance Manager, Multiworks

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See exactly what reaches Xero, and what comes back

Finance keeps the books in Xero and project teams keep the job detail in Workbench. Here is every record that moves between them, which way it goes, and what it changes for your team.

From the field to the ledger. Workbench captures work in the field: site diary, crew timesheets, compliance and audits, dockets, custom forms, scheduling, equipment tracking, asset maintenance and service desk. It orchestrates that through its modules: contract and subcontract management, subcontract portal, procurement, timesheets and EBA, forecasting, plant management, contract communications and work in progress. It tracks job costing: cost capture, labour and materials, and margin visibility. Xero then handles the accounting and reconciling: accounts receivable, accounts payable, general ledger and payroll, with company masterfiles, supplier payments and customer receipts coming back to Workbench. Reporting and insights sit across all of it.
Where Workbench ends and Xero begins.
Information shared Direction Why it matters
Invoices and credit notes Workbench ↔ Xero Raise or credit an invoice on the job, and finance sees it in Xero without entering it again.
Tracking categories Workbench ↔ Xero Keep one set of tracking categories rather than two.
Timesheets Workbench → Xero Payroll works from the hours already costed to the job, instead of a second timesheet.
Manual journals Workbench → Xero Journals reach the ledger already coded to the job, without retyping.
Payments Xero → Workbench See what's been paid from the job, without asking finance to check Xero.
Contacts Xero → Workbench Project teams work from the supplier and customer list finance already keeps.
Accounts, tax rates and currencies Xero → Workbench Code costs to the accounts and tax rates finance already set up in Xero.
Pay items Xero → Workbench Hours land on the right pay item, because the pay codes come from Xero.
Purchase orders and committed cost Stays in Workbench Spot what's committed on the job from the day the order is raised, before the bill reaches Xero.

Operations get the detail. Finance keeps the GL.

Map many cost codes to one Xero account, and add a cost code whenever a project needs one.

Cost codes in Workbench

  • Site establishment
  • Bulk earthworks
  • Drainage
  • Pavement
  • Traffic management

Your Xero chart of accounts

Map your cost codes once. Xero keeps the chart of accounts it has. Every cost lands on the job it belongs to, already coded.

How you get connected

  1. Request a demo

    We show you Workbench and talk through your projects.

  2. Get a quote

    We price it around your project mix, crew size and contract types. You see the number before anything gets set up.

  3. We do the setup

    You don't do this part. A Workbench specialist sets up your project templates, plant register, payroll allowances and the Xero connection.

  4. Go live

    Crews capture timesheets and dockets on the mobile app. Once the office approves them, the costs reach Xero on their own.

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Questions about Workbench and Xero

Does Workbench replace Xero?

No. Xero stays your accounting system. Workbench runs the project side and posts to Xero, so month end happens where it always has.

Can we keep running payroll in Xero?

Yes. Timesheets export from Workbench to Xero Payroll, and pay items come across from Xero so the codes match on both sides.

Who fixes the connection if it breaks?

We do. Workbench builds and maintains this connection itself, so there is nobody in the middle to chase.

Does Workbench connect to MYOB too?

Yes. Workbench also connects to MYOB AccountRight, MYOB Acumatica and MYOB Exo, and to Sage Intacct, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Wiise.

Does it work in Australia and New Zealand?

Yes. Workbench is listed on the Xero App Store for Australia and New Zealand, and tax rates and currencies come from your Xero organisation.

What happens to purchase orders and committed cost?

Purchase orders stay in Workbench, where cost sits against the job from the moment the order is raised. Xero sees the supplier invoice when it arrives.

New to Workbench?

We run Workbench on a sample job built from over 30 years working with civil and trade contractors.

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Already using Workbench?

Talk to support about turning the Xero connection on.

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