GeoOp, the NZ-born job tool a lot of Kiwi crews grew up on, was bought by the UK's Access Group in early 2025 along with GeoNext, and it has stopped taking new users. If you're still on it, nothing explodes tomorrow, but you're now planning a move on someone else's timeline unless you make it your own. How to pick a landing spot, and what to take with you.
Where crews land, ranked
How I ranked them: by how closely each one matches the work GeoOp crews mostly do, which is service jobs dispatched to people in vans. Fast service work comes first, then general trade work, then staged residential builds, and the heavy project end comes last. It is a fit ranking from the prices and shapes of work below, not a test score. All prices NZD, verified on the price index.
| # | Tool | Best for | NZ price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ServiceM8 | High job volume, small crew. | $29 to $349 a month by job volume | Stays cheap for a small crew doing lots of small jobs. |
| 2 | Tradify | General trade work, small team. | $48 a user a month on Lite | The easy default, with a trial in a fortnight. |
| 3 | NextMinute | Staged residential builds, crews of five or more. | $299 a month for up to 5 users, then $30 each | Every feature on one price, plus a one-off $1,500 onboarding. |
| 4 | Fergus | Staged residential builds that need deeper job costing. | From $53 a month | The pick when margin per job matters. |
| 5 | simPRO | Commercial projects, contracts and stock. | A scoped quote, no published price | The heavier end, a quote rather than a subscription. |
What actually happened
The Access Group announced the acquisition of GeoOp and GeoNext and has since closed both to new customers, with existing users being steered towards alternatives. The app has kept receiving maintenance updates, so this is a wind-down, not a blackout. But a product that has closed its front door has told you its direction, whatever the official timeline says.
Worth knowing as you shop: Access also bought Tradify in October 2024. Tradify is still the biggest and most actively developed tool in the category here, so that is no reason to avoid it, but it does mean the "NZ-owned" column of the market has thinned, and it's why my four-way roundup flags ownership alongside features.
Pick your landing spot by the shape of your work
GeoOp crews are mostly service businesses, jobs dispatched to people in vans, which narrows the field usefully. All prices NZD, verified on the price index.
| Your work | Land on | The maths |
|---|---|---|
| High job volume, small crew | ServiceM8 | Priced by job count, $29 to $349 a month by volume, so a two-person crew doing lots of small jobs stays cheap. Tier detail here. |
| General trade work, small team | Tradify | $48 a user a month on Lite, trial in a fortnight. Tier detail here. |
| Staged residential builds | NextMinute or Fergus | NextMinute is $299 for up to five users, then $30 each; Fergus from $53 a month with the deeper job costing. Pricing maths here. |
| Commercial projects, contracts, stock | The heavier end | That's SimPRO territory, a scoped quote rather than a subscription. |
The five landing spots, in rank order
1. ServiceM8
Best for: high job volume with a small crew. It is priced by job count, $29 to $349 a month by volume, so a two-person crew doing lots of small jobs stays cheap. Tier detail here.
2. Tradify
Best for: general trade work with a small team. It is $48 a user a month on Lite, with a trial in a fortnight. Tier detail here.
3. NextMinute
Best for: staged residential builds, crews of five or more. It is $299 a month for up to five users, then $30 for each extra user, plus a one-off $1,500 onboarding fee. Pricing maths here.
4. Fergus
Best for: staged residential builds where the deeper job costing matters. It starts from $53 a month.
5. simPRO
Best for: commercial projects, contracts and stock. That is SimPRO territory, a scoped quote rather than a subscription.
Export before you cancel anything
The order of operations matters more than the destination. Data comes out of a live subscription easily and out of a wound-down platform somewhere between painfully and never.
- Clients. Full list with every contact detail and site address.
- Job history. As far back as it goes, with notes. Your quoting judgement lives in that history.
- Photos and documents. The evidence trail for every dispute you haven't had yet.
- Recurring schedules and price lists. The two things crews forget until the first Monday on the new tool.
- Open the files. Check the exports hold what they claim before you cancel, not after.
Xero note: your invoice history is already safe in Xero and stays put through any migration. What changes is the sync. Connect the new tool to Xero on day one and run one test invoice end to end before the old sync is switched off, and if anything beyond the standard sync was wired up for you, that's integration work to re-scope, not a toggle.
The lesson worth keeping
Whatever you land on, this is the moment the category taught NZ crews that tools get bought and sunset. Price the exit before you sign: what exports, in what format, and whether your workflow depends on anything only that vendor does.
Questions from crews leaving GeoOp
Is GeoOp shutting down?
GeoOp and GeoNext were acquired by The Access Group in early 2025 and have stopped taking new users, with existing customers being steered towards other tools. The app has kept receiving maintenance updates, but a platform that has closed its front door is winding down, whatever the timeline turns out to be. Crews still on it should plan a move on their own schedule rather than a forced one.
What should NZ GeoOp users switch to?
Depends on the shape of the work. Fast service jobs at volume point to ServiceM8, priced by job count from $29 a month. General trade work points to Tradify at $48 a user a month. Staged residential builds point to NextMinute at $299 for five users or Fergus from $53 a month. All figures NZD as verified on this site's price index.
What should I export from GeoOp before moving?
Everything you'd miss in three years: client list with contact details, job history, notes and photos, recurring job schedules, price lists, and any documents attached to jobs. Export while your subscription is active and check the files open before you cancel anything, because retrieving data from a wound-down platform later is somewhere between painful and impossible.
Want a second opinion on the landing?
If you're mid-move, or GeoOp was doing something specific the replacements don't, book a free 30-minute call. Sometimes the answer is one of the tools above, and sometimes the one workflow you'll miss is a small build on top of whichever you pick. Either way you'll know before you commit.