Bonsai

Bonsai gets me paid

Comments: 4.9/5 stars, I can't complain. Bonsai does a great job of getting me paid.

Pros:

Invoice options, and automations work well out of the box and make sense with no need for configuration.

Cons:

The cost would be too high if I didn't get a lifetime discount through webflow.

Excellent customer/client management for solo starting out, hope Bonsai grows with small biz

Comments: I'm glad to have found this platform, have appreciated the ways it streamlined some of my business and remain excited about its potential. I've looked at many industry specific platforms for my service industry and they all were clunky or extremely expensive. I don't need industry-specific software though, I just need a clean, easy to use project / client management platform where I can send invoices/contracts and schedule client appointments. Bonsai has some stand-out features, among the best are its scheduling and client portal (to allow clients to view an invoice or uploaded files). Bonsai works great with apple/mac/iphone OS calendar and is very useful for client onboarding / invoicing. I would love to see Bonsai develop additional features for growing businesses, even if that involved a modest add-on fee (so long as the add-on fee didn't get carried away,)

Pros:

There is a lot to appreciate with Bonsai starting with a very nice graphical interface. Most features are super easy to roll out (with the notable exception that incoming payments are frozen for the first 2 weeks plus). The online scheduler works excellently and plays very nicely with macs. The client portal is very attractive and an easy way to share invoices / files. There are lots of great starts to automate common tasks (e.g., when a client signs a contract, send the invoice) I felt like Bonsai is a 10/10 (or close) for a very small solo just getting started. If you have a handful of clients / projects a month and work alone, this will justifiably wow and make things beautifully smooth.

Cons:

Solo / freelancers are Bonsai's target. Many features just don't seem to work for or consider a small business with any employees. It also doesn't seem to have features suitable to handle businesses with high volume of anything (no way to track/run reports) Although there are options to add "team" members for a monthly fee, Bonsai doesn't really recognize that a business owner might need to set user permissions or have employees involved in some but not every aspect of a business. For example, users can only be designated "partners" with access to every financial detail or "collaborators" who can do next to nothing in the platform besides view an already created project. I need an assistant to create projects, send out contracts and invoices but not be given a key to the company's entire financials. Currently there is no way to do this. Contracts cannot be sent without a company signature and the signature cannot be pre-populated. We're still trying to work around these limitations. Bookkeping automatically logs processing fees as expenses and can track other manually inputted expenses but cannot track multiple bank accounts / check writing, payroll, etc.

Great interface, poor quality, money grabbing company

Comments: If you’re a freelancer looking for something to get started very quickly, then Bonsai will be great. If you are growing beyond that, I would consider looking elsewhere. They are not scaling to support that type of customer, and it’s too easy for them to find new ways to grab more money for the same or fewer features, some of which don’t work.

Pros:

Bonsai makes it easy to get started as a freelancer. Proposals, contracts, and payment processing is made easy.

Cons:

In the 5 years I’ve been using Bonsai, they have introduced only two net new product features. One of which is Bonsai Payments, which is a competitor to Stripe, which they already supported. The second, Bonsai Tax, which stripped some existing and included functionality from the original offering and turned it into an add on feature for an extra $100/year. They have revamped some existing features, but they lack execution, and there are very obvious gaps in product requirements that have yet to be filled. I report a new bug almost every single time I log in, and every single time it’s confirmed by the product team. They’ve raised prices by >150% in only a few years and not improved the platform enough to warrant that.

Bonsai is great for a software agency

Comments: Bonsai staff took the time to answer our questions in a virtual meeting and explained the ins and outs of the system. After we got to use the system for a week we had another call and they answered all our questions. The system itself is clean, works awesomely and is extremely customisable to our own needs. I would recommend Bonsai.

Pros:

I believe bonsai offers us a unique CRM en planning system that is extremely well integrated with expense management, invoicing, contracting and much more.

Cons:

Pricing model is a bit steep for starting European Businesses however it absolutely beats having to pay for multiple systems that in the end do the same that Bonsai can but takes a lot more work.

Great for small businesses owners !

Pros:

Intuitive design and overall clean interface

Cons:

Document customisation is limited (invoices and proposals)

Bonsai keeps me a loyal customer!

Comments: Bonsai has been very essential to my freelance career when I was part time to now being a full time freelancer. When starting out, I just needed the essential tools - invoicing, accounting, time tracking, contracts and proposals - which Bonsai offered immediately. Down the line, they added new features that boosted what I can also add to my workflow management such as forms, scheduling and now a cool project board view besides the generic list view! It allowed me to have a business debit account while major banks require small businesses to be active for a certain amount of time before qualifying for a business account. Overall - NO FRILLS, but still A GEM.

Pros:

Very straightforward, simple and user-friendly. Everything a freelancer or contractor needs to keep their small business financially organized is in Bonsai.

Cons:

I hope the mobile and desktop app would be expanded. The browser app is cool, but I would love to just click onto an app icon to access my dashboard without having to get on Chrome. Might also be great to have a client be able to access and view their mini portal on Bonsai without creating an account - this way they can view the active project I'm working on with them and access invoices.

Well worth the money

Comments: I am only one month into my new business and I'm glad I've starting using Bonsai from the beginning. My clients signed my contracts immediately when I sent them using the electronic signature as opposed to waiting for them to sign my initial paper contract. I have yet to sent my first invoice, but it looks to be very simple. I've connected my bank so I can see all my expenses in a single app.

Pros:

The interface is very clean and intuitive and is a breeze to use. The feature that puts it above all the rest of similar products is the accounting features. For a small, simple business, I don't need to invest in another accounting product like QuickBooks. It saves on costs and keeps everything in one plane of glass.

Cons:

The only item that I find lacking in Bonsai is there is no Kanban board or other visual way to track tasks and projects.

Great beginner platform

Pros:

Simple invoicing, client management for a servicing business, proposal + contract templates. Allowed me to jump-start a lot of the tedious parts.

Cons:

Task and project management capabilities aren't really comparable to other modern systems if you're doing anything complicated.

Great way to centralize your business

Comments: Overall good! Happy to have my business admin simplified.

Pros:

Being able to have my contracts, invoicing and scheduling all in one place has really helped to streamline the backend parts of my business.

Cons:

The initial payout for the invoicing was over two weeks. I understand that it is in place to ensure security, however that amount of time can feel like forever to a small business.

All in One App

Comments: Having all timing and billing information in the dashboard has made me aware of my ongoing projects, unpaid invoices, and expenses at a glance.

Pros:

Bonsai's user experience is very intuitive, and well designed. My main uses are time-tracking and invoicing. For a pretty practical price, I can do all my business management needs in one place.

Cons:

One feature I would love to see improved is the Desktop Time Tracker. Currently is doesn't allow you to save your time for specific tasks within a project. Sometimes, I need to invoice tasks separately and right now the desktop app lumps them into one project.

Great tool business management

Pros:

I've experimented with various business apps such as Bonsai, but none of them compare to its CRM and invoicing capabilities. Its combination of reasonable pricing and comprehensive features makes it unbeatable. Additionally, its customer service is exceptional.

Cons:

I wish there was a better portal for clients, where we can have conversations within the portal, upload specific files within the portal, assign tasks, etc. As it is now, there's no reason for my clients to even log into the portal because everything just goes to their email. but emails can get messy so i'd prefer the alternative.

Easy mode for Invoices, Contracts, and Time Tracking

Pros:

Super easy interface for on boarding clients; creating custom contracts and project proposals and then managing them ongoing; sending recurring invoices and expenses.

Cons:

Editing recurring invoices could be made more intuitive and easier to manage.

Solid Small Business Solution that grows with you.

Comments: It was a good experience and we will continue to use it.

Pros:

I liked how it kept track of our Tax payments and let us automatically set money aside for taxes.

Cons:

The fact that our clients can't see their tasks.

Bonsai incorporates the best time tracking, invoicing, and CRM features from other platforms.

Comments: Previously, I had to keep my time tracking in one app and invoicing in another. I've also struggled to find a CRM that automates client outreach in a way that works with my business rhythm. This platform makes me more efficient and more accurate.

Pros:

This platform required almost zero learning curve from me. I was previously familiar with other CRMs and time trackers, but by far this one was the easiest to adopt and deploy. In particular I like the invoicing features.

Cons:

I do wish I'd known before committing to Bonsai that my first invoice would not be paid for 10 days. It would have changed my plans - some startup money I needed for a project is now tied up. It's an inconvenience I could have avoided.

I am satisfied a large part due to customer service.

Comments: It was [sensitive content hidden] at first but again i appreciate the customer service that [sensitive content hidden] provided! He was incredibly helpful and the reason i continue to use this platform.

Pros:

I love the customer service and once they get back with you they seem genuinely interested in providing solutions.

Cons:

I was locked out of my account because I no longer had access to my to my old phone and should have been able to verify another way. Instead I had to reach out to support when the function could have simply been an additional option using the interface. I also feel like the processing fees from my contract being $40 and $50 bucks I should have 24 hour support but I understand.

Horrendous Customer Service

Comments: Horrible, Worst in class

Pros:

I like the tax add-on that allows me to pull P&L reports. It's the only reason I haven't canceled my subscription. Bonsai's customer service is disgusting!

Cons:

Everything except the tax add-on. Bonsai canceled my account without warning because Stripe couldn't verify my identity, EVEN THOUGH in their FAQs, it says there are other ways to do so if we reach out via email.I resubscribed (since I canceled my Quickbooks and Honeybook subscriptions) and got verified, but they locked my account pending said verification. Contacted customer service via chat, and they read my message and then closed the conversation ticket.Followed up with an email and two months later, nothing has changed.

Great for New Freelancers

Pros:

I loved that it had everything I need for my new business in one place.

Cons:

It would be great if there could be a tutorial for the financial side. It took me a bit to find everything that was available.

bonsai review 2023-03-27

Comments: Time tracking is much easier on Bonsai rather than writing in on a piece of paper and having a chance of losing it

Pros:

Ease of use and easy to track management

Cons:

Mobile app could be fixed with some issues (for the timer, you must press the "x" button for it to save the hours in a given project timer.

Great for Freelancers and Software Development Agencies

Comments: Overall I love Bonsai and it is a great value for all that is included.

Pros:

This software makes it super easy for me to write up contracts for my clients, collect their payments, and keep track of my existing clients along with potential leads. If you are a freelancer and you need templates for contracts and proposals, I would say this Bonsai is worth it for that alone, but when you add in the ability to collect client payments.....You can't beat it.

Cons:

I believe that Bonsai is constantly improving its software and features. The only dislike I have with Bonsai is that you cannot get instant pay right away, and starting out it will take 7-10 business days to receive your payouts.

Freelance Gamechanger

Comments: Timetracking helps me make sure my pricing aligns with my scope and estimates. Tasks keep the list out of my mind and on track. Invoicing keeps my clients on track!

Pros:

Before Bonsai I was using many different apps and ways to keep myself biz on track. Between spreadsheets, hello-sign, storing invoices and contracts in folders, and not really tracking my time, I was all over the place! Bonsai has improved my workflow, lessened my anxiety around invoicing, and made running my business (freelance graphic designer) much more streamlined!

Cons:

I tried to download the bonsai App but couldn't, so I use the browser version. I also would like there to be a way to have a "deposit paid" line on invoices that isn't listed as a discount.

Excellent product

Comments: Love it and would 100% recommend it.

Pros:

Bonsai has every integrated feature I need as a freelancer. From time tracking to invoice creation, it handles all my administration needs with ease.

Cons:

It has automated actions that are unnecessary, like asking to notify clients. However, this doesn't impact my day-to-day use of the product.

Great to have (almost) everything under one roof

Pros:

Having everything admin related under one tool is pricelessUI is excellentVery easy to use

Cons:

Minor stuff that will probably get rolled out soon:The contract feature lacks the ability to comment and redlineI can't see my tasks in a board view -- it's list only.

educational

Pros:

easy to learn when it comes to choosing your new business tool.

Cons:

expensive when it comes to choosing your new business tool need more trial periods

Almost perfect solution

Comments: Overall it was pretty good and I almost switched over my CRM entirely, but it has some missing features that make it not feasible at this time.

Pros:

Bonsai has a lot of the core features to manage and run a business, and is very easy to use. The cost is very good for the amount of features you get.

Cons:

I can’t add contacts to the CRM portion without adding an email address, which is necessary when you meet some people at networking events and only have their LinkedIn info. It also doesn’t provide a good way to store contacts who are not customers.

Bonsai X Round Six Agency

Comments: Invoicing

Pros:

The product is super easy to use, and i love the templates for contracts and proposals and invoices. It has helped me look professional and streamline my customer management.

Cons:

I wish editing the aesthetics of proposals were easier