Bonsai

Bonsai gets me paid

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

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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

Kommentare: 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,)

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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.

Nothing Good to Say About Bonsai

Vorteile:

Nothing likable about this brand or product.

Nachteile:

Bonsai / Hello Bonsai is absolutely terrible. They charge ridiculous transaction fees and then hold your money up for weeks after the payment has been made. Absolutely infuriating, they have massively screwed up my business. I wish I had known this before signing up with them. I pay nearly $500 a year for their basic business services, and they charged me an additional $300 in transaction fees for my first two transactions and would not let me access the fund for over two weeks. I canceled my account with them as soon as I learned about their predatory practices. Literally, any other service would be better than Bonsai. In addition, Bonsai support is practically non-existent. I have never paid so much for a service and not been able to get an actual person on the phone to try to resolve even the most basic issues.

A cohesive, customizable all-in-one software for proposals, contracts, and invoices

Kommentare: I've been using Bonsai since 2021. I've thought about moving platforms a few times, mostly looking for something cheaper that also allows me to use my own branding, but I always end up sticking with Bonsai in the end because it allows me to customize so many other things — which, in the end, are more important to me. In the 3+ years I've used Bonsai, I've never had issues with payment processing, invoice/proposal/contract links, etc. I've never had any mishaps with it, and my clients seem to like everything I send from there. Bonsai has actually helped me look professional and prepared.

Vorteile:

Things I love about Bonsai: (1) Using one tool for proposals, contracts, and invoices It's great to be able to use one tool to manage all 3 major transactional events with clients. It also makes you look like a professional when the things you send to your client all have a cohesive look and feel. (2) The granular level of customizations available for proposals, contracts, and invoices - Proposals are highly customizable. You can start with a template (and there are quite a few good ones) and customize and edit it any way you like. - You can also save your own proposals as reusable templates for future clients. - I love that the proposals have various formats for project-based packages (like allowing the client to select multiple options or making the client pick only one of several options, or not offering options at all ... it really allows you to structure your proposal in the way YOU do business). - I like that both proposals and invoices can be edited *after* you send them. So if a client wants to negotiate one last thing, you don't have to cancel the proposal/invoice and start over. You can edit the existing one and the link you sent them still works. - I like that I can decide whether I want to send a proposal/contract/invoice as a link in my own email or send out an "automated" looking email straight from Bonsai. I've tried both ways and both work very well. - I love the ability to completely customize fields in my invoices. Many invoice software out there doesn't allow for a lot of customization, but customization in invoicing is ultra important to me because every project is different. - I like the ability to attach a pdf to the invoice (like bank wire information if the client prefers to pay with that over a credit card payment). - For contracts you have so many different template options, it's easy to find one that matches your needs as closely as possible and then you can even convert it to a fully editable contract where you can add or remove entire clauses and make your own. Then you can save your contract as a template for future clients. - Auto-reminders for invoices are optional. I like that I can turn it on or off on a per-client basis. - There are also lots more customizations for invoices like the ability to do scheduled recurring invoices. It makes me feel like Bonsai can handle whatever business models and client projects I evolve through. (3) The ability to bill in multiple currencies. - I was shocked to discover so many invoicing platforms force you to use your own local currency (e.g., Honeybook). I'm in Canada, but many of my clients are in the U.S. and in Europe, and I prefer to bill in USD. So a multi-currency billing platform was a must for me. (4) Support is decent. - You have to use chat to access customer support, but I have always found them to respond by the next day at the latest.

Nachteile:

Things I dislike or don't love about Bonsai: (1) I don't care for the calendar and project management features. I'm really picky about my booking calendar and need lots of features. So I feel like Bonsai's pricing went up for features I don't even need or use. For that reason, I ended up downgrading my Bonsai to a lower tier to make it more affordable again — which meant I had to give up custom branding. Bonsai should allow custom branding in the lower tier. The middle tier should include things like the calendar and project management and more CRM features. Don't force people to upgrade to a more expensive tier just to use custom branding. (2) For proposals, I wish Bonsai would make the currency visible to the client. A couple of my clients were confused and asked me if I was charging CAD or USD because on my side of Bonsai, I can see the currency, but on the client's side, they cannot see it. So now I have had to add a note on all my proposals "All currency is x." Bonsai should fix this. Yes, the invoice always shows it, but the proposal should show it as well! (2) The reporting is very confusing to non-USD users. When I look at my dashboard and Bonsai gives me graphs and stats about my earnings, the dropdown menu is not intuitive, and I've had to ask support to help me understand what it means.

Bonsai keeps me a loyal customer!

Kommentare: 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.

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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

Kommentare: 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.

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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 way to centralize your business

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

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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

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

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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.

An ever improving platform that makes freelancing a breeze

Kommentare: Overall, I love this platform. It's straightforward and pleasant to look at. Once the mobile application can action creating proposals and contracts, making projects, adding clients and not just acting as a "review what's up in your business" companion application...

Vorteile:

The ease of creating projects, setting up and sending proposals, and tracking billing.

Nachteile:

Sometimes projects move quickly, and certain actions have to become manual. Expense tracking can be tricky as well — I've had issues (likely bugs) where my expenses double or even triple which throws off P&L reports. The mobile application is VERY limited, often defaulting to the desktop version for common actions.

Bonsai improved my business 100%

Kommentare: Before Bonsai I was using many programs for proposals, CRM, invoicing, and contracts. Since switching to Bonsai I honestly have to say that I have saved several thousand dollars per year and my life has been much easier and more organized. Bonsai has systems that have automation so if a customer does one particular item the Bonsai system will automatically send an email with a form that I would like my customer to submit. Bonsai is definitely a game changer and I would highly recommend any business owner to look at their system and hopefully see the benefits that they can receive by using Bonsai.

Vorteile:

Bonsai makes everything extremely streamlined and very easy and user-friendly. From the time I input a lead to creating the proposal to invoicing the customer and finalizing the project, Bonsai makes everything hassle-free and extremely easy.

Nachteile:

The only suggestion I would have or like to see for Bonsai would be for them to allow me as the business owner to arrange the look and feel of how my customer dashboard is arranged.

Amazing business management tool

Kommentare: It's been very good! Bonsai has taken the headache out of invoicing and financial management. I know what money is due when and from who, all with automatic reminders and overdue interest accrual. Their support has also been extremely helpful :)

Vorteile:

Super easy invoicing, great dashboard, beautiful looking templates

Nachteile:

Not very powerful time tracking and general navigation is a little slow

Bonsai is a Great Service for Freelancers and Small Businesses

Kommentare: Overall, Bonsai provides a great service for Freelancers and Small Businesses. They have all the tools and resources needed to conduct business and get paid. Their invoices are very straightforward so as not to confuse the client's when they receive their invoice.

Vorteile:

Bonsai has all the tools a freelancer, or small business, may need to contract work.

Nachteile:

Sometimes it takes a few days to get a response from Bonsai's customer service reps but they have a forms page that has a lot of answers. This form can answer most of the questions you have so you don't have to contact customer service reps.

Great Software!

Vorteile:

Easy to use! Great tool for invoices.

Nachteile:

somewhat expensive but overall worth it

Consulting Business MVP

Kommentare: Our overall experience with bonsai is overwhelmingly positive, especially with their great customer support and their steady flow of new features. I don’t foresee us outgrowing bonsai, as the features and tools are easily scalable to service-based businesses of any size.

Vorteile:

Bonsai is invaluable to us as it handles some of the most important aspects of our business. Time tracking, task management, invoicing, collecting payments, expense tracking are all handled via a user-friendly interface (website, extension, macOS app, iOS app). Bonsai is our MVT (most valuable tool)!

Nachteile:

Above all else, we use bonsai for accurate time tracking on projects, so when the mac app and website suddenly wouldn’t allow us to log in, we were frustrated. Thankfully, bonsai came through with a fix that solved it.

Best invoicing application for any consultancy

Kommentare: Great

Vorteile:

Ease of use and the features available.

Nachteile:

The price is much higher that other applications

Bonsai has been so helpful as a freelancer!

Vorteile:

I like how easy it is to use the program for creating and sending out contracts and invoices and tracking the time I take for each project. It is well organized and easy to find what I'm looking for on the program. Their customer service has also been very helpful. They easily took care of the problem I had and got back to me within a reasonable time.

Nachteile:

It took me some extra time to figure out the payout part and how to get my money into the bank accounts.

Great for New Freelancers

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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

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

Vorteile:

Ease of use and easy to track management

Nachteile:

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.

Business Owner's Best Friend

Vorteile:

It's super user-friendly! The interface is also super smooth!

Nachteile:

Nothing! I've been using it for a couple months now and it's perfect! I do hope that I can add a custom contract and not have to use a template some day!

Great Program!

Kommentare: Have loved it so far and loved how easily it integrated into our business and from day one streamlined our workflow process!!

Vorteile:

So easy to use and packed full of awesomeness! Seamless integration it was a great free trial and we will move forward!

Nachteile:

There were no cons that I have come across so far. It's been great.

Excellent product

Kommentare: Love it and would 100% recommend it.

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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 Product

Vorteile:

Bonsai has one of the best platforms for proposals and has changed the game for our business

Nachteile:

The cost for the platform seems to keep rising and is a touch much for having a lot of functions that we dont use.

educational

Vorteile:

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

Nachteile:

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

Almost perfect solution

Kommentare: 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.

Vorteile:

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.

Nachteile:

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.

My review of Bonsai

Kommentare: its alright,. theres a lot that could be imptoved

Vorteile:

Simplicity of it. The invoices send out automatically.

Nachteile:

The accounting feature is bad. It doesntautomatically categorize and you cant set rules or project revenue and expenses.