Frequently asked questions

HoneyBook is the leading clientflow management platform for independent service-based businesses. By combining essential tools for client communication, booking, and payments, HoneyBook lets independents manage their front-end client experience and back-end workflows in one place.

Here are a few things you can do with HoneyBook:

• Create client experiences that get you booked fast
• Keep leads, clients, and projects organized
• Get paid quickly and securely with our online payment software.
• Access data you need to understand and optimize your business

We offer a free 30-day trial to get you going—no credit card required! You’ll have full access to a HoneyBook account, allowing you to play around and make sure it’s right for your business. If you need assistance, you can live chat with our product specialists from right within the platform—or request a demo for an even more hands-on experience!

Once you decide to start your membership, our team can even help you set up your account to make sure you really hit the ground running.

Once you’re a member, the world is your oyster! Our support team is available 7 days a week via chat and email (Mon-Fri 6am-6pm PT, Sat-Sun 8am-5pm PT), and you can also check out our Help Center 24 hours a day.

For more in-depth training, sign up for one of our many live webinars, which cover everything from the basics of account setup to advanced tools and business management. We host these sessions multiple times a week, so pick the one that suits your schedule!

A variety of small businesses have found HoneyBook helpful for booking clients, staying organized, and streamlining their business. Some of our most popular types of users include: graphic designers, djs, photographers, life coaches, web designers, consultants, interior designers, videographers, calligraphers, business coaches, health & wellness professionals, doulas, caterers, event planners, copywriters, bakers, florists, travel professionals and more.

HoneyBook offers easy-to-use features that help small business owners run their business more efficiently and seamlessly manage clients from first inquiry to final payment. Learn more about our HoneyBook features.

Core features include:

Lead capture (contact form)
Project management
Streamlined client communication
Templates
Invoices
Proposals (invoice + contract)
Contracts
Brochures
Questionnaires
Online payments
Bookkeeping
iOS and Android App

Yes! HoneyBook has a number of file, email, and pricing Templates that you can build into your account to save you time down the line. Or, you can take advantage of our one-time, complimentary account building service—our team can build your first Templates for you to help get you started!

HoneyBook is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) built for small businesses. It’s an easy-to-use software built to help small business owners streamline their business processes from inquiry to invoicing. HoneyBook lets users manage projects, book clients, sign contracts online, send invoices and accept payments.

On HoneyBook users are able to view and track various stages of a project, as well as keep invoices, contracts and other documents in one place. Plus, users can respond to clients quickly and professionally with automated follow-ups using personalized templates and notifications. In addition, automated payment reminders can be sent and task reminders can be created based on the projects.

HoneyBook integrates with tools such as QuickBooks, Calendly, Zapier, Gmail and Google Calendar.

A proposal is a formal document that outlines a plan or suggestion for a project, service, or business venture. It is typically used to persuade a potential client, partner, or stakeholder to support or approve the proposed plan. Proposals are common in various fields, including business, project management, and academic research.

Using a proposal for your business is like having an assistant that helps you win clients faster. Instead of juggling multiple documents, a proposal combines everything you need to pitch your services, outline project details, and showcase your pricing in one tidy package. Plus, it looks professional and helps set clear expectations from the start. If you're currently sending separate documents for each client, switching to HoneyBook’s proposal software and proposal tools can save you time and hassle, making the whole process smoother for everyone involved. Learn more about sending a proposal.

Yes! Your HoneyBook account will come pre-loaded with templates for a variety of files, including Proposal templates. You can, of course, edit the template so that it reflects your brand, and presents your services perfectly. Whenever you want to send a Proposal, you’ll be able to start from a Proposal template, or recently sent Proposal, which means you’ll be able to create and send a new proposal in minutes if not seconds. Learn more about proposal templates.

Proposals, invoices, and contracts each serve distinct purposes in business transactions.
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A proposal is a comprehensive document used to pitch your services or products to potential clients. It outlines the scope of work, pricing, and other details to persuade them to choose your business.
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An invoice, on the other hand, is a financial document sent after services have been rendered or products delivered, detailing the amount owed and payment terms.
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A contract is a legally binding agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of a business relationship, including responsibilities, deliverables, timelines, and payment terms.
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While a proposal is designed to win new business, an invoice is used for billing, and a contract formalizes the agreement between parties, ensuring both sides adhere to the specified terms.

Of course. Be sure to start a 30-day free trial to try out all HoneyBook features and see how a Proposal would work for your business. And, if you decide to subscribe, you’ll always be able to preview your Proposal (or any other file) from the client’s perspective before you send it.

HoneyBook is more than just proposal software; it’s an all-in-one platform designed to help small business owners manage their entire workflow. With HoneyBook, you can track and qualify leads, sell your services, onboard and communicate with clients, and get paid seamlessly.

Some of the standout features include:

• Lead Tracking and Management: Capture and organize leads efficiently.
• Client Communication: Use built-in tools to stay in touch with clients and keep all communication in one place.
• Invoicing: Create and send professional invoices to ensure you get paid on time.
• Automation: Set up automated workflows to save time on repetitive tasks.
• Scheduling: Schedule meetings and appointments effortlessly with integrated calendar tools.
• Questionnaires: Collect important information from clients with customizable questionnaires.
• Bookkeeping: Keep track of your finances with easy-to-use bookkeeping tools.
• Proposals and Contracts: Create and send detailed proposals and legally binding contracts.

HoneyBook is free to try for 30 days, no credit card required. After your trial, plans start as low as $29/mo.

How to create an invoice is easy. Start by choosing a template then add your branding details, such as a logo and business information. Set clear payment terms to avoid confusion. Finally, send the invoice to your client, making the invoice and payment process straightforward.
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Sending invoices online as opposed to in the mail or in person is more efficient for you and more convenient for your clients.

With HoneyBook, you can save and reuse invoice templates. Since you’re never starting from scratch, sending a new invoice takes less than a minute. Clients can open your invoice from an email, review it, and pay—from any device.

HoneyBook also automatically reminds clients of upcoming or overdue payments so you don’t have to. That friendly nudge is just one reason 90% of HoneyBook invoices get paid on time.

Yes, the HoneyBook iOS or Android app lets you create invoices on your phone, send them to clients, and more. HoneyBook's small business clientflow management platform is easily accessible to you and your clients while you go about your day.

You bet. You’ll have access to editable invoice templates for your specific business type. As custom invoices, they can be fully edited to fit your services and brand. Learn more about how to create an invoice with HoneyBook.

Absolutely. Integrating QuickBooks Online automatically syncs your HoneyBook payments with your QuickBooks account.

Here’s how it works:

• When clients pay you through HoneyBook, the integration automatically creates an invoice and payment in QuickBooks.
• As deposits land in your bank account, those payments will appear in your banking section of QuickBooks. We also account for transaction fees for you. After you've matched a payment, you can view all transaction fees from the Expenses section in QuickBooks.

Clients will receive an email from you with a secure link to the online invoice. That link opens the invoice on their phone or desktop (no login or password required).

They’ll review the invoice as you’ve created it in HoneyBook, and then the payment screen will take it from there. Invoices can include your logo, business name, payment details, and the option to opt into Autopay (if you enabled it).

Once the payment has been made, you will receive your funds instantly, there is no waiting days for a transfer. Invoicing with Honeybook is as simple as that.

Next to nothing! Because we act as your payment processor, you can simply sign up for a HoneyBook account and start collecting client payments — no switching, connecting, or upstart required. With one account, you can consolidate all aspects of your business.

As a payment processor, HoneyBook’s online payment software has some of the most competitive rates on the market, with processing fees as low as 2.9% + 25¢ for card payments OR 1.5% for ACH payments. Only one fee is applied, depending on how your client pays. There are never any hidden fees for things like international or premium brand cards, and no fees for depositing payments to your bank account.

Yes — we directly deposit funds into your account! That means as a small business owner whose time is valuable, you don’t have to manually hit a ‘Payout’ button over and over again. Plus, HoneyBook’s Bookkeeping tool allows you to easily track all paid, upcoming and outstanding payments and even zoom in to see payments’ estimated deposit date.

In an effort to keep all your business information in one place, HoneyBook acts as the payment processor for any credit card or ACH (bank transfer) payments you receive. At the moment, we're not able to process payments through HoneyBook using personal accounts with PayPal, Stripe, Venmo, etc. If you do need to accept any payments made outside of HoneyBook (via cash, check, or another method), you can easily mark those payments as paid within HoneyBook.

Currently there is not a built-in way to pass the processing fees along to your clients. We recommend researching your state's laws on the matter, or speaking with a financial professional—in many states, it is illegal to pass processing fees on to a client. If you live in a state where it is legal, it's possible to add these charges as line items in your Invoices or Proposals. However, again, we'd recommend researching your state's requirements on messaging this to your clients, as the requirements may vary.

Client disputes can be scary, but here’s the good news — we work with you to understand the situation instead of automatically refunding your client. Our disputes team will contact you to get relevant details from you in order to resolve the situation in the best way possible.

Clients will receive an email from you with a secure link to the online invoice. That link opens the invoice on their phone or desktop (no login or password required).

They’ll review the invoice as you’ve created it in HoneyBook, and then the payment screen will take it from there. Invoices can include your logo, business name, payment details, and the option to opt into Autopay (if you enabled it).

Once the payment has been made, you will receive your funds instantly, there is no waiting days for a transfer. Invoicing with Honeybook is as simple as that.

Yes, we are proud to offer in-house fraud monitoring. Our in-house fraud team and automated systems monitor all payments to help prevent unauthorized or risky payments. When your clients pay using HoneyBook you can have peace of mind knowing their payments are safe and secure.

Yes, if you are meeting in person with a client, HoneyBook’s ‘book in person’ feature allows you to securely allow them to pay, or for you to enter in their information on the spot. We currently can't accept credit card swipes or scans.

Absolutely. Integrating QuickBooks Online automatically syncs your HoneyBook payments with your QuickBooks account.

Here’s how it works:

• When clients pay you through HoneyBook, the integration automatically creates an invoice and payment in QuickBooks.
• As deposits land in your bank account, those payments will appear in your banking section of QuickBooks. We also account for transaction fees for you. After you've matched a payment, you can view all transaction fees from the Expenses section in QuickBooks.

HoneyBook is an easy-to-use software platform designed to help small business owners streamline their processes and manage clients from inquiry to payment. HoneyBook’s goal is to help small business owners sustain a successful business, so they can live out the life they envision for themselves.

HoneyBook’s online scheduling tool lets you customize sessions to fit the way YOU meet. Reference this Help Article for full step by step instructions on setting up scheduling in Honeybook.

Session Types can be as simple as chunks of time on your calendar, like 15-minute call vs. a 30-minute call; or, you may want to create types that are more specific to your business! You can create Session Types to easily schedule things like photo shoots, mini sessions, discovery calls, business coaching calls, and more. Then, when you’re scheduling something on your calendar, you can either create an event from scratch, or simply select one of your pre-existing Session Types to work off of.

One of the biggest benefits of using a scheduling tool that’s part of HoneyBook is that you can share your meeting links from different places throughout your CRM. First, we recommend adding your session links to email templates. You can also easily add your link to an email from within your project workspace, or grab your link to send via email, text or social from your Scheduling dashboard.

When you set your availability for sessions, your clients will only see those time blocks, but what if you add something to your Google calendar that overlaps with your availability? When you sync your HoneyBook calendar to Gcal, it will automatically block off your Google calendar events so you never get double booked. Reference this Help Article to sync your calendars.

Yes. You can select to assign colors to your different sessions to make differentiation easy on your eyes. We also know that branding is important, so we make sure to put your brand first for your clients. When a client opens your session link, the page will automatically be branded with your logo and company colors.

HoneyBook’s scheduling tool gives you the same functionalities as others (like Calendly or Acuity), but also includes advanced features at no extra cost. Because it’s integrated into HoneyBook’s all-in-one business management platform, users have a branded, cohesive experience from first inquiry to final payment. No more switching between different platforms for sending your meeting link and sending an invoice.

Automations help free up the time and headache spent on all of the tasks that come along with running your business. With the ability to change or approve anything before it’s sent, you won’t have to sacrifice control over what your client receives.

Absolutely! You can even send certain follow-up materials based on inquiry type.

How you prefer to customize your Automations is entirely up to you. Use it to schedule follow-ups with clients, set future task reminders, send thank you emails, and send pricing information to leads as soon as they inquire. You even have the ability to require approval before any step is triggered, giving you complete control.

Each step has the option to require approval before sending, allowing you to edit a message before it’s sent, choose a different template, or even skip the step altogether.

Currently, via Automations, you can trigger the sending of an email, questionnaire, or brochure, and also create a task.

We highly recommended using an online tool like HoneyBook for creating and sending an online contract. Not only is this going to save you from wasting precious time trying to figure out how to create paper contracts on Microsoft Word, Excel, or Google Docs, but it’s a secure platform that will actually help you accept eSignatures and fast track the entire signing process.

Here’s how to create an online contract: Start a free HoneyBook trial and navigate to the templates tool inside your account. From there, grab one of HoneyBook’s contract templates, or create your own digital contract by pasting in any language you currently use. Use “smart fields” to automatically pull information about your client into your contracts. It’s always recommended to rReview your contract for formatting, typos, terms of service, and accurate information with the help of your attorney. When you’re ready to send your contract to a client, you’ll want to add an accompanying message to give them context about what they are about to review and sign.

Online contract management helps you in a few key ways:

1. Online contracts are faster to create: online contract tools like HoneyBook usually allow you to start from a template or a recently sent contract, plus use dynamic smart fields to auto populate client information. Layout contract terms only once by using contract templates, and make online contract creation easier than ever.
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2. Mobile friendly means signing contracts faster: being able to send contracts from your mobile device is great for working on the go. And, on the flip side, providing a mobile-friendly experience for your clients (who, let’s face it, are always on their phones) makes it incredibly easy for them to review and securely sign documents whether they’re on their laptop, phone or tablet.
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3. Status notifications: Managing your contracts online means you have a clear online contract signing process, and you get more insight into when a client has viewed and signed. With HoneyBook, you’ll receive status notifications when a client has opened a contract, viewed it, and of course, signed!

Yes, HoneyBook’s mobile app makes it super easy to send an online contract on-the-go. Download the Android app or iOS app for free.

Once you send a client contract using HoneyBook, your clients will be sent an email that includes a secure link to their contract. You can, of course, customize the content within the email to fit your business’s brand and voice. Clients can open the contract from their laptop or mobile device, review it, initial as needed, and sign electronically using a legally binding typed or hand-drawn signature. The last step for clients to sign the contract electronically is simply to hit submit, which will then notify you that your contract has been signed. When your client is ready to receive their online invoice, they will be able to make a direct payment through HoneyBook's online payment software. Which is easy for you and easy for your client!

Yes, your HoneyBook account will come equipped with contract templates to use as a starting point for your contract. You can edit the provided contracts or start from scratch and create your own template with the easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. While a professional was consulted in drafting the contract templates, it is not a substitute for legal advice. If you have any questions about contract templates or your finished contract as it relates to your specific business, please contact a licensed attorney.

Processing fees are an industry-wide standard for processing online payments. As a payment processor, HoneyBook has some of the most competitive rates on the market, with processing fees as low as 2.9% + 25¢ for card payments OR 1.5% for ACH payments. Only one fee is applied, depending on how your client pays and there are never any hidden fees. And it’s so worth it! Accepting payments online is more convenient for your clients, gets you paid fast, adds extra security, and allows you get your funds without having to coordinate face-to-face or wait on a paper check. With HoneyBook, you can easily track payments, schedule automatic recurring payments, and request deposits, keeping your finances organized and giving you quick insights into your earnings.

The Unlimited plan is available monthly or as an annual option which unlocks our best value, giving you an additional 17% in savings. Both monthly and annual plans give you access to all tools and features.

All of our plans start with a free 7-day trial, after which you’re ready to choose one of our membership plans. If you choose the Starter plan, you’ll save on your membership cost until you accept $10k in payments. Once you reach that milestone, you’ll have a choice between subscribing to either the Unlimited Monthly or Unlimited Annual plan. As the name suggests, the Unlimited plan options removes transaction limits, gives you access to our world-class customer support forever, and allows you to add team members to your account. If you choose to start off with either the Monthly Unlimited or Annual Unlimited plan and haven’t reached the $10K transaction limit, you can downgrade to the Starter plan by reaching out to our Concierge team.

Yes! No credit card required to try all of HoneyBook’s features for free for 7 days. After your 7-day free trial, you’ll still be able to log in and access your settings and projects, but you won’t be able to send new files or start new projects. You’ll be able to accept payments on any projects you sent during your trial.

First of all, congratulations! $10k in payments is a milestone worth celebrating. What it means in HoneyBook is that you’ve reached a place where you’re set up and ready to remove the limits of the Starter plan. You’ll have a choice between subscribing to either the Unlimited Monthly or Unlimited Annual plan. As the name suggests, the Unlimited plan options remove transaction limits, give you access to our world-class customer support forever, and allow you to add team members to your account.

Unlimited. That’s right, you can add as many clients and projects as you need with any of our membership plans. We’ll never charge you to add more leads, projects, or clients.

If you have a promo code, you’ll be able to apply it during your checkout process. If someone referred you to HoneyBook, they may have given you their unique HoneyBook referral code. Using a referral code saves you money on your membership and they get $100 as a token of our appreciation for spreading the word. Referral discounts are usually automatically applied at checkout, but can also be entered manually.

It’s important to us that you’re set up for success and that means flexibility. You can try HoneyBook risk-free. There's a 60-day money back guarantee, starting from the initial purchase date. If HoneyBook isn’t working out, you can easily cancel from within your account.

Getting started with HoneyBook is intuitive and fast. If you haven’t already, start a 7-day free trial to take a look around. During your trial, you’ll have direct access to a product specialist, available to help get to know HoneyBook and make sure it’s a good fit for your business. Once you start a plan and become a member, you can submit any of your existing business documents to our team to build into your account for you, for free. Our world-class concierge team is available 7 days a week and our robust help center includes weekly webinars to teach you all you need to know.

Of course! We’re here to help every step of the way and we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us at [email protected] and we’ll answer any questions.