Bonsai

hellobonsai.com
Project Management
Weekend Project

The unified platform for service businesses

How to Replace Bonsai

Overview

Bonsai is a business management software that consolidates projects, clients, and billing into one integrated platform. It provides tools for client management, project delivery, and financial management tailored for service businesses, agencies, and freelancers. The platform helps teams streamline operations, automate workflows, and gain real-time visibility into business metrics.

Features

58 features across 21 categories

Analytics(1)

Project InsightsPremium

Get real-time visibility into project budget and business financials

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Automation(1)

Automations

Create automated workflows to save time on repetitive tasks

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Billing(9)

Estimates

Create and send project estimates to clients

Expense MarkupPremium

Add markup to expenses for billing to clients

Invoice Locking

Lock invoices to prevent modifications

Invoice Scheduling

Schedule when invoices are sent to clients

Invoicing

Create, send and manage invoices with recurring and retainer options

Multi-currency Billing

Support multiple currencies for international billing

Rate Cards

Set up and manage billable rates for team members

Retainer Invoices

Create and manage retainer-based invoicing

Subscription Invoices

Set up recurring subscription invoices

Also in: Insightly, Airtable, Obsidian

Browser Extension(1)

Chrome App

Chrome extension for quick access and notifications

Also in: Krisp, Scalenut, LastPass

Client Management(3)

Client Portal

Provide clients with a portal to view projects and communicate

Client Tasks & MessagingPremium

Communicate and assign tasks directly with clients

CRM

Manage leads and client relationships with deal tracking and automation

Also in: mycase, Litify, Acuity Scheduling

Customization(3)

Branding CustomizationPremium

Remove Bonsai branding and customize client-facing materials

Custom Fields & PropertiesPremium

Add custom fields and properties to customize workflow

Custom Task Statuses

Define custom workflow statuses for tasks

Also in: monday.com, Obsidian, Smartsheet

Data Collection(1)

Forms

Create custom forms and questionnaires for client data collection

Also in: Insider CDP, Lytics, monday.com

Data Management(2)

Custom Data ImportPremium

Import data from other systems into Bonsai

Data Exports

Export data from Bonsai for analysis or backup

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Desktop(1)

MacOS App

Native desktop application for MacOS

Finance(5)

Bank Sync

Automatically sync expenses from bank accounts

Bookkeeping

Manage financial records and bookkeeping tasks

Expenses

Track and manage business expenses with automatic categorization

Financial Overview

Get a high-level view of financial metrics

Income Tracking

Track and categorize business income

Mobile(2)

Android App

Mobile app for Android devices for on-the-go access

iOS App

Mobile app for iOS devices for on-the-go access

Payments(1)

Payments

Accept online payments and manage payment processing

Project Management(10)

Budget Tracking

Set and monitor project budgets to stay on track

Gantt ChartPremium

Visualize project timeline and dependencies with Gantt view

Kanban View

Organize and track tasks using kanban board visualization

Project Phases

Organize projects into phases for better structure

Projects

Organize and monitor project delivery with integrated tools

Recurring Tasks

Create tasks that repeat on a schedule

Task Dependencies

Link tasks to define dependencies and relationships

Task Estimates

Estimate time and cost for individual tasks

Task Templates

Create reusable task templates for common workflows

Tasks

Create, assign and track project tasks

Reporting(6)

Profit & Productivity ReportsPremium

Access detailed profit and productivity analytics

Profitability Reports

Analyze profitability across projects and clients

Project & Task Reports

Generate reports on project and task performance

Reporting

Access detailed financial and project reports with key KPIs

Time Tracking Reports

Generate reports on time tracking data

Utilization Reports

Track team utilization and resource efficiency

Resource Management(2)

Resourcing

Plan and manage team resources and workload allocation

Workload ManagementPremium

View and manage team workload with capacity tracking

Sales(3)

Pipeline

Track deals pipeline for sales management

Proposals

Generate and send professional proposals

Service Library

Access and manage a library of services for estimation

Scheduling(1)

Scheduling

Schedule events and manage calendar availability

Security(1)

Custom PermissionsPremium

Set granular permissions and custom roles for team members

Storage(1)

Storage

Cloud storage for documents and files

Time Management(3)

Time Tracking

Track billable and non-billable time on projects and tasks

Timesheet LockingPremium

Lock timesheets to prevent further edits

Timesheets

Manage and submit timesheets with reminders and locking

Pricing

Basic

$15/user/month ($9/user/month billed annually)
  • Time tracking
  • Task management
  • Unlimited projects
  • CRM
  • Service library
  • iOS & Android app
  • Unlimited clients

Essentials

$25/user/month ($19/user/month billed annually)
  • Everything in Basic
  • Invoices & Payments
  • Proposals & Contracts
  • All templates
  • Forms & Questionnaires
  • Scheduling
  • Client portal
  • Expense tracking
  • Income tracking

Premium

Popular
$39/user/month ($29/user/month billed annually)
  • Everything in Essentials
  • Project insights
  • Workload management
  • Gantt view
  • Deals pipeline
  • Custom fields & properties
  • Client tasks & messaging
  • Profit & Productivity reports
  • Remove Bonsai branding
  • Integrations (QuickBooks, Zapier, Calendly, Google)

Elite

$59/user/month ($49/user/month billed annually)
  • Everything in Premium
  • Custom permissions
  • Timesheet locking
  • Add markup to expenses
  • Xero integration
  • Custom data import
  • Dedicated onboarding
  • 3 users minimum

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Bonsai

Monthly$15/mo
Yearly$180/yr
5-Year Total$900

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~4 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$180
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$540
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$900
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 58 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Bonsai alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 58 features.

Buy Bonsai

Better Value
Monthly cost$150/mo
3-year total$5,400
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$36,000
Maintenance$540/mo
3-year total$55,440
Dev time~3 months

Buying Bonsai saves ~$50,040 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 58 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

8 known integrations