In a Nutshell
pros
- 7-day true free trial
- Customizable templates
- Easy-to-use dashboard, lots of extra functionality
cons
- Can’t be used outside the US or Canada
- Template customization has a small learning curve
- Doesn’t accept PayPal payments
HoneyBook at a Glance
Best for: Freelancers, SMBs, photographers, consultants
Price range: $40 per month or $34 per month for annual plans ($400 billed annually)
Apps: iOS and Android apps
Features and Add-ons
HoneyBook is a business management platform. As such, the features are plentiful and cover the various aspects of your business dealings. We’ll briefly touch on the various features offered by this platform and cover the invoicing features more extensively.
In terms of invoicing, here’s what we like best about HoneyBook:
- Customizable templates
HoneyBook has customizable templates that you can use for various actions that are frequently required. For example, you can create a recurring payment invoice for clients that constantly order the same goods or need the same services performed. You can have a standard invoice for the typical customer profile. Or you can create any number of templates to fit your business and client needs.
- Payment schedules
This is a great option for clients who need to break up their payments into smaller increments. You can create a payment schedule instantly, online, via the invoice itself: no messy paperwork or multiple tabs, or anything like that. The software will automatically calculate and generate the payment schedule and send that along with the invoice to your client. You can also check on the status of upcoming or pending payments via your dashboard.
- Payment solutions
We’ll discuss this more below in the dedicated section, but HoneyBook does this so well, it is worth mentioning here too. The payments page allows you to select what type of payment method you want, amounts due, and even has the option to include tipping.
So, creating invoices and getting paid is a lot simpler with a dedicated tool like this. Best of all, HoneyBook customers are shown to get paid 10 days faster than businesses that use more traditional payment methods.
Other cool features that we like from HoneyBook include:
- Electronic signature
- Expense tracker
- Organized calendars
- Appointment booking online
- Create proposals online
- Create legitimate contracts online
- Notifications for payments, emails, tasks, etc.
- Integrations with tools like Gmail, Zapier, Google Calendar, etc.
- Automations with customizable workflows
Payment Options
HoneyBook has 3 accepted methods of payment:
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Bank transfer
This covers most of the bases (though it would be nice if PayPal were included in the mix as well), and it gives your clients plenty of options to choose from. In addition to the payments, HoneyBook invoices have the option to accept tips from clients in set increments or custom sums. We also love that clients can set up autopay to save time and make things more convenient for everyone.
Pricing Costs & Fees
HoneyBook has 2 pricing plan options: monthly payments or annual payments. Here’s what that looks like:
You’ll save $80 overall if you opt for the annual plan. And after using the software for free, you ought to know if you like it when you sign up, making the annual plan an obvious choice. HoneyBook has a true 7-day free trial, meaning you don’t need a credit card to sign up for the free trial. Just fill in your information, and click to get started. We like that you can test run the software before making any financial commitment and that HoneyBook doesn’t hide behind a credit card number (that you need to cancel if you are not interested in using).
A word on pricing. HoneyBook is not the cheapest invoicing software out there. There are definitely competitors who have a lower baseline pricing. Of course, you won’t get as many of the cool features like electronic signature, appointment booking, and professional templates. But if you’re looking for rock-bottom pricing, there are cheaper options out there.
That being said, HoneyBook frequently runs promotions and offers discounts on its regular pricing. For example, at the time of this writing, HoneyBook was offering new customers an excellent deal to pay $1 a month for the first 6 months.
Usability
In terms of usability, HoneyBook is among the easiest payment softwares on the market.
To get started, all you need to do is input your business name and information to create an account. Then you’ll be asked a few simple questions (annual revenue, length of time in business) to kick things off. To begin, HoneyBook will walk you through a dry run of creating, customizing, and sending an invoice.
We love that HoneyBook has excellent tutorials to help you get to know the software. When you first sign up, you’ll be given a quick tour of the features, and you can select specific areas of interest to learn more about their functionality (for example, booking more of my ideal clients, growing my revenue, automating my booking, etc.).
You’ll be shown the invoice template and taught how to customize it to your liking. The invoices can include service names, pricing, and even a description of the services provided.
Conclusion
HoneyBook is an easy-to-use business management platform with comprehensive invoicing services as well. The dashboard is intuitive and user-friendly, and the invoices are attractive and customizable. What’s more, HoneyBook delivers a lot of additional services such as online appointment booking and expense tracking, making it easy to integrate other elements of your business into a single application.