Bonsai

What is Bonsai?

Bonsai is a business management platform for service businesses. A client record links to the proposal, contract, project, timesheet and invoice for that client, so nobody re-enters data between tools. It covers CRM and pipeline, scheduling, estimates, contracts and forms, a client portal, task management with Gantt views, time tracking, resource planning, expenses and invoicing with payment processing.

Who is it for?

Service businesses in creative, marketing, software development, consulting, engineering, IT, accounting, architecture and interior design. The site says over 10,000 firms use it, from solo freelancers to agency teams. Look elsewhere if you need lead scoring, sales forecasting or multi-stage B2B sales pipelines.

Pricing

• Basic: $9/user/mo (annual), includes time tracking, task management, unlimited projects and CRM basics.
• Essentials: $19/user/mo (annual), adds invoicing, proposals, contracts, forms, scheduling and the client portal.
• Premium: $29/user/mo (annual), adds project insights, workload management, Gantt views, custom fields and integrations (QuickBooks, Xero, Zapier, Calendly, Google).
• Elite: $49/user/mo (annual), minimum 3 users, adds custom permissions, timesheet locking, expense markup and custom data imports.
• Monthly billing: Basic $15, Essentials $25, Premium $39, Elite $59 per user.
• 7-day free trial with full features. Reduced rates apply for teams of 30+ users.

Prices checked on 6 October 2026.

Strengths

• One client record: proposals, contracts, projects and invoices attach to the same client.
• Contracts and forms are on the $19 Essentials plan, so you do not need a separate e-signature tool.
• Client portal lets clients collaborate with the team on shared work.
• Gantt views, workload management and resource planning are on Premium and above.
• Integrations with QuickBooks Online, Xero, HubSpot, Google Workspace, Calendly, Trello, ClickUp, Slack and Zapier.

What to consider

• Invoicing, proposals and contracts start at Essentials ($19), not the $9 Basic plan.
• Integrations such as QuickBooks, Xero and Zapier start at Premium ($29).
• Elite requires at least 3 users, which makes $49/user a $147/mo minimum.
• It has no lead scoring or forecasting, so it does not replace a sales CRM.
• Monthly billing costs 20% to 67% more than annual on the same plan.

Bottom line

Shortlist Bonsai if proposals, contracts, projects and invoices describe your workflow and you bill clients by project or hour. Before buying, check that the plan with the features you need is not Basic.