TLDR (Summary)
Bloom handles invoicing, contracts, scheduling, galleries, and client portals for photographers, but the platform has no Gantt charts, no task dependencies, no timesheets, and caps at 3 active projects on the cheapest plan. Plutio is a fully branded platform where proposals, projects, time tracking, invoicing, and client portals are all connected. When a proposal gets signed, the project creates itself, tracked hours flow into invoices, and clients check progress and pay from a branded portal.
Project management that Bloom doesn't have
Bloom has basic task tracking but no Kanban boards, no Gantt charts, no timeline views, no task dependencies, and no project templates. Plutio has all five built in.
Bloom's project management is a flat task list inside each project with no hierarchy, no visual progress tracking, and no way to connect tasks in sequence. Managing a multi-week project with sequential deliverables, like a branding package with discovery, design, revisions, and launch phases, requires a separate tool on top. Industry reviewers note that Bloom covers the creative freelancer workflow well but lacks depth for project management beyond basic task tracking.
Plutio's project management starts with Kanban boards and adds what Bloom is missing: Gantt timelines that show dependencies between tasks, milestones that mark phase transitions, and templates that create entire project structures from a single click. A branding project can have research, design, revision, and delivery phases with tasks that automatically unlock when the previous phase finishes.
The bigger difference is how the project work and the business side connect. In Plutio, time tracked on a task feeds into an invoice line item, a completed milestone triggers a client notification, and project status updates in the client portal without sending a single email.
Plutio's project management connects tasks to time tracking, invoicing, and client portals, so the work and the business run from the same place.
Invoicing that connects to the work, not just the booking
Bloom has invoicing, but hourly billing means manual line items every cycle because there's no time tracking to connect. Plutio's invoicing pulls tracked hours into invoices automatically.
In Plutio, invoices populate from a date range with every tracked hour, task name, and rate already filled in, so there's no copying from a separate tracker or reconciling from memory at the end of the month.
Recurring invoices auto-send on schedule with late payment reminders built in. Payment processing through Stripe, PayPal, or bank transfer happens inside the same platform. Multi-currency support lets international freelancers bill clients in local currencies, something Bloom doesn't offer at any tier.
Invoicing is where the real gap shows. In a Bloom setup, invoicing works for fixed-price bookings but falls apart for hourly billing because there's no time tracking to pull hours from. In Plutio, the invoice already knows what happened because time tracking, the project, and billing all share the same data.
Plutio's invoicing turns tracked hours into paid invoices without copying numbers between apps.
Proposals and contracts that create projects automatically
Bloom has contracts and invoicing, but the workflow ends at the signed document. In Plutio, a signed proposal creates the project, attaches the contract, and activates the client portal in one step.
Plutio's proposal builder includes drag-and-drop sections, pricing tables, and built-in e-signatures. Clients review and sign from any device. When the signature goes through, Plutio creates the project with pre-configured tasks and deadlines based on the proposal scope.
Contracts attach to proposals and projects, so the signed scope stays connected to the actual work. The client portal activates with branded access, and the first invoice can generate directly from the approved pricing in the proposal.
The entire pre-project workflow happens in one sequence. In Bloom, every step after the signed contract needs manual recreation. The project tasks typically go into a separate tool like Asana or Trello, tracked hours into Toggl, and files into Google Drive or Dropbox.
In Plutio, a signed proposal becomes a live project with contracts, tasks, and client portal access, all from one signed document.
Time tracking built into every project
Bloom has no time tracking at all. Freelancers billing hourly need Toggl, Harvest, or Clockify on top, then manually create invoice line items each billing cycle.
Plutio's time tracking runs inside every project. A built-in timer starts from any task with one click, or hours get logged manually with notes and rates attached. Billable and non-billable hours stay separated so only client-facing work hits the invoice.
At invoice time, tracked hours convert to line items with the task name, duration, and hourly rate already filled in, so there's no guesswork when the invoice goes out.
Time reports break down hours by project, client, or date range. The data shows exactly where billable hours went and which projects ran over budget, all from the same place where the projects and invoices live.
Every hour tracked in Plutio turns into an invoice line item without manual entry or app switching.
Client portals that go beyond gallery delivery
Bloom's client portal handles invoices, contracts, questionnaires, and gallery delivery for photographers. Clients can't view project progress by task, track milestones, or collaborate on deliverables outside image galleries. Plutio's portals give clients a branded workspace for the entire project.
Plutio's client portals are branded with a custom logo, colors, and domain. Clients log in and see project progress alongside milestones, shared files, outstanding invoices, and messages.
Files upload directly to the project instead of arriving as email attachments. Messages attach to specific tasks so conversations stay in context. Clients approve deliverables and pay invoices from the portal without downloading separate apps or juggling multiple logins.
The portal replaces the email chains, the "just checking in" messages, and the status update requests that pile up between meetings. Clients see what's happening without asking, and freelancers don't need to write separate update emails.
Plutio's client portals replace status update emails with a branded space where clients track progress, share files, and pay invoices.
With Plutio we don't jump between apps anymore! Everything from projects to invoicing is finally connected in one fully-branded app.
How to switch from Bloom to Plutio
Most freelancers switch between projects, finishing active work in Bloom while starting new clients on Plutio.
- Start a free trial: Plutio offers 14 days of full access with no credit card required. Every feature, including projects, invoicing, proposals, time tracking, and client portals, works from day one.
- Import client contacts: Export contacts from Bloom as a CSV and import them into Plutio. Client names, emails, and details carry over in minutes.
- Set up a project template: Create one project template with the standard task list, milestones, and deliverable structure. Every new project starts from the template instead of manual setup.
- Start new clients on Plutio: Send the next proposal from Plutio. When the client signs, the project creates automatically with the template structure, portal access, and contract attached.
- Finish Bloom projects where they are: Active work stays in Bloom until completion. Running both platforms in parallel avoids disrupting client relationships mid-project.
- Cancel Bloom: Once all active projects wrap up, cancel the Bloom subscription. Export gallery content, signed contracts, and invoice history for record-keeping before cancellation.
The hardest part of leaving Bloom isn't the data migration. The hardest part is moving gallery delivery and active client portal links to the new platform. Clients who access the Bloom portal for image delivery need a new link, and any active gallery content needs to be re-uploaded or archived before the switch.
The switch happens between projects, not mid-project. New clients start on Plutio while Bloom projects finish naturally.
