TLDR (Summary)
Bonsai handles proposals, contracts, and invoicing for solo freelancers, but per-user pricing, a task-list-only project view, and the Zoom acquisition have pushed growing freelancers to look elsewhere. Prices climbed over 150% in recent years while core gaps in project management and client collaboration stayed open. Zoom acquired Bonsai in December 2025, putting the product's independent roadmap under enterprise ownership. Plutio covers proposals, projects with Kanban boards and Gantt timelines, time tracking, invoicing, and branded client portals at $19/month flat, with no per-seat multiplication.
Project management that Bonsai doesn't offer
Bonsai's lower-tier plans restrict project work to a plain task list. Kanban boards and Gantt timelines only appear on the Premium plan at $39/user/month, and even then, task dependencies and milestone tracking are absent.
Freelancers running multi-phase projects like website builds, brand identities, or content campaigns need to see how tasks connect across phases. Bonsai's task list view shows items in a flat sequence with no visual relationship between them. Reviewers on Millo describe the project management as closer to a task manager than a project manager, with no Kanban option, no timeline, and no way to map dependencies between deliverables.
Plutio's project management starts with Kanban boards where tasks move through stages visually. Gantt timelines show how deadlines overlap and where bottlenecks will land. Task dependencies lock a deliverable until the prerequisite finishes, so nothing slips through the cracks on a multi-week engagement. Task views include list, board, timeline, and calendar options on every plan.
The difference goes deeper than views. In Plutio, a completed milestone can notify the client through the portal, trigger the next invoice, and update the project timeline in one step. In Bonsai, finishing a phase means manually updating separate tools or sending a follow-up email to confirm progress.
Plutio's project management includes Kanban boards, Gantt timelines, dependencies, and milestones on every plan, not locked behind a $39/month tier upgrade.
Invoicing that connects to tracked hours, not guesswork
Bonsai has invoicing on Essentials ($25/user/month) and above, but hourly billing requires manual line-item entry because time tracking and invoicing don't share the same data pipeline.
Freelancers billing by the hour log time in Bonsai's tracker, then build the invoice separately. The invoice doesn't pull task names, durations, or rates from the time log automatically, so each billing cycle involves reviewing hours, re-entering line items, and double-checking that nothing got missed. Bonsai also applies transaction fees through Bonsai Payments on top of the subscription cost, which reviewers flag as an unexpected add-on to an already per-user price.
Plutio's invoicing pulls directly from tracked hours. Select a date range, and every billable hour fills in with the task name, duration, and rate already attached. Recurring invoices auto-send on schedule with built-in late payment reminders. Payment processing runs through Stripe, PayPal, or bank transfer with no platform-level transaction fee layered on top.
Multi-currency support lets freelancers bill international clients in local currencies. Bonsai's reporting and currency handling have been described as confusing for non-USD users, which creates friction for anyone working across borders.
Plutio's invoicing turns tracked hours into paid invoices without re-entering line items or paying transaction fees on top of the subscription.
Proposals and contracts that trigger projects automatically
Bonsai's proposal and contract workflow is the platform's genuine strength, but the chain breaks after the signature. A signed document doesn't create a project with tasks, timelines, or portal access in one step.
On Bonsai, proposals use professional templates, contracts include e-signatures, and the workflow from document to payment is clean for solo practitioners. The gap appears when the signed scope needs to become a working project. The freelancer creates the project separately, sets up tasks manually, and configures client access on a different screen. There is no automatic handoff from signed proposal to active project.
Plutio's proposal builder includes drag-and-drop sections, pricing tables with optional line items, and built-in e-signatures. When the client signs, Plutio creates the project automatically with pre-configured tasks, deadlines, and deliverable milestones pulled from the proposal scope. Contracts attach to the same record, and the first invoice can generate from the approved pricing without re-entering amounts.
The entire sequence, from proposal to signed contract to active project to client portal, runs as one connected flow. In Bonsai, each stage after the signature requires manual setup across separate screens.
In Plutio, a signed proposal becomes a live project with contracts, tasks, timelines, and client portal access, all from one document.
Time tracking that feeds into invoices without copying numbers
Bonsai includes a time tracker, but tracked hours don't flow into invoices as pre-filled line items. Every billing cycle means reviewing logs and rebuilding the invoice from scratch.
The tracker records hours against projects, and the data stays in the time tracking section. When invoice day arrives, the freelancer opens the time log, calculates totals per task or project, then manually adds each line item to the invoice. For retainer clients billed monthly, this cycle repeats every 30 days with the same copy-and-reconcile process.
Plutio's time tracking runs inside every project with a one-click timer on any task. Billable and non-billable hours stay separated so only client-facing work reaches the invoice. At billing time, selecting a date range populates the invoice with every tracked hour, task description, and rate already filled in.
Time reports break down hours by project, client, team member, or date range. The data shows where billable hours went and which projects ran over budget, all from the same workspace where the projects and invoices live.
Every hour tracked in Plutio converts to an invoice line item with one click, without manual entry or app switching.
Client portals that show the full project, not just sent documents
Bonsai's client portal is locked behind the Essentials plan at $25/user/month, caps file uploads at 10MB, and only supports images and PDFs. Clients can view sent documents but can't track project progress or collaborate in real time.
On Bonsai, the portal acts as a document inbox. Clients see proposals, contracts, and invoices that have been sent to them. There is no task-level progress view, no milestone tracking, and no way for clients to upload files beyond the 10MB image and PDF restriction. Reviewers on Productive.io note the gap between what freelancers expect from a client portal and what Bonsai delivers: conversations, file sharing, and task visibility are either missing or limited.
Plutio's client portals are branded with a custom logo, colors, and domain. Clients log in and see project progress by task and milestone, shared files without size restrictions, outstanding invoices, and threaded messages attached to specific deliverables.
File uploads go directly to the project instead of arriving as email attachments. Clients approve deliverables and pay invoices from the portal without downloading separate apps or managing multiple logins.
Plutio's client portals replace status-update emails with a branded workspace where clients track progress, share files, and pay invoices from one login.
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 Bonsai to Plutio
Most freelancers finish the transition in 1-2 weeks by running both platforms in parallel: new clients start on Plutio while active Bonsai projects finish where they are.
- 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 the first day.
- Export client and financial data: Bonsai supports exporting client lists as CSV files and invoices as individual PDFs. Download invoice history for tax records and import client contacts into Plutio in minutes.
- Save contract and proposal templates: Download proposal and contract templates as PDFs or copy the text content. Templates don't export natively from Bonsai, so recreate them in Plutio's drag-and-drop builder using the existing content as a reference.
- Set up a project template: Create one project template in Plutio 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 tasks, timeline, portal access, and contract attached.
- Cancel before renewal: Bonsai bills monthly or annually. Check the renewal date and cancel before the next billing cycle. Annual subscribers should time the migration to align with their renewal to avoid paying for unused months.
The hardest part of leaving Bonsai isn't the data migration. The hardest part is deciding whether to wait and see what Zoom does with the product or move to a platform with a clear, independent roadmap now. Given the 150%+ price increases and minimal new features over several years, the trajectory was already a concern before the acquisition.
Export invoices and client contacts first, then start new clients on Plutio. The switch happens between projects, not mid-engagement.
