TLDR (Summary)
SuiteDash packs CRM, project management, invoicing, client portals, and white-label branding into one platform, but pages load in 4-10 seconds, task dependencies require the $99/month Pinnacle plan, and setup takes 20-40+ hours before the platform starts producing value. 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. Setup takes hours, not weeks, and task dependencies are included on every plan starting at $19/month.
Project management without the $99/month gate
SuiteDash has Kanban views and task lists on every plan, but task dependency logic requires the $99/month Pinnacle plan. Plutio includes task dependencies, Gantt charts, milestones, and project templates on every plan starting at $19/month.
SuiteDash's Start plan at $19/month offers basic task lists and Kanban boards. Multi-phase projects with tasks that depend on each other, like a website build where design must finish before development begins, need task dependencies. SuiteDash locks that feature behind Pinnacle at $99/month, which means freelancers managing sequential deliverables pay five times the base price or manage task order manually.
Plutio's project management starts with Kanban boards and adds 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 deeper 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 includes task dependencies on every plan, connected to time tracking, invoicing, and client portals in the same workspace.
Invoicing that connects to tracked hours, not just contacts
SuiteDash has invoicing on every plan, but there's no built-in time tracking to connect. Hourly billing means manually creating line items from a separate tracker each billing cycle. Plutio's invoicing pulls tracked hours into invoices automatically.
SuiteDash's invoicing handles one-time and recurring invoices with online payment processing. The gap shows when hourly billing enters the picture. There's no timer inside SuiteDash projects, so freelancers billing by the hour track time in Toggl, Harvest, or Clockify, then manually transfer hours into SuiteDash invoice line items at the end of each billing cycle. The manual transfer introduces errors and takes time every month.
In Plutio, invoices populate from a date range with every tracked hour, task name, and rate already filled in. 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 where the project work lives.
Multi-currency support lets international freelancers bill clients in local currencies. SuiteDash supports online payments but the slow page loading that users report on AppSumo affects the invoicing workflow the same way it affects every other module.
Plutio's invoicing turns tracked hours into paid invoices without copying numbers between apps.
Proposals and contracts that create projects automatically
SuiteDash has basic proposal and estimate functionality, 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 SuiteDash, the proposal-to-project transition requires manual setup: creating the project separately, configuring the task list, setting up portal access, and linking the contract to the project record. Each step adds configuration time on top of the 20-40 hours the initial setup already consumed.
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
SuiteDash has no built-in time tracking. 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.
SuiteDash users who bill hourly run a separate time tracker alongside a platform that already takes 4-10 seconds per page load. Adding another app to the workflow increases the daily friction and the monthly reconciliation effort.
Every hour tracked in Plutio turns into an invoice line item without manual entry or app switching.
Client portals that load fast and show project progress
SuiteDash's white-label client portal is its strongest feature, with custom logos, colors, and domains. But the same slow page loading that affects the backend also affects the client-facing portal. Plutio's portals are branded, fast, and connected to live project data.
SuiteDash's portal lets clients access invoices, files, project updates, and communication through a fully branded interface. The white-label depth goes further than most competitors. The problem is what clients experience when they log in: the same 4-10 second page loads that freelancers deal with on the admin side. A portal that loads slowly makes the business look slow, regardless of how well the branding is configured.
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. Pages load quickly, which means clients actually use the portal instead of defaulting to email.
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.
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 SuiteDash to Plutio
Most freelancers switch between projects, finishing active work in SuiteDash 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 CRM contacts from SuiteDash 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 the 20-40 hours of manual setup that SuiteDash required.
- 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 SuiteDash projects where they are: Active work stays in SuiteDash until completion. Running both platforms in parallel avoids disrupting client relationships mid-project.
- Cancel SuiteDash: Once all active projects wrap up, cancel the subscription. Lifetime plan holders should weigh the sunk cost against the ongoing productivity cost of slow loading and complex navigation. Export financial records and file attachments as backup.
The hardest part of leaving SuiteDash isn't the data migration. The hardest part is accepting that the weeks spent configuring workflows don't transfer anywhere. But every month on a platform where pages take 4-10 seconds to load is another month where the interface consumes time instead of saving it.
The switch happens between projects, not mid-project. New clients start on Plutio while SuiteDash projects finish naturally.
