TLDR (Summary)
The best all-in-one CRM for consultants is Plutio ($19/month).
Plutio replaces the fragmented stack of scheduling apps, proposal tools, e-signature software, time trackers, and invoicing platforms. When the proposal gets signed, the project kicks off automatically with deliverables, time tracking, and invoicing all connected.
Research shows that toggling between apps costs around ~9% of time, before counting hours spent rebuilding project specs and reconciling time logs.
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What is all-in-one software for consultants?
All-in-one software for consultants combines scheduling, proposals, contracts, time tracking, project management, client portals, and invoicing in one connected platform, replacing separate standalone tools, a document tool, standalone timers, and accounting software. Consultants manage the complete client lifecycle from discovery call through final invoice without switching between apps.
Here is how most consultants operate:
- a booking app or a scheduling app handles scheduling but knows nothing about retainers. When a client books a call, nothing updates their hour allocation.
- a document tool or HelloSign stores proposals and contracts that are disconnected from the actual project work.
- time tracking software or standalone timers tracks time but requires manual reconciliation with invoices.
- visual boards or General project management software tracks tasks but knows nothing about the scope you promised or the hours you budgeted.
- accounting software or Standard billing software creates invoices with no connection to tracked time or project deliverables.
Scheduling software costs $16/month. Contract software costs $35/month. standalone timers costs $12/month. accounting software costs $30/month. Total: $93/month on subscriptions before project management tools.
A Harvard Business Review study found that knowledge workers toggle between apps 1,200 times per day, losing 9% of productive time to context switching. Consultants who track time in a separate app from their projects report losing 10-15% of billable hours to forgotten logging.
When scheduling, time tracking, project management, and invoicing live in one place, you stop managing tools and start focusing entirely on client work.
Why consultants need an all-in-one platform
Consultants who grow beyond a handful of clients face a compounding problem: administrative overhead scales with every new engagement.
What works for 5 clients breaks down at 15. Each new client means another set of proposals, contracts, project timelines, invoices, and follow-ups, all managed across disconnected tools.
The context-switching cost
Every time you switch between apps, you lose focus. Research shows knowledge workers lose significant productive time to app-switching throughout the day. For consultants, this translates to billable hours spent on coordination instead of client work.
The tool fragmentation problem
When scheduling lives in one app, projects in another, invoicing in a third, and contracts in a fourth, nothing connects. Tracked time doesn't automatically appear on invoices. Signed contracts don't trigger project setup. You become the bridge between all your tools.
The scaling tipping point
Most consultants hit a threshold where the manual approach becomes the primary bottleneck to growth. Connected software lets you push past this ceiling by automating repetitive coordination tasks.
An all-in-one platform absorbs administrative work that would otherwise scale linearly with your client count.
Key features consultants need
The essential features for consultants connect client management with project delivery, billing, and communication in one platform.
How do consultants schedule different meeting types without multiple booking tools?
Consultants live by their calendar. Discovery calls with prospects. Weekly check-ins with retainer clients. Deep-dive strategy sessions for project work. Each meeting type has different durations, preparation requirements, and availability windows.
In Plutio, you create meeting types that match how consulting actually works:
- Discovery calls: Their own availability windows, duration, and intake form that captures the prospect's challenge, budget expectations, and timeline. When someone books, they become a lead automatically with their responses attached.
- Retainer check-ins: Synced with Google Calendar so your availability updates automatically. Clients can only book during windows you designate for ongoing client work.
- Strategy sessions: Longer slots reserved for deep work. Pre-meeting forms ensure clients arrive prepared with data and context.
- Quick calls: 15-minute slots for clients who need a fast answer between scheduled meetings.
When a prospect books a discovery call, Plutio creates their lead record automatically. Their intake form answers are already attached. You review before the call, have the conversation, and send a proposal from the same system. The prospect's journey from booking to signed contract happens in one place.
No-shows and last-minute reschedules disrupt your day. Plutio sends automatic reminders at intervals you choose (24 hours, 2 hours, whatever works). Clients can reschedule directly from the reminder without back-and-forth emails.
When scheduling connects to your CRM and proposals, every discovery call is a warm lead with context attached. You show up prepared, and the path from call to contract is a single flow instead of a manual handoff.
See how scheduling connects to proposals
What is the best way for consultants to create proposals that become projects?
Consulting proposals need to be precise. Extra work is the silent killer of margin. If your proposal is a PDF in Google Docs, the scope lives separately from the project work. When the engagement starts, you are recreating deliverables from memory instead of flowing directly from the agreed scope.
You just finished a promising discovery call with a prospect who needs strategic consulting. The scope is clear in memory: assessment phase, strategy development, implementation support, and quarterly reviews. In a disconnected system, you open Google Docs to draft the proposal, then a document tool for the contract, then create a Stripe payment link for the deposit. By the time everything is ready, the momentum has cooled.
What happens when consulting proposals connect to everything?
In Plutio, you send one document that contains everything:
- Engagement options: Presented side by side. The project-based engagement for a defined scope. The retainer arrangement for ongoing support. The intensive workshop for accelerated results. Each option has its own deliverables, timeline, and pricing.
- Detailed scope sections: Phase 1: Current State Assessment (10 hours). Phase 2: Strategy Development (15 hours). Phase 3: Implementation Support (12 hours). The deliverables are specific, not vague promises.
- Contract terms embedded: Payment terms, confidentiality clauses, intellectual property rights, cancellation policy. The client reads and signs in the same flow as accepting the scope.
- Payment structure built in: 40% deposit to begin, 30% at Phase 2 completion, 30% at final delivery. Or monthly billing for retainer work. The client chooses and pays immediately.
- Out-of-scope boundaries: Explicitly listed. Implementation execution, staff training, ongoing maintenance. When the client asks for extras mid-engagement, you point to this section.
When the client accepts the proposal, Plutio creates their project with tasks matching the phases you outlined. Phase 1: Current State Assessment becomes a task group with specific deliverables. The 10 hours you estimated becomes the budget you track against. The deposit invoice sends automatically.
Without this connection, the average consultant spends 30-45 minutes setting up each new engagement. With 15 new clients per year, that is 7-11 hours spent on administrative busywork that could have been automated.
See how proposals automate engagement setup
How do consultants keep contracts connected to engagements?
Consulting contracts establish the rules of engagement. Payment terms, confidentiality, intellectual property, liability. Managing contracts in a separate app means hunting through emails when questions arise.
How Plutio handles contracts
- Built into proposals so clients sign as part of accepting scope
- Custom templates for different engagement types
- Auto-populated fields with client details and project specifics
- Stored with the project so terms are always accessible
- Amendment tracking when scope changes require contract updates
You can use your own contract templates or start with consulting-specific templates. Once signed, the contract is attached to the project. When a client asks "what were our payment terms?" you do not search through email. You open the project.
How do consultants track billable hours without losing time?
For consultants who bill hourly, accurate time tracking is direct revenue. Every forgotten 15-minute call, every unlogged research session, every quick email that took longer than expected, that is money left on the table.
A typical Thursday afternoon: you spent the morning on a strategy deliverable for one client, then jumped into a call with another client, then answered urgent emails from a third client. In standalone timers, you forgot to switch timers twice. Now you are reconstructing your day from memory and calendar entries, guessing how long each task actually took. The 20 minutes spent reviewing the email chain? Probably not getting logged at all.
What does project-connected time tracking look like for consultants?
In Plutio, time tracking happens where the work happens:
- One-click timers on tasks: Open the strategy deliverable task, click start, and work. When switching to another client, click stop on one timer and start on another. No separate app to open.
- Weekly timesheets for batch entry: Prefer logging time at the end of each day? Open the timesheet view and enter hours against tasks. Friday afternoon, review the week before generating invoices.
- Budget tracking against estimates: The strategy project was scoped at 20 hours. After logging 15 hours, you see "5 hours remaining" and can decide whether to absorb overages or discuss with the client before they accumulate further.
- Billable vs non-billable categorization: Internal project setup is non-billable. Client meetings are billable. Categorize as you log, and invoices only include billable time.
- Direct invoice generation: At month-end, click "generate invoice" and see all billable hours organized by project. Line items show task descriptions and hours. No copying from standalone timers to accounting software.
When you start a timer on a client task, that time is automatically categorized, marked billable, and ready to invoice. The scope you promised in the proposal becomes the budget you track against. When logged hours approach the estimate, you know before the project goes over.
Consultants who track time in a separate app from their projects report losing 10-15% of billable hours to forgotten logging. At $200/hour, that is $4,000-8,000/year in unbilled work. When time tracking lives inside the project, attached to specific tasks, billable hours are captured automatically.
See how time tracking connects to invoicing
The deciding factor for consultants is integration depth. Features that connect with each other eliminate duplicate effort across your workflow.
How much can consultants save with Plutio?
Monthly cost comparison:
The 5-app consultant stack typically costs:
- a booking app or a scheduling app: $12-20/month
- HelloSign or similar: $25-35/month
- standalone timers or time tracking software: $10-15/month
- visual boards or General project management software (paid): $10-15/month
- accounting software or Standard billing software: $30-35/month
Total: $87-120/month for basic functionality, and the tools still do not talk to each other.
Plutio Pro starts at $49/month and includes proposals, contracts, time tracking, invoicing, scheduling, project management, client portals, and CRM. One platform, one login, one bill.
Beyond the subscription savings, connecting tools eliminates time reconciliation, manual invoice creation, cross-referencing apps, and answering status update emails.
Why consultants choose Plutio over fragmented tool stacks
When proposals, time tracking, deliverables, and invoicing connect in one platform, the manual reconciliation that erodes billable hours drops away. Here is what changes when your consulting tools work together.
The Plutio difference
- Proposal → Project: When a client signs the proposal, the project appears automatically with deliverables matching the agreed scope. Phase 1: Assessment (10 hours) becomes a task group with that budget attached.
- Tasks → Time: Start a timer on the strategy deliverable task, and time logs directly to that client and project. No forgetting, no end-of-week guessing.
- Time → Invoice: Click "generate invoice" and see billable hours organized by project with task descriptions and dates. The 30-minute reconciliation becomes a 2-minute review.
- Retainers → Visibility: Clients see "8 hours remaining this month" in their portal. They know their allocation before requesting work that would exceed it.
The result: consultants using Plutio capture more billable hours because time tracking lives on the same tasks where the work happens. No hours slip through the cracks between disconnected apps.
For detailed tool comparisons, see our comparison hub or alternatives pages.
How to set up Plutio for your consultant business
Setting up Plutio takes 2-4 hours for initial configuration, with immediate benefits for all clients from day one.
Step 1: Configure your brand (30 mins)
Upload your logo, set brand colors, and connect your custom domain if on the Max plan. Link your Stripe or PayPal account for payments. Set your business details for invoices.
Step 2: Build your templates (1-2 hours)
Create project and proposal templates for your most common services. Start with 2-3 core templates:
- Standard engagement: Your most common project type with milestones, tasks, and deliverables pre-configured.
- Quick project: A streamlined template for smaller, faster engagements.
- Retainer/recurring: Template for ongoing monthly clients with recurring tasks and billing.
Step 3: Connect integrations (20-30 mins)
Sync your Google Calendar or Outlook. Connect Stripe or PayPal for payments. Link QuickBooks or Xero if you use them. Test each connection before going live.
Step 4: Import existing clients (30 mins)
Export your client list from your current tool as CSV and import into Plutio. Map fields, verify data, then invite clients to their new portals.
Step 5: Test with one real project
Send your next proposal through Plutio. Let it create the project automatically, track time, and invoice the client. One real project will show you exactly where to refine your templates.
Common setup mistakes to avoid
- Over-customizing too early: Start minimal and refine based on actual use.
- Migrating everything at once: Focus on new clients first, migrate active ones second.
- Skipping the test project: One real engagement reveals more than hours of configuration.
Build templates for the 80% cases. Customize edge cases individually as they come up.
Organizing your consultant workflows
Structured organization is the difference between a business that scales smoothly and one that drowns in admin as it grows.
Organize by service type
- Core service: Your primary offering with detailed project templates and milestone tracking.
- Secondary services: Additional offerings with their own templates and pricing structures.
- Retainer work: Recurring engagements with automated billing and repeating task lists.
- One-off projects: Quick-turn engagements with streamlined templates.
Organize by client stage
- Prospect: Initial inquiry received, proposal being prepared.
- Active: Contract signed, project in progress.
- Delivered: Work complete, final invoice sent.
- Recurring: Ongoing relationship with scheduled touchpoints.
Template best practices
- Start with 3 templates maximum, expand as patterns emerge.
- Include task estimates so you can track actual vs. budgeted time.
- Build in review milestones where clients approve before you proceed.
- Add automation triggers: proposal signed → project created → client notified.
Consistent structures mean consistent delivery. Templates ensure every client gets the same quality regardless of how busy you are.
What does a client portal look like for consulting clients?
Consulting clients want transparency. They want to see progress without scheduling a call. They want to know what phase you are in, what is coming next, and whether the engagement is on track.
What consulting clients see in their portal
When your clients access their portal at yourconsulting.com (your custom domain, not a third-party URL), they see:
- Engagement progress: "Phase 1: Assessment (Complete). Phase 2: Strategy (In Progress). Phase 3: Implementation (Not Started)." The client knows exactly where things stand without emailing you.
- Deliverables organized by phase: The assessment report from Phase 1 is here. The strategy document from Phase 2 is here. The client does not email asking "where is that document we reviewed last month?"
- Retainer hours remaining: "8 hours remaining this month." The client can see their allocation before requesting work that would exceed it.
- Messages with full history: Questions about deliverables, clarifications on recommendations. The conversation stays with the engagement record, not buried in email.
- Invoices they can pay: Upcoming and past invoices with "Pay now" buttons. No hunting through email for payment links.
- Meeting scheduler: For booking follow-up calls directly through the portal.
The portal is fully branded with your consulting practice. Your logo, your colors, your domain. Clients experience your brand at every touchpoint, not someone else's software. They think you built custom client management software.
Consultants who give clients portal access report 50-70% fewer "status update" emails and calls. The saved time goes back to actual consulting work. The 8pm email becomes an 8pm portal login, and there's no way to know it happened because nothing required your attention.
How to migrate to Plutio
Migration typically takes 3-5 hours of active work spread over a weekend. The best time to switch is between projects rather than mid-delivery.
Step 1: Export from your current tools
Most tools provide CSV export. Export your client list, active project details, and any template content you want to recreate in Plutio.
Step 2: Build templates in Plutio (2-3 hours)
Don't try to replicate your old system exactly. Use this as an opportunity to build cleaner workflows. Focus on your 3 most common project types.
Step 3: Set up integrations (30 mins)
Connect payment processing (Stripe/PayPal), calendar sync (Google/Outlook), and accounting (QuickBooks/Xero). Test each one before going live.
Step 4: Import client data (30 mins)
Upload your client CSV. Map fields to Plutio's structure. Run a small test batch first to verify everything looks right.
Step 5: Run parallel for new work
Use Plutio for all new clients and projects immediately. Keep your old system running for in-progress work only. Don't try to migrate active projects mid-stream.
Step 6: Phase out the old tool
Once all in-progress work completes in the old system, cancel that subscription. Keep your exports as archives.
Common migration pitfalls
- Trying to migrate everything: Focus on active clients and forward-looking workflows.
- Switching mid-project: Finish in-progress work on the old system.
- Not testing integrations: Verify payment processing works before relying on it.
Migration pays back in time saved on every future client interaction.
