So, what is HoneyBook really?
If you want to send professional invoices, sign contracts, get paid, schedule clients, and automate workflows—all while creating a seamless client experience—you need HoneyBook.
As founder of Good Brand Partners, I’m on a mission to help as many independent business owners build a clear, confident, and cohesive brand experience.
In this blog post, I'm going to show you how to get started with HoneyBook with my beginner’s guide to success. If you're more of a visual learner, I recorded a video on YouTube that walks you through the following.
Alright, let’s dive in!
Introduction to HoneyBook
HoneyBook is a leading clientflow management platform designed to transform how independent business owners run their operations.
What’s a clientflow? Good question.
A clientflow is the way you sell and deliver your services. This process encompasses all the steps your clients take and the work that happens behind the scenes to move a project forward—from initial inquiry to delivering your service and offboarding. It’s unique to each and every business owner, and when mapped out, your clientflow is used to inspire and inform what types of HoneyBook files, emails, or tasks should be created. More on clientflows here!
Now back to HoneyBook itself…
Combining essential tools for client communication, booking, and payments, HoneyBook allows you to manage both your front-end client experience and backend workflows all in one place.
Key Features of HoneyBook
HoneyBook offers a range of features designed to streamline and enhance your business operations:
- Create an On-Brand Client Experience: HoneyBook helps you create a seamless and professional client experience that gets you booked fast.
- Send Professional Invoices: Easily create and send invoices that help you get paid on time.
- Secure Online Payments: Get paid quickly and securely, whether it's a one-time payment, recurring payments, or payment plans.
- Ironclad Contracts: Produce and send contracts that are ready to sign online, eliminating the need for additional tools like DocuSign.
- Simple Scheduling: Share your availability and get booked using HoneyBook’s integrated scheduler, which eliminates the back-and-forth of scheduling.
- Customizable Pipeline: Keep leads, clients, and projects organized with a fully customizable Pipeline that reflects your unique workflow.
- Automate Tasks: Automate replies, follow-ups, and other mundane tasks to ensure nothing gets missed.
- Data Insights: Access data to better understand and optimize your business.
My Experience with HoneyBook
I started using HoneyBook approximately one year after starting my business, and it was a game-changer. Before HoneyBook, I relied on spreadsheets, Google Docs, and Post-it notes to keep track of my business, which was cumbersome and time-consuming. HoneyBook streamlined my processes, making it easier to manage my business from one central platform.
Who is HoneyBook for?
Everyone! Seriously. If you serve clients, you can use HoneyBook.
HoneyBook is designed for independent business owners and creative professionals who want to streamline their operations and enhance client experiences. HoneyBook is ideal for photographers, designers, coaches, consultants, event planners, and other service-based entrepreneurs.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to optimize your established business, HoneyBook provides the tools and support you need to stay organized, save time, and deliver a seamless client journey.
I sometimes like to say that HoneyBook is a great first step even before you have a website. Thanks to HoneyBook’s Lead Form capabilities, you can publish public-facing landing pages that feature action blocks like the Scheduler, Invoice, and Payment — which means you can capture leads and book them in one-fell swoop.
Note: At the moment, HoneyBook is not HIPAA compliant. Achieving HIPAA compliance involves a lot of regulations and certifications, which are usually only met by companies that serve the medical and healthcare industries. Since HoneyBook isn't focused on those sectors, this hasn't been a priority.
Tour inside HoneyBook’s features
The Dashboard
The HoneyBook Dashboard is your business's command center, providing a bird’s eye view of your entire operation. From new leads and unread messages to tasks and current bookings, the Dashboard helps you manage every aspect of your business efficiently.
Project Pipeline
One of my favorite features of HoneyBook is the project Pipeline, where your unique clientflow comes to life. The Pipeline allows you to see all active inquiries, follow up with proposals, and track every step of your process until final delivery. Each project has a workspace that houses all communication, files, payments, and details related to that client, making it easy to manage your interactions and keep everything organized. You can even fully customize the Pipeline to fit your needs.
Client Workspace
Client workspaces in HoneyBook house every aspect of your client experience and interactions. From activity feeds and messages to files, payments, and project details, the Workspace is a comprehensive hub for managing your projects. You can also add team members to a project, schedule meetings, upload and create files, and track time and tasks—all in one place.
Lead Generation
HoneyBook offers robust lead generation tools, including Lead Forms and contact forms. These forms can be embedded on your website or shared via a public link, allowing potential clients to book calls, make payments, or submit inquiries. The information collected through these forms is automatically funneled into your Pipeline, creating a seamless process for capturing and managing new leads.
Scheduler
The HoneyBook Scheduler is a powerful tool that allows clients to book sessions with you directly. Integrated with Google Calendar and other scheduling tools, it eliminates the need for back-and-forth emails and manual scheduling. You can set availability, send reminders, and automatically generate Zoom links, making the scheduling process smooth and efficient.
Smart Files & Templates
HoneyBook’s Smart Files and Templates feature allows you to create and send proposals, contracts, invoices, and more. These Templates can be fully customized to fit your brand, making it easy to maintain a professional and consistent client experience. Smart Files streamline the process of sending and managing documents, ensuring that everything is organized and easily accessible.
Email Templates
HoneyBook also offers email Templates that save you time and ensure consistent communication with clients. These Templates can be customized with smart fields to personalize messages, making it easy to send automated replies, follow-ups, and other communications.
Automations
HoneyBook's automation features reduce repetitive tasks and streamline your workflow. Automations can be set up for various stages of your clientflow, from initial inquiries to offboarding. By automating routine tasks, you can focus on more important aspects of your business, knowing that HoneyBook has the administrative details covered.
Branding & Company Settings
HoneyBook allows you to fully customize your branding and company settings, ensuring that your clients have a cohesive and professional experience from start to finish. You can update your company name, contact information, brand elements, and more, making it easy to create a consistent and on-brand client portal.
Conclusion
HoneyBook is an all-in-one platform that simplifies and enhances your business operations, helping you create a seamless client experience. If you're looking to streamline your processes and improve your client management, HoneyBook is the solution.
With our special discount code, you can give HoneyBook a try for free for 7 days and save 50% at checkout if you feel it’s a fit for you and your business.
There's no better time to go from scattered to streamlined!