Compare the access model before the feature count
| Product | Useful starting point | Decision to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Bonsai | Client and project management with growing team controls | Which tier includes the portal and permission settings you need? |
| Plutio | A connected project, timesheet and client-billing workspace | What exactly can clients see and which team limits apply? |
| Moxie | A solo business that sometimes collaborates or becomes a small team | Is each person a project collaborator or a workspace team member? |
Bonsai
Bonsai is a reasonable shortlist choice for a studio that wants client administration and project work together. The plan matrix separates basic time and task management from Essentials' invoices, proposals, contracts and portal. Higher tiers add workload or permission features. Its portal guide documents client-specific visibility settings and a preview mode, making the external experience something a buyer can inspect rather than simply trust.
At review, Essentials was displayed at USD 19 per user per month billed annually, or USD 228 for twelve months per user, before applicable extras and tax. Basic is a different scope: its lower starting price is not the cost of the full client workflow. Price the people who need access and verify the permission tier. Also recognize the recent terminology change: Bonsai changed the CRM label Clients to Companies; that is a label change, not a separate product or a reason to discard older records.
Imagine a fictional brand designer who now works with a copywriter. The client should see progress and agreed documents, while the owner retains private commercial information. In the trial, preview the client portal, invite a test collaborator and check what each can see. Then change a project from a simple fixed fee to one with additional agreed work. The important result is a comprehensible client experience and a reviewable internal decision, not merely a larger list of features.
Stay with Bonsai if those workflows already fit the studio. If the copywriter's invoice and payment evidence still require a separate review, assess that gap directly before adding Friday Falcon. Client payments to your studio and your studio's obligations to the copywriter are opposite directions. No automatic connection between these products is claimed, and a client-facing project should not become a place where another person's compensation is broadly visible.
Plutio
Plutio suits an evaluation centered on keeping project work, time records and client communication close together. Its timesheet product page documents budgets, billable time becoming client invoices, team timesheets and comparisons between client billing and team or contractor cost. That is a stronger starting point than describing it as only a portal. The pricing page should be used to confirm the current plan and team limits for your particular studio.
The client portal description identifies shared project progress, files, invoices and messages as part of the external experience. It also distinguishes branding choices. We have not validated every configuration or tested its access model, and we do not repeat the page's productivity or outcome claims. A buyer should ask for the exact client view and commercial scope, including any branding add-on, rather than assuming that every displayed capability is part of the lowest price.
Consider a fictional web studio that sells a fixed launch package and hourly support afterward. Ask Plutio to show the transition from one charging basis to the other using a sample project. Record a support session, generate a draft client invoice, and review whether the description and rate are appropriate before sending. Then give a subcontractor access only to the work they need. The studio owner should be able to understand client billing, project cost and contractor evidence as related but distinct records.
Keep Plutio if this connected workflow removes a real administrative burden and its permissions match your team. Friday Falcon's free personal invoices are manually composed, so they are not offered as an equivalent automated time-to-invoice path. A paid Company could be evaluated for the separate contractor review below, but it would add a workspace and reconciliation obligation. Decide who owns corrections, how duplicate documents are recognized and where payment evidence is retained. No Plutio import, synchronization or automatic migration is promised by this guide.
Moxie
Moxie is particularly relevant when a solo operator occasionally brings other people into projects and needs to decide when that becomes a team workspace. Its pricing explanation distinguishes project collaborators from team members: collaborators can participate in individual projects, while team membership gives broader workspace abilities. Starter covers core client, project and invoicing work; Pro adds the branded portal and automation; Teams includes up to five team members. That access distinction deserves as much attention as the subscription price.
The reviewed monthly USD prices were USD 12 for Starter, USD 25 for Pro and USD 40 for Teams. Annual offers are also available, but this comparison uses monthly prices to avoid mixing commitments. Confirm team limits and current terms at checkout. Moxie's time-tracking guide documents timer and manual entry workflows and billing under different agreement types, including retainers with an overage rate.
A fictional illustrator brings in a production assistant for two client assignments. Start the demonstration with project-collaborator access, then compare what changes if that person becomes a team member. Give the assistant a task and time entry, and inspect whether they can see unrelated clients, settings or invoices under the selected role. Next, test a retainer whose included hours are exceeded. The owner should know which hours are chargeable to the client without assuming that the client overage rate is the assistant's compensation rate.
Stay with Moxie when it supports the owner's client workflow and the access model fits the actual collaboration pattern. If all you need is personal recordkeeping, also consider whether Friday Falcon's free personal tools are enough before paying for a Company. If the business hires contractors and needs a separate amount review, use the exercise below to assess the benefit. Adding Friday Falcon would not create an automatic Moxie integration, transfer money, or replace Moxie's portal and automation. Account for the time needed to keep the two sets of records consistent.
A studio exercise that separates income from obligations
This example is fictional and has not been run inside the products. A client pays the studio USD 1,800 for a fixed package. The studio accepts eight contractor hours at USD 55 and a USD 20 expense, totaling USD 460. The contractor's invoice for the same USD 460 supports the amount; it does not double it. After a USD 200 payment through the studio's usual external method, USD 260 remains.
The client portal should explain the USD 1,800 engagement to the client. The contractor review should explain USD 460, the external USD 200 payment and the remaining USD 260 to the authorized people. Test a corrected time entry and a withdrawn document. Do not grant broad financial access merely to make the demonstration easier.
Buy the workflow you actually need
Friday Falcon Company is USD 59 monthly or USD 590 paid annually per Company, with no seat or contractor fees and no free Company trial. It supports contractor source review and external-payment records; it does not provide payroll, fund transfers, tax or classification protection. Its free personal tools require an account but not a Company subscription, and their invoices are manually composed.
Read the worked contractor review before purchasing a separate Company. Friday Falcon publishes this guide. Official sources were checked October 22, 2026; fit judgments are editorial interpretation, not competitor trials, customer research or a promise of savings.