Let’s talk about the pros and cons of Honeybook for photographers – because every software is going to have it’s upsides and downsides and I want to provide you with the complete picture as you decide what CRM to use in your photography business. If you’re wondering what Honeybook does, if it’s worth it, and want an honest review, you’re in the right place.
You may have heard of Honeybook as an option to help you run your business, so today I’m going to break it down in detail.
First off, what’s Honeybook?
Honeybook is a CRM (Client relationship management system) tool specifically designed for creatives and service providers like Photographers. It allows you to handle all the client facing tasks like client communication, getting paid, booking calendar appointments, questionnaires, contracts, invoicing, and SO MUCH MORE.
If you’re ready to transform the way your client experience flows, you’re about to have your mind blown.
Give Honeybook a try and get 30% off your first year with this link!
Here’s what I want you to know: You have a lot of options for how you run your creative business. Even after looking at competitor options, Honeybook is still the best CRM for photographers, even with its drawbacks.
If you haven’t given Honeybook a try, you can try it for free using my affiliate link below.
The Pros
Let’s start with what I LOVE about Honeybook.
What are the benefits of using honeybook as a photographer?
I’m going to begin by sharing some of the stand-out features and reasons why I see Honeybook as a top choice CRM for Photographers and Creative service pros!
It’s an All-in-one Tool
First off, It’s an all-in-one client journey management from inquiry to delivery. You wont need another costly software subscription for signing contracts, booking appointments, getting paid, tracking your time, and even your tasks. When it comes to saving you money, Honeybook is unparalleled in what it includes in your membership.
Included in Honeybook (starter plan and above) you’ll get:
- Unlimited clients and projects
- Project pipeline
- All professional templates
- Invoices and online payments
- Proposals and contract template
- Brochures and pricing guides
- Questionnaires
- Honeybook contact form
- Gmail Chrome extension
- Scheduler
- Calendar
- Client portal
- Email integration and Calendar syncing
- Basic reports
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- Tasks
- Time tracking
Honeybook replaces the need for so many other tools and software subscriptions.
It replaces tools like Calendly, contract and invoicing software, and more!
Fast & Helpful Customer support
This is one of the biggest factors for me as I’m choosing what software to use for my business.
Honeybook has a fantastic help center, helpful articles, and Honeybook Academy for learning about how to best leverage the many features. If you need to chat with their team, you can do that too! I have reached out more times than I can count and the support team at Honeybook has given me what I needed without fail.
Instant Deposit Feature
Normally you’d have to wait up to a week or longer to get your money depending on payment method – but with this feature there’s no more waiting around for the money to get to your bank!
You have the option to take that payment and instantly apply it towards your debit card for immediate use.
Text Reminders for Meetings
One of my favorite recent features Honeybook added!! Send SMS reminders to your clients to streamline communication, reduce missed meetings and consultations, and ensure fewer payments and sessions are missed.
You can toggle SMS text reminders “ON” and “OFF” on your account too.
Automatic Payment Reminders
Speaking of reminders, the automatic payment reminders are huge help!! Always feeling a little weird when asking for money? Or tired of having to keep track of the clients who have paid vs haven’t? Honeybook’s automatic payment reminders are a photographers bestie!
Templates and Template sharing
Templates are going to save you so much time! You can save your pricing guides, emails, and questionnaires as templates inside of Honeybook to streamline your whole client experience and save you so much time.
You can also share templates with others. If you see a helpful template by another photographer you can bring that into your account.
Wanna see template sharing in action?
You can grab my Wedding Day Questionnaire Template | Get that HERE.
Honeybook Lead Forms
This allows your clients to schedule calls and even book you without them having to fill out a contact form first – this is HUGE for those of you offering photography services like mini sessions.
Notes within projects
So many great ways to use this but I think one of the most obvious would be to use this for consultation notes. You can keep track of things said, what you want to remember, or even use it to communicate with your team about that project.
The cool part is you can keep your notes private or you can make them visible to the client and use it as a collaborative workspace.
Honeybook Mobile App
As a busy mom and business owner, I love that Honeybook has all the same features on desktop as they do on the App. I can see in real-time when I get an inquiry or if someone emails me. You can also choose to turn off certain notifications! YAY work life balance!
If you get DM inquiries on Instagram and you want to be able to quickly add them to Honeybook, or grab your pricing guide link, you can pull up the app and completely skip the need for a computer.
Cons
What are the downsides to using honeybook as a photographer?
You know I keep it REAL so let’s talk about the downsides. Like all software, Honeybook does have its limitations. I’m VERY picky and these are things that have noticed are areas for improvement after using the software for over 7 years.
- The AI is still new….and I wish it did more. We have “AI composer” available at the moment, but it doesn’t generate an AI reply if I have automations attached to the project, and I do wish AI extended to the reports section and finance tab.
- No gallery delivery/storage within the software (but it DOES integrate with Pic-Time)
- No mass marketing (like email newsletters) you can batch emails but they have to be contacts within your honeybook account and it’s not the same as email marketing that you are thinking – I recommend using Flodesk instead
- The task management system is only so-so. That’s just my opinion – but I don’t like using Honeybook for tasks and keeping track of reminders that are for me and not for the client. You can have your workflow generate tasks but I just don’t love the way it looks, the way it displays so I personally use Notion for Project management.
- No integration (yet) with Notion. Although, I should note Honeybook does integrate with zapier, zoom, chrome, gmail, and slack.
Phew. We did it! If you made it this far I should probably tell you a bit more about the pricing and options huh?
What does Honeybook Cost?
Honeybook is an affordable client management tool for Photographers with 3 pricing tiers.
- Starter plan @ $16/mo ($8/month with my discount code)
- Essentials plan @ $32/mo ($16 with my discount code)
- Premium Plan @ $66/mo ($33 with my discount code)
🎉 Ready to get started with honeybook and get a special discount? Use this code for 30% off your first year and pick a plan that works for you!
So, is Honeybook really worth it?
Yes! When I look at everything Honeybook includes, the software it can replace in your client workflow process, and the time it saves you – it’s an absolute YES from me. I will also note that Honeybook is always improving and adding features. I continue to be impressed by this tool and can’t wait to see what they create next for your wedding photography business or other creative endeavor.
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