Hey Bonsai. Invoices are handled. The delivery isn't.
Bonsai runs the business of freelancing — contracts, proposals, invoicing — wonderfully. Progense runs the delivery: a real timeline, status that computes itself, and a client sign-off that closes the work.
14-day trial · clients always free · no credit card
Project tracking is basic
The PM side is thin — Gantt only appears on a higher tier, and status is essentially manual.
Scope means re-quoting
Changing scope is a new proposal or contract to re-sign — not a tracked, in-project request trail.
Seats scale with the team
Clients are free, but every internal teammate is a paid per-seat cost.
What Bonsai is great at
Bonsai is a genuinely excellent all-in-one for freelancers and small studios — proposals, contracts, e-signatures, invoicing, payments, CRM and even taxes, with a polished client portal and free unlimited clients. As the business backbone of a solo practice it's hard to beat. Progense isn't a billing suite; it's the delivery system that sits alongside one — computed status, a client completion gate, a formal scope trail, and time + budget tied to the actual work.
Progense vs Bonsai, where it counts.
| Features | Recommended Progense | Bonsai |
|---|---|---|
| Status computed from dates | Automatic | Manual / basic |
| Client approval required to complete | Built in, locked | Document e-sign, not task |
| Formal scope-request audit trail | Built in | Re-quote / re-sign |
| Client/guest seats | Free, uncapped | Free unlimited clients |
| Native time tracking | Automatic | Built in |
| Budget tracking + alerts | Built in, 50–100% alerts | Billing-led |
| Gantt / timeline | Project → task | Premium tier only |
| Delivery accountability | Core of the product | Business-ops first |
No credit card · 14-day trial
Built for agencies. Over-engineered for honesty.
Every decision in Progense exists for one reason: to tell the truth about where your projects actually are. Not to make you look good on a Monday morning slide. To show you — and your clients — reality.
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Free for 14 days, no card.
