10 best Flowlu alternatives for service businesses in 2024
Looking for a Flowlu alternative to help run your service business? Here are our top picks to help you manage client communications, payments, and more.
Running a service business, whether that’s as an agency, firm, or individual freelancer requires you to juggle a handful of different business admin tasks.
From sending contracts, invoicing clients, getting paid on time, delivering your services, and keeping up with client requests — a lot is going on. I know when I started my freelance business, I definitely felt like I was about to go crazy at times.
The great thing is that this is a common problem for service providers. And because it’s a common problem, you’ll find a lot of solutions out there as well.
Getting organized with the right tools will not only give you peace of mind but it will also improve your client experience. So it’s super important that you leverage the right tools and workflows to create a positive first impression (and overall experience) for your clients.
Luckily, there are a lot of different cloud-based business management tools to help you accomplish this. However, not all of them are created equal (or for the same industries). If you’re reading this, chances are you either already use Flowlu or have heard of it. And to be honest, it’s a solid option in the business management space thanks to its excellent CRM, finance, and project management features.
But, there may be certain features or integrations that are not compatible with your tech stack. Or maybe you just want to see what other tools are out there. I don’t blame you. Finding the right tool to run your business shouldn’t be taken lightly, and you should do your due diligence when searching.
That’s what this article is for — to help you find a great Flowlu alternative to help run your service business. First, we’ll go over what features you should consider when finding an alternative to Flowlu, and then we’ll go over 10 great options. Let’s get started.
What to look for in a Flowlu alternative
The best way to judge Flowlu alternatives is to consider what Flowlu does best. It’s a powerful business management suite with tools for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), project management, finances, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Here’s what you should look out for when choosing an alternative to Flowlu:
- Customization: Any Flowlu alternative you consider should offer good customization options. Things to look out for are white-label features that you can brand and the ability to shape the software around your workflow.
- Client portal: A client portal is one of Flowlu's best features. Having a dedicated space for clients allows you to centralize your communications in one branded space, meaning everyone is on the same page, and no information gets lost.
- Invoicing: Flowlu has great invoicing features that ensure you get paid on time. What’s more, you can also use the tool to offer secure payment portals for your business.
- Automation: Flowlu has powerful automation for onboarding and invoice processing. Any alternative tool you choose should also have these capabilities.
- Knowledge base: A knowledge base is a great way to boost onboarding, provide clients with self-service options, formalize import information about your service, and even help with search engine optimization (SEO).
Top 10 Flowlu alternatives for service businesses
Here are the top 10 Flowlu alternatives in 2024:
Alright, let’s take a look at what each tool does, how much it costs, and what real customers have to say about each platform.
1. Copilot
- Pricing: Starts at $29 per month per internal user
Copilot is an excellent solution to many of the most pressing issues facing entrepreneurs and service-based businesses. Managing a business is tough, especially when workflows happen across different tools, spreadsheets, and email chains. Setups like this are difficult to manage for service businesses, but they can also lead to a poor user experience for your clients.
A disorganized workflow can also make you lose credibility in the eyes of your clients. It can also lead to extra manual processes for onboarding and file sharing.
Copilot tackles these issues head-on thanks to customizable client portals that centralize all your communication. You can share files, messages, and keep clients up to date on projects — all from a professional-looking space that features your branding.
Proposal and contract generation are other features that will suit freelancers and service businesses. Copilot offers secure e-signature functions too, which makes the process very straightforward for clients. You can also automate client onboarding, saving huge amounts of time.
Copilot also integrates well with popular applications, meaning you can bring all the tools you already use into one centralized client portal. From day one, the platform was designed to focus on the client experience, making it versatile and very easy to use. Many service businesses also rate the platform highly (see the reviews below).
Notable features
- Superb onboarding automation features
- Best-in-class client portal to centralize all your communications, collaboration, contracts, invoices, and file sharing.
- Knowledge base creation tools build a more client self-service feel
Copilot reviews
Here is what Copilot customers think of our business management solution:
2. Dubsado
- Pricing: Starts at $20 per month
Dubsado is a business management platform that was founded in 2016. It was built as a solution to fragmented software stacks that provided a disorganized and inefficient experience for users and clients alike.
The big selling point of Dubsado is found in the way it centralizes lead tracking, contracts, scheduling, communications, and invoicing into one streamlined tool. It also has solid customization options, integrated payment options, and white-labeled client portals that help elevate the client experience.
Notable features
- Customizable forms for proposals and contracts
- Great lead capture and management
- Scheduling tool that lets your clients book appointments via your website
- Solid integration options for a variety of popular business tools
- Integrated invoice and payment processing
Dubsado reviews
Here is what Dubsado customers think of their business management solution:
3. Bonsai
- Pricing: Starts at $25 per month
Bonsai emerged in 2016 to help freelancers streamline time-consuming admin and provide more professional service to their clients. Its USP is similar to Flowlu's in that it centralizes disparate software stacks into one user-friendly platform. However, it’s probably more geared toward freelancers and small business owners.
Overall, Bonsai is a great option for freelancers who want to provide slick, professional service to their clients. While it’s a very user-friendly tool, it lacks Flowlu’s CRM and customization options. However, it’s an excellent and well-reviewed tool that is perfect for individuals.
Notable features
- Excellent proposal and contract templates
- Great options for expense and time tracking
- Integrate invoice and payment processing options
Bonsai reviews
Here is what Bonsai customers think of their business management solution:
4. Moxo
- Pricing: Custom pricing based on customer needs
Moxo is another great business management platform. It’s heavily focused on making communication and collaboration possible through its excellent client portal features. When it started out in 2012, it was a solution for file sharing and communication. However, it has evolved in response to communication needs in highly regulated industries.
While Moxo can work for various freelance and service business needs, its primary selling point is security. As such, it might be overkill for certain users. However, if you want to centralize customer communication and boost task management, Moxo is a great choice.
Notable features
- Customizable client portal that lets you centralize all your communication
- Excellent CRM integration
- Secure messaging and video call integration are great choices for freelancers with clients in finance, healthcare, legal, and other heavily regulated industries.
Moxo reviews
Here is what Bonsai customers think of their business management solution:
5. SuiteDash
- Pricing: Starts at around $19 per month for teams who only need a client portal, but plans with more complex features start at $99 per month
Since its founding a decade ago, SuiteDash has evolved from a simple client portal into a fully-fledged business management tool. It was built to end fragmented software stacks that hurt collaboration and user experience. These days, it comes with CRM, project management, and marketing tools, alongside a range of automation and reporting features that will suit freelancers and small business owners.
SuiteDash is highly scalable and customizable. Versatility is perhaps SuiteDash’s biggest strength, and it can genuinely help businesses consolidate their software stacks. Overall, SuiteDash is packed with features that go beyond mere freelancing. Indeed, it might mean that you don’t utilize the full range of features, making SuiteDash a less economical option.
Notable features
- Good CRM tool to help you manage your clients simply
- Powerful email marketing capabilities for better outreach
- Client portal and project management tool for more complex client contracts
SuiteDash reviews
Here is what SuiteDash customers think of their business management solution:
6. HoneyBook
- Pricing: Starts at $16 per month
HoneyBook is another all-in-one business management platform with a particular focus on the creative industries. It’s a great way to streamline a variety of functions, like proposals, contracts, client communication, and invoices.
It has a beautiful and intuitive interface and it solves a lot of common freelancer problems, such as disorganized communication, delayed payments, and paying out for too many separate subscriptions when what you need is one solid tool.
There are a lot of great things about HoneyBook. For starters, it offers templates for workflows and email sequences, which can take away some of the manual load of running a small business. Secondly, it has great proposal, contract, and invoicing tools to ensure you get paid in full and one time.
Finally, HoneyBooks project management and reporting tools give you the actionable insights you need to improve your business.
Notable features
- Solid workflow automation tools to improve processes for you and your clients
- Scheduling tools that sync to your calendar and allow clients to book appointments
- Solid project management and reporting tools
HoneyBook reviews
Here is what HoneyBook customers think of their business management solution:
7. Indy
- Pricing: Indy offers a basic free version, with pro accounts starting at $9 per month
Indy started out in 2019 as a solution for freelancers and small business owners to cut down on disorganization and focus on managing their clients and projects with ease. It has some great features that are squarely focused on freelancers, such as proposal and contract generation, time tracking, and project management.
While Indy is a little less feature-packed than other tools on our list, it’s ideal for straightforward needs. Its big USP is a low monthly fee. If you don’t need complex project management or integration with other popular tools, Indy could be the right choice. It covers a lot of standard freelance business management needs, and it’s so well designed that it will streamline your workflows.
Notable features
- Custom forms for lead generation, onboarding, and surveys
- Proposals, contracts, and invoice generation
- Decent task management tools
Indy reviews
Here is what Indy customers think of their business management solution:
Related reads: Top 10 best Indy alternatives to check out
8. Agiled
- Pricing: Starts from $25 per month
Agiled is an affordable, all-in-one business management platform. It was built to help teams of every size with collaboration by breaking down data silos. Project management is a big part of Agiled’s offer, and the tool comes with Kanban task boards and great time-tracking and resource management tools.
While Agiled is an all-in-one tool for business management, some of the features are a little undercooked. However, the CRM, invoicing, and knowledge base features are strong. While there are basic plans for individual freelancers, Agiled can scale to suit teams of every kind, but it's particularly good for smaller software developers who use an Agile/DevOps approach.
Notable features
- Excellent collaboration features
- Good knowledge base and help desk features
- The CRM tool has a great sales pipeline and lead management features
Agiled reviews
Here is what Agiled customers think of their business management solution:
9. Zendo
- Pricing: Starts from $12 per month
Zendo was built to help teams consolidate their project management, sales, and client communications. It delivers on this promise via an excellent client portal and solid internal communication tools.
One of Zendo’s best attributes is the flexibility it gives users. You can productize your services and sell subscriptions, which is a welcome feature for freelancers. It also allows teams to automate lots of manual tasks, like proposals, onboarding, and invoicing.
Notable features
- User-friendly interface with a big focus on communication and collaboration
- Handy automation features that help teams streamline various administrative tasks
- Service catalog that lets clients purchase subscriptions and productized services directly
Zendo reviews
Here is what Zendo customers think of their business management solution:
While Zendo’s scores are good, they don’t have the breadth of reviews of other tools on our list.
10. FreshBooks
- Pricing: Starts from $17 per month per user
FreshBooks started out over 20 years ago, borne from frustration about creating invoices in Microsoft Word. While it was initially a solution to help freelancers get paid, it has evolved into an accounting and business management solution.
These days, FreshBook is a great tool for expense and time tracking. What’s more, you can even use it to help manage projects, however, it’s not a dedicated project management tool. Other good FreshBook features include double-entry accounting and solid reporting tools that give you a strong oversight into your finances.
Overall, FreshBooks is a solid choice for busy freelancers with a lot of clients. It might lack some of the features you might need from a Flowlu alternative, such as a client portal or knowledge base. However, from a business management standpoint, it delivers.
Notable features
- Excellent invoicing creation, with solid automation and online payment options
- Works well with mobile for business owners who are on the go
- Capable of robust financial reporting and analysis
FreshBooks reviews
Here is what FreshBooks customers think of their business management solution:
Conclusion
Freelance and service businesses operate in very competitive environments. It’s just not enough to do excellent work, you also need to provide a great client experience. As our list of Flowlu alternatives demonstrates, there are lots of great options out there for business management. While some of them can directly replace Flowlu, others excel in different ways.
Copilot is a fantastic business management option. Its superb white-label client portals can give your business a professional edge that will delight your clients. Excellent contract generation and built-in payment options that allow you to productize your service are huge benefits for modern freelancers and secure reliable income. So, what are you waiting for? Play around with our client demo portal and experience the power of Copilot!