# Bonsai vs Tillage for agencies: why teams need more than freelancer tools (2026) > Bonsai is an all-in-one tool priced per user. Tillage is free, with margin on every quote and payment schedules. See where each fits for agencies. - URL: https://tillage.ai/blog/bonsai-vs-tillage-for-agencies - Author: Tillage Team - Published: 2025-12-24 - Updated: 2026-10-30 - Category: Comparisons Bonsai is a solid tool. Now a Zoom company, it bundles CRM, proposals, contracts, projects, time tracking and invoicing into one product, priced per user. But if you're running an agency—even a small one with 3-5 people—and what you really need is to quote, contract and get paid, you've probably noticed the cracks. Estimates don't price in risk. Deposits stop at one upfront payment. And the bill grows with every person you add. Here's the uncomfortable truth: **you may be paying per seat for a whole project suite when your problem is [quote-to-cash](https://tillage.ai/blog/what-is-quote-to-cash).** Bonsai does a lot well. But agencies with complex projects, multiple stakeholders, scope creep risks, and thin margins need the quoting and billing side to go deeper. Let's break down exactly where Bonsai falls short on quote-to-cash for agencies—and what to use instead. --- ## The Core Problem: Quote-to-Cash Needs More Than a Deposit When you're a solo freelancer, your workflow is simple: 1. Client asks for work 2. You send a proposal 3. They sign 4. You do the work 5. You invoice 6. They pay Easy. Bonsai handles this beautifully. But agency workflows look more like this: 1. Client requests a complex project (website redesign, brand overhaul, marketing campaign) 2. You need to estimate hours across **multiple team members** with different rates 3. You need to build in **variance buffers** because scope always creeps 4. You need to protect your **profit margins** (not just cover costs) 5. You need a **contract** that maps deliverables to the quote 6. You need **payment schedules** (50% deposit, 25% at milestone, 25% on completion) 7. You need **invoices that generate automatically** from those schedules 8. You need to know the project is **profitable** before you send the quote Bonsai covers proposals, contracts, an upfront deposit and recurring invoices. Its Estimate Builder handles role-based rates, markups and target profit. What we couldn't find: variance buffers for risk, or payment schedules beyond a single upfront deposit and a remainder. That part is still spreadsheets and manual invoices. --- ## Feature-by-Feature: Bonsai vs Tillage Let's get specific. Here's how the two platforms compare for agency-critical features (Bonsai details checked October 2026 against Bonsai's pricing page and help center; see the [full comparison](https://tillage.ai/alternatives/bonsai) for sources): | Feature | Tillage | Bonsai | |---------|---------|--------| | **AI-Powered Quote Generation** | ✓ Describe project, get full quote | Partial: MCP server; AI proposal writing not confirmed | | **Variance Buffers** | ✓ Add risk % per line item | ✗ Not found | | **Profit Margin on Quotes** | ✓ Global margin on every line | Partial: Estimate Builder tracks markups and target profit | | **Contract from Quote** | ✓ Contract Wizard | ✓ Proposals and contracts (Essentials and above) | | **Payment Schedules** | ✓ 50/25/25, milestones, installments | Partial: upfront deposit, then remainder | | **Auto-Generated Invoices** | ✓ From payment schedules | Partial: retainer and subscription invoices | | **Pass Fees to Clients** | ✓ Platform and Stripe fees | Partial: couldn't confirm on a live page | | **Profitability Reports** | Margin on every quote, before you send | ✓ Utilization and profitability reports | | **Time Tracking** | ✗ Not a time tracker | ✓ All plans | | **Team** | ✓ Unlimited users, free | Per user; permissions on Elite | | **Free Plan** | ✓ Forever (unlimited) | ✗ 7-day trial only | | **Starting Price** | $0 | $9/user/month billed yearly; invoicing from $19/user/month | The pattern is clear: **Bonsai covers more of the business. Tillage goes deeper on pricing and getting paid, for $0.** --- ## Real Scenario: Quoting a $50K Website Redesign Let's make this concrete. Your agency just got a lead for a $50,000 website redesign. Here's how the quoting process looks in each tool: ### In Bonsai: 1. Open a proposal or the Estimate Builder 2. Type out every line item (discovery, wireframes, design, development, QA, launch support) 3. Estimate hours by role 4. Add a markup or target profit 5. Hope you didn't forget anything 6. Hope your estimates are right 7. Hope scope doesn't creep (there's no risk buffer) 8. Send it with a single upfront deposit **Time spent:** 2-4 hours **Confidence level:** Medium **Profit protection:** Markup, but no buffer for risk ### In Tillage: 1. Click "New Quote" 2. Describe the project: "Website redesign for e-commerce company, 20 pages, custom design, Shopify development" 3. AI generates comprehensive line items with suggested hours and rates 4. Review and adjust as needed 5. Add 15% variance buffer to development (scope always creeps there) 6. Apply your 20% profit margin globally 7. See exactly what you'll earn vs. what you'll charge 8. Send with confidence **Time spent:** 15-20 minutes **Confidence level:** High **Profit protection:** Built-in The difference isn't just time saved. It's **margin protected**. That 15% variance buffer on development? When the client inevitably asks for "just a few more tweaks," you've already accounted for it. Your profit margin stays intact. Without a buffer, those tweaks eat directly into your profit. Or worse—you end up working for free. --- ## The Profitability Gap Here's the real difference for agencies: **when you find out whether a project is profitable**. Bonsai's reporting is strong after the fact. On its higher plans you get: - Utilization reports - Profitability reports - Workload and resourcing views Those tell you where the hours went. They don't stop an underpriced quote from going out in the first place. Tillage works at the other end. Before you send, every quote shows: - Base cost for each line - The variance buffer protecting it - Your profit margin on top - The final price your client sees ### Why This Matters Most agencies undercharge. Not because they're bad at business—because they don't have visibility into their margins when they price the work. You think you're charging $150/hour. But after scope creep, revisions, and that "quick call" that turned into an hour... you're actually earning $95/hour. Tillage shows you the margin in real-time. Before you send the quote. Before you sign the contract. Before you do the work. **You can't fix what you can't see.** --- ## The Contract Problem Bonsai has contract templates. They work fine for simple projects. But for complex agency work, you need contracts that: - Pull deliverables directly from the quote (no re-typing) - Include payment schedules tied to milestones - Generate the deposit invoice automatically when the contract is signed - Collect signatures digitally - Start the billing process immediately upon execution Tillage's Contract Wizard does all of this in about 3 minutes: 1. Select a quote to convert 2. Deliverables auto-populate from line items 3. Set your payment schedule (deposit + milestones + final) 4. Add timeline and phases 5. Send for signature 6. Contract signed → deposit invoice generates automatically No copying. No re-typing. No forgetting to send the deposit invoice. --- ## Switching from Bonsai to Tillage: 3 Steps If you're convinced Bonsai isn't cutting it, here's how to switch: ### Step 1: Export Your Client Data Bonsai lets you export clients, invoices and projects as CSV. ### Step 2: Import into Tillage Tillage imports clients and invoices from CSV. Most agencies are up and running in under an hour. What gets imported: - Client company information - Contact details - Invoice history ### Step 3: Create Your First AI-Powered Quote Once your clients are in, create your first quote: 1. Select a client 2. Describe the project in plain English 3. Review AI-generated line items 4. Add variance buffers where needed 5. Apply your profit margin 6. Send That's it. You'll immediately feel the difference. **Need help migrating?** [Email support](mailto:support@tillage.ai) and we'll help you move your data. --- ## Pricing Comparison Let's talk money. ### Bonsai Pricing (billed yearly): - **Basic:** $9/user/month (time tracking, tasks and CRM; no invoices, proposals or contracts) - **Essentials:** $19/user/month (adds invoices, payments, proposals, contracts and client portal) - **Premium:** $29/user/month (adds reports, pipeline, white-label, QuickBooks, Xero) - **Elite:** $49/user/month (3-user minimum; adds permissions) - **7-day free trial** (then a card is required) Monthly billing costs more: $15, $25, $39 and $59 per user. ### Tillage Pricing: - **Free Forever:** $0/month (unlimited quotes, invoices, clients, contracts and users) - **Platform fee:** 1% when clients pay online (capped at $50 per invoice) — passable to clients The math is simple: - Bonsai Essentials for a team of five: about $1,140/year - Tillage: $0/month - **You save: about $1,140/year** on software alone And Tillage's free plan is genuinely free. Not a trial. Not limited to 5 clients. **Unlimited everything, forever.** See [pricing](https://tillage.ai/pricing) for how fees work. --- ## When Bonsai Makes Sense To be fair, Bonsai is the right choice for some people: ✓ **Teams** that want project management, time tracking and resourcing in one tool ✓ **Businesses** that want a CRM pipeline and scheduling ✓ **Agencies** that need utilization and profitability reports by person If that's you, Bonsai is a real option. Stick with it. ## When Tillage Makes Sense Tillage is the right choice when: ✓ You have a **team** (even 2-3 people) and don't want to pay per seat ✓ You work on **complex projects** with multiple phases ✓ You need to protect **profit margins** before the quote goes out ✓ You want **AI assistance** with quoting (not just templates) ✓ You need **contracts that connect to invoices** automatically ✓ You want **milestone payment schedules**, not just a deposit ✓ You want a **free plan** that's actually useful --- ## The Bottom Line Bonsai is an all-in-one suite, priced per person. It works, but its quote-to-cash side stops at a deposit and a remainder. Tillage is built specifically for [agencies](https://tillage.ai/for/agencies), [consultants](https://tillage.ai/for/consultants), and service businesses that: - Need to quote complex projects quickly - Want to protect profit margins automatically - Require contracts that flow into invoices - Want to see margin on every quote before it goes out **The question isn't whether you can make Bonsai work for your agency.** The question is: **Why are you fighting your tools instead of letting them fight for you?** --- ## Ready to Switch? Try Tillage free. No credit card. No time limit. Import your clients, send your first AI-powered quote, and see the difference. [Start Free Forever →](https://app.tillage.ai/signup) Or [compare Tillage vs Bonsai](https://tillage.ai/alternatives/bonsai) for a detailed feature breakdown. --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How is Tillage different from Bonsai? Bonsai is an all-in-one suite with CRM, projects, time tracking and invoicing, priced per user. Tillage is free and focused on quote-to-cash: AI-powered quote generation, variance buffers and profit margin on every line, contracts from approved quotes, and payment schedules that issue your invoices. ### Can I migrate my data from Bonsai to Tillage? Yes! Export your data from Bonsai as CSV, import your clients and invoices into Tillage, and start using it in minutes. [Email support](mailto:support@tillage.ai) if you need help. ### Is Tillage cheaper than Bonsai? Yes. Tillage is $0/month with unlimited users. Bonsai offers a 7-day trial, and its plans with invoicing start at $19 per user a month billed yearly, so a team of five pays about $1,140 a year. Tillage charges a 1% platform fee on online payments (capped at $50 per invoice), which you can pass to clients. ### Does Tillage work for teams? Yes. Invite your whole team at no cost, with owner, admin and member roles. Bonsai charges per user, and its permissions are on the Elite plan. ### What if I'm currently using Bonsai? You can switch anytime. Export your client data from Bonsai, import it into Tillage, and start using agency-grade tools immediately. Most agencies complete the migration in under an hour. ### Does Tillage have AI features? Yes. Tillage uses AI (OpenAI or Claude, with your own API key) to generate comprehensive quotes from plain English descriptions. Describe your project, and AI suggests line items, hours, rates and variance based on your client's context and industry standards. You can also work in Tillage from Claude or ChatGPT through its MCP server. See [AI quoting](https://tillage.ai/features/ai). --- All posts: https://tillage.ai/blog.md Site index for AI assistants: https://tillage.ai/llms.txt Sign up free: https://app.tillage.ai/signup