HoneyBook vs Tillage: Which Handles Complex Projects Better?

HoneyBook is beautiful. The interface is clean, the workflows are intuitive, and it's beloved by thousands of creative entrepreneurs—especially wedding photographers, event planners, and designers.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: HoneyBook was built for solopreneurs, not agencies.

If you're running a 5-person agency quoting $50K website redesigns with multiple stakeholders, tight margins, and complex payment schedules, HoneyBook starts to feel like you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

You can make it work. But you'll spend a lot of time working around its limitations.

Let's talk about what HoneyBook does well, where it breaks down for agencies, and what to use instead.

The Core Difference: Wedding Photographers vs. Multi-Client Agencies

HoneyBook is designed for creative solopreneurs who:

• Work on one project at a time
• Have straightforward pricing (packages, flat fees)
• Don't need deep profitability tracking
• Rarely deal with scope creep or variance

That's perfect if you're a wedding photographer. You quote $5K for a wedding package, send a contract, collect a deposit, and shoot the wedding. Simple.

But agencies? You're juggling:

• Multiple projects with overlapping timelines
• Complex pricing (hourly rates, retainers, milestone-based billing)
• Team collaboration (designers, developers, account managers)
• Scope creep (clients always want "just one more thing")
• Profitability tracking (did we actually make money on this project?)

HoneyBook wasn't built for this. Tillage was.

Where HoneyBook Falls Short for Agencies

1. No Variance Buffers or Risk Protection

Here's the biggest problem with HoneyBook for agencies: it doesn't protect your margins.

When you quote a $50K project, you're not just estimating hours. You're betting on:

• The client not changing their mind mid-project
• The scope not expanding ("Can we add a blog section?")
• Your team not hitting unexpected roadblocks

If you quote 200 hours at $250/hour and it takes 240 hours, you just lost $10K in profit.

HoneyBook doesn't help with this. You can create line items and add costs, but there's no way to:

• Add variance buffers (e.g., 15% risk padding per line item)
• Automatically protect your margins
• Track actual vs. estimated costs in real-time

In Tillage:

• Add variance buffers to any line item (visible to you, hidden or blended for clients)
• Set a global profit margin (e.g., 30%) that auto-applies to all quotes
• Track profitability in real-time as time and expenses are logged

You quote with confidence, knowing your margins are protected.

2. Limited Profitability Tracking

HoneyBook shows you revenue. It doesn't show you profit.

You can see how much you invoiced. But you can't easily see:

• How much time your team actually spent on the project
• How much you paid contractors or vendors
• Whether you made money after all expenses

For a wedding photographer, this is fine. You know your costs upfront (your time, travel, editing).

For an agency? You need to track:

• Estimated vs. actual hours (did we quote 200 hours and spend 240?)
• Team member costs (how much did each person cost us?)
• Vendor expenses (hosting, stock photos, third-party tools)
• Real-time profitability (are we on track or bleeding money?)

HoneyBook doesn't do this. You're back to spreadsheets.

In Tillage:

• Track estimated vs. actual hours per project
• Log expenses against projects (team time, vendor costs, etc.)
• See real-time profitability (revenue minus all costs)
• Analyze profitability per service, per client, per team member

You know exactly where you're making money (and where you're not).

3. Weak Team Collaboration

HoneyBook has basic team features (multiple users, shared inbox). But it's not built for agencies with complex projects and multiple stakeholders.

You can't:

• Assign role-based permissions (e.g., "Account Manager can view quotes but not edit pricing")
• Collaborate on quotes with team members before sending
• Track who worked on what project for profitability analysis

In Tillage:

• Role-based permissions for team members
• Collaborative quote editing and approval workflows
• Project-level time tracking (who worked on it, how much time)

Your team can work together without stepping on each other's toes.

4. No AI-Powered Quoting

HoneyBook's quoting is manual. You create line items, add prices, and send.

That's fine for simple projects. But for complex agency work, you're spending hours on every quote:

• Researching similar projects
• Estimating hours for each phase
• Calculating costs and margins
• Writing descriptions

In Tillage:

• Describe the project ("$50K website redesign for tech startup, 3-month timeline")
• AI generates a full quote with line items, descriptions, and pricing
• Review, adjust, and send

You go from 2 hours per quote to 20 minutes.

5. Limited Payment Schedule Flexibility

HoneyBook supports payment schedules (deposits, installments). But it's designed for simple scenarios (50% deposit, 50% on delivery).

For agencies, you need:

• Milestone-based billing (25% at design approval, 25% at development, 25% at launch, 25% post-launch)
• Installment plans (12 monthly payments for a retainer)
• Automatic invoice generation (no manual duplication)

HoneyBook can do some of this, but it's clunky. You're manually creating invoices for each milestone.

In Tillage:

• Flexible payment schedules (50/25/25, milestones, installments)
• Automatic invoice generation from schedules
• No manual duplication needed

Set it once, forget it.

Feature-by-Feature: HoneyBook vs Tillage

Real Scenario: $50K Website Redesign

Let's say you're quoting a $50K website redesign for a SaaS company. Here's how it plays out in each platform:

In HoneyBook:

1. Create proposal: Manually add line items (discovery, design, development, content, launch)
2. Calculate margins: Open a spreadsheet, do the math to ensure 30% profit
3. Add variance: Mentally add 15% buffer to each line item (or forget and hope for the best)
4. Send proposal: Email to client
5. Client approves: Get notification
6. Create contract: Manually set up contract terms
7. Set up payment schedule: Manually create 4 invoices (25% deposit, 25% at design, 25% at dev, 25% at launch)
8. Track profitability: Open a spreadsheet, log hours and expenses manually

Time spent: 3-4 hours (plus ongoing manual tracking)

Risk: No variance buffers, no real-time profitability tracking

In Tillage:

1. Generate quote: Use AI ("$50K website redesign for SaaS company, 3-month timeline") or build manually
2. Add variance: Click "Add 15% variance buffer" on each line item
3. Set profit margin: Global 30% margin auto-applies
4. Send quote: One click
5. Client approves: Get notification
6. Create contract: Click "Create Contract" → 3-minute wizard → done
7. Payment schedule: Set up once (25% deposit, 25% at design, 25% at dev, 25% at launch) → invoices generate automatically
8. Track profitability: Real-time dashboard shows estimated vs. actual hours, expenses, and profit

Time spent: 30 minutes (everything else is automated)

Risk: Variance buffers protect your margins, real-time tracking keeps you on budget

Time saved: 2.5-3.5 hours per project

If you quote 10 projects a month, that's 25-35 hours saved. Every month.

When HoneyBook Makes Sense

HoneyBook isn't bad. It's just not built for agencies.

Use HoneyBook if:

• You're a solo creative (photographer, designer, planner)
• You work on one project at a time
• You have straightforward pricing (packages, flat fees)
• You don't need deep profitability tracking
• You want built-in scheduling and questionnaires

Use Tillage if:

• You're an agency (or growing into one)
• You quote complex, multi-phase projects
• You need to protect your margins and track profitability
• You want to automate the entire quote-to-cash workflow
• You have a team that needs to collaborate

Switching from HoneyBook to Tillage in 3 Steps

Ready to make the switch? Here's how:

Step 1: Export Your Data

• Export clients from HoneyBook (CSV)
• Export any active proposals or contracts you need to reference

Step 2: Import to Tillage

• Import clients (CSV upload)
• Recreate any active quotes or contracts (Tillage's AI can help)

Step 3: Start Quoting

• Create your first quote in Tillage (use AI or build manually)
• Set up your global profit margin and variance defaults
• Send it to a client and watch the magic happen

Migration time: 1-2 hours (we also offer custom migration support)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use Tillage and HoneyBook together?

A: Technically yes, but it's redundant. Both platforms handle quotes, contracts, and invoices. Most agencies pick one or the other. If you love HoneyBook's scheduling and questionnaires, you could use HoneyBook for client onboarding and Tillage for quotes/contracts/invoices—but that's a lot of overlap.

Q: Does Tillage have scheduling like HoneyBook?

A: Not yet. HoneyBook's scheduling and questionnaire features are great for solopreneurs who need to book calls and gather client info. Tillage is focused on the quote-to-cash workflow (quotes, contracts, invoices, profitability). If you need scheduling, you can use Calendly or similar tools alongside Tillage.

Q: Is Tillage cheaper than HoneyBook?

A: Yes. Tillage has a free forever plan with unlimited quotes and invoices (1% platform fee on payments). HoneyBook starts at $16/month after a 7-day trial. Tillage Premium (0% platform fees) is also cheaper than HoneyBook's higher tiers.

Q: Can I migrate my HoneyBook data to Tillage?

A: Yes! You can export clients and proposals from HoneyBook and import them into Tillage. We also offer custom migration support for agencies with complex setups.

Q: Does Tillage have a client portal like HoneyBook?

A: Yes! Clients can view quotes, sign contracts, and make payments through a branded client portal. They can also store multiple payment methods and track their invoice history.

The Bottom Line

HoneyBook is a beautiful tool for creative solopreneurs. But if you're running an agency with complex projects, tight margins, and a team to manage, you need something built for scale.

Tillage gives you:

• AI-powered quoting with variance buffers
• Real-time profitability tracking
• Flexible payment schedules with automatic invoice generation
• Team collaboration with role-based permissions
• A free forever plan

Stop fighting your tools. Start quoting, contracting, and invoicing like a modern agency.

Ready to switch? Start free forever (no credit card required).