Bonsai alternatives for small agencies in Europe
Updated
Short answer
Bonsai is built around freelancers, so agencies usually start looking elsewhere when they need resource planning across a team, project budgets, or contracts that fit European signing and tax practice. Productive suits larger agencies that want everything in one system, Harvest and Float are strong single tools, Oneflow covers contracts only, and Pledge lets small agencies create, send and store contracts with their AI agents, with time and planning alongside.
Why agencies look beyond Bonsai
Bonsai does a lot well for one person: proposals, contracts with e-signatures, invoicing, payments and time tracking in one place. Its invoicing and contract tools are its strongest parts. Agencies tend to look for something else when:
- Several people need to be planned. Knowing who is free next month across a team is a different job from tracking your own hours.
- Projects need budgets. Following hours and money against a fixed price per project, not just logging time.
- They work in Europe. Some of Bonsai's tax and accounting features are built for US sole proprietors.
None of that makes Bonsai a bad tool. It's a sign the agency has grown into a different shape.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Contracts and e-signing | Time tracking | Resource planning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonsai | Freelancers and very small studios | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Productive | Larger agencies that want one system for everything | Not the focus | Yes | Yes |
| Harvest (with Forecast) | Teams that mainly want simple time tracking | No | Yes | With Forecast |
| Float | Scheduling people across projects | No | Basic | Yes, its core |
| Oneflow or GetAccept | Sales teams sending many contracts | Yes, its core | No | No |
| Pledge | Small agencies and consultancies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Features change often. Check each vendor's site for current plans and prices.
The options in more detail
Productive
Productive is agency management software that covers budgets, time, resourcing, billing and reporting. It's a good fit for agencies big enough to have someone who runs operations, and it rewards the time spent setting it up. For a ten-person studio it can be more system than you need.
Harvest and Forecast
Harvest is one of the simplest time trackers around, and Forecast adds scheduling from the same company. Together they cover time and planning well. Contracts and signing stay in another tool.
Float
Float is a resource scheduling tool: a clear timeline of who works on what. Many agencies pair it with a separate time tracker and a separate signing tool. That works, at the cost of keeping three tools in step.
Oneflow and GetAccept
Both are strong Nordic contract tools, built for sales teams that send many proposals and contracts. They don't track time or plan people, so an agency would still need tools for delivery.
Pledge
Pledge is built for agencies and consultancies that want to create, send and store contracts with their agents, in Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Cursor. Your agent drafts from your own templates, you edit the contract in the chat, and it's sent for signature when you say so. Time tracking, planning and leads are optional modules: when a contract is sent, its team can be booked tentatively in Plan, and when it's signed it becomes a project the team logs time on. Pledge is in private beta.
How to choose
- One person, mostly invoicing? Stay with Bonsai.
- A larger agency with someone to run operations? Look at Productive.
- Only need planning, or only time? Float, or Harvest with Forecast.
- Only contracts, at volume? Oneflow or GetAccept.
- A small team that wants the contract, the plan and the hours connected? Try Pledge.
Questions
- Is Bonsai good for agencies?
- Bonsai works well for freelancers and very small studios. Agencies with several people to plan, project budgets to follow, or European tax needs often move to a tool built for teams.
- What is the best Bonsai alternative for a small agency?
- It depends on what you need most. For time tracking only, Harvest. For scheduling, Float. For one system across a larger agency, Productive. For contracts, time and planning connected in a small agency, Pledge.
- Can I move my contracts from Bonsai to another tool?
- Yes. Export your signed contracts as PDF. In Pledge you can import them as historical contracts, so they sit next to new ones with their dates and clients.
Try Pledge
Contracts, time, plans and leads for small agencies, with an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT. Pledge is in private beta: leave your email and we will send an invite.