FOR CONSULTANTS
One place for your consulting practice. And every client in it.
Aventide is client management software for consultants: proposals, e-signed engagement letters, retainer invoices and a client portal, from a good call to signed and paid, for every business you run. Aventide's AI drafts the work around the work. Anything Aventide drafts for a client waits for your approval; automations you switch on run on their own.
IN YOUR WORDS
Why does the work around the work take so long?
"And then I'd spend two hours after every call doing the work around the work. Not the actual work. The meta-work."
Nabil, who freelanced in design and product for years, introducing his own proposal tool on Hacker News, February 15, 2026.
"I spend a lot of time on administrative sales tasks (chasing people for meetings, writing proposals, negotiating contracts)."
A business owner on Hacker News, June 2, 2025.
"i feel like an idiot asking for money i've already earned"
A poster in the Hacker News thread "My clients keep ghosting invoices", October 10, 2025, lowercase as written.
All three describe the hours between a good call and a paid invoice, spread across a doc, an inbox, a contract tool and Stripe, with you carrying each step to the next. None of it is the consulting, but it decides whether the consulting gets paid for and whether the next client comes in.
STEP ONE
How do I get from a good call to signed and paid?
Turn the call notes into a proposal, the proposal into an engagement letter, and the signature into a deposit. Paste your notes, or use meeting notes from Fireflies or Granola, and ask Sidekick for a proposal or a scope of work; it shows an outline first, and the price table comes from the prices you set. The letter starts from your own contract or a built-in Consulting Agreement. You countersign, the client signs on a page in your branding, and the deposit invoice waits for your approval.
STEP TWO
How do I stop chasing clients for payment?
Take a deposit when the client signs, send each invoice from the client's room, and let Aventide draft the reminder when one goes overdue; it waits for your approval before it sends. Hourly work can come straight from a timer in that room. Clients pay by card through your own Stripe account, or by bank transfer if you turn it on in Stripe. Aventide takes 0% of what they pay you. If you use QuickBooks Online, invoices can go out through it.
STEP THREE
How do I keep client emails, files and invoices in one place?
Give each client a room. Their email comes into one inbox from your connected Gmail, and the room holds their documents, invoices, contracts, notes and to-dos. The client gets a portal in your branding with the documents and files you share, so they have one place to look. When a client asks where something stands, open their room. The Pipeline view shows every client in a stage, from lead to renewal.
STEP FOUR
What needs you on Monday morning?
The Daily Brief opens with what needs you: approvals waiting, invoices that are overdue, today's bookings and your to-dos. Approve the drafts it has ready, such as a reminder or a follow-up, from the brief or from Sidekick on WhatsApp, Slack or Telegram. If you run more than one business, one morning message covers each one you follow. Then close it and do the work.
Consulting is one of the trades on Aventide for people who sell projects. Proposals in Aventide show you the outline and the price before anything is written, and the Daily Brief is one message each morning with a section for every business you follow. If you are weighing tools, start with What’s the best CRM for consultants?
QUESTIONS
Questions about software for consultancy
Do I have to move everything over to Aventide at once?
No. Start with one client and the next invoice that's due. Bring the rest across when it suits you, or leave old records where they are. If you're coming from HoneyBook, Aventide imports from it. Contracts your clients already signed stay valid wherever they were signed; new ones are drafted and e-signed in Aventide.
What's the best CRM for consultants?
Usually client management software, not a sales CRM. HoneyBook, Bonsai and Aventide (which we make) handle proposals, contracts, invoices and a portal per client. If a team spends its week prospecting, HubSpot or Pipedrive fits better. Our comparisons set Aventide beside HoneyBook and Dubsado, with prices from each company’s site.
Can ChatGPT write a consulting proposal or contract?
It can draft one, and plenty of consultants start there. Check every figure and detail from the call, and have a lawyer read contract terms you rely on. Aventide drafts from your notes, prices and contract template, and shows a proposal’s outline first. Anything Aventide drafts for a client waits for your approval; automations you switch on run on their own.
If you’d rather write it yourself, with no AI and nothing leaving your browser, use the free proposal generator. The six parts of a proposal, with a worked example, are in How to write a sales proposal.
Can I run my practice and my side business in one account?
Yes. Make the practice one business and the side business another, in the same account: each keeps its own clients, invoices, client portal, branding and Stripe account, so a workshop client sees the side business's brand in their portal, not your advisory practice's, and each one's money lands in its own account. You switch from one menu and every screen reloads for the one you picked. Starter and Pro include unlimited businesses; the trial covers up to three.
Can my associate have a seat?
Yes, and so can the subcontractor on one project and the admin who sends your invoices, at no extra cost: Starter and Pro include unlimited team members. Two things to know before you invite your associate. Inviting anyone needs a paid plan, not the trial. And a seat opens every business in your account, so if your side business sits beside the practice, they can open that too.
What does a credit buy?
Ask Sidekick to turn Tuesday's call notes into the engagement letter, to draft the reminder when a retainer invoice runs late, or to answer a question about a client, and that uses credits. Doing things yourself never uses credits. Only the AI's work does. Starter includes 40,000 credits a month and Pro 120,000; extra packs start at $10 for 10,000 and never expire.
