FOR DESIGNERS
A CRM for designers: the deposit first, then the work
A CRM for designers should settle three things before the work starts: the price in a proposal, the scope and revision rounds in a signed contract, and a paid deposit. Aventide does all three for brand, web and interior designers. Aventide's AI drafts the paperwork. Anything Aventide drafts for a client waits for your approval; automations you switch on run on their own.
IN YOUR WORDS
Should designers ask for a deposit before starting any work?
"No deposit, no work."
br3n, a senior member of Graphic Design Forums UK, in the thread "Asking Your Client For an Up-front Deposit?", February 16, 2012.
"when the work is finished and we reach the payment stage the client suddenly disappears from the face of the earth"
JeromeCollinge, the designer who opened the same thread, February 10, 2012.
"With fixed bid the risk and management of scope creep is on me. With hourly, on the client."
pbowyer, who has run a one-person web business in the UK for over 15 years, on Hacker News, March 4, 2022.
All three are about what was settled before the work began. The deposit decides who carries the risk when a client goes quiet, and the written scope decides who pays for the extra rounds.
STEP ONE
A proposal with the price and the revision rounds in it
Paste in your call notes, or bring them in from Fireflies or Granola, and ask Sidekick for a proposal. It shows you an outline with the price first; once you confirm it, the proposal is written in your logo, colors and fonts, with your exact figures. Name the deliverables and the number of revision rounds. Your client reads it online and accepts it. Our sales proposal guide walks through a brand designer's $12,000 proposal, part by part.
STEP TWO
Contract signed, deposit invoiced
When the client accepts, Aventide offers to draft the agreement from the proposal's price. Pick the built-in Design Project Agreement as its template. It asks for a 50% deposit before work begins, includes the revision rounds in your scope, sets a kill fee if the client cancels and keeps the work yours until the final payment. You countersign, then the client signs on your branded page. Their signature creates the deposit invoice, which waits for your approval unless you tick "Send invoice automatically after signing". Templates are starting points, not legal advice.
STEP THREE
Invoices as the work goes
Send the next invoice from the client's room when a stage of the work is done, and the balance at handoff. 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 your clients pay you. When an invoice goes overdue, Aventide drafts the follow-up and waits for your approval before it sends. If you keep your books in QuickBooks, you can send invoices through it.
STEP FOUR
Deliverables in their portal
Each client gets a portal in your branding that holds the documents and files you share with them, such as the accepted proposal, the brand guidelines and the final logo files. The handoff lives in one place instead of an email thread. The portal is for handing over finished work. It is not a design canvas or a proofing tool, so keep designing in the tools you use now.
Design work is sold as projects, so this page sits under Aventide for people who sell projects. Contracts with e-signature start from a template or your own Word file and end with a signed copy and the deposit invoice, and invoices and payments go through your own Stripe or QuickBooks Payments account, with 0% to Aventide. On the deposit itself, read How much deposit should a designer ask for?
QUESTIONS
Questions about getting paid for design work
What should a graphic design contract include?
The scope and deliverables, the fee and deposit, how many revision rounds are included, whether source files are part of the handoff, when ownership passes to the client, a kill fee if the project is canceled, and who pays for fonts and stock images. Aventide's built-in Design Project Agreement covers each of these. Templates are starting points, not legal advice.
How much deposit should a designer ask for?
It's your call, and often it's half. "I ask for 50% upfront and if they don't want to pay I don't work with them," Paul Murray wrote on Graphic Design Forums UK on February 10, 2012. Aventide's Design Project Agreement starts at 50%, which you can change on each contract. Some states limit deposits marked non-refundable, so check yours before you send.
How do I prevent scope creep with design clients?
Put the deliverables and the number of revision rounds in the proposal, then in the signed contract, and agree how extra work is priced before it starts. Aventide's built-in Design Project Agreement says work outside the scope is quoted separately and agreed in writing first, and that a new creative direction after concept approval is new work.
What CRM should an interior designer use?
It depends on the job. If you need product sourcing, purchase orders or a product catalog for clients, use a tool built for interior design; Aventide doesn't do those. If you bill your design fee by the project, Aventide covers the proposal, the Design Project Agreement, the deposit, the invoices and a branded portal for drawings and boards.
Which is better for designers, HoneyBook, Dubsado or Bonsai?
They suit different designers. HoneyBook lets clients book, sign and pay from one file, from $36 a month billed monthly. Dubsado is made for creative service businesses, from $35 a month billed monthly, plus $10 a month per extra brand. Bonsai charges per person; proposals and contracts start at $25 a month billed monthly. Prices checked October 18, 2026, on each company's pricing page.
Aventide is $39 a month with every feature, unlimited team members and every brand or business you run included. A two-brand studio with one contractor pays $39 on Aventide. On Dubsado the same two brands are $45 on Starter, which leaves out scheduling, or $65 on Premier, with the contractor among the three users it includes; on Bonsai each company is its own paid account and every team member is a paid seat (checked October 18, 2026). Clients pay through your own Stripe account, so Aventide takes 0%.
We make Aventide, so weigh our take accordingly.
Did HoneyBook raise its prices?
Yes, in February 2025. As of October 18, 2026 its plans are $36, $59 and $129 a month billed monthly. Cabin Mae, a brand and website designer and HoneyBook affiliate, wrote on cabinmae.com on January 26, 2025: "I'll be honest, when HoneyBook raised their prices, it came as a bit of a shock to many of us—including me." The same post says the author still planned to stick with them. If you do move, Aventide imports your HoneyBook clients and projects.
Does Aventide work for freelance designers and developers?
Yes, if you design or build sites on your own. Send the proposal, then start from Aventide’s built-in Service Agreement, a general contract with a 30% deposit you can change, or its Design Project Agreement, and send an invoice yourself as each stage of the work is done. When you bring in a subcontractor, add them to your account; Starter and Pro include unlimited team members.
