Aisle Planner vs. Honeybook: An In-Depth Comparison

The last several decades have seen a technology boom that has afforded the entrepreneurial-minded the ease and simplicity of running a business from anywhere. Every year, there are new digital products to meet the needs of the self-employed and small business owners — time-tracking apps, digital contracts, internal communications systems, and so on. If there’s a need, there’s a solution.

In that, project management tools have carved out their own space in the virtual world to support small businesses in their day-to-day operations. Organization is key to the success of a company and, thus, every entrepreneur and business owner needs to find a project management platform that suits their needs. 

As someone who runs two businesses along with plenty of side projects, I’ve found two programs that particularly support the needs of myself and my team. Those two are Aisle Planner and Honeybook — let’s dig into each of them.

Aisle Planner

At the end of the day, client experience is what keeps businesses afloat, and Aisle Planner wins my vote for best client interactions. It's easy to use, looks professional, and can be custom branded to include your logo, colors, and contact information on all of your templates and communications.

I have templates for each venue that I work with regularly, and it makes it so much easier for me to kickstart a client and get right to work once they've booked. Before the ink is dry, I already have their checklist, timeline, budget, and suggested vendor list ready to go so they can see it in a glance. Will those things change over time? Sure. But, in the beginning, it helps my client and me tremendously to have a starting point and go from there. Later on, the couple can upload their guest list, make notes about RSVPs, and map out their seating chart — all from within the Aisle Planner platform. They also love the ability to create a custom website through the app.

The only drawback I experienced with Aisle Planner is the inability of clients to pay their bills automatically. You can create automated payment reminders, but that only saves you time — clients who prefer to auto-draft their invoices will still have to login and finalize the payment.

Honeybook

Honeybook is an excellent program for collecting potential client information, sending “canned” email responses, and creating an automated workflow that works for you. You can create the proposal, payment schedule, and contract all in one form — then, they need to accept it, and the payment schedule is already in place. With Honeybook, you can mark it for auto-payments based on the initial credit card used. Another nice feature is that you can include a spot where they can add a tip.

Honeybook really is an excellent tool for project management and client relationship building. I wouldn't say it's the best for the actual event management and planning side, but it certainly brings CRM features that are worth the investment.

The final verdict…

Both of these platforms can and will help you streamline your procedures and simplify the work on your plate. If you want the closest thing to a one-stop-shop, Aisle Planner is your best bet — but know that there might be some things that you still have to do through another system.

If you don’t mind having two programs that operate concurrently, combining Aisle Planner with Honeybook is a top-notch choice. You get the best of both worlds and know that all of your boxes are being checked.

Of course, this is based on my experience with each platform. Take it with a grain of salt, as you should with any other opinion or review you read online. Only you know what’s best for your business, so keep these considerations in mind and test out different platforms to find the one that is truly the right fit for your needs.

Jennifer Taylor is the owner and founder of Taylor’d Event Group, a leading event planning company that serves local and destination clients in Washington State and Maui, HI. She is also the principal of Jen Taylor Consulting, a consulting firm that works with creative businesses of all sizes to implement streamlined workflows and organized systems to find more time and space for business growth and personal development.

 
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