Bonsai (YC W16)

Web and SaaS

freelancer contracts and invoicing

SHOW HN2016

102points
40comments
#369of 2,264 in 2016
Top 17%of 2016 by points

How HN took it

DebatedReal support and real criticism

8 positive, 9 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 7 critical, out of 24 comments about the project. Thread score +0.08.

Docs: 0 for, 3 againstDesign: 0 for, 2 againstIdea: 1 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Clean, easy contract creation

    From 3 comments
    • Looks really good, thanks for sharing. Created a sample contract, nice and easy. Are the contracts the same for US and UK? I've only created a sample UK one, but notice that you…
      _puk on HN
    • Just completed my first contract/charge via @bonsai, I'm in love to say the least. Makes creating a contract and getting clients setup for billing a snap
      drew22huthut on HN
    • The app itself looks really nice, but I'm unconvinced this will be useful in practice. The number of times our company has sent a contract and had it accepted without revisions…
      wkirby on HN
  • Useful concept for freelancers

    From 3 comments
    • Awesome, I'm looking into becoming a freelancer next year and will definitely try bonsai. Thanks and good luck.
      Fando on HN
    • Seems neat, commenting for later in case I decide to start taking up more freelance again.
      kdamken on HN
    • I like this idea, and would probably use it. I only seem to be able to select "United States" (and subsequently choose a state) in the contract, though. Are there any plans to…
      davidbarker on HN

Objections

  • Contracts not flexible enough to edit terms

    From 2 comments
    • The app itself looks really nice, but I'm unconvinced this will be useful in practice. The number of times our company has sent a contract and had it accepted without revisions…
      wkirby on HN
    • I talked to your support team about this. The contract, as a base, is good, but there are some clients that just need to change the language or other fields that are NOT editable…
      sadok on HN
  • Pricing too low to build a sustainable business

    From 1 comment
    • If I'm reading the pricing copy correctly, the contracts themselves are free and invoicing service charges $1 per invoice. Is it possible to be profitable (in a successful…
      koolba on HN
  • Disclaimer says not a law firm; legal responsibility unclear

    From 2 comments
    • bulletproof + free = ? what happens when the contract is contested? and what if you lose?
      profeta on HN
    • I was thinking the same then I look at their page footer. > Bonsai is not a law firm, does not provide legal services or advice, and does not provide or participate in legal…
      mariocesar on HN

Requests

  • More international support, including payments

    From 2 comments
    • If you support 2checkout I would be able to use it in Bolivia, and many other latinamerica developers will also be able too. Hiring freelancer for most international clients is…
      mariocesar on HN
    • Yep, definitely looking to expand international support for contracts and especially payments. That's one of our largest themes in feature requests right now. Thanks for…
      mthomasb on HN
  • Tax remittance handling

    From 2 comments
    • Siiiick! Any chance you'll handle tax remittances? Contractor taxes (esp) in Canada are kind of a quagmire.
      pj_mukh on HN
    • Not yet but it's been very heavily requested. Definitely looking into it.
      mthomasb on HN
  • Editable contract fields and language

    From 2 comments
    • I talked to your support team about this. The contract, as a base, is good, but there are some clients that just need to change the language or other fields that are NOT editable…
      sadok on HN
    • Yep, we definitely understand the need for more flexibility. In about 1 week there will be many more options to edit. The big reason we didn't do that sooner is that we didn't…
      mthomasb on HN
  • PayPal integration

    From 1 comment
    • look nice couple of questions ``` - do you plan to make it work with something like Paypal API ? - maybe other language than English ? ``` look promising anyway
      zwetan on HN

Questions

  • End-of-life plan if acquired or shut down

    From 1 comment
    • This looks interesting for me, thanks for sharing! Question: what is your end-of-life plan in the event of acquisition or business shut down?
      gmisra on HN
  • How the flow works and who it suits

    From 1 comment
    • I'm having trouble figuring out if this is a product that would benefit me. I'm a contractor / freelancer. When I take on a client, I receive a PSA with statement of work, and…
      physcab on HN
  • Whether contracts cover NDA and IP assignment

    From 1 comment
    • Have you built NDA, I Assignment, etc into these contracts? Lots of people use Upwork for contracting, but would still like to send a contract with the right legal wording that…
      sandGorgon on HN

Alternatives named

  • Upwork contract forms

    From 1 comment
    • Could you talk about why I would choose you over using Upwork's default contract form? Or are you saying that people would move their project entirely to you? Because there is…
      sandGorgon on HN
  • RocketLawyer and LegalZoom

    From 1 comment
    • One way to think of the contracts piece is as a RocketLawyer or LegalZoom verticalized for freelancers. We provide contracts that are written and maintained specifically for…
      mthomasb on HN
  • Bill.com and QuickBooks

    From 1 comment
    • I'm having trouble figuring out if this is a product that would benefit me. I'm a contractor / freelancer. When I take on a client, I receive a PSA with statement of work, and…
      physcab on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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