Dubsado alternative for agency billing
Compare the client administration you need most. Dubsado documents booking, forms, portals and connected payment collection. ABH Pro offers included-hours retainer usage before billing, while collection stays external.
Short answer
Consider ABH for solo operators or small teams billing approved project time with external collection. Free supports ordinary time invoicing within caps; Pro adds retainers. Dubsado Premier combines time invoicing with scheduling, automated client workflows and bookkeeping connections. Your required workflow determines fit.
Try one user, client and project on Free, capped at 20 tracked hours and three watermarked invoices each month. Choose Starter for owner-managed client administration or Pro for retainer usage. Arrange collection with your existing payment provider.
Included-hours billing versus client lifecycle tools
| Workflow | ABH | Competitor |
|---|---|---|
| Time and invoice evidence | Project/task time, approval and invoice lines traced to work; Free usage caps apply. ABH | Premier timers/manual entries applied to invoices; invoiced time becomes read-only. Formal timesheet approval unverified. S3 |
| Included-hours retainers | Pro tracks capped-hours usage and overages; manual invoice generation. ABH | Recurring retainer billing supported; tracker does not calculate remaining retainer hours. Help recommends manual notes. S3 |
| Invoice scheduling | Automatic recurring invoice schedules: Not available today. ABH | Recurring invoices documented for retainer billing. S3 |
| Client collection and portal | External receipt recording and public document links; payment collection and client login portal: Not available today. ABH | Client portals on both plans; Dubsado Payments via Stripe advertises card and ACH collection. S1, S4 |
| Connected workflows | Customer accounting/calendar integrations: Not available today; Pro automations mostly log internally. ABH | Email/calendar connections; Premier workflows, bookkeeping and Zapier integrations. QuickBooks Online and Xero advertised. S1, S4 |
| Documents and onboarding | Starter/Pro proposals, e-sign contracts, pipeline and checklists; growth/onboarding/templates are Owner-only. ABH | Starter contracts/forms; Premier public proposals, scheduling and automated workflows. S1, S2 |
| Margins and resources | True margin dashboard, per-person rate cards and resource planning: Not available today. ABH | Financial reporting advertised; exact calculations/tier coverage and resource-planning parity unverified in this review. S5 |
| Subscription and team | USD 0/9.99/19.99 per workspace per month with one/three/unlimited users. ABH | Starter USD 35/month or 335/year; Premier USD 55/month or 525/year. Three additional users included; add-on bands apply. S1, S2 |
Sources: ABH: plans and workspace limits, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: tracked-work invoices, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: time review and billing, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: Pro retainer workflow, checked 2026-10-13, ABH: external collection and integration limits, checked 2026-10-13, S1: Dubsado pricing and add-ons, checked 2026-10-13, S2: Dubsado official product and pricing reference, checked 2026-10-13, S3: Dubsado 3.0 time tracking, checked 2026-10-13, S4: Dubsado integrations and collection, checked 2026-10-13, S5: Dubsado reporting, checked 2026-10-13.
Where ABH may fit better
For a monthly included-hours agreement, ABH Pro supports reviewed work, period usage and overages before billing. Current Dubsado time help says its tracker does not calculate hours remaining against a retainer and recommends notes alongside recurring invoices. This is a specific distinction, not a claim that Dubsado lacks retainers. ABH, S3
ABH ordinary time invoicing is available on Free within caps; Dubsado time tracking requires Premier. Starter allows three total ABH users. Finance, growth, onboarding and template administration stays Owner-only. Included seats do not give every Member financial access. ABH, S3
The Dubsado vs HoneyBook comparison examines client documents, automation and documented time-tracking limits without treating unanswered feature questions as absence.
Where ABH is weaker today
USD pricing with commitments and add-ons
ABH monthly workspace rates in USD are Free 0, Starter 9.99 and Pro 19.99, checked 2026-10-13. Free includes one user, client and project, 20 tracked hours, three invoices monthly and a watermark. Starter includes three users; Pro unlimited. Paid clients/projects/hours/invoices are unlimited; retainers require Pro. An annual ABH rate is unverified. ABH
Dubsado Starter costs USD 35/month or 335/year; Premier USD 55/month or 525/year. Calculated annual equivalents are about USD 27.92 and 43.75 monthly, not monthly payment options. Both include unlimited clients/projects and three additional users. Rates apply to new subscribers from December 1, 2025; earlier subscribers may retain older pricing. S1, S2
Additional Dubsado brands cost USD 10/month. User bands: USD 25/month for four to 10, 45/month for 11 to 20, 60/month for 21 to 30. Confirm additional-user counting and the overlapping 30-user sales boundary. Taxes, processing fees and regional payment availability are unverified here. No promotion is treated as a regular price. S1, S4
Who should pick Dubsado
Choose Dubsado for forms, portal access and connected collection. A creative business seeking client documents and payments in one process has options ABH cannot replace. Both plans include portals; Dubsado Payments advertises card and ACH support. Check your location. S1, S4
Choose Premier for appointments, automated client workflows or bookkeeping integrations. These may outweigh handling remaining retainer hours through notes. Advertised reporting does not establish a full accounting replacement: calculations and exact tier coverage remain unverified. S1, S4, S5
Switch without assuming historical parity
CSV import in ABH covers clients and projects only. No Dubsado export mapping or transfer of forms, invoices, payments, signed contracts or historical time is verified. Inspect your account exports and preserve required records. Migration tools and matching portal behavior are not promised.
Trial one representative period with non-sensitive sample records. Check time approval, invoice evidence and external receipts. For capped hours, test Pro usage and manual invoice generation. Separately list existing scheduling, form and accounting dependencies; a working invoice does not verify those workflows.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dubsado support time-based invoices?
Yes. Current Dubsado 3.0 help documents timers and manual time entries applied to client invoices on Premier. Invoiced entries become read-only. ABH does not claim exclusive time invoicing.
What is different about included-hours retainers?
ABH Pro tracks usage against included hours and supports overages with manual invoice generation. Dubsado time help says its tracker does not calculate remaining retainer hours and recommends manual notes with recurring billing.
Can ABH replace Dubsado client portals and payments?
No. ABH provides public document links and manual records of externally received payments. Client login portals and in-product client payment collection are Not available today.
Does the ABH workspace price give every user financial access?
No. Starter includes up to three total users and Pro unlimited users, but finance, growth, onboarding and template tools are Owner-only. Included seats do not remove role restrictions.
Can I transfer all my Dubsado records to ABH?
Only ABH client and project CSV import is verified here. Invoice, payment, contract, form and time histories are not covered. Check exports and preserve records before switching.
Make the next invoice easier to explain.
Try one user, client and project on Free, capped at 20 tracked hours and three watermarked invoices each month. Choose Starter for owner-managed client administration or Pro for retainer usage. Arrange collection with your existing payment provider.