WHAT YOU DO TODAY
Enlivy vs spreadsheets and email
Many service businesses run on a client spreadsheet, email offers, a Word contract, a Stripe payment link and an export for the accountant. That works for a while. Here is what it leaves to you, and when it stops working.
WHAT IT LEAVES TO YOU
What each part of the by-hand path does
Each tool does its own job well. What it leaves to you is the handover between them: the price typed again, the date remembered, the file checked.
A spreadsheet
A sheet keeps clients, prices and dates well. It cannot send an invoice on the renewal date, and it does not know whether the client accepted. Each renewal starts with someone remembering.
Email carries the offer and the answer. A reply that says "sounds good" is not tied to the price you offered, so you read the thread to find out what was agreed.
Word or Google Docs, plus a PDF
A document is easy to edit and send. Nothing in the file records which version the client agreed to, or who signed it and when. After the signature, the price is typed into the invoice.
A Stripe payment link
A payment link collects a payment at the price set inside Stripe. The proposal your client accepted, the contract they signed and the invoice your accountant needs each hold their own copy of the price.
Your accountant's tool
It keeps your books. The month's documents have to reach it from the other places, as forwarded emails, PDFs or a spreadsheet export, and someone has to check that none is missing.
Together
The same price sits in the sheet, the email, the contract, the payment link and the invoice. A person copies it between them, and a change in one place is not a change in the others.
ONE RECORD
Keep the price in one place
In Enlivy the deal does not get retyped. The price your client accepts in the proposal is the price on the contract, the first invoice and every renewal.
- Free plan, no card needed
- Packs priced per organization
- Tasks included
WHAT IT COSTS TO START
What each path asks of you
The by-hand path has no price. Its cost is the handovers, and you pay it in your own time.
By hand: nothing to buy
There is no subscription. Every new client means copying the price into the offer, the contract, the payment link and the invoice. Every renewal depends on someone remembering the date.
Enlivy: free, then per pack
The free plan includes 5 invoices, 3 proposals and 1 contract a month, and up to 5 leads at a time. A feature that reaches its limit is read-only until the 1st, unless you add the pack that lifts it.
Invoicing, Contracts and Billing Schedules cost $12.49 a month each, and Sales costs $24.99. See plans and pricing.
WHO IT FITS
When to stay, and when to move
Read the side that sounds like your business.
Stay on spreadsheets and email if
- You bill a few clients, and most jobs are one-off.
- A signed contract is not part of how you sell.
- Nothing renews, so no date needs remembering.
Enlivy fits you if
- You sell work over several conversations, then bill the same client again.
- You want the price in the proposal to carry to the contract and every invoice.
- You want clients to accept, sign and pay online, not through replies and attachments.
The by-hand path stops working when
- A renewal is missed because the date lived in someone's head.
- You cannot show which version of a contract a client agreed to.
- A second person starts sending offers, and the price list now exists twice.
SWITCHING
Moving from the by-hand path
You can move one client at a time. The spreadsheet, the old emails and the signed contracts stay where they are.
What you run today
- A client spreadsheet Clients, prices and renewal dates, copied into every other file
- Email Offers and answers, with the agreement somewhere in the thread
- Word or Google Docs, plus a PDF The contract, edited and sent as a file
- A Stripe payment link One payment at the price set in Stripe
What it becomes
Enlivy
- A lead, a proposal and a contract that share one price
- Recurring invoices at the accepted price, with the Billing Schedules pack
- A client portal where your clients find their documents
- An archive of documents for your accountant, for any period you choose
What stays where it is
- Your accountant's tool the books
Enlivy is not accounting software. Your accountant keeps the books where they do today, and the document export gives them what they need.
How the move works
- 1
Import your clients
Clients import from a spreadsheet. You add proposals and contracts in Enlivy.
- 2
Send one proposal
Pick a client you bill again and again, and send the proposal from Enlivy.
- 3
Follow it to the renewal
Your client accepts, signs and pays. The Billing Schedules pack issues each renewal at the same price.
TRY IT ON ONE CLIENT
Leave the spreadsheet where it is
Create an organization and run one client from proposal to paid invoice. Keep everything else as it is until you decide.
- Free plan, no card needed
- Packs priced per organization
- Tasks included
SPREADSHEETS AND EMAIL
Enlivy vs spreadsheets and email: common questions
Can I keep using spreadsheets and email?
Yes, if you bill a few clients and most jobs are one-off. A sheet and a mailbox cover that well. The by-hand path starts to cost you when the same client is billed again and again, when a contract has to be signed, or when more than one person sends offers.
What does a Stripe payment link not do?
A payment link collects a payment at the price set inside Stripe. It does not know which proposal your client accepted or which contract is behind the payment, and it does not decide what to charge next. In Enlivy, card payments run through your Stripe account, and the Billing Schedules pack issues each renewal at the accepted price.
What can a Word contract not show?
A Word or Google Docs file can be edited after it is sent, and the file does not record which version a client agreed to. In Enlivy, the contract text locks when the first party signs, so every signer signs the same text, and signing evidence is kept for each signature. Contracts are in the Contracts pack, and the free plan includes 1 contract a month.
Can I bring my clients from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Clients import from a spreadsheet. Proposals, contracts and invoices from other tools do not import, so you add them in Enlivy, one client at a time. Keep your sheet running until you decide.
Does Enlivy replace my accountant's tool?
No. Enlivy is not accounting software, and your accountant keeps the books where they do today. Enlivy exports your documents for the period you choose as one archive for your accountant, and the export is free on every plan.
What does it cost to start?
The free plan includes 5 invoices, 3 proposals and 1 contract a month, and up to 5 leads at a time. A feature that reaches its limit is read-only until the 1st. Invoicing, Contracts and Billing Schedules cost $12.49 a month each, and Sales costs $24.99. Packs are priced per organization, so a new teammate does not change the bill. The one priced seat is a Helpdesk agent after the first.