Bloom.io is a well-known platform that provides businesses and individuals with the tools they need to manage their creative business including a powerful client relationship management tool.
It is an all-in-one platform that offers a range of features designed to make the process of building a managing a business as easy as possible, even for those without any technical expertise.
However, with so many business management tools available today, knowing which one to invest in can be challenging. And I speak from personal experience, running my freelance business since 2007! Every cent and minute counts.
This is why I have taken an in-depth look at Bloom.io to provide you with my honest first-hand review and other user’s feedback.
If you are a freelancer or solopreneur looking to efficiently manage your small business and grow, Bloom.io may just be an ideal tool for you.
Bloom.io Discount Coupon Code: justcreative20 – Save 20%
After posting this review, I got the attention of Bloom.io and they generously offered our readers a 20% discount.
Click here and use our coupon code ‘justcreative20‘ to save 20%.
My Bloom.io Review and Honest User Feedback 2024
After using Bloom.io for several months I now understand the pros and cons of this product… Here’s my quick ‘yes or no’ Bloom.io review to help you decide if it’s worth your time and money:
YES: Perfect for freelancers and solopreneurs
Bloom.io is a powerful and comprehensive business management tool that is highly recommended for freelancers and solopreneurs who want to streamline their workflow, improve productivity, and scale their business needs.
It offers a range of features such as invoicing and booking, project management, CRM, website portfolio, asset delivery, contracts, lead management, and more.
If you’re a freelancer or solopreneur looking for an all-in-one solution to manage and grow your business, Bloom.io is definitely worth trying.
NO: Not for medium or large teams / agencies
If you run a medium or large team or agency, Bloom.io may not be the best fit for you at the moment, as it is more focused on freelancers, small studios and solopreneurs.
While they plan to introduce multi-user capabilities in the future, it’s not available yet. If you need a tool that caters to a larger team or agency, you may want to explore other options that offer more robust features for collaboration and team management.
What is Bloom.io?
Bloom.io is an invoicing software, CRM and business management tool aimed at businesses and individuals who want an all-in-one solution.
Bloom.io has a range of features that make it stand out from other invoicing software. For example, it offers a powerful CRM that is incredibly easy to use.
The platform also offers a range of templates that you can customize to suit your needs. Additionally, Bloom.io offers a range of hosting options, meaning that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Key Features of Bloom.io – Overview
- Bloom.io is a comprehensive business management and growth toolset.
- Freelancers can use Bloom.io to streamline their workflow and boost productivity.
- With Bloom.io, freelancers can create professional invoices and manage their bookings.
- Bloom.io also offers project management tools that help freelancers stay organized and on track.
- The CRM feature allows freelancers to track their interactions with clients and keep important information in one place.
- Freelancers can create a website portfolio and showcase their work using Bloom.io.
- Asset delivery tools make it easy to send files and other materials to clients.
- Bloom.io includes contract templates that freelancers can use to protect themselves and their clients.
- Lead management tools help freelancers track potential new business opportunities.
- In addition to these features, Bloom.io offers many other tools and resources that freelancers can use to grow their small businesses.
A Free Invoice Generator For Freelancers
Bloom Invoicing is an all-in-one solution for freelancers looking to streamline their business management processes. With Bloom, you can create and send professional invoices with contracts in minutes.
This modern and customizable platform has set a new standard for how freelancers offering creative services invoice and receive payments.
Seven Reasons to Choose Bloom for Your Invoicing Needs:
- Professional Client Experience: Bloom ensures a seamless and professional experience for your clients.
- Keep More Earnings: Bloom allows you to bypass credit card fees with tipping and ACH payment options.
- Secure Payment Options: Bloom supports secure payment options like Stripe, Square, ACH, and Venmo.
- Eliminate Late Payments: With Bloom, you can eliminate the hassle of tracking down late payments.
- Dedicated Payment Page: Bloom offers a branded payment page for your small business to increase brand awareness.
- Pre-filled Templates: Bloom offers pre-filled templates that enable you to create invoices in minutes.
- Contracts: You can add contracts to invoices, which saves time and effort.
Additional Highlights of Bloom Invoicing:
Hey, did you know that Bloom offers some amazing features for free?
For starters, invoicing and booking are completely free! That’s right, you don’t have to pay anything to use these features on Bloom.
And that’s not all! Bloom also allows you to do so much more.
- Free Invoicing and Booking: Bloom does not charge for invoicing and booking features.
- Retainer Collection: Bloom allows you to collect a retainer for your services.
- Instant Financing: You can offer your clients instant 0% interest financing on their payments.
- Android and iOS Apps: Bloom’s mobile apps enable you to invoice on the go.
- Global Availability: Bloom is available in over 25 countries and supports 135+ different currencies.
- Tipping Feature: Bloom is introducing a tipping feature soon.
- Teams: You can now specify permissions for which features you’d like your team to view or modify.For example, you can have a team member help collaborate on projects, with zero visibility of the financials, such as quotes, invoices, and transactions.
Features of Bloom.io
Instant Booking
Bloom’s instant booking feature allows you to turn a week of back-and-forth emails into one easy-to-use booking form.
Scheduling
You can integrate your calendar, set your availability, and schedule events with clients using Bloom.
Here you can see Bloom’s calendar integration on my site, JUST Creative.
Project Management
Bloom helps you organize all details of your bookings, including contacts, invoices, payments, questionnaires, notes, asset delivery, and documents in one place.
Use Workflows to Increase Productivity
Bloom offers unique workflows for every kind of service you offer, including drag-and-drop task rearrangement, invoice status views, and task management completion checklists.
Automations
You can create custom automated emails for all of your business needs using Bloom.
Personalized Templates
Streamline client communication with custom variables and rules, date-based triggers, specialty-based rules, and sent email tracking.
Lead Management System
Bloom provides capture forms to automatically create new leads and track each opportunity.
Contract Signing
Bloom makes it easy for clients to sign contracts or legally-binding eSignature contracts.
CRM
Bloom allows you to track all client communication, associated projects, and client information in one place.
Website Portfolio
Bloom offers a website portfolio that is connected to your business management system.
Asset Delivery
You can manage your projects and deliver stunning galleries using Bloom.
Website Builder
As of September 5th 2023, you can build websites right within Bloom!
This platform now serves as a website builder tailored to the needs of freelancers, plus the essential functions like invoicing, booking, and contract management as mentioned above.
While Bloom shares some similarities with other website builders such as Squarespace or Wix, its primary focus is on catering to the freelance community. With over 100 site templates available for various freelancing categories, Bloom ensures diversity in design options. Furthermore, it allows users to create an unlimited number of websites, each with its own distinctive domains and branding, a valuable feature for those managing multiple businesses or areas of focus. The platform also supports multiple user logins.
What sets Bloom apart from other site builders is its robust e-commerce capabilities. Bloom websites offer product pages, tips and gratuity options, social media sales integration, coupon and gift card functionality, digital download support, real-time stock tracking, shipping integration, tracking code incorporation, and tools for store and marketing emails.
Notably, Bloom does not impose any platform transaction fees. Users can also leverage features like members-only content and content subscriptions, expanding the range of freelance opportunities available through Bloom.
For instance, a designer utilizing Bloom can easily showcase designer items through a standard store page, sell prints with the benefit of real-time stock tracking and shipping integration, and even monetize tutorial videos and classes by placing them behind a paywall. Wow!
Teams – You Can Now Specify Permissions
Update: January 31 2024
You can now specify permissions for which features you’d like your team to view or modify.
For example, you can have a team member help collaborate on projects, with zero visibility of the financials, such as quotes, invoices, and transactions.
Bloom.io User Feedback
To get an idea of how users feel about Bloom.io, I scoured the internet for user feedback.
Here’s what I found:
Positive feedback:
Many users praised Bloom.io for its ease of use, with several users stating that they were able to start optimizing their business workflow within hours.
The CRM was a particular highlight, with many users stating that it was incredibly intuitive and easy to use.
Users also appreciated the range of templates offered by Bloom.io, stating that they were able to find a design that suited their needs.
Additionally, several users praised the platform for its portfolio features, stating that it made it easy to set up a website and show off their work.
Check out this Reel from Chris Do on Bloom.io:
Negative feedback:
However, there were also some negative comments about Bloom.io. Some users criticized the platform for its limited customization options, stating that they were unable to fully customize their workflows.
Others criticized the platform for its limited SEO features, stating that it was difficult to optimize its portfolio for search engines.
Additionally, some users criticized the platform for its limited team member integration but I heard this is being worked on.
Bloom.io Pros & Cons
Pros
You get a lot more than you pay for.
Freelance enterprises may become quite complicated enterprises as they grow, needing the use of several tools and procedures.
Bloom addresses most of these issues (not all), so you only need to purchase one tool.
In addition, the payment is quite little when compared to the value you could get from it if you use it to develop and expand your firm.
Bloom places a strong emphasis on innovation.
While this tool initially focuses on addressing the fundamental requirements of a freelancing business, it also incorporates advanced features like workflows, automation, and asset delivery.
What I enjoy is that they not only add more features than usual but almost all of their features also differ in some way from what is typically available on the market.
For instance, asset delivery isn’t simply a “send and receive files” capability; it also includes configurable views, automatically generates contemporary templates, and is entirely centered on the client experience.
The tool is designed for freelancers and creatives.
To me, this is a huge plus for Bloom since it ensures that the product was created just for you and that it will continue to improve depending on what you need or will require even if freelancing changes.
This is pretty fascinating since the tool is attempting to meet your wants rather than you attempting to fit in some other tool made for a different market.
Cons
No email marketing
Email marketing is not included with Bloom. However, they do have email automation, templates, and triggers to help with client communication.
Lacks team collaboration (multi-user feature is on the way).
It’s important to keep in consideration that this tool currently does not allow for simultaneous usage by several users, although this feature may be added in the future.
Bloom CRM Reviews: What freelancers are saying about Bloom
Here are a few testimonials from freelancers who have used Bloom:
“Bloom is the new standard for how creative professionals grow their business”. – Chris Do, Content Creator
“Bloom is the ultimate “Business in a Box” that will save you an enormous amount of time”. – Jamie Brindle, Producer
“For anyone who wishes to grow and scale their creative business, Bloom is a no-brainer”. – Peter Hurley, Headshot Photographer
Bloom saves me tons of time. It takes the entire client journey and makes me look bloody professional”. – James Barnard, Logo Designer
Bloom Pricing Plans
- Free Plan (Limited to 3 Projects)
- Starter Plan is $13/month (Paid Yearly) or $17 (Paid Monthly) or $10.40 / month with 20% discount
- Standard Plan is $29/month (Paid Yearly) or $37 (Paid Monthly) or $23.20 / month with 20% discount
- Full-Serve Custom Plan – Variable
You can try Bloom for FREE using most of its features for three projects, with no hidden costs or catch.
And if you choose to upgrade to the Starter or Standard Plan, you can save 15% by paying yearly and that comes in at $13 or $29/month.
By opting for an annual payment, you can enjoy a discount equivalent to two months’ worth of subscription fees.
And with our 20% coupon below, this will bring the cost to just $10.40 or $23.20 / month. Bargain!
If you compare that to other notable website builder companies, it’s quite the deal especially considering you get everything else, all in one package!
- Bloom.io: $29/mo (Unlimited Plan) + $14/per website
- Webflow: $18–$212/mo
- Squarespace: $23–$65/mo
- Wix: $16–$159/mo
- Weebly: $13–$29/mo
- Format: $12–$36/mo
They also have a handy pricing comparison guide VS other services, comparing $161/month VS their $29/month.
You can get started for free and upgrade as you grow
With Bloom, you can start your project for free and upgrade your plan as your existing business grows.
This means you don’t have to worry about committing to a payment plan before you’re ready, and you can take your time to explore the platform and decide which features you need.
As you start to see success and need to expand your capabilities, you can easily upgrade your plan to access more advanced features and functionality.
This way, you can focus on building your growing business without being tied down by financial commitments. Bloom gives you the flexibility to choose the plan that’s right for you and adjust it as you need, so you can keep growing and scaling your business with ease.
Bloom io Alternatives: When you may need a Bloom alternative
While Bloom is a great project management tool, there may be situations where you need to consider alternatives such as Honeybook or Dubsado.
Here are a few reasons why you might need a Bloom alternative:
- Cost: While Bloom offers a free plan and affordable pricing for its premium plans, it may not fit within your budget or some of the small business owners.
- Features: Bloom may not have all the features you need for your specific projects, and you may need to look for a tool that offers more customization and flexibility.
- User Experience: The user interface of Bloom may not be intuitive for everyone, and some users may find it difficult to navigate and use effectively.
- Integration: Bloom may not integrate well with other tools that you are already using, and you may need to find an alternative that offers better integration capabilities.
- Support: While Bloom has a support team that is available to assist users, you may need a tool that offers more comprehensive and personalized support to meet your needs.
For more information on Bloom alternatives, read this guide: Honeybook vs Dubsado vs Bloom.
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My Bloom.io Review Conclusion
Bloom.io is a highly recommended tool for freelancers, independent artists, and any creative professional who needs to manage their business effectively.
It is also perfect for solopreneurs who want to streamline their workflow and improve their productivity. If you’re someone who uses multiple services to manage your business, Bloom.io can be an all-in-one solution that simplifies your workflow and saves you time.
Moreover, Bloom.io is suitable for businesses that offer productized services, as it offers an extensive range of features, such as invoicing and booking, project management, CRM, website portfolio, asset delivery, contracts, lead management, and more.
One of the best things about Bloom.io is the well-designed interface that makes it easy to use and navigate. Additionally, its pricing structure is flexible and affordable, making it accessible to freelancers and solopreneurs at all levels.
If you’re planning to scale your creative business from a freelancer to an agency in the future, Bloom.io can help you prepare for the transition by providing you with the tools and resources you need to manage and grow your freelance business efficiently.
Bloom.io Discount Coupon Code – Save 20%
As a reminder you can save 20% off Bloom.io. Click here and use our coupon code ‘justcreative20‘ to save 20%.
In summary, if you’re looking for a complete and user-friendly business management tool, I believe Bloom.io is an excellent choice that you should definitely consider.