Rafiki vs Bonsai vs HoneyBook: payments and workflows for modern agencies

1. Who this guide is for

This page is written for agencies, studios, and service businesses that:

• Work with flexible teams, subcontractors, and micro-agencies on shared projects
• Bill clients across currencies while paying collaborators in South Africa, LATAM, and beyond
• Need invoicing logic that matches real life project splits and revenue share
• Want fast, affordable settlement and a simple, lightweight workflow rather than a heavy back office stack

It also applies to small collectives, boutique consultancies, and specialist shops that assemble custom teams per client or campaign.

2. At a glance: Rafiki vs Bonsai vs HoneyBook

In simple terms:

• Bonsai is a strong fit for solo freelancers who want proposals, contracts, and basic invoicing in one place.
• HoneyBook is popular with creative and event businesses as a client CRM, booking, and invoicing tool.
• Rafiki is built for project based, flexible teams that need multi party invoicing and very fast, affordable payments across borders.

Rafiki acts like a modern fintech stack and a project workflow in one. It is ideal when you need both clean payments and collaboration in the same lightweight product.

3. Platform comparison

Bonsai and HoneyBook are strong choices for solo providers and small teams working mostly in one country. Rafiki is designed for agencies and flexible teams that share work and revenue across countries and currencies, especially into South Africa and LATAM.

4. How Rafiki is different to Bonsai and HoneyBook

Rafiki combines modern fintech rails with project workflows in a single, lightweight product. It is built for teams that need both speed and structure.

4.1 Project based and multi party by design

• Create projects that mirror real client work, with scopes, roles, and revenue or cost splits.
• Add freelancers, micro-agencies, and partners into the same project.
• Use built in split and merge logic so one client payment can be shared across the full team automatically.

4.2 Fast and affordable cross border payments

• Use Rafiki to move funds from the US, UK, or EU into South Africa and LATAM quickly and at predictable cost.
• Benefit from low percentage transaction fees and near instant settlement between Rafiki wallets.
• Off ramp into local currencies such as ZAR and major LATAM currencies through local rails.

4.3 Invoicing logic that matches flexible teams

• Issue a single invoice to the client and let Rafiki handle downstream contractor payments.
• Support retainers, milestones, and revenue share in the same system.
• Keep a clean ledger that connects invoices, approvals, and payments per project.

4.4 Lightweight and simple to adopt

• Rafiki focuses on the essentials: projects, invoices, and payments.
• It does not require a heavy CRM or back office rebuild.
• You can start with one client or one project and scale from there.

5. Where Bonsai and HoneyBook fit

Bonsai and HoneyBook are strong products when your main challenge is managing direct client relationships and basic invoicing, rather than complex payment flows.

5.1 Bonsai strengths

• Proposals, contracts, and invoicing for individual freelancers and small teams.
• Good for people who sell their own services directly to clients in a few markets.
• Helps consolidate contracts, forms, and invoicing in one place.

5.2 HoneyBook strengths

• Client CRM, booking, and workflow for creative, event, and wedding businesses.
• Useful for tracking enquiries, bookings, and client communication.
• Integrated invoicing and payments for domestic or simple client relationships.

Both tools become less natural fits when you have several collaborators on the same engagement, or when you pay teams in South Africa and LATAM from clients in the US, UK, or EU.

6. Workflow comparison

6.1 Typical Bonsai or HoneyBook workflow

• Proposals and contracts are created in the tool.
• Invoices go to the client and payments are collected.
• Subcontractor and partner payments are handled manually in bank tools or other apps.
• Project margins and multi party splits are tracked in spreadsheets.

6.2 Rafiki workflow for flexible, project based teams

• Create a project in Rafiki with the client, collaborators, and agreed splits.
• Log and approve time and deliverables for each contributor.
• Issue one invoice to the client.
• Receive one payment.
• Let Rafiki route everyone’s share in their chosen currency with low transaction fees.
• Use the Rafiki ledger as your source of truth for project margin and payouts.

7. Example scenarios

7.1 Global micro-agency collective

• A small group of strategists, designers, and engineers operates as a collective.
• They have clients in the US and Europe but team members in South Africa and LATAM.
• They use Rafiki to bill clients in USD or EUR and pay collaborators in local currencies.
• Everyone sees their share of each project clearly, without manual calculations.

7.2 Creative studio moving from solo to team based work

• A studio that started with HoneyBook begins to subcontract specialist talent abroad.
• Coordinating splits and paying several collaborators per project becomes difficult.
• They keep HoneyBook for lead capture but move project billing and payments onto Rafiki.

7.3 Agency paying a network of South African and LATAM partners

• An agency runs campaigns using local production partners in South Africa and LATAM.
• Clients pay retainers in USD or EUR.
• Rafiki routes payments to each partner with low FX cost and clear splits per campaign.

8. Frequently asked questions

Is Rafiki a replacement for Bonsai or HoneyBook?

Rafiki can replace parts of Bonsai or HoneyBook workflows for teams that are beyond solo work and need multi party, cross border payments. Some teams keep Bonsai or HoneyBook for client CRM or proposals and use Rafiki for project based billing and settlement.

Who should choose Rafiki first?

Choose Rafiki first if you manage flexible teams, subcontractors, or micro-agencies and if many of your collaborators are in South Africa or LATAM. Rafiki gives you fast, affordable payments and invoicing logic that fits how these teams work.

Can I keep Bonsai or HoneyBook and add Rafiki?

Yes. Many teams keep their existing CRM and proposal tools and use Rafiki as the financial and workflow layer for multi party projects and cross border payments.

How is Rafiki different from a standard payment processor?

Standard processors move money. Rafiki connects projects, approvals, invoices, and settlement in one place. It understands that several people or companies may need to be paid from one client invoice.

Is Rafiki suitable for solo freelancers?

Solo freelancers can use Rafiki, especially if they are paid across borders. However, Rafiki becomes most valuable when there are several collaborators on the same project or when payments need to flow into South Africa and LATAM at scale.

9. Next steps

If you are building a flexible, project based team and want both modern fintech rails and simple workflows, Rafiki can sit at the centre of your operating model.

• Use Rafiki to run projects with shared revenue, multi party invoices, and cross border payouts.
• Keep Bonsai or HoneyBook where they work well for CRM and proposals, and layer Rafiki underneath for payments and settlement.
• Use Rafiki Talent Services if you also want to access vetted fractional specialists and micro-agencies.