We know getting started with a new system can be overwhelming—learning all new terminology, platform navigation, icons—and then you still have to run your business! To make like a little easier, we've broken down some common terms and icons you might find as you're getting to know HoneyBook.

Images or documents created outside of HoneyBook that can be included in emails to clients. Attachments can be added to your document library for easy access, or uploaded on the fly whenever you see the paper clip icon. Files you create in HoneyBook are not considered attachments. More on adding attachments here.

Automations allow you to automate (duh) tasks in your project's lifecycle, automatically sending out emails or files at the cadence of your choice—so you don't have to remember to. They can be automatically triggered via the contact form, or applied individually to projects.

Mail merge, mass email; call it what you will! Batch emails allow you to send one email to a group of contacts, but ensures that each email delivered to each contact individually. More on batch emails here.

More project-focused than batch emails, bulk emails allow you to select who your email goes to by letting you choose up to 100 projects at once; then, all participants in the selected projects will receive the communication, and the emails will be tracked in the activity feeds of each selected project. More on bulk emails here.

The first stage a project can be in. When a project is in this stage, it has been created—either manually by you, or automatically via a contact form you've installed—but no other action has been taken. As soon as you send your first email or file, your project will more to the next stage.

Your library allows you to store images or documents (JPG, PNG, PDF, CSV, XLSX, etc.) directly in HoneyBook. Once they're in your library, you can easily access them to attach to emails or build your HoneyBook files. More on building out your library here.

These are the contacts that you add to your projects—likely your client(s), but they could also be vendors you're working on the project with. All participants within a workspace will receive all communication—emails and files—that are created and sent within that workspace. 

Your project pipeline represents the lifecycle of your projects, and give you a bird's eye view of where all your projects stand. It's made up of various stages that your projects will move their way through.

A generic term in the real world, but a foundational element of HoneyBook—they are the containers that hold everything related to a particular job/event/project. When you receive a new lead, you will always begin by creating a project, as all emails and files will need to be sent from within projects.

These represent where your project is in its lifecycle, and help you track its progress. For example, all projects will begin in the inquiry stage, and then will move their way through the following stages based on actions you or your clients have taken.

Templates allow you to create the framework for files, email messaging, or pricing packages that you may use frequently. When you create templates, you can quickly drop them into communications with your clients (instead of needing to redo/copy and paste the same stuff over and over!). From there, you can make any edits you need without affecting the original template.

When you create a project, you automatically create a workspace—it's where you'll manage all your client communications and other project-related tasks. A project can, however, contain multiple workspaces. Each workspace can contain a totally unique set of participants, files, payments, and communication threads via the activity feed. 

Smart files are HoneyBook's version of online business files—but smarter. If you’re familiar with HoneyBook’s legacy files, smart files have all of the capabilities you know and love, in addition to tons of added functionality.

These enhanced files can be a single page or an entire experience. You can combine multiple parts of your process—such as company information, service selection, an invoice, a contract—to share with your clients all at once. The end result is a seamless experience for your clients and booking with even less back-and-forth.

Plus, like your legacy files, you can save smart files as templates to have your commonly-used content and compositions on hand whenever you create new projects.

Each smart file is made up of one or more pages, which you can use to organize information into user-friendly chunks. A page may have text, images, videos, questions, service selections, an invoice, a contract, along with a button to move on to the next steps on the following page.

Each page of a smart file contains one or more blocks. There are two types of blocks:

Blocks are just what they sound like—building blocks for smart files. We’ll go deeper into the types of blocks below.

Content blocks are pieces of your smart files that contain any combination of content—text, images, questions, videos, dividers, and/or your company information.

Layouts are pre-set combinations of content. Whenever you’re adding a new content block to a smart file, you’re able to select an existing layout to quickly pull in a format of your choice. Then, you can drop in your own content without needing to design a block completely from scratch.

Content blocks are made of smaller elements. There are five types of elements:

Company info blocks are special types of content blocks that contain your logo (image), business details (text), and any social media links.

Action blocks are pieces of your smart files that prompt a client to take a certain action to move through the file. There are three types of action blocks, which you can mix and match within a single smart file, or across multiple files, to combine parts of your process:

Adding a services block allows you to showcase the items or services you offer, plus your pricing if you choose. You can make this block view-only if you’re sending a pricing guide or you’ve previously discussed what your client is purchasing, or you can allow your clients to select what they’d like to purchase if you want more of an interactive brochure feel.

Adding a contract block to a smart file will allow you to add content like your standard contract text and legally-binding signature lines.

An invoice & pay block allows you to include details about your pricing and items or services, a payment plan (single invoice or recurring invoice), and a place for clients to submit payment via online credit card or ACH.

An item is part of a services block. When you’re working on a smart file, you can add items to a services block on the fly, or use pre-saved package templates to group items or services together—whatever makes sense to you!

A sub-item is a smaller item or service that is part of a larger umbrella package. When working in a services block, click Add sub-item to add one to a package.

A clickable menu—there's more under there!

Allows you to drag-and-drop to rearrange items.

Used to duplicate/make a copy. 

Click to customize!

Click to edit.

Opens your image library, or allows you to upload an image on the fly.

Add an item, service, section, etc.

Settings/preferences for the section you're viewing.

Delete selection.

Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!