Welcome to HoneyBook! We're so excited to have you on board.
We want to make this transition as smooth as possible. HoneyBook has tons of features that make life easier for our members— that's the goal, after all—but where should you start? GOOD NEWS: you'll have your answer by the time you get to the end of this article!
If you’d like a visual walkthrough, check out our webinar below.
3 things all new members should know
What is HoneyBook?
HoneyBook is a clientflow management solution. That means we help you create, track, share, and organize all of your client communications from inquiry through the end of the job. Some of our most loved tools include scheduling, invoicing, contracting, and, of course, collecting payments!
Complimentary file transformation
All new members have access to our complimentary file transformation service. Send us your existing files with contract, invoice, pricing, and questionnaire info, and we'll build them into your account as dynamic smart templates!
What if I'm just starting out?
No problem! While you likely won't require account setup help, we highly recommend starting in the Template Gallery as a jumping off point to get inspired so you never have to build from scratch.
5 tools to set up first
As a photographer, there are 5 areas where you'll want to focus your energy when initially setting up your account: company settings, the contact form, templates, scheduling, and projects & booking.
Consider dedicating an afternoon to check these steps off—afterwards, you’ll be able to communicate with (and book!) clients with confidence.
Company Settings
1. Upload your logo and brand imagery: This will allow your branding to be front and center when you communicate with clients.
2. Customize your project types: These are the categories of your work and what services you offer. Creating custom project types allows you to easily organize your clients and jobs in HoneyBook, and supercharge your automations.
3. Connect your bank account: Make sure we know where to send your funds when you get paid through HoneyBook.
Scheduling
4. Connect your external calendar: This will pull your external calendar events into HoneyBook, ensuring your session availability is right and you never have to worry about double booking.
5. Create your sessions: These can represent anything from consult calls or video chats, to your actual photography sessions.
6. Decide where toshare your sessions: Consider adding your session links to email templates, inside files, as redirect links for files, or your contact form. Simply copy the session link and paste it where you'd like so clients can access your availability and book time.
Templates
7. Customize your templates: Templates are the pre-saved versions of your files—they’re one of the greatest efficiencies HoneyBook has to offer. Whenever you need to share a file with a client, you can start with a template, make any project-specific edits, then quickly send it out.
To access your templates, select Tools > My Templates.
You’ll notice that we’ve already added in a number of sample templates to get you started—feel free to build off of these and customize to your liking. (And, if you’ve used our complimentary file setup service, those will be here, too.)
You can also check out the Template Gallery for ideas or quick places to start.
Or, if you’d prefer, you can always start a template from scratch by clicking Create New.
Contact Form
8. Customize the HoneyBook contact form: The contact form is a widget that can be customized and embedded on your company website, allowing you to gather information from potential clients—name, contact info, what they’re interested in booking you for, etc.
Don't forget to include the "project type" question from the suggested question list, with all of the new categories you created in Step 2!
9. Install the HoneyBook contact form: Set up your contact form to pull leads straight from your website into HoneyBook as projects, so you don't have to manually add every single job.
No website? No problem! Try sharing your contact form direct link via SMS, social media, or anywhere else you get inquiries from instead.
Projects & Getting Paid
10. Create a project: The first step to communicating with a client is adding a project. Projects are the folders that contain all of the files, communication, and other details related to a job.
11. Send a test file: To make sure you’re confident in the client experience, send yourself a test smart file before you debut it to a client.
Consider sending a test bookable smart file, so you’re familiar with how clients sign and pay.
Cha-Ching! Now, you can confidently send invoices, collect e-signatures and payments, and even operate your business on-the-go using our mobile app. Out of all the tools we’ve discussed above, the uncontested, most-loved feature among photographers and independents alike is our “cha-ching” notification when payments roll in!
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!