Keeping track of everything and meeting clients’ expectations can be difficult when planning weddings and organizing events. This can become even harder when you have other things to deal with. HoneyBook is a wedding planning business management tool that can assist you and make your process more productive. The platform offers a variety of features to assist wedding professionals in managing their business.

While HoneyBook has become a powerful tool to integrate into a business plan for wedding event management, many users don’t fully know how to utilize its potential. In today’s article, we will explore the most common mistakes made and share HoneyBook tips so you can fix them and get the most out of the software.

Not fully setting up their account

One of the first mistakes that HoneyBook users make is not fully setting up their accounts. This means not completing their profile, adding their branding, connecting their bank account, and setting up their workflows. By skipping these steps, you are missing out on some of the key HoneyBook features and benefits, such as:

• Maintaining a steady and professional impression through your profile 
• Quick and easy online payments
• Learning to automate your tasks, lowering your workload
• Gaining access to analytics that can transform your business strategy

You can avoid this mistake by taking the time to go through the HoneyBook setup guide and making sure you have completed all the steps. More of a visual learner? You can also watch some tutorials and webinars to learn more about how to use HoneyBook effectively.

Having multiple projects for one client

Another mistake that HoneyBook users make is having multiple projects for one client. This can create confusion and clutter in your dashboard and your client portal. It can also make it harder to keep track of your invoices, contracts, and payments. Instead of creating a new project for every service or package you offer a client, you should use the add-on feature in HoneyBook. This allows you to add additional items to an existing project, such as:

• Extra hours or sessions
• Additional deliverables out of original project scope
• Upgrades or changes to your packages

This allows you to compile everything per client rather than per project/service. In turn, it keeps you organized and less overwhelmed by your task list. 

Using the pipeline for tasks instead of stage

Often, first-timers on the platform make the mistake of using the pipeline for tasks instead of a  stage. The pipeline is a visual representation of your projects and their status. It helps you see where your projects are in your workflow and what actions you need to take next. However, some users misuse the pipeline by creating stages that are actually tasks. Here are a few examples of what that may look like:

• Send contract
• Send invoice
• Send questionnaire
• Send gallery
• Set up client profile
• Have a consulting session
• And so on….

You can see how this can quickly add up to many stages, resulting in a messy and inefficient pipeline. Instead, you should use the tasks feature in HoneyBook to create and assign tasks to yourself or your team members. Here is an example of what a workflow with stages instead of tasks may look like: 

• Lead
• Booked
• In progress
• Completed

Review your pipeline and see if you can simplify and streamline your stages. You can also customize your pipeline to suit your business needs and preferences. Remember, the expectation of using a wedding planning business management tool is to take some of the heat off of you. Automate your workflows properly when you are first setting up so you can let the software take it from there.

Creating a proposal or invoice in the template sections 

A fourth mistake that HoneyBook users make is creating a client proposal or invoice in the template sections and not inside the client portal. The template sections allow you to create and save templates for your proposals, invoices, contracts, brochures, and emails. They are meant to be used as a starting point for your client communication, not as the final product. If you create a proposal or invoice in the template sections, you cannot send it to your client or receive payments through the platform, keeping you from key HoneyBook features and benefits. 

Instead, you should create a proposal or invoice inside the client portal, where you can manage all your client communication and transactions. This allows you to send your proposal or invoice to your client via email or a shareable link. It also lets you track when your client views, signs, or pays your proposal or invoice and sends reminders and follow-ups to your client automatically.

Not embedding a contact form on the website

Another common mistake that HoneyBook users make is not adding a contact form on their website. A contact form can help businesses collect necessary information from potential clients, such as their name, email, event date, and budget. Also, contact forms allow you track any incoming inquiries so you can respond quickly and avoid losing any possible clients. Therefore, it’s essential that businesses don’t miss out on a contact form on their website. You can get more leads and inquiries with a bit of extra work. Over time, these contacts and leads will lead to a successful business!

Getting Started with HoneyBook Today

As a robust wedding planning business management tool, HoneyBook offers numerous tools to help streamline your operations, improve client interactions, and grow your business. You can leverage all of its abilities by learning more about the platform’s features and avoiding the common mistakes we examine today. 

If you want to make the most of HoneyBook’s features and avoid common pitfalls, you can trust Boda Bliss to help you integrate it into your wedding planning business. Contact us today and let’s get started!