Is Chronum enough if I don't need contracts and proposals?

Yes. If your workflow is track time → bill clients → get paid, Chronum handles all of it. Contracts and proposals are separate concerns you can handle with dedicated tools or templates.

How does pricing compare to Bonsai?

Bonsai: $9–49/month depending on features. Chronum: free during beta, $5/month after with a 21-day free trial. You're not paying for a full business suite you don't use.

Does Chronum have a CRM?

No. We have clients and projects, but no CRM features like lead tracking or sales pipelines. If you need CRM, use a dedicated tool. If you just need to track billable work, Chronum is focused on that.

What about taxes and accounting?

Chronum generates invoices and tracks your earnings. Tax calculations and accounting are better handled by your accountant or dedicated accounting software. We integrate with what you already use (export coming soon).

No CRM to configure
No suite to learn
Free time tracking

Invoicing Without the CRM Bloat

Bonsai bundles contracts, proposals, CRM, accounting, and taxes into one suite. If you just need time tracking and invoicing, you're paying $9–49/month for features sitting unused.

Open Beta: Free while we polish the final detailsCreate Your First Invoice Free

Chronum activity screen — focused time tracking without CRM bloat as a Bonsai alternative

How It Works

1.
Track
One app, one purpose: record your work with a fast native timer. No contract templates to ignore. No CRM to configure.
2.
Organize
Projects and tasks, custom rates, multiple currencies. The essentials, nothing more.
3.
Bill
Turn tracked hours into professional PDF invoices. No proposal workflow required. No accounting suite to learn.

Why Freelancers Leave Bonsai

All-in-one often means too much.

Bonsai is impressive — contracts, proposals, CRM, accounting, taxes, banking, all in one platform. But many freelancers realize they only use 20% of the suite. The contract templates sit untouched. The CRM stays empty. The accounting features duplicate what their accountant already handles.

Chronum does less, intentionally. We focus on the core workflow: track time, generate invoices, get paid. If you need a full business suite, Bonsai is excellent. If you need a fast billing tool that stays out of your way, Chronum is built for you.

What Sets Chronum Apart

Key features that differentiate Chronum from Bonsai
Feature	Chronum	Bonsai
Multi-currency	Yes	Paid
PDF invoicing	Yes	Paid
Batch invoicing	Yes	No
Task-level rates	Yes	No

Multi-Currency Billing

Global Billing, Simple Interface

Bonsai charges extra for multi-currency on lower tiers. Chronum includes it free — set unique currencies per project and get automatic exchange conversions in your earnings dashboard.

Multi-currency billing in Chronum — included free without suite upsells

Historical Rates Preserved

Change Rates Without Chaos

Update your hourly rate anytime. Chronum preserves historical rates: past sessions keep their values while new rates apply to future work. Your billing stays accurate without manual fixes.

Rate history in Chronum keeping billing accurate across rate changes

Batch Invoice Generation

No Proposal Workflow Required

Bonsai's invoicing ties into proposals and contracts. Chronum's batch invoicing is standalone — select projects, generate invoices, done. Monthly billing in seconds, not minutes of navigating workflow steps.

Full Feature Comparison

Complete feature comparison between Chronum and Bonsai
Feature	Chronum	Bonsai
Pricing	Free (beta)	$9-49
Multi-currency	Yes	Paid
Rate history	Yes
PDF invoicing	Yes	Paid
Batch invoicing	Yes	No
Auto exchange rates	Yes	No
Task-level rates	Yes	No
Visual timeline	Yes	No
Desktop app	Mac/Win/Linux	No
Mobile app	Soon	Paid
Integrations	Soon	Paid
Contracts & proposals	No	Yes
CRM	No	Yes
Accounting	No	Yes

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready for focused billing?

Time tracking and invoicing — without the CRM, contracts, and accounting bloat.

Compare all features in our comparison hub or compare with Harvest, TMetric