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Why are my clients not required to complete every step of a proposal?

  • July 22, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 23 views
Miranda Kelton
Explorer

I’ve just discovered a big issue that kind of blows my mind - apparently, according to a member of the Honeybook support team, “there isn’t a feature that forces a client to complete every step of a file”. I have my proposals set up so that clients view a recap of their Invoice, then sign their contract, then pay their invoice. I have been having an issue where certain clients have been skipping signing their contract, even though their contract signature is marked as required. It is a big issue for me to receive large sums of money without this contract being signed first so that the client is agreeing to a legally binding contract. 

Honeybook support’s answer was to put the “Contract” step before the “Invoice” recap step, with the “Payment” page being the third and final step. This makes no sense from a customer service perspective. Would you want to open a file and immediately be forced to sign a long contract without first seeing a recap of the services you will be receiving and the amount you would be paying for them? I know I wouldn’t. 

My process for all of my proposals is to have the first page be the Invoice, the second page the Contract, & the final page the Payment page. 

Honeybook, PLEASE fix this issue. This has legal ramifications and it is confusing & annoying for both me and my clients. There is absolutely no reason that someone should be able to pay me large amounts of money without being required to sign a contract before submitting payment - no exceptions.

Screenshots attached of my conversation about this issue with a Honeybook Support Team member - I am really shocked & disappointed that something like this could fall through the cracks here at Honeybook! 

Best answer by Alicia Bauer

​@Miranda Kelton - Thanks so much for bringing this up, this is definitely an important conversation to have.

I have my proposals set up the same way: Invoice recap first, followed by the Contract, and then the Payment page. I completely agree that it makes more sense for clients to see what they’re agreeing to pay before being asked to sign anything.

That said, I’ve run into this issue a couple of times too. To help avoid confusion, I always clarify in the email that sends the proposal that the project isn’t officially booked until both the contract is signed and the retainer is paid. Most of my clients do complete both steps, but on the rare occasion one doesn’t, I simply resend the proposal with a gentle reminder to sign the contract in order to move forward.

It’s definitely not a perfect system, and I’d love to see HoneyBook implement a true required step progression—especially for legal peace of mind. If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend submitting this as a feature request in the Ideas Section so it gets more visibility. 

Fingers crossed we see this improved in a future update!

    3 replies

    Alicia Bauer
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    • Alicia Bauer
    • Newcomer
    • Answer
    • July 25, 2025

    ​@Miranda Kelton - Thanks so much for bringing this up, this is definitely an important conversation to have.

    I have my proposals set up the same way: Invoice recap first, followed by the Contract, and then the Payment page. I completely agree that it makes more sense for clients to see what they’re agreeing to pay before being asked to sign anything.

    That said, I’ve run into this issue a couple of times too. To help avoid confusion, I always clarify in the email that sends the proposal that the project isn’t officially booked until both the contract is signed and the retainer is paid. Most of my clients do complete both steps, but on the rare occasion one doesn’t, I simply resend the proposal with a gentle reminder to sign the contract in order to move forward.

    It’s definitely not a perfect system, and I’d love to see HoneyBook implement a true required step progression—especially for legal peace of mind. If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend submitting this as a feature request in the Ideas Section so it gets more visibility. 

    Fingers crossed we see this improved in a future update!

    Alicia, Brand and Web Designer + Honeybook Pro
      Miranda Kelton
      Explorer

      ​@Miranda Kelton - Thanks so much for bringing this up, this is definitely an important conversation to have.

      I have my proposals set up the same way: Invoice recap first, followed by the Contract, and then the Payment page. I completely agree that it makes more sense for clients to see what they’re agreeing to pay before being asked to sign anything.

      That said, I’ve run into this issue a couple of times too. To help avoid confusion, I always clarify in the email that sends the proposal that the project isn’t officially booked until both the contract is signed and the retainer is paid. Most of my clients do complete both steps, but on the rare occasion one doesn’t, I simply resend the proposal with a gentle reminder to sign the contract in order to move forward.

      It’s definitely not a perfect system, and I’d love to see HoneyBook implement a true required step progression—especially for legal peace of mind. If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend submitting this as a feature request in the Ideas Section so it gets more visibility. 

      Fingers crossed we see this improved in a future update!

      Thanks for the support and the suggest, Alicia! I will definitely add it in the feature request section.

        Autumn Bessire Tattenham

        Yes! This is such an important fix that is needed! I need the retainer PAID and the contract SIGNED before clients submit. Please, Honeybook, help us!

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