Run your creative business from proposal to final payment
All-in-one software for photographers, designers, studios and freelancers. Hold the date with a deposit, bill by milestone, and get paid before you hand over the files — without re-typing the scope into a second app. Built in Canada, and our free plan is free forever.
Always-free plan. No credit card, no sales call to get started.
- One app
- proposal to payment
- Free forever
- on the free plan
- Built in Canada
- for Canadian creatives
Everything in one place
- Proposals & quotesScope, deliverables and pricing, approved in one tap.
- DepositsRequire it before the quote is accepted, so the date is real.
- ProjectsEvery quote, image, invoice and payment in one view.
- Milestone invoicesConcept, revision, final — converted from the quote.
- Payments & checkout linksCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer on the same link.
No storefront to build. No spreadsheet tracking who has paid.
The whole project, start to finish
One workflow: proposal, deposit, project, milestones, delivery, paid
Each step hands its work to the next one. Follow one brand identity project all the way down, and notice what never gets typed a second time.
- 1
Send the proposal
Scope, deliverables and pricing laid out clearly, sent as a link the same day you talk about the project.
Carries forward: client, scope, priced deliverables
- 2
Deposit holds the date
One tap approves it. Require the deposit before the quote is accepted, so the booking is real before you block off the week.
Carries forward: the approval and the deposit
- 3
Open the project
Built from the approved proposal, so the client and the agreed scope are already on it. Add the moodboard, the shot list and the files as they arrive.
Carries forward: the project, its files and its stages
- 4
Bill each milestone
Deposit on booking, balance on delivery, or split equally across concept, revision and final. The money moves at the same pace as the work.
Carries forward: what is invoiced and what is still owing
- 5
Share and deliver
A share link gives the client their own project portal — the current plan, what is approved, what is paid — instead of a six-week email thread.
Carries forward: the final balance
- 6
Get paid
Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer on the same link, deposited to your account in 1–3 business days. Reminders chase anything that goes late.
Project #P-204 · Brand identity, Tundra Coffee
Paid in full- Proposal #1188$6,200.00 · approved
- ClientTundra Coffee Roasters
- Milestones3 of 3 billed
- FilesMoodboard, 3 concepts, final kit
- Share linkLive · client portal
- Deposited$6,026.35
One record, six stages. Everything above is the same project — which is why nothing is typed twice.
Start freeSound familiar
You didn’t get into this to write invoices.
Creative work has a specific money problem: the scope moves, the client goes quiet, and somehow you’re always doing the work before you’ve seen a dollar. Deposits get skipped because asking is awkward, final payment drifts because the files already shipped and the whole thing is tracked across email, a notes app, and hope.
Most of it comes from the same thing: the proposal lives in one app, the files in another, the invoice somewhere else, and the project itself only in your head. Chronly is creative business software that keeps all of it on one record.
What Chronly replaces for a studio or freelancer
- The proposal template you keep re-savingQuotes
- The spreadsheet of who has paidProjects
- Six weeks of email threadsShare link
- A separate invoicing toolInvoices
- A monthly e-commerce bill for one productCheckouts
One login, one client list, one place the money and the work agree. Chronly connects to the accounting software you already use rather than replacing it.
Step 1 & 2 · Proposals and deposits
Send a proposal that holds the date
Build a professional quote with your scope, deliverables, and pricing laid out clearly. Your client can approve it online with a single click or you can require a deposit to be paid before the quote is accepted, so the booking is real before you block off the week.
Chronly tracks which quotes are sent, viewed, approved, or expired. No more wondering if they saw it — and up to three automatic follow-ups go out before a proposal lapses, so quoting software does the chasing instead of you.
- Scope in writing, before the work startsDeliverables, revision rounds and pricing on the record you both agreed to.
- You know when it was openedSent, viewed, approved or expired — visible at a glance.
- The deposit asks for itselfRequire it on approval and the awkward conversation never happens.
Brand identity, Tundra Coffee
Tundra Coffee Roasters · approved Mar 3
$1,860.00 deposit required to accept
Step 3 · Projects
Keep the whole project in one place
Use Jobs to pull every quote, image, invoice, and payment for a project into a single view. Create a Share Link so your client can see their own project portal instead of digging through a six-week email thread. The approved proposal becomes the project in one step, so the client, the scope and the agreed price are already on it.
Stages
- Concepts
- Delivered
- Revisions
- 2 of 2 used
- Final kit
- Sent Mar 21
- Booked window
- Mar 3 – Mar 21
Scope changes get added to the project, so an extra revision round becomes a line on the next invoice instead of unpaid work.
Files
- Proposal
- #1188 · accepted
- Concepts
- 3 routes, 18 files
- Invoices
- 3 · all paid
- Notes
- On every stage
Everything relevant in one place, so nobody digs through email for the brief or asks which version the client actually signed off.
Client portal
- Share link
- Live · no login
- They can see
- Plan, approvals, payments
- They can’t see
- Anything you didn’t share
- Updates
- Automatic
One link answers "where are we at?" without you writing a status email on a Sunday night.
Client
- Linked to
- Tundra Coffee
- Projects to date
- 4 since 2024
- Retainer
- Monthly · active
- Searchable
- By name or project
Every project stays on the client’s record, so next time they call you can see what you made, what you charged and how it went.
Step 4 · Milestone billing
Bill by milestone, not by hope
Deposit on booking, balance on delivery or equally across concept, revision, and final. Convert the approved quote into invoices and send them as each stage lands so that the money moves at the same pace as the work.
- Split the quote your way50/50, thirds, or a deposit plus the balance — the line items come with it.
- Reminders do the chasingBefore it is due and again after it goes late — 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, whatever you set.
- Paid before the files shipThe final invoice goes out with the delivery link, not two weeks after it.
- Retainers on repeatOngoing clients billed automatically on the schedule you set once.
Invoicing software for creatives that belongs to the same record as the proposal and the files — so the money and the project can never disagree.
Billing plan · Proposal #1188
$6,200.00 total- Deposit on bookingInvoice #3301 · paid Mar 3$1,860.00
- Concepts deliveredInvoice #3348 · paid Mar 12$2,170.00
- Final kit releasedInvoice #3392 · paid Mar 21$2,170.00
- Collected$6,200.00
Reminder schedule
- 3 days before dueFriendly heads-up
- 1 day overdueFirst nudge
- 7 days overdueSecond nudge
- 14 days overdueFinal notice
You keep the relationship. Chronly does the nudging.
Nice, you got paid
$2,170.00 is on its way
Card, wallet or bank transfer on the same link. Receipt sent automatically · 1–3 business days.
Step 5 & 6 · Delivery and payment
Get paid before you hand over the files
Convert approved proposals into invoices instantly. Accept online payments through credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major card brands — making it easy for clients to pay quickly.
Chronly tracks overdue and unpaid invoices automatically and sends reminders so you don’t have to. Funds are deposited directly to your account within 1–3 business days through our payment processor.
- Sell prints, packages, and sessions with a linkA mini-session, a print, a preset pack or a bundle — dropped into a DM, a story or an email. No storefront to build, no monthly e-commerce bill.
- Gear, software, and travel tracked as you goForward receipts for lenses, subscriptions, prints and props to your Chronly attachment inbox, and track the mileage to a shoot.
- Your logo, your colours, your typographyFor creative businesses this matters more than most — the paperwork is part of the portfolio.
Payments
Simple, competitive payment processing
Chronly lets your customers pay securely using major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers directly from invoices and checkouts.
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Amex
- Discover
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Bank transfer
Card payments
2.79% + $0.15*
Your preferred rate on every Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, and Google Pay payment.
Pay-as-you-go: 2.9% + $0.30
Bank transfers
1% $1 min · capped at $5*
Built for big invoices — a $1 minimum applies, and your fee never climbs past $5, making it an affordable way to collect large transactions.
Pay-as-you-go: 1% bank transfer ($1 min)
* Preferred rates — 2.79% + $0.15 on cards and the $5 bank-transfer cap — require an active Chronly subscription. Interchange-plus pricing is also available for larger businesses or higher volumes — contact us to discuss options.
What you get
Creative business software that covers the whole studio
Proposals and quotes
Scope, deliverables, revision rounds and pricing, sent as a link your client approves in a tap — with an optional deposit.
Deposits that hold the date
Require payment before a quote can be accepted, so the week you blocked off is actually booked.
Projects with everything on them
Briefs, moodboards, concepts, the proposal, the invoices and every note, kept where you can find them a year later.
A client portal you can share
Send a link showing the current plan, what is approved and what is paid. No login, no app, nothing they shouldn’t see.
Milestone and recurring invoices
Convert a proposal, bill a delivered stage, or put a retainer client on a schedule that runs itself.
Checkout links for products
Mini-sessions, prints, preset packs and bundles sold from a link you paste anywhere.
Automatic follow-ups
Up to three nudges on a quote before it lapses, and reminders on any invoice that goes late.
Expenses and mileage
Gear, subscriptions, props and the drive to a shoot logged as you go, so tax time is a report rather than a shoebox.
Branded paperwork
Quotes, invoices and receipts that carry your logo and colours, because the paperwork is part of the portfolio.
Fits what you already run
One app for the work, connected to your accounting
Already using accounting software or an existing website? Chronly integrates with third-party systems to streamline your workflows without disrupting how your business already runs — it replaces the tools you juggle for proposals, projects, invoicing and payments, not your books.
- Sage
- QuickBooks
- Your portfolio site
Proudly Canadian
Built in Canada, for Canadian creatives
Chronly is built right here in Canada and designed for the Canadian market, from tax rules to the way you get paid. Made in Prince George, BC, with real-person support and your data stored in Canada.
- Made in Prince George, BC
- Real person support
- Data stored in Canada
Start free. Free forever, not free for 14 days.
Sign up, send your first proposal today, and pay nothing until you decide a paid plan is worth it. No credit card and no sales call to get started, and our free plan stays free: you only pay card processing when a customer pays you online.
Questions
Creative business software questions, answered
- Can I require a deposit before a client books me?
Yes. Set the quote so the deposit has to be paid before it can be accepted. The client approves and pays on the same link, and the booking is real before you block off the week.
- How does milestone billing work?
Convert the approved proposal into invoices and send them as each stage lands — deposit on booking, balance on delivery, or split equally across concept, revision and final. The line items and taxes come from the quote, and any deposit already paid is applied.
- Do I get a client-facing project view?
Yes. A share link gives your client their own project portal showing the current plan, what is approved and what is paid — no login and nothing you didn’t choose to share.
- Can I sell prints or sessions without a website?
Yes. Create a checkout link for a mini-session, a print, a preset pack or a bundle and drop it into a DM, a story or an email. No storefront to build and no monthly e-commerce bill.
- Will it chase late payments for me?
Chronly tracks overdue and unpaid invoices and sends reminders before a payment is due and again after it goes late — 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, whatever you set. You keep the relationship; Chronly does the nudging.
- Is there really a free plan?
Yes — an always-free plan, not a trial. Sign up with no credit card, send proposals and invoices, and move to a paid plan only when the better processing rates and the extra features are worth it to you.
- Do I have to stop using my accounting software?
No. Chronly replaces the separate tools you use for proposals, projects, invoicing and payments, and connects to accounting software like Sage and QuickBooks rather than replacing your books.
- Who is this for?
Photographers and videographers, designers and illustrators, studios and agencies, writers and web builders — any creative business with clients, scope and paperwork.
Proposal → deposit → project → milestones → delivery → paid
Spend less time on invoices. Spend more time making things.
Start free and run your next project end to end in Chronly — or book a demo and we will walk through your workflow with you.
Always-free plan · No credit card required · Built in Canada