FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
A CRM for photographers. Every business you run, one login.
Aventide is a CRM for photographers with every business you run under one login, each with its own brand, client portals and Stripe account. Clients book, sign and pay; the money goes to your Stripe, with no Aventide fee. HoneyBook offers several businesses only on Premium, $129 a month billed monthly (October 2026); Aventide includes them from $39 a month.
IN YOUR WORDS
What do you need to book clients and get paid?
"Some let you take a deposit, but it's clunky and optional, so people skip it."
Minh Huynh, who builds a booking tool, on what trainers, coaches and photographers told him.
"high fees (both the subscription and credit card fees, and you aren't able to opt of of accepting credit cards)."
Sinead, in a one-star Trustpilot review of HoneyBook, July 22, 2026 (trade not stated).
"my biggest problem is the client-side portal isn't evolving with our needs."
Byron Honea, HoneyBook community forum, April 30, 2026 (trade not stated).
None of the three is about the photography itself. Each is about the stretch between the inquiry and the shoot: taking the deposit, what each payment costs you, and what your client sees.
STEP ONE
Booking software that takes the deposit
For portraits, headshots and mini sessions, share your booking page and let clients pick a time. Ask your intake questions as they book (the location, who's in the photos) and take the full fee or a deposit at booking through your own Stripe account; Aventide adds no fee of its own. Clients get an email confirmation and can reschedule or cancel within the rules you set. A consult call gets a Zoom or Google Meet link.
STEP TWO
Weddings: the proposal, the contract, the deposit
For a wedding or a commercial job, Sidekick, the AI in Aventide, can draft the proposal from your consult notes; you read it, change what you want and send it. Then send the contract for e-signature: you countersign, and the client signs on a page in your branding. If the contract asks for a deposit, signing queues the deposit invoice for your approval. Balance invoices, payment tracking and QuickBooks sync sit in the same place.
STEP THREE
Each client's portal, under the right brand
Each client gets a portal in your branding, holding the documents and files you share with them, so the timeline and the shot list aren't buried in email. If you shoot weddings under one name and family portraits under another, add each as its own business. Each keeps its own clients, branding, client portals and Stripe account, and you switch between them from one login. Starter ($39 a month) and Pro ($99) both include unlimited businesses.
QUESTIONS
