honeybook is built for freelancers. your kitchen runs on a different playbook.
honeybook is a great tool for photographers, designers, and consultants. it does client management, proposals, contracts, and invoicing well. a lot of small catering operations end up there because it's accessible and affordable.
but you're a food and beverage operator, not a freelancer. honeybook has no concept of food costs, recipes, ingredients, allergens, or kitchen operations. you end up building workarounds — custom fields to track costs, spreadsheets for recipes, another system for inventory. it adds up in both money and time.
olldae is built specifically for the way kitchens and bars work. your recipes connect to your catering costs. your inventory drives your purchase lists. allergens are tracked automatically. your team gets tools made for their actual job.
side by side.
| feature | olldae | honeybook |
|---|---|---|
| client management | ||
| proposals + contracts | ✓ | ✓ |
| online payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| client portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| email / client communication | automated reminders | ✓ full CRM |
| what caterers actually need | ||
| food costing per recipe | ✓ | — |
| recipe library + ingredient tracking | ✓ | — |
| inventory management | ✓ | — |
| allergen tracking (EU 14 + US 9) | ✓ | — |
| two-layer catering costing | ✓ | — |
| purchase list by supplier | ✓ | — |
| service mode for kitchen + bar staff | ✓ | — |
| role-based team access | ✓ 5 roles | — |
| pricing | ||
| starting price | $49/mo | $19–79/mo |
| catering + operations included | ✓ purpose-built | workarounds only |
| free trial | ✓ 14 days, no card | ✓ 7 days |
honeybook + the tools you still need.
what you get with olldae
that honeybook doesn't have.
different tools for different operators.
honeybook fits service-based freelancers — photographers, designers, consultants, coaches. it's excellent at client communication, proposal templates, and contract e-signatures for project-based work. some food caterers end up here because the low price point and clean UI are attractive.
olldae fits food and beverage operators. every feature is designed for kitchens and bars — ingredient-level costing, allergen flagging, service mode for staff, inventory with par alerts. olldae knows what a recipe is. honeybook doesn't.
if you've been using honeybook as a workaround — custom fields for food costs, spreadsheets for allergens — olldae eliminates all that friction with tools built specifically for your type of operation.
every feature, side by side.
| feature | olldae | honeybook |
|---|---|---|
| client management | ||
| proposals + contracts | ✓ | ✓ |
| e-signatures | ✓ | ✓ |
| online payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| client portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| full CRM + email pipeline | — | ✓ |
| food + beverage operations | ||
| inventory management | ✓ | — |
| recipe costing | ✓ | — |
| allergen flagging (EU 14 + US 9) | ✓ | — |
| service mode (staff recipe lookup) | ✓ | — |
| supplier price tracking | ✓ | — |
| par level alerts | ✓ | — |
| pour cost calculation | ✓ | — |
| two-layer costing (theoretical vs actual) | ✓ | — |
| PDF inventory + recipe reports | ✓ | — |
| catering | ||
| catering proposals | ✓ | ✓ |
| allergen tracking in catering menus | ✓ | — |
| food cost tied to catering proposals | ✓ | — |
| role-specific staff briefs | ✓ | — |
| pricing | ||
| starting price | $49/mo | $19-79/mo |
| F&B operations included | ✓ | — |
| setup fee | none | none |
| free trial | ✓ 14 days, no card | 7 days |
which tool wins for your situation.
you run a cocktail bar and host 5-10 private events a month. you need proposals, contracts, and deposits. you also need to know your pour costs and flag allergens for events. olldae wins here — honeybook handles the proposal and payment workflow but has no concept of ingredients, food costs, or allergens. you'd still need a separate system for the operational side.
you serve guests with dietary restrictions regularly and allergen accuracy is a liability issue. olldae wins here — honeybook has no allergen system. olldae tracks EU 14 and US 9 allergens per ingredient, inherited by every recipe, automatically surfaced on catering menus.
you shoot photos and do private dinners. you need a CRM and project pipeline as much as catering tools. honeybook may win here — its full CRM and email pipeline are designed for creative service providers. olldae doesn't have a general-purpose CRM. if your business is primarily project-based services with cooking on the side, honeybook fits better.
how to move from honeybook to olldae.
past clients and project history stay in honeybook. moving to olldae means building the food operations layer that honeybook never had — ingredient library, recipes, allergens, inventory. here's how it works:
- export your client list from honeybook for reference
- sign up for olldae — free for 14 days
- add your core ingredients with unit costs — this powers all costing
- build your menu recipes, linking ingredients with quantities
- add allergen flags per ingredient — they propagate to all connected recipes
- configure catering: proposal template, deposit %, payment terms
- send your first test proposal to confirm the workflow
if you used honeybook's questionnaire or inquiry form to capture leads, olldae has a public catering inquiry form that captures the same information and routes it into your catering pipeline.
frequently asked.
can caterers use honeybook? +
many do — honeybook handles client management, proposals, contracts, and payments well. but it has no food costing, ingredient tracking, allergen management, or kitchen tools. catering operators often end up building spreadsheet workarounds for the operational side.
how does honeybook pricing compare to olldae? +
honeybook runs $19-79/mo. olldae starts at $49/mo for the full operations platform (inventory, recipes, allergens, service mode) with catering as a $49/mo add-on. for F&B operators, olldae replaces both honeybook and any separate inventory or costing tool.
does honeybook track allergens? +
no. honeybook is built for creative service businesses — photographers, designers, consultants. it has no concept of ingredients, food costs, pour costs, or allergens. olldae is purpose-built for kitchens and bars.
does olldae have a client portal? +
yes. catering clients get a branded portal where they can review proposals, sign contracts, and pay deposits or invoices online. olldae charges zero platform fees on those payments — only standard Stripe card processing applies.
is olldae harder to set up than honeybook? +
the setup is different — you're building a recipe library and inventory rather than just client workflows. most operators complete initial setup in 2-4 hours. olldae has a 14-day trial with no card required so you can evaluate the setup before committing.