Writing proposals is one of those tasks that sounds simple until you actually sit down to do it. They can be quick and painless, or they can eat up an entire afternoon.
Some agencies want tracking, signatures, and payments baked in.
Others just want something fast that doesn’t fight them.
And a growing number are actively trying to avoid proposals altogether.
This post is a summary of a Tuesday Toolbox discussion inside The Admin Bar community, where agency owners shared the proposal tools (and workflows) they actually use — along with what’s working, what’s frustrating, and what they’ve walked away from.
There’s no single “best” proposal tool here.
But there are some very clear patterns.
The Most Mentioned Proposal Tools
These tools and approaches came up the most in the discussion:
- Better Proposals
- Moxie
- Nusii
- PandaDoc
- Proposify
- DocuMocu
- Low-tech solutions (Docs, PDFs, invoices, signatures)
A long tail of other tools came up as well — often tied to CRMs, invoicing platforms, or highly customized setups.
Why Agencies Choose These Proposal Tools
The tools below came up for very different reasons. Some people care about tracking and signatures. Others care more about speed, polish, or not fighting the editor. As you’ll see, the “best” option usually depends on how you sell — not just what you sell.
Better Proposals
The most talked-about option — loved and criticized in equal measure.
Better Proposals came up repeatedly, often because people had been using it for years (many via LTDs).
- Tracks opens, time on page, and engagement
- Supports digital signatures and payments
- Modular pricing tables make upsells easy
- Editor is frequently described as “janky” or frustrating
- PDF output doesn’t always match expectations
Several agency owners said they stay because it’s familiar and fast — even if they don’t love the editing experience.
“The editor isn’t the easiest to use, and the PDF output can look awful. But the tracking is great.”
David Zack
Best fit: agencies who value tracking, upsells, and signatures — and are willing to tolerate editor quirks.
Moxie
The “everything connects” option.
Moxie was praised less for its proposal editor alone and more for what happens after a proposal is accepted.
- Proposals connect directly to CRM, payments, projects, and tasks
- Strong templating with auto-filled client data
- Can handle signatures, retainers, recurring payments, and scheduling
- Powerful, but setup and learning curve can be intimidating
Many people admitted they’re only using a fraction of Moxie’s capability — but still find value in having proposals tied to the rest of their system.
“Once they sign and pay the retainer on the proposal, it starts a project in Moxie and creates all of the tasks that have to be done.”
Karen Lewis
Best fit: agencies who want proposals to trigger projects, payments, and workflows automatically.
Nusii
Simple, focused, and easy to use.
Nusii came up as a calmer alternative to heavier proposal tools.
- Clean interface
- Straightforward proposal creation
- Less feature-heavy than competitors
- Appeals to people who want speed over complexity
It didn’t generate strong love or hate — which, for many agencies, is exactly the point.
Best fit: agencies who want a dedicated proposal tool without bells and whistles.
Want to see what real agency proposals actually look like?
Inside the Barfly community, we run a Proposal Swap with over 100 real proposals from real agencies — covering web design, retainers, paid discovery, and more.
It’s one of the fastest ways to spot patterns, steal structure, and improve your own proposals without starting from scratch.
PandaDoc
A powerful document and signature platform that often feels bigger than agencies need.
PandaDoc came up most often in the context of “it works, but…” — especially for agencies that send proposals less frequently.
- Polished, professional-looking proposals
- Strong e-signature and document workflows
- Useful when proposals double as legal or compliance-heavy documents
- Pricing can feel steep for light or occasional use
- Many agencies said they mostly keep it for signatures
Several people mentioned actively looking for simpler or cheaper alternatives — not because PandaDoc is bad, but because they aren’t using enough of it to justify the cost.
Best fit: agencies that need robust document workflows, signatures, and compliance features — or already use PandaDoc beyond proposals.
Proposify
A long-standing proposal tool that some agencies have simply grown tired of.
Proposify was mentioned by a handful of long-time users, often with a sense of resignation rather than enthusiasm.
- Purpose-built for proposals
- Familiar to agencies that adopted it early
- Feature-rich, but can feel heavy or rigid
- Several users said it “never quite worked the way I wanted”
Unlike PandaDoc, Proposify didn’t come up as frequently — and when it did, it was usually as something people were considering replacing.
Best fit: agencies already invested in Proposify who don’t feel enough friction to justify switching.
DocuMocu
Very popular with Kitchen users.
DocuMocu came up frequently as a simple, no-nonsense option — especially for agencies already using Kitchen as a client portal.
- Tracks views (even by page)
- Supports digital signatures and custom fields
- Integrates cleanly with Kitchen
- Minimal UI and limited “fancy” features
It was often described as “boring, but effective.”
Best fit: agencies who want simple tracking and signatures without a heavy proposal platform.
Figma, Google Docs, Slides, and “Low-Tech” Workflows
Still very much alive.
A surprising number of agencies have intentionally left proposal software behind.
- Custom templates in Figma, Docs, Slides, Keynote, or InDesign
- Faster editing and more visual control
- Often paired with separate signature tools (or simple email approval)
- Less automation, but fewer headaches
Several people mentioned receiving compliments from clients once they treated proposals more like marketing documents.
“I stopped worrying about features and focused on making the proposal look good and easy to read.”
Kyle Van Deusen
Best fit: agencies who value polish, speed, and control over automation.
Notable Mentions
These tools also came up, often tied to specific workflows:
- Bonsai
- Qwilr
- Fresh Proposals
- Square Contracts
- eSignatures.com
- Xero / invoicing-based proposals
- Custom or AI-assisted workflows
Some agencies even reported skipping proposals entirely in favor of Paid Discovery or roadmap-based sales processes.
Patterns We Noticed
A few themes showed up again and again:
- Tracking opens and engagement matters more than people admit
- Templates save more time than “better tools”
- Editor friction is a dealbreaker over time
- Many agencies only use 20–30% of their proposal software
- Visual clarity often beats feature depth
- Some of the best agencies are actively trying to avoid proposals
“Proposals slow down the sales process, force you to guess about the future, gamble with your client’s budget or your own profit, make scope creep almost guaranteed and are completely unnecessary.”
Troy Dean
In other words: the best proposal tool is the one that supports your sales process, not the one with the longest feature list.
How to Choose the Right Proposal Tool for Your Agency
If you’re evaluating options, these questions came up repeatedly:
- Do you actually need proposals — or would Paid Discovery replace them?
- Is tracking engagement important to your sales process?
- Do you want proposals connected to payments and projects?
- Do you value speed over polish — or polish over speed?
- Will this save time, or become another system to manage?
These recommendations came directly from a Tuesday Toolbox discussion inside The Admin Bar community. Each week, we pick a new topic and crowdsource real-world tools and workflows from agency owners doing the work.
If you want to help shape this library, join the conversation next Tuesday.
Do agencies really need proposal software?
Not necessarily. Many agencies in this discussion use Google Docs, Figma, or even PDFs — and do just fine. Proposal software becomes more valuable when you want tracking, signatures, payments, or tighter automation between sales and delivery.
What matters more: proposal design or proposal content?
Content, every time. Several agency owners pointed out that flashy proposals don’t make up for vague scope, unclear outcomes, or missing exclusions. Design helps with polish and confidence — but clarity is what closes.
Is tracking proposal opens actually useful?
For some agencies, yes — especially knowing when a proposal is viewed or which sections get attention. Others said the data is nice to have, but not worth fighting a clunky editor or broken workflow. It’s helpful context, not a silver bullet.
Should proposals include contracts and payments?
Many agencies prefer an all-in-one flow: proposal → signature → deposit → project kickoff. Tools like Better Proposals, Moxie, and Bonsai support this well. Others intentionally keep proposals lightweight and handle contracts separately to reduce friction.
Are all-in-one CRMs better than standalone proposal tools?
It depends on how much you want to automate. All-in-one tools can save time once fully set up, but several people mentioned they’re hard to learn while actively running a business. Standalone tools often win for speed and focus.
Is proposal software overkill for small agencies or freelancers?
Often, yes. A recurring theme was that simple setups — Docs, Slides, Figma, or even invoices — work perfectly well for smaller teams or repeatable services. The “best” tool is the one you’ll actually use consistently.
Do proposals slow down the sales process?
Some agency owners believe they do. A few participants shared that moving to paid discovery or recommendation sessions eliminated proposals altogether — reducing back-and-forth and setting clearer expectations earlier.
What’s the biggest mistake agencies make with proposals?
Over-engineering them. Spending hours polishing a proposal that hasn’t been fully scoped, agreed on, or budget-aligned came up again and again. The tool doesn’t fix that — the process does.
Kyle Van Deusen
After spending 15 years as a graphic designer and earning a business degree, I launched my agency, OGAL Web Design, in 2017. A year later, after finding the amazing community around WordPress, I co-found The Admin Bar, which has grown to become the #1 community for WordPress professionals. I'm a husband and proud father of three, and a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
