Home / CRM for solopreneurs / 17hats alternative
The honest 17hats alternative
17hats is an all-in-one for solopreneurs, and for the back office of a one-person business it covers the ground: lead capture, quotes, contracts, invoicing, bookkeeping, scheduling, and project workflows. People who go looking for a 17hats alternative are usually not unhappy with the paperwork. They are frustrated that the quote went out, the lead went quiet, and nobody nudged it, or that last year's clients would rebook if anyone reminded them you exist.
On this page
Short on time? Capstone Outreach captures the contact and sends the follow-up from your own inbox or number in under a minute, and it sits next to 17hats rather than replacing it. 14-day free trial, iPhone app included.
Generate your follow-up in 20 seconds
Free, no signup. Say what you sent, when, and what you want to happen next. The writer reads the silence and answers it the right way for a text. It sounds like you, not like AI.
Do this from your phone. The Capstone Outreach iPhone app drafts the follow-up from the conversation, sends email from your own inbox, queues texts and WhatsApp messages to send from your own number, and keeps people on a keep-in-touch cadence so nobody goes quiet.
Get the iPhone app or start free on the web →
14-day free trial. One account works on the web and on your phone. Android coming soon.
What 17hats does well
Give it its due. 17hats is built around the client who says yes: lead forms, quotes that become contracts, invoices and online payments, bookkeeping, a calendar with online scheduling, and workflows that move a project through its stages. For a photographer, planner, designer, or consultant who wants one login for the admin, it is a reasonable choice, and so are Dubsado and HoneyBook.
If the bottleneck is the admin, get one of those set up properly; a follow-up layer will not fix it.
Details are from 17hats's public site and documentation as of September 2026. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
The question a 17hats alternative should answer
Look at where a one-person business actually leaks. It is the inquiry that got a quote on Monday and silence since, because you were shooting Wednesday through Saturday. It is the proposal that sat for nine days before anyone nudged it. It is the client from two seasons ago whose next event is next spring, who would book you tomorrow if you were top of mind.
None of that is a contracts-and-invoices problem, so a different contracts-and-invoices platform does not solve it. Moving from 17hats to Dubsado migrates the templates and leaves the leak.
The follow-up-first alternative
Capstone Outreach starts at the inquiry and ends with a booked client. The follow-up drafts itself from your notes on the call, you approve it, and it sends from your own inbox the same day. If the quote goes quiet, the nudge goes out on day four without you remembering. Past clients go on a keep-in-touch cadence: a check-in every season, written from what you did for them, sent only after you tap approve. The iPhone app captures the new lead at the event and queues a text to send from your own number.
It does not send quotes, contracts, or invoices, and it does not try to.
17hats vs. a follow-up-first layer
| Compared on | 17hats | Capstone Outreach |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All-in-one for solopreneurs | Follow-up-first layer |
| Built around | The signed client's paperwork | Turning inquiries into clients and clients into repeat clients |
| Quotes, contracts, invoices, bookkeeping | Yes, core | No |
| Scheduling and project workflows | Yes | No |
| Post-inquiry follow-up | You write it; workflows can send templates | Drafted from your notes; sent from your inbox after you approve |
| The quiet quote | A reminder if you built the workflow | Day-four nudge written for the person; stops when they reply |
| Past-client re-engagement | Out of scope | Keep-in-touch cadences with drafts written from your history |
| Texting from your own number | No | Yes: queued to your phone, you tap send |
| Works alongside | — | Yes: keep 17hats for the paperwork |
You may not need to replace anything
Most solopreneurs land on two tools. 17hats (or Dubsado, or HoneyBook) owns the quote, the contract, the invoice, and the project. Capstone Outreach owns the conversation: the inquiry follow-up, the quote nudge, the seasonal check-in, the referral thank-you. When a lead signs, the paperwork moves to 17hats; the follow-up layer keeps everyone else warm until they do.
Keep 17hats for the paperwork. Add the follow-up. Capstone Outreach drafts the message from the consult, the card, or the call, you approve it, and it sends from your own inbox or number. Keep-in-touch cadences handle the people who should hear from you every month.
Get the iPhone app Start free on the web
$25/month after a 14-day trial. Nothing sends without you.
Where to go next
- The other all-in-ones: Dubsado alternative · HoneyBook alternative
- After the quote: Follow-up text after a quote · estimate follow-up
- Past clients: How often to follow up with past clients
- Where it lives: CRM for solopreneurs
Frequently asked questions
What is the best 17hats alternative?
For the paperwork, Dubsado and HoneyBook are the closest like-for-like. If the real problem is inquiries that go quiet and clients you never re-engage, the alternative is a follow-up-first layer like Capstone Outreach, used next to whichever tool holds your contracts.
Can I keep 17hats and add Capstone Outreach?
Yes; that is the usual setup. 17hats sends the quote and the invoice; Capstone follows up on the inquiry, nudges the quiet quote, and keeps past clients warm.
Does Capstone Outreach do invoicing?
No. It captures the lead, drafts and sends the follow-up from your own inbox or number after you approve, and runs keep-in-touch cadences. Quotes, contracts, and payments stay in 17hats.
How much does it cost?
$25 a month after a 14-day free trial, iPhone app included.