What the Zoom deal changed for Bonsai users, and what to do

Zoom announced its purchase of Bonsai on November 5, 2025, and the deal closed in December. Bonsai kept its name and its standalone product. The change for most users so far is small, but the long-term plan is to fold Bonsai into Zoom, so you should know where your client data lives and how to move it.

What Zoom actually said

Zoom said Bonsai would stay a separate platform under its own name, and that its tools would be folded into Zoom over time. That is the whole commitment, and it is worth reading closely.

In Zoom's announcement, the company describes small businesses that juggle client work, communication and money across many tools. It says "Bonsai will remain a standalone platform, retaining the Bonsai brand." It also says Zoom plans to bring Bonsai's capabilities into Zoom over time, so a user could manage projects, send proposals, track time and handle invoicing and payments in one place.

Trade press reported the same points. CX Today quotes Bonsai's CEO saying it will "continue to operate as a standalone platform under its own brand," with its capabilities gradually folded into Zoom's ecosystem. Call Centre Helper notes the same plan to integrate features gradually. Small Business Trends adds a caution that a poorly executed integration could hurt current users, and that people may worry about future updates.

Notice what is missing. Nobody has published a date, a bundle price or a list of features that will change. "Standalone" describes today. "Over time" describes the direction.

What changed on Bonsai's side

So far the visible change is a footer line. Bonsai's pricing page now reads "Bonsai, a Zoom company," and the plans are otherwise the familiar ones.

When we checked in October 2026, the plans were:

• Basic, $15 per user per month ($9 billed annually). It covers time tracking, tasks, CRM and unlimited clients, but no client portal, invoicing, contracts or payments.
• Essentials, $25 ($19 annually). It adds invoices and payments, proposals and contracts, forms, scheduling and the client portal.
• Premium, $39 ($29 annually). It adds a deals pipeline, workload tools, removal of Bonsai branding and integrations such as QuickBooks, Xero and Zapier.
• Elite, $59 ($49 annually), with a minimum of three users and custom permissions.

The detail that trips people up is the cheapest plan. Basic is not enough if you came for invoices and a portal, because those start at Essentials. Compare plans on what you will use, not the headline price. Prices change, so confirm them on the page before you decide.

Which fears have played out

The loudest early fears were forced Zoom logins, a mandatory bundle and the end of the standalone product. None of those has been announced. That does not mean they are off the table.

Three things are fair to say.

First, a standalone brand is a decision a parent company can reverse. Acquirers often merge products once the integration work is done. Zoom's own stated plan is to fold Bonsai's capabilities into its platform, which is a merge by another name.

Second, small tools inside large companies compete for roadmap time. A feature you rely on can slow down without anyone announcing anything.

Third, some problems have nothing to do with ownership. If you had trouble with support speed or payout timing before the deal, a change of parent will not fix it. Check recent reviews on G2 or Trustpilot yourself, and weigh recent ones more than old ones.

What to do if you already use Bonsai

How much you depend on Bonsai decides your move.

If you use it for a few contracts and invoices, stay while it works. Switching on a guess about 2027 costs you hours now for a risk that may never arrive.

If your whole client workflow runs there, spend an afternoon on three things. Export your client list, invoice history, contract templates and payment records, and open the files to check they are complete. Save PDFs of every signed contract, because those are your records. And write down which tool you would move to, so a future change is a Tuesday task, not a crisis.

Your invoice records matter beyond Bonsai. Depending on where you work, you may need to keep them for several years, and your accountant will want a clean set. Check the retention rules for your country with your accountant.

A one-afternoon exit test

You do not need to leave Bonsai to prepare for leaving. Treat it like a fire drill and run it once.

Start with the money records. Download every invoice as a PDF and export the payment history, then check that the totals match what your bank shows for the last year. Mismatches are far easier to sort out now than during a tax filing.

Next, the paper trail. Download each signed contract and look for the signature page, the date and the final agreed scope. A contract without its signature record is only a draft in a folder.

Then the relationships. Export your client list with emails, phone numbers and notes, and note which clients have open projects, retainers or recurring invoices. Those are the ones that need a clean handover, because a recurring invoice that stops without a word is how you lose a client.

Last, the templates. Copy your proposal wording, contract clauses and intake questions into a plain document. Templates are the part of your setup that took the longest to write, and they are rarely included in a standard export.

If any step fails, you have learned something useful for free. Ask support how the export works, and do it before you have a reason to rush.

If you are choosing a tool now

Pick for the next two or three years, and price in the exit. The questions that matter are boring ones. Can you export everything? Do clients pay through your own account or through the tool's? Who owns the client relationship if the product changes?

Our comparison of Dubsado, HoneyBook and Bonsai goes feature by feature, and the HoneyBook alternatives roundup covers the wider field. Whichever you pick, run the export test in week one, while nothing depends on it.

How Delivvo fits if you want to move or start fresh

Delivvo is built around the same job as Bonsai, getting from a first inquiry to a paid invoice, with a cleaner exit. It is an independent product, and it takes 0% of what your clients pay.

This is how a move usually goes:

1. Export your clients and open leads from Bonsai as a CSV, then import them onto the Delivvo lead board. The import takes up to 1,000 rows or 2 MB, and the board has New, Contacted, Quote sent, Won and Lost columns.
2. Build an inquiry form with up to 40 fields, and share its link or QR code. New leads land on the board with the answers attached.
3. Send quotes built from packages and add-ons. On Pro, the one-page close lets the client choose, sign and pay the deposit on one link.
4. Contracts support typed or drawn signatures, with a signing record that stores a SHA-256 hash, IP address and device, plus an archived PDF.
5. Invoices use sequential numbers in your own format, and payment schedules run up to 12 payments.
6. Clients get a portal with no password, only a one-time code, where they see files, approvals, messages and what they owe.

The detail worth weighing against Bonsai's model is the money. Your clients pay you directly through your own processor, such as Stripe, PayPal or Square, and Delivvo is never the merchant of record. Every invoice, contract and quote also carries a verification code, so a client can check a document is real.

Delivvo does not move your old documents for you, so keep your Bonsai exports and PDFs. The Free plan costs nothing and needs no card, Solo is $12 a month and Pro is $29. See how Delivvo compares to Bonsai for the feature list.

Read more about how Delivvo compares with Bonsai, or start with the CRM and client portal.

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