Dubsado.

Where the line sits.

The rule we use is simple: if it happens before the signature, it stays in Dubsado. If it happens after, it belongs in ClickUp.

That keeps each tool doing the thing it is good at. Dubsado's workflows are linear by design — do this, wait, then do that — which is exactly right for onboarding and completely wrong for a six-week build with four people and a client who keeps moving a deadline. ClickUp is a database with views on top, so the same work can be a board for you, a list for your designer, a calendar for your week, and a plain progress page for the client.

It also means nobody has to be retrained on the part they already know. Your bookkeeper keeps Dubsado. Your team never has to open it.

How the two are actually wired.

Worth saying plainly, because a lot of pages on this subject are vague about it: Dubsado has no public API. There is no developer portal, no OpenAPI spec and no sandbox, and that has been true for years.

What it does have is a proper Zapier connection with instant triggers — a new lead, a project status change, a new job, a payment received — plus an API-key token you generate under Settings → Integrations. That is the supported route, and it is enough. We build the bridge on Zapier or Make where the volume is low and the logic is simple, and on n8n when it needs branching, retries or anything we want to own outright.

Two things we check on every build, because they bite people: the token is gated to Dubsado's higher plan tier, and the payment trigger only fires for payments taken through Dubsado's own processors — a payment you mark as received by hand will not fire it. If your invoicing includes bank transfers you reconcile manually, we wire that side through QuickBooks instead, which does have a real API.

What the client sees.

Dubsado has a client portal. In practice most clients open it once, to sign, and never again — it is built around the documents, not the work.

The portal we build is the other half. It reads live from ClickUp, so there is no second database and nothing to keep in step: the client sees the current status of their project, what is with them, what is with you, the files, the meeting recaps and the invoices, under your brand on your domain. They sign in with a six-digit email code, so there is no password to reset and no seat to pay for.

The practical effect is that the status email stops being a thing you write. Clients who can see the work stop asking where it is.

What it costs to run both.

You keep paying for Dubsado. That is the honest trade: this is not a way to cancel a subscription, it is a way to stop running delivery out of a tool that was built for sales.

If what you actually want is one system — leads and delivery in the same place — then the better answer is to move the front half into ClickUp too and let Dubsado go. We build that as well, and it is usually the right call for teams rather than solo operators. The migration is the same work either way; the only question is whether anything stays behind.

A thirty-minute call is normally enough to tell which of the two you are. We will say so plainly, including when the answer is that your current setup is fine and you should keep it.

Questions people actually ask.

Does Dubsado have an API?

No. Dubsado has never published a public developer API, an OpenAPI specification or a sandbox. The supported way to connect it to anything else is its Zapier integration, using an API key you generate under Settings → Integrations, and that key is limited to Dubsado's higher plan tier. Make and n8n connect through the same key.

Can I keep Dubsado and still use ClickUp for projects?

Yes, and for most solo service businesses that is the right setup. Dubsado keeps leads, proposals, contracts, invoices and scheduling; ClickUp takes everything that happens after the contract is signed. A signed contract in Dubsado creates the ClickUp project automatically, so neither side is typed twice.

What triggers the hand-off from Dubsado to ClickUp?

Usually the project status change that means the contract is signed, or the first payment landing. Dubsado fires that to Zapier instantly rather than on a poll, and the automation builds the ClickUp project from a template for that package — tasks, owners, due dates and the client's company record, all filled in.

Will my clients have to learn a new tool?

No. They sign in to your portal with a six-digit code sent to their email, and they see one page: their project, what is waiting on them, their files and their invoices. There is no password, no seat to buy, and nothing for them to install.

Is this cheaper than Dubsado on its own?

No, and we would rather say that up front. You keep paying for Dubsado and you add a portal. What you get back is the delivery side of the business running on something built for it, and the status emails you currently write by hand going away. If cost is the reason you are looking, the honest option is moving the whole thing into ClickUp and dropping Dubsado.

How long does it take to set up?

A straightforward Dubsado-to-ClickUp bridge with one project template and a client portal is a two to three week build. Most of that is deciding what your delivery process actually is — the wiring itself is the quick part.