Quick verdict
If you are a fractional CTO, your hard problem is not task management. It is keeping several companies' requests, technical decisions, and billable hours separate, and being able to show each client what you did. Flopinio is built around that request-to-invoice trail. If you also need proposals, contracts, or a sales pipeline, pair it with another tool or pick an all-in-one suite.
Requests, decisions, time, and invoices stay linked per client
Decisions can be signed off by the client in an authenticated portal
No contracts, proposals, or CRM pipeline
What actually breaks when you work for several companies
A fractional CTO usually has two to five clients at once. Each one asks for things in a different place: a founder messages on Slack, an engineering manager emails, a board member raises something in a meeting. You make architecture and hiring calls that need a record, and you bill by the hour or by an agreed block of time. The failure mode is predictable: a request gets answered in the wrong context, a decision lives only in a chat thread, and month-end invoicing turns into reconstructing who you worked for and why.
What to look for in an operations tool
You need strict separation by client and project, an intake path that keeps the original message, a durable place for decisions, time tracking tied to the work, and invoices that can show the tracked work behind each line. Nice-to-haves are a way to let a client see progress without access to your whole workspace, and an AI assistant you can review before it changes anything.
Client and project separation
Intake that keeps the source message
Decision records with sign-off
Time tied to tasks
Invoices built from tracked time
How the workflow runs in Flopinio
This is the loop Flopinio supports today:
Connect the sources you use. Gmail (paused; read-only when available), Slack, Zoho Mail, ProtonMail Bridge, and forwarded Telegram items arrive in External Inbox, where you review each one before turning it into a request or task under the right client and project.
Jira sync creates or updates tasks from issues assigned to you, and Telegram /request and /note commands create requests and notes directly, so neither waits in External Inbox. AI triage can suggest the client, project, and urgency; you apply those suggestions.
Record technical calls as decisions from your notes and request sign-off from the client's named signer.
Start the timer from the task you are working on, so the hours carry the client and project.
At billing time, preview the completed time entries for that client, import them into an invoice draft, review it, and send it by email with a PDF.
Let each client see progress without seeing other clients
Flopinio's client portal is authenticated and project-only. You invite a client user to one project; they see the project status, client-visible roadmap steps, client-visible tasks, and project updates, can comment on those tasks, and can sign or reject decisions assigned to them. Files, invoices, and time entries are not shown in the portal, and there are no anonymous links. Portal clients do not count toward member limits, but sending portal invites needs a plan that includes invites.
Use AI, but keep review
Request triage, project health checks, weekly reviews, and invoice draft preparation can run as AI workflows using hosted credits or an organization-managed OpenAI or Anthropic key. Their output is reviewable, and applying it is a separate step. If you work from Claude or another MCP client, the Flopinio MCP connector (Beta) lets you read workspace context and stage writes that wait for manual review by default.
Which Flopinio plan fits several clients
The Free plan allows one client, so a fractional CTO with several clients needs a paid plan.
| Plan | Monthly price | Clients | Projects | Members |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | USD 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Pro | USD 14.99 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1 |
| Team | USD 49.99 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 5 included |
Competitor facts last reviewed October 29, 2026 from first-party pages. Prices and features change; check each vendor before you decide.
When Flopinio is not the right fit
Flopinio does not do everything an all-in-one freelance suite does. Today it does not offer:
Proposals, contracts, or e-signature.
A sales pipeline or CRM for leads.
Built-in card payments. You can add a payment link to an invoice and record payments manually.
Booking pages, scheduling links, or public intake forms.
Native mobile apps or languages other than English.
Retainer-hour budgets or budget alerts.
If your client work starts with proposals and signed contracts, a suite such as Bonsai, Moxie, or Plutio covers that part of the workflow; Flopinio does not.
Next steps
Google connection availability and data use
Gmail and Google Calendar connections are currently paused for public use while verification and security readiness work is completed. Google Sign-In is separate. When available, Gmail intake is read-only; AI/search processing requires a separate owner opt-in. Captured Google text stays in a separate private source section unless explicitly shared, and is erased with its derived copies on disconnect. See the Google integration guide and Privacy Policy for availability, retention, and deletion details.
Common Questions
Can I keep each client company completely separate?
Requests, tasks, notes, decisions, time, and invoices belong to a client and project inside your workspace, and the client portal only shows a client the projects they were invited to.
Can a client approve an architecture decision?
Yes. Create a decision, name the client user as the signer, and they can sign or reject it from the authenticated client portal. Flopinio does not send signer emails yet, so let them know it is waiting.
Does Flopinio handle retainers?
Not as a feature. There are no retainer-hour budgets or alerts. You can track time against the client and invoice it, including on a recurring invoice schedule.
Can I bill different rates per client?
Default rates can be set for the workspace, a client, or a project, and invoice line items can be reviewed before sending.
Can my clients pay online through Flopinio?
Not directly. You can include a payment link on the invoice and record payments manually, including partial payments.
Does AI change records on its own?
No. AI reviews and drafts produce output you review. Applying changes follows the workflow's permissions, and MCP writes wait for manual review by default.
Try the request-to-invoice loop on the Free plan
Signup starts a free workspace with one client, two projects, and one member, enough to run a real request through to an invoice. Paid plans are listed on the pricing page.