A comprehensive client work management platform covering sales, projects, retainers, time, billing, and reporting for professional services. Quote-based pricing.
Accelo is the broadest traditional agency-operations platform: deep sales, retainer, project, and billing tooling across one system. Helm is a newer platform with the same operational footprint plus autonomous AI agents and published per-workspace pricing. Pick Accelo for enterprise-scale reporting and brand maturity. Pick Helm for modern UX, AI agents, and transparent pricing.
Last reviewed: April 18, 2026
Pricing, scope, and what you actually get on day one.
| Helm | Accelo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-workspace (published) | Quote-based (request pricing) |
| Starting paid price | $49/mo per workspace | Not publicly listed |
| Team scale sweet spot | 1-50 services team | 15-500 agencies and firms |
| AI approach | Autonomous agents that execute | Limited AI (assistive workflows) |
| Setup complexity | Opinionated defaults, fast setup | Significant configuration project |
| Minimum seats | None | 3-user minimum on entry tier (Core) |
Capability-by-capability breakdown. We describe what's in the product, not what's on a roadmap slide.
| Feature | Helm | Accelo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per workspace (published) | Quote-based |
| CRM / accounts | Native | Native (strong) |
| Sales pipeline | Native + SDR / Sales Rep agents | Native (strong enterprise features) |
| Project management | Kanban, list, calendar | Native (strong agency-specific patterns) |
| Retainer management | Native (recurring invoicing + hour allocation) | Native (most mature in category) |
| Time tracking | Native, rolls into invoices | Native (strong) |
| Invoicing / payments | Native (Stripe) | Native (multiple processors) |
| Estimates / proposals | Native | Native |
| Workflow automation | Native + agents as steps | Smart workflows (rule-based) |
| Autonomous AI agents | Pre-built roles that execute | Limited AI capabilities |
| Analytics / reporting | Built-in views, agent summaries | Enterprise-grade, highly configurable |
| External integrations | 300+ via Composio | Many native + Zapier |
Both tools have real use cases. Here's when each one wins.
What moves cleanly, how to do it, and the places you'll want to plan ahead.
Contacts, accounts, projects, retainers, invoices, and time entries can be exported from Accelo and imported into Helm via CSV.
Export each entity from Accelo. Import into Helm: accounts first, then projects, then time entries. Reconnect Stripe. Rebuild smart workflows as Helm Workflows, optionally handing recurring steps to AI agents.
Accelo's deep custom reporting won't 1:1 port. Helm Analytics covers the common views out of the box. Complex custom reports may need to be rebuilt or replaced by Operations Manager agent summaries.
The questions we hear most from teams evaluating both platforms.
For most agency workflows, yes. CRM, sales pipeline, projects, retainers, time, invoicing, and analytics are all native. Accelo has deeper enterprise reporting at its top tiers. Helm has deeper AI automation and published pricing.
Both handle recurring billing with hour allocation. Accelo's retainer module is more mature at enterprise scale; Helm pairs retainer billing with Operations Manager agent surfacing over/under consumption before invoice time.
Yes. Per-workspace pricing means a 5-person team and a 25-person team pay the same tier price. Accelo's quote-based model means price negotiation is part of the sales process.
Helm is designed to scale to that size on Business tier. Accelo has more maturity at that scale today: more existing customers, more enterprise-specific features. For the largest agencies, that maturity matters.
Per-workspace pricing. All 12 apps. AI agents that execute the work.