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Mankai
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Photography business software

First inquiry to final gallery, in one connected system.

Mankai is all-in-one photography business software that runs on your WordPress site: inquiries, booking, contracts, invoices, payments and galleries in one place. Each job stays on one record, so you stop copying details between apps.

Try Mankai free See pricing
  • Free to install
  • No credit card
  • No fee on your payments
The Carter wedding gallery as the client sees it: five of twenty photos hearted and a Submit selections button. Jessica Miller's booked family session: questionnaire completed, contract signed, $150 retainer paid and $300 balance due.

Works with the WordPress setup you already have

Follow one job from inquiry to gallery

A family session, start to finish. Every step happens on the same record, so you type the client's details once.

  1. 1 Inquiry received Your contact form saves them as a new inquiry and opens a message thread.
  2. 2 Session booked They pick a session type and an open time from your studio hours.
  3. 3 Contract signed The contract fills in their name, date and price. They type their name to sign.
  4. 4 Invoice paid They pay from their portal, into your own Stripe or PayPal account.
  5. 5 Gallery delivered They heart their favorites. You press Deliver and they get an email.

Clients and messages

One record per client, from the first email on

When someone fills in your contact form, they land in Clients as a lead and a thread opens in Messages. When they book, the same person becomes a client with a session, and the contract, invoices, questionnaire and gallery all stay on it. No more searching three inboxes for who said what.

  • Ask for a signature or a payment right in the thread
  • Clients reply in their portal, next to the job
  • Import your client list from a CSV file

Typed onceTheir name and email carry from the inquiry to the gallery.

The thread with Emily Johnson in Messages, in time order: Sarah’s note about the session agreement at 10:01 am, the contract card now green and marked Signed with “Signed: Maternity Session Agreement” logged under it at 10:26 am, and a maternity session questionnaire card sent at 10:31 am that is still open with a Send reminder button.
The Messages list with its Needs Reply, Waiting on Client and Closed tabs, and Emily Johnson’s thread selected above Ashley Thompson, Jessica Miller and Lauren Davis.
The card closes itself when she signs. The thread logs it, the next card waits, and every client sits under the tab that says who is next.

Reminders and emails

The reminder emails go out without you

Mankai sends the session reminder the day before, nudges clients about an unsigned contract or an unfinished questionnaire, and sends the gallery email when you deliver. Each email fills in the client's name, the date and the amounts, and you can switch any of them off.

  • Payment reminders until they pay
  • Reminders before a gallery closes
  • Pro adds your own workflows and your own email wording

On FreeThe built-in reminders. Building your own workflows needs Pro.

The built-in Emails list: eight of the 48 emails, from Upcoming Payment Reminder to Quote Sent, each with its subject line and its own on/off switch. Upcoming Payment Reminder is switched off.
9:41NorthlightPhotographyThe Invoice Ready email as Jessica Miller gets it on her phone: invoice #1021, USD 300.00 due, due October 21, 2026, balance remaining USD 300.00, with a View invoice button.
Every email is already written, with its own switch. Each one fills in the client’s name, the date, and the amounts.

The rest of the studio is in there too

Booking, questionnaires, the client portal and prints all work from the same records.

  • Booking on your hours

    Clients only see open times inside your studio hours. Add buffers and a daily limit, and block off vacations or editing days.

  • Questionnaires per session type

    Newborn questions go with newborn sessions. The answers land on the session, and clients can attach files.

  • A client portal on your domain

    Clients sign in with a password or an emailed code, then pay, sign and see what is left to do.

  • What still needs doing

    The Overview lists new inquiries and flags any upcoming session still missing a signature, a payment or a questionnaire.

  • Prints from the gallery

    After delivery, clients order prints at your prices. You download the order files and send them to your own lab.

  • Pro, when you want more

    Quotes, session add-ons, expenses, gift cards and coupons, custom workflows and emails, and advanced forms and reports.

Five apps, or one system

A booking tool, an e-sign app, an invoicing app, a gallery host and your inbox, next to a hosted all-in-one app and Mankai.

What you get Five apps Hosted app Mankai
Inquiry, contract, invoice and gallery on one record No Partly Yes
Reminders that know what is still missing No Yes Yes
One client login, on your own domain No Partly Yes
Client records in your own database No No Yes
Card payments to your own Stripe or PayPal Partly Partly Yes
Bills to pay One per app One $0 on Free

Try Mankai free

Feels built for how we already run the studio.

Dandelion Soul StudioMy mom's photography studio in Wisconsin, and the reason Mankai exists. Not an independent review.

Frequently asked questions

What is all-in-one photography business software?

It is one program that runs the whole job, from inquiry and booking to contracts, invoices, payments and gallery delivery, instead of a separate app for each. Mankai does this as a plugin on your own WordPress site.

Do I need a WordPress website to use Mankai?

Yes. Mankai is a WordPress plugin, so it needs WordPress 6.4 or newer and PHP 8.1 or newer, on hosting you choose. Your booking page, client portal and galleries then live on your own domain.

Is there free photography business software?

Mankai has a free version that covers clients, booking, contracts, invoices, payments, galleries and the client portal. Pro is $249.99 a year and adds quotes, expenses, custom workflows and emails, and advanced forms and reports.

Does Mankai include client galleries?

Yes, galleries are built in. Clients pick their favorites on your site, you deliver the downloads from the same session, and the photos stay on your own hosting.

Does Mankai take a fee on my payments?

No. Card payments go straight to your own Stripe or PayPal account. Stripe or PayPal still charge their usual processing fees.

Can I switch from the apps I use now?

Yes. You can import your client list from a CSV file. If you want help, Setup and migration is $799.99, paid once: Mankai gets installed and branded for you, with help moving what you use now.

Run the whole job from one place.

Install the free plugin and book your next session with it. Add Pro when you want quotes, custom workflows and reports.

Try Mankai free See pricing