Julian Melzig
🔒 INTERNAL #17
@Jonas Retry job runs twice. Fix is on you.
The ActiveCollab alternative, built for AI.
Hosted in Germany.
Etappe started as the successor to an ActiveCollab setup — and has been running there every day since June 2026.
Etappe and ActiveCollab at a glance
Built for
- Etappe
- Teams working on tickets with their customers
- ActiveCollab
- Project management with invoicing for agencies
AI in the product
- Etappe
- Yes: On every plan, Free too
- ActiveCollab
- No: Only an MCP server for external AI
Ticket from one sentence
- Etappe
- Yes: Etappe asks for what's missing
- ActiveCollab
- Not stated
Free start
- Etappe
- Yes: Free with 3 seats
- ActiveCollab
- No: No free plan, 14-day trial
Customers free
- Etappe
- Yes: Unlimited, right in the ticket
- ActiveCollab
- Yes: Unlimited, on all plans
Time tracking & invoicing
- Etappe
- Limited: Estimate on the ticket, invoice via FastBill
- ActiveCollab
- Yes: Time tracking everywhere, invoicing from Pro+
Whiteboard in the same workspace
- Etappe
- Yes: Weekly sync, live with the customer
- ActiveCollab
- Not stated
Knowledge base included
- Etappe
- Yes: Etappe Book, articles right in the ticket
- ActiveCollab
- Not stated
EU data location
- Etappe
- Yes: Hosted in Germany, data in the EU
- ActiveCollab
- No: USA/Canada, backups in France
Details on ActiveCollab as stated on its own pages, prices as of October 2026. ActiveCollab billed yearly: Plus $12.50/month flat for up to 3 members, Pro $10, Pro+ $15 per user/month; monthly Plus $15, Pro $11, Pro+ $17. No free plan, 14-day trial.
ActiveCollab offers an MCP server for external AI assistants from Pro. Time tracking on all plans; invoices, estimates, budgets and profitability in Pro+. Data primarily in the USA/Canada, backups in France. At Etappe, estimates and draft invoices in FastBill are available from Business.
Sources: ActiveCollab pricing · Privacy policy · GDPR
01 · Request
One sentence is enough.
Your customer writes, Etappe asks — the ticket is done.
New report Etappe Flow · live
The parts lists have been coming in twice since Friday
Which system are they coming from?
Supplier portal
Which environment does this happen on?
TEST STAGE PROD
Etappe Flow cross-checks and assembles the ticket
Result · filed automatically
#1802 Bug: Import — parts lists arrive twice (since 7 Aug 2026)
In discussion PROD Bugs & crashes Import
- STATUS
- In discussion
- ENVIRONMENT
- PROD
- CATEGORY
- Bugs & crashes Import
PROGRESS
- 1 Open
- 2
- 3
- 4 Done
02 · Whiteboard
Weekly sync with your customer. Live.
Team and customer see the same board, checked is checked — in the same workspace, included.
03 · Exchange
Customer and team. In the same ticket.
Everything in one place — internal stays internal.
Team sees #1802
Jonas Beerboom #16
We found the bug, the fix ships today.
Maria Südhoff #15
It comes from the supplier portal.
Customer sees #1802
Internal comment #17 — not visible to the customer
Jonas Beerboom #16
We found the bug, the fix ships today.
Maria Südhoff #15
It comes from the supplier portal.
04 · @etappe
Ask Etappe. Right in the ticket.
Etappe finds similar cases and matching articles — and takes care of tasks too.
#1802 Bug: supplier portal — retry job runs twice
Jonas Beerboom just now #18
@Etappe Have we had this before? And is there an article on it?
Etappe is typing
Etappe
✦ Sonnet 5 just now #19
Yes, twice: #1287 (March, same cause — retry without a lock) and #1544. Both solved with the job lock. Etappe Book has “Retry jobs in the supplier portal”. Still open: which version the customer is on.
Jonas Beerboom
🔒 INTERNAL just now #20
@Etappe Move to “In progress”, add Julian and remind me on Monday.
Etappe is typing
🔒 INTERNAL
Etappe
✦ Haiku 4.5
🔒 INTERNAL just now #21
Done: progress set to “In progress”, Julian Melzig assigned, reminder on Monday at 9 am — here in the thread.
Jonas Beerboom: progress to “In progress” via Etappe just now
Why agencies switch to Etappe
01
The move is proven.
Migrated from ActiveCollab with 14,580 tickets and 96,220 comments — even the old passwords keep working.
02
Built for AI from day one.
The AI sits at the entrance: every ticket is complete from the start — included in every plan.
03
From effort to invoice.
The estimate sits on the ticket. One click shares it with the customer, a second turns it into a draft invoice in FastBill.
04
Hosted in Germany.
Content data in the EU, backed up daily, restores rehearsed.
One price for your team
Customers are always included and AI comes with every plan — you only pay for team seats.
FREE
€0
3 team seats · 5 projects
Everything essential, AI included. For small teams.
- Flow and Book, complete
- Unlimited customer accounts, free
- AI included
- 5 GB storage for attachments
RECOMMENDED
BUSINESS
€29
per seat/month billed yearly · €35 monthly
For agencies and software teams.
- Unlimited seats and projects
- GitHub, Slack, FastBill and AI connected
- Your domain, your logo, your colors
- 20 GB storage per seat
ENTERPRISE
€880
per month, in advance · 10 seats included · plus a one-time €3,500 provisioning fee
Etappe under your name — operated by us.
- White label with your own domain and product name
- 10 sponsored customer workspaces included
- DPA included · SLA on request
- Dedicated instance on request · SSO and enforced MFA coming soon
Frequent questions
What happens to our data from ActiveCollab?
The migration from ActiveCollab is done and proven with real data — even the old passwords keep working.
Is AI extra?
No. AI comes with every plan — no surcharge, no credits.
Does the customer see our internal notes?
No. Not in the ticket, not in search, not in the counters.
Is Etappe available in English?
Yes — interface, notifications and even your own statuses and categories.
Write the first sentence.
Etappe takes it from there.
Start for free — or try Business free for 30 days.