About Handl
Built by someone who spent 20 years chasing invoices
Handl connects the work you do to the money you’re owed — and makes sure it actually shows up.
The founder story
Why Handl exists
I've run digital agencies for over 20 years.
We did good work. Delivered on time. Had clients who genuinely loved what we built. And then we spent the next 30 to 60 days waiting to get paid for it.
Chasing invoices was the worst part of the job. Not because clients were bad people — most of them weren't. It's just that freelancers and agencies sit at the bottom of the payment queue. The AP department has 200 vendors to manage and your invoice is one of them. You're not a priority — you're a line item.
We tried everything. Net 14 terms. Deposits up front. Late fees nobody enforced. Politely worded follow-ups. Slightly less politely worded follow-ups. It was a constant low-level grind that nobody talks about, because everyone just assumes it's part of the deal.
It shouldn't be.
Handl is the thing I wish I'd had back then. It connects the work you do to the money you're owed — milestone done, invoice out, follow-up handled — so the part of the business nobody enjoys runs on its own. You do the work. Handl handles the rest.
Darren Clark
Founder, Handl
The mission
What we’re actually building
There are a hundred invoicing tools. Most of them are accounting software with a “send invoice” button bolted on, and they all stop at the moment the invoice goes out — which is the exact moment the hard part starts.
The hard part is the gap between finishing the work and seeing the money. The follow-ups. The scope creep you did for free because confronting the client felt worse than eating the cost. The forecasting you do in your head at 11pm wondering if next month’s covered.
That gap is the whole thing Handl is built to close. Connect your project tool, your accounting, and your payments, drop an AI billing agent in the middle of it, and the money side runs itself. We’re not trying to be your accountant or replace your PM tool. We do one thing: get you paid, on time, without you having to be the bad guy.
The team
The Team
Handl is built by the team behind Dazlab — a small product studio that builds focused software for real problems. We’re developers, designers, and product people who’ve all worked in or with agencies. We know the problem firsthand.
Darren
Founder
Over 20 years running digital agencies. Built Handl because he got tired of being his own debt collector. Now making sure no one else has to be.
Andy
Chief Technology Officer
Leads the engineering side of Handl. Has built software for agencies, real estate platforms, and hiring tools. Knows what it takes to build something that actually works in the real world.
Eugen
Designer
Responsible for the clean interface that clients (and their AP departments) seem to find their way around.
About the company
About the Company
Handl is a product of Dazlab — a product studio that builds niche SaaS tools for specific industries with real operational problems. We keep teams small, ship fast, and focus on problems we understand from experience.
Handl is our flagship product and the one we’re building for the long haul.
We only build what we'd use ourselves.
We've lived this problem. Every feature gets tested against one question: does this actually reduce friction for the person doing the work?
Small and focused beats big and bloated.
Handl isn't an accounting platform and it's not a PM tool. It does one thing well — connecting the work you do to the money you're owed, and making sure that money lands.
The product should feel obvious.
If something in Handl needs a tutorial, that's on us. Your clients and their AP teams are never going to read a manual — so it has to just work.
We build in public.
Darren ships, talks about what's working and what's broken, and shares the messy bits.
Want to talk?
Got a question about how Handl works, or want to tell us we’re wrong about something? We actually read these.
Reclaim your time
Stop being your own debt collector.
Get paid faster with automated invoicing and reminders.
