Bench

Life and Business Changing

In the wake of COVID I left the agency I was at to do my own agency. While I had my business as a side-agency for a number of years and applications like Freshbooks and then Quickbooks Self-Employed helped me manage things I dreaded tax season and all the work I needed to do every year.

During COVID I had to get my business up and going, get clients, execute projects, and get things done. I had zero time for managing my books. When the end of the year came up I dreaded the work that was ahead of me with several big projects in progress. Then, through the service I use to pay my contractors, I found out about Bench and it has changed my business AND my life.

Bench took 15 months' worth of books that needed to be done and assigned them to a "catch-up" accountant. He went through everything, classified all my expenses, and had a simple way to ask me to review anything they need clarification on. They pulled difficult things to deal with like my processing fees from Stripe and instantly accounted for them. On top of that, having an honest to goodness accountant and accounting team to know how to PROPERLY set up a Chart of Accounts and classify expenses was game-changing. This service easily pays for itself in the time it saves me and the peace of mind it gives me.

Better Suited to Larger Companies

Bench is useful and helped me to navigate the early days of my company, but I could've saved a lot of money doing some of the data correlation myself and hiring a tax expert directly.

Extremely Disappointed with Inaccurate and Incomplete Bookkeeping Services

I signed up for Bench's bookkeeping services in September, expecting professional and accurate records within the 10–15 days they promised for historical bookkeeping. However, nearly two months later, my records remain incomplete, and the work done so far contains hundreds of miscategorized transactions. Despite repeatedly submitting requested documents, my accounts are still inaccurate, and there seems to be no end in sight.

The Terms of Service state they will deliver "accurate monthly books and year-end tax-ready financial packages." Unfortunately, this has not been my experience. For two months in a row, I've received inaccurate monthly books, and I now lack confidence in their ability to complete accurate year-end financials. Had I relied on their data for tax filing, I would have drastically overpaid in taxes.

Despite reaching out and escalating to their management, I’m left with the feeling that this service is not delivering on its promises. I paid over $4,600, and yet I’m now hiring another provider to get the job done correctly.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel obligated to warn others about my experience. I would strongly advise anyone considering Bench to look elsewhere for reliable bookkeeping support.

They WILL miss the deadlines. No doubt

Really bad and dishonest service. They always claim that they marked the file as high priority...but nothing happens.

Nightmare! Terrible, unethical company!

Terrible, terrible, terrible. They did not make my life easier. They cost me money in lost time and lost access to reports. They made me pay for the year upfront; Sunk Cost Fallacy kept me there, and I have many regrets. Their Gaslighting makes you think you are the problem.

After a few years with them, I can say they will keep asking over and over for more categorization of the same items to keep you busy so you don't ask for reports.

They did not provide my final year-end report when I canceled their service, even though I paid for the year in advance. They told me it would be months after my tax filing deadline before I would receive it. I'm not counting those chickens.

Do Not Recommend

My service has been terrible. I spent over $5000 and do not have access to my books. Customer service was lacking and my bookkeeper would respond to my inquiry on timeline with responses like... I am on it like white on rice. Professionalism, accuracy and commitment to the contract is very lacking.

Bench - A rollercoaster designed by a clown – full of unexpected twists, turns, and a few too...

Oh, Bench, where do I begin? Our journey together has been like a rollercoaster designed by a clown – full of unexpected twists, turns, and a few too many pies in the face. From the magical year of 2020, we embarked on an adventure, not knowing it would turn into a saga worthy of its own sitcom. Our point of contact changed more often than a chameleon in a disco, each time promising a smooth transition that felt more like a game of hot potato. The nuances and complexities of our account were supposed to be handled with care, yet they were tossed around like a salad, leading to a delightful mix of confusion and misplaced assumptions. Let's not forget the enchanting dance of communication with our main Bench point of contact, our very own guide through this nightmare. Their performances were nothing short of spectacular, a blend of confusion, misinformation, and the occasional contradiction. It was like watching a mime trying to explain quantum physics – utterly baffling but strangely captivating.
If you like jokes, you should hear the one were they cancel tax fillings the week before they are due after months of working with their team to get everything reviewed and ready for filing. Their solution, leave your business hanging and waiting for updates and promises that never seem to come all while collecting their monthly billings and service fees but never actually providing the contracted services.

Use Bench if you like your accounting services like a rollercoaster without the thrill, a puzzle without a solution.

Stay away from Bench.co !!

Was great for years. 2022 to 2024 has been a sad decline for them and its left is starting from scratch since their system won't integrate into any other programs

Frustrated -

Failed to render services

A great value of service for taking care of bookkeeping

Great experience and helpful service. Awesome value since an in-person CPA would be double the cost.
Bench was especially around tax time when it comes to working with me to get my numbers buttoned up.

My Experience With Bench

Family

Like family

Bench review

One less thing off of my plate...

I am saving myself hours and hours of handling the bookkeeping. I am confident that it is done correctly and I am not missing anything. I like having someone to ask bookkeeping questions to if need be.

After happily using Bench for almost 2 years, I DONT recommend it at all

I saw many articles about bad experiences with Bench before I decided to work with them. I also saw dozens of good reviews about them. I didn't mind bad ones and thought it won't happen to me. But it happened.

Let's talk about the service and value I got; It's just bookkeeping software with a guy sitting in front of it. They consistently put my expenses in the wrong category. I had to check all the transactions manually every time. I did this with Xero for less than $40/mo. All transactions from my bank account are automatically imported to Xero and I just need to check once a month. No value here.

I didn't mind paying +$200/mo more for the same result since we had no problem with them. I also felt more secure since there is someone on the line. They offered me to file my taxes for an additional fee. I agreed. They filed franchise and corporate taxes for 2020. Everything was smooth and simple. I decided to extend my subscription for another year.

Last month, in the middle of tax season, I received an email saying that they will not file my taxes since I am a US non-resident. I respectfully understand that they made some decisions regarding their services. I am totally ok with it, but I should be informed about this in advance.
But informing me a few weeks before the deadline, in the middle of tax season, when it's impossible to find an available CPA is a selfish attitude that shows they don't care about their clients.

Good start, low customization

Overall, I still recommend Bench if you are starting out and a small business under $1 Million in sales. However, as you grow, I would recommend switching to Quickbooks.

Bench is Amazing

Bench is amazing. As a small business owner I was spending too much time categorizing expenses and correctly documenting items for the P&L or balance statement. Bench offers such an amazing service and any time I had a question or issue my Bench specialist was right there. I would highly recommend Bench to anyone who needs bookkeeping services (and their tax team is amazing as well). Couple all of that with their service team's (big shout out to [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]) genuine care for you and your company and you have kind of a no brainer.

Best Bookkeeper there is!

Bench always delivers above and beyond and i love their service.

Bench Works!

Overall, I recommend bench to everyone. They do have their shortcomings, but in my experience it can be fixed by not giving so many clients to one person. My current bookkeeper is great and very prompt on delivering my books each month. I hope she sticks around. YMMV, but keep with it, bench is the best out there.

A lifesaver

Overall I am more than pleased. I have no doubt that my books are being done correctly, which frees me up to deal with other things.

convenient and accessible

With bench.co I've been able to see in real-time our financial statements without having to ruffle through paperwork or calling someone/visiting an office. I would highly recommend this service to any small business owner.

Shockingly Incompetent

I had Bench do a full year of bookkeeping for my company and consulted them on aspects of the PPP loan program.

I found them shockingly incompetent. Many mistakes. Much flat-out wrong technical information about the PPP program. It was the most recent encounter with them over the PPP program that motivates me to write this review, to warn the public.

They should not represent themselves as PPP experts.

Big relief

GREAT COMPANY! AWESOME PEOPLE! INCREDIBLE SKILLS!

We really enjoyed working with Bench, & will continue to do so. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] & everyone at Bench are extremely good and they care about what they're doing.