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About Bench
Bench is the online bookkeeping platform for small business owners. Each month, Bench automatically gathers transaction data from all connected business accounts. Then, a dedicated team of bookkeepers ensures books are tax-ready.
With books up-to-date, users can access the Bench iPhone or desktop app to monitor cash-flow and financial health with intuitive expense reports, income statements, and more. Users can also send the Bench team a text in the message feed, and they respond within one business day. And at tax time, Bench delivers a package with everything needed to get filed.
Bench pricing
Bench does not have a free version but does offer a free trial. Bench paid version starts at US$299.00/month.
Starting Price:
US$299.00/month
Free Version:
No
Free trial:
Yes
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Bench Reviews
Feature rating
5 reviews of 306
View all reviews
Chris
- Industry: Telecommunications
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5
5
Reviewed on 19/10/2020
Love Bench!
Bench is the easiest way to manage our books online. It's been a huge time and money saver over the last few years.
Pros
I've been using Bench for years now and it's so simple to see and manage my books. When something isn't categorized correctly, I add a comment and it's moved over to the right one. It's been great and easy to use.
Cons
The monthly income statements are behind often. I have to ask to get them on time. I wish it integrated with Quickbooks as my CPA can easily manipulate the data for reports.
Alternatives Considered
QuickBooks EnterpriseReasons for Choosing Bench
The accountant was slow and took forever to make small updates.Reasons for Switching to Bench
I didn't want to do the work!Response from Bench Accounting
Thanks, Chris! We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and feedback. We've passed your comments to your team as well! Wishing you all the best.
Replied 12/11/2020
Brent
- Industry: Financial Services
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5
5
Reviewed on 20/08/2019
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.
Pros
The iOS app is simple and easy to use. I appreciate the quick access to messaging back and forth with my bookkeeper, making notes about transactions, and they referred me to Gusto for an integrated payroll service
Cons
Some of the features like their Pulse tab of real time bank account syncing and electronic PDF statement syncing are glitchy.
Marie
- Industry: Photography
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Value for Money
2
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
3
2
Reviewed on 23/07/2020
Bench dropped the ball & gave me a partial refund.
I tested Bench out at the end of 2019 and then hired them for my entire 2020 books. In the beginning, they were on top of things. Then, mid-summer they dropped the ball. My account got passed to another team, and they didn't even touch my books for months. It was a mess. I reached out to customer service and they did give me 2 months of a refund, because the customer service rep (who was very kind & courteous) saw what I saw. In December, I requested for my bookkeeper to fix some miscategorized transactions and later asked, "Hey were those fixed?" She said she fixed them, which was a blatant lie!
On top of all of that, it took them about TWO MONTHS to do my final end of year books that I could pass onto my CPA. I was told they were uploaded, but then they weren't there when I looked for them. I had to request, "Please upload them again." They apologized and did so right away, but by the time I saw them, thank goodness for the COVID extension, because I literally didn't have my deliverables from Bench until April 2020. My filings would have been late.
Pros
Bench is easy to use and navigate. In the beginning, they were fantastic at answering questions I had to help understand how my bookkeeping was being handled. That's about the only good thing I have to say.
Cons
I spent more time dealing with Bench all year long than when I was doing my own bookkeeping on a simple spreadsheet. I expected a learning curve in the beginning. They promised it would get easier "as we learn about your business and transactions," but I found month after month that the same transactions got flagged needing my input. Then, when I did thorough checks on my books, I found several transactions not in the right category. The other thing I didn't like was that my bank constantly needed to be reconnected. I truly felt like I spent more time handling Bench than I would've spend just doing my own bookkeeping.
Alternatives Considered
QuickBooks EnterpriseReasons for Choosing Bench
I thought having a real person handle my bookkeeping would be faster than doing it myself.Reasons for Switching to Bench
I chose Bench, because I was hearing good things about them from Ash Ambirge of the Middle Finger Project whom I adore & trust. I liked the idea of a real person on my books, not software I had to manage.
Byron
- Industry: Law Practice
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
-
Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5
5
Reviewed on 17/02/2020
Bench is great
My accounting was solved using bench, literally it's set it and forget it, these guys are top notch and make your life easy.
Pros
Incredibly supportive staff, intuitive friendly user-interface, provided year end tax portfolio that I could easily give to my CPA. Bench is just fantastic, I can't say enough good things about the way they have handled my accounts for the past 3 years, highly recommend. If you're a professional, this is for you.
Cons
The only con here is that I didn't switch sooner.
Response from Bench Accounting
Thank you so much Byron for your kind words! We are so happy to be working with you.
Replied 26/02/2020
Heidi
- Industry: Law Practice
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 1-5 months
-
Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5
5
Reviewed on 16/06/2020
Great product, worth the cost for peace of mind
Pros
I like that it's easy to use, comes in a user-friendly format, and simplifies accounting for me. It's dummy-proof! I'm mostly looking forward to an easier tax season with this software.
Cons
It's a little expensive for a one-person office, so I wish there were more tiers in pricing. But I like the product and will continue to use it, and understand that it costs money for a good product.
Response from Bench Accounting
Hi Heidi! Thanks so much for the kind words. If you ever feel that your average monthly expenses have decreased, we can always conduct a pricing review to see if you fall into another pricing tier. All the best!
Replied 12/08/2020
