Bench Reviews

Love Bench!

Comments: 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.

Life and Business Changing

Comments: 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.

Pros:

- An accounting team to get me on track. - Tax resources with their Bench Tax service. - A beautiful interface that is easy to understand and use. - Superb customer service with timely replies to any questions you have. - An easy way to review anything your team needs clarification on, I rarely spend more than 5 minutes a month classifying expenses for them. - EXPERTISE, Bench isn't just software to do your books, THEY are doing your books, understand small businesses and bring accounting expertise at a very affordable price. - Completed my taxes easily and reduced my tax burden, it was the most painless tax process I've had in years.

Cons:

- Communication early in Bench Tax could be improved but I mostly put this on me for being behind. - Having a separate signon for Bench Tax is a bit of a pain but not a big deal.

Bench review

Pros:

Easy to master accounting software and programmatic marketing is a little easier and is practically with Bench

Cons:

One of the easiest software to find and use. No problem likely

Completely botched our accounting--left with thousands of dollars of fines--Non Responsive

Comments: It is a scam. They want you to think that you're using a product but in reality it's a bunch of people in the background trying to maintain the appearance of tech. They have caused us to incur fines of over $15,000. Do not use Bench.

Pros:

It seemed like it was going to be easy and helpful but that is not the case

Cons:

It's impossible to talk to support, they didn't file any returns for us even though we have paid them for 3 years. Customer support is rude and non-responsive. I would trust them with anything.

My first bookkeeper

Comments: So far it’s been great. Good communication from my team, easy to use software.

Pros:

I like the user experience, easy to navigate website.

Cons:

My bank didn’t integrate, not entirely sure that’s Bench’s fault so I don’t want to leave bad marks just for that.

Huge help for an entrepreneur

Pros:

Bench was critical in helping me with catch up books for tax time. Being able to upload reports easily from my bank and various credit card processors made things so much easier, and the bookkeepers learned quickly how to categorize the transactions. I'm not sure when I would have caught up on my historical books without Bench. Going forward from there has been very easy as well. I've been able to link the reports to my card processing software and bank, and get updates as they have questions. So simple! I find the monthly reports easy to understand and its given me a much clearer picture of my numbers.

Cons:

The only challenging initial integration was with Paypal- myself and the Bench team member had a hard time linking everything. We resolved it and I didn't have that issue with other accounts. I do wish that this software integrated with my invoicing system, so I could easily see where the profits were coming from. However, I use that system's reports to get a good idea of what's bringing in income.

Its easy and worth it.

Comments: The sales and onboarding team was amazing. [SENSITIVE CONTENT] is a champion.

Pros:

Reconciliation and ongoing communication through the chat is priceless. The teams are fast and handling things in real time is valuable to the process.

Cons:

I'd hoped my monthly statements would be pulled automatically once I linked my accounts.

Affordable yet Robust Bookkeeping

Comments: I have been satisfied with Bench, and it takes a lot off my mind.

Pros:

The staff at Bench are responsive and helpful. The software is user-friendly. The price is less than most of its competitors.

Cons:

The bank integration does not always function right with the credit union I use.

Satisfied Customer

Comments: I love it. Bench tracks all expenses and the team communicates regarding expenses in question and suggest "expense categories."

Pros:

I love how user friendly the software is. Everything is easy to upload and the team is able to communicate with you and ask for documents or ask questions.

Cons:

I have no complaints about any aspect of the software. Very satisfied overall.

Very Helpful software!

Pros:

They send out weekly/ bi weekly articles to help with your business. Anything from bookkeeping advice, accounting advice and tax tips.

Cons:

Not many cons, this software offers a lot.

Makes My Life as a Small Business Owner So Much Easier

Comments: I started my graphic design studio in 2005 managing our books through a part-time bookkeeper who'd come in 1-2x a month and we'd then communicate a few times every week.. This system got us through the first 8 years of our business. Though functional, it was a time-consuming process. We used Quickbooks at the time, and I could never get comfortable using it to manage or understand our business's numbers even though our bookkeeper was serving it on a silver platter essentially. I've always felt Quickbooks was made for accountants, not business owners or individuals. Once can argue, it's supposed to be "accounting made easy", but it's really designed with accounting in mind — not business owners. As a business owner I wanted to quickly understand cashflow and profitability. Whereas Quickbooks seemed to that and much more, it seemed like I was doing my taxes every time I went in there. So I started looking for options and that's when I found Bench. And Bench, even back then, had already provided a service ideal for a small business owner like me. I've been using Bench since 2013 now, and I can't imagine running my business without them. It's allowed me to focus on my clients and design work which are revenue generating tasks, instead of accounting which was an anxiety-generating task.

Pros:

1) Uncomplicated Interface — For a non-numbers/non-accounting comfortable individual it's great. It provides me access and understanding to our accounting in a very digestible yet informative manner. 2) Accessible Customer Service/Communications — All the interactions I've had have been professional, courteous, and problem solving driven. It's never "No". Instead if a challenge arises, they've always been proactive in finding a way to address the challenge or question providing options. It's also especially great that you can speak with them or chat with them with no barriers. At first I was very concerned about this since our books are the heartbeat of our financials, and i was quickly at ease after the first few calls and chats. 3) Easy — Once our accounts were synced and Bench had a clear picture of how our business worked, it's set-it-and-forget-it. What used to required a few hours every week for me now has become an hour or two a month. 4) Transaction Verification Made Easy — I especially love how they've simplified this process to almost a game.

Cons:

1) Cash based bookkeeping. This was a struggle in the beginning since we were accrual based initially. However upon working with them and our CPA, we've managed to stay accrual based and set up a system where we do adjusted entries after filing taxes. 2) Not Quickbooks. This is not really a con, but should make it clear that if you prefer to stay on Quickbooks, this is not the service for you. They will provide your books as spreadsheets for your CPA to work with. At first I was nervous about this, but it hasn't been an issue. 3) Turnover with bookkeepers — Over the years, we've had I believe 5 different bookkeepers over the course of 6 years due to turnover or what seems to be internal promotions. It has not negatively impacted our service, but I do wish it was less frequent since at times I'd have to remind the new person some of the subtleties of our account.

Exceptional Services for Small Businesses

Comments: Bench executives should develop the bookkeeping platform further to include items that allow the end user to have a total experience. I understand that the goal is to lead bookkeeping into full tech. However, I feel that users want some form of one-on-one service where they are able to meet and greet their bookkeeping expert. What I have experienced with Bench thus far are a series of glitches when adding accounts, not being able to delete accounts, and occasionally having to repeat myself when discussing issues with numerous customer support staff members that are not apart of my bookkeeping team. I feel that by establishing a video conferencing feature to the dashboard, it would be a brilliant opportunity for us, end users, to get to know their experts and to limit any inconsistencies while providing a more personal experience.

Pros:

Bench has done a great job of placing most items one would require into a dashboard that makes the bookkeeping experience simple. Customer service at Bench is by far the best in the market! Staff at the company truly believe in the product and provide the end user with an exceptional experience each and every call.

Cons:

Platform errors and the lack of additional features.

failed to file business taxes on time and did not file personal taxes properly

Comments: tldr; terrible - incompetent, will not support client if there are missed filing deadlines, penalties and fees. During my sales onboarding call, I talked about my 10 years of doing business in NYC as a sole owner of an s-corp. I have to file extensions from time to time. Bench assured me this would be no problem. They missed the deadline to file my business return with NYC. When I asked Bench about this, they replied that they don't do municipal filings. I asked why didn't my tax preparer notify me - the short answer: he didn't even know NYC requires a seperate business filing. It took several intense phone calls to get a refund. My personal returns were the same. They didn't calculate my estimated tax liability when the filed my extension. I got hit with hundreds in penalties and interest. Again I asked why they didn't notify me. Answer: it was in our disclaimer. If you look at what Bench offers, they are charging a premium for essentially googling information for you. The actual issues you will need guidance on, they don't offer. Furthermore, they will not advise you of critical filing necessities because it's in their list of "disclaimers". Find a local tax accountant who understands your business and will have your best interests in mind.

Pros:

The dashboard chat and customer call scheduling were pretty responsive.

Cons:

a bit clunky moving from bookkeeping to tax platforms and not knowing which chat/communication to use when customer support tells you to check your messages.

Bench is Amazing

Comments: 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.

Pros:

The platform is intuitive and easy to use. You speak directly with the individual managing your account, which is nice for continuity. Any discrepancies are easily adjusted or annotated. It exports to multiple file types for integration with other platforms. It links with your accounts so you don't have to manually input everything. AND THEIR TEAM ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT YOU, which is a breath of fresh air.

Cons:

Sometimes there are functionality issues with linked accounts, but usually it is because of the security protocols of the bank or account.

Accounting for Startups

Pros:

We transitioned from a traditional outsourced bookkeeper to Bench and love the ability to go in and view our reports quick and easy. The team is also much quicker to finish month end reports and responds quickly.

Cons:

The onboarding process was a bit difficult. We had to adjust our expense categories to match. We would like to use the accrual accounting adjustment but haven't been able to get help with this yet.

Excellent Solution for Tracking Business Expenses

Comments: Bench has set my mind at ease that all of my business costs and expenditures are being accounted for successfully and tracked.

Pros:

Very easy to use . This product has been very useful for me to track all business expenses and have all of the required audits of my accounts while also producing annual earnings reports. Very professional.

Cons:

It would be nice if the system was able to read the memos for checks written to determine the purpose for the expenditure rather than the business owner having to review each check and identify its purpose for the business.

Completely alleviated stress while reducing my bookkeeping costs

Comments: When I first heard about Bench, I was nervous about switching from a standard, old school accounting firm I'd worked with for many years. Within a week, my fears were dissipating. Three years later, my fears are completely gone. Bench completely meets my needs as a small business owner - while saving me time and money.

Pros:

Bench is SIMPLE. The software provides me an accurate and easy to understand overview of my monthly and annual financials with easy-to- process visuals and graphs. The software integrates automatically with my bank and credit card, alleviating the back and forth calls and emails I used to labor through with my former "brick and mortar" accountants. When I have a question, the Bench team is always available and quick to respond.

Cons:

Nada! No complaints here! I have not experienced a single problem with the Bench software

Takes the hassle work out of financial reporting

Comments: Overall Bench has helped me to track and monitor my business financials. Tax seasons has been a breeze the last two years with Bench - something a lot of freelancers struggle with.

Pros:

- no need to use quickbooks - friendly and responsive staff when issues arise - individual bookkeeper assigned to your account - user interface is friendly and accessible - reporting features are solid - costs less than hiring your own bookkeeper - affordable rates which are advantageous for small businesses

Cons:

- auto syncing does not connect w Capital One bak accounts which results oftentimes a 2-3 week lag in getting monthly reports back - only retrospective reporting; no prospective budgeting features (need to use separate software) - does not provide tax accounting services; only bookkeeping - cannot easily customize revenue subledgers without discussing w accountant - no categories of fixed/variable expenses - cannot upload documents via mobile devices

AMT Bench Review

Comments: Bench allows us to accurately forecast our cashflow with ease.

Pros:

Right from the beginning Bench made everything extremely easy. My bookeeping is now completely hands-off. Our bookkeeper is always very easy to reach if we have questions and learned our business practices extremely fast.

Cons:

I wish I could combined the income statement and other reports to stretch over different years. For instance, if we could view December 2020 and January 2021 in one report instead of having to do the math that would be fantastic.

AMAZING SOFTWARE & CUSTOMER SERVICE

Comments: I'd definitely recommend this software to all my friends. Easy to use and great customer service. They get the job done. Great investment.

Pros:

How easy it is to use the software. It shows you all the financial details of your business.

Cons:

I'm really happy with everything they've done so far.

Life Saver

Comments: nothing short of great.

Pros:

The Bench team was there every step to explain what the software did, how to use it and what they need from me. I am super busy so I needed hand holding and that's exactly what the bench team did.

Cons:

I had to do some of the integrations manually, such as sending over bank statements, but I would to have had to do this with a regular bookeeper anyway.

Must Have for Small Business Owner

Comments: What I love is that I don't have to enter a thing! Doing the books was not only frustrating, but also time consuming. Having Bench on my side means I can focus on building and growing my business, knowing that the data that drives my decisions is solid!

Pros:

Bench isn't a software. It's a team of people USING a dedicated software platform to help you manage your books. This has made all the difference for me in my business. Other accounting programs didn't teach me how to manage my books or read my monthly reports. My dedicated Bench bookkeeper answers my questions, provides me resources and is a partner in helping me understand my business finances to make better decisions. If you are a small business owner who is great with customers, but bad with books...this is your solution. Stop trying to figure it all out yourself. Call Bench and get a dedicated human to help you out! You won't be disappointed!

Cons:

After being on such robust software platform, I miss some of the bells and whistles those packages came with. But, Bench doesn't need all that. It's intuitive and focuses on the financial reports you need to make the best decisions for your business. You may have to look outside the platform to track some of your KPI's.

Bench is making my life easier!

Pros:

This is the easiest bookkeeping software I've ever come across. I've been a freelance art director for many years, and have used Quickbooks, Less Accounting, and Freshbooks. With each of those, I was reminded that I'm not a bookkeeper and usually ended up messing up my books somehow. In contrast, the Bench interface is really straight forward and simple to understand, it is easy to use, and the team is really responsive. The absolute best part is having a team of bookkeepers who know what they're doing, who take care of it all for me! They reach out if there are questions, and I can check in anytime I like. I now have confidence that my books are correct, and I have more time to focus on my business.

Cons:

So far, I've found no cons to using Bench. I only wish I would have done it sooner!

No more all-nighters at tax time! Easy to use, great support team, no more headaches.

Pros:

The interface is clean and easy. Submitting expenses is easy and in most cases automated. My team, led by customer rep, is very responsive.

Cons:

The only thing and I'm splitting hairs is that for more detailed ecommerce analytics, I need to either go to my ecommerce platform and/or pull other data for company performance. It would be helpful to be in one place. But that's a tall order for the great Bench price.

Has improved and simplified accounting for my business

Comments: I switched from a more traditional bookkeeping service to Bench, and couldn’t be happier. Bench is more affordable, easier to use (no more driving cross town to drop off stacks of invoices), with significantly improved reports that are clear and comprehensive. I have such a better grasp on our financials, and I love the interface. I would recommend this to anyone.

Pros:

I love the ease and overall design of the software, and being able to switch between viewing the entire year, and each month. It helps me understand my financials in one glance, all in one place. It makes P&L reports infinitely more comprehensible, and they’re always completed promptly.

Cons:

I have almost no complaints. My issues have been with smaller banks making it difficult to link accounts to Bench, but this is less about Bench, and more about the banks’ software.