Bench Accounting Review: Features, Pricing & Alternatives 2023
Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. He brings his expertise to Fit Small Business’s accounting content.
Danielle is a writer for the Finance division of Fit Small Business. She has owned a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years.
This article is part of a larger series on Accounting Software.
Bench Accounting is a virtual accounting service provider that offers bookkeeping and tax support for businesses and individuals. Prices range from $299 to $499 per month, depending on whether you need tax services. When you sign up, you’ll be matched with a dedicated bookkeeper who is backed by a team of in-house accountants. Your bookkeeper will categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and prepare reports on your behalf. You’ll also be granted access to an online application that allows you to view the status of your financial data and communicate with your bookkeeper.
We’ve secured an exclusive offer for Fit Small Business readers to receive two free months of bookkeeping from Bench!
Overall Score:
4.01 / 5
Pros
- Matched with a team of trained in-house bookkeepers
- Affordable plans include a business income tax return
- Catch-up bookkeeping available for those behind on their books
- Unlimited support included in the monthly price
Cons
- Proprietary software makes it difficult to switch to another provider
- Requires separate software for you to perform invoicing, bill payment, payroll, and inventory
- Accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) tracking are add-ons
- No Android app
- Companies that don’t want to purchase or learn accounting software: Bench will connect you to a team of professional bookkeepers who will handle your books for you, eliminating the need to purchase do-it-yourself (DIY) accounting software.
- Businesses that need unlimited bookkeeping support: Bench provides you with direct, unlimited communication with its in-house research team, making it easy for you to seek bookkeeping support and guidance. You can schedule a call during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, or you can message your bookkeeper and you’ll receive a response within one business day.
- Companies that have fallen more than two years behind in their bookkeeping: If you have overdue books and tax deadlines are approaching, BenchRetro is worth the additional fee.
- Companies and independent contractors seeking tax filing: An annual business income tax return is included in Bench’s Premium plan.
- Businesses that require advanced financial planning and advice: Bench doesn’t offer financial planning services like investment and business expansion. If you want a one-stop shop bookkeeping provider with advanced financial planning and advice, consider Xendoo. Read our review of Xendoo for an overview of the top features.
- QuickBooks Online users: QuickBooks Online users don’t have to change software to receive bookkeeping assistance. QuickBooks Live is an affordable add-on that matches you to a live QuickBooks ProAdvisor who will perform monthly bookkeeping services. Our QuickBooks Online review provides more information about its top features.
- Businesses that may need to scale or switch providers: Bench limits the number of financial accounts you can have with standard plans. It operates on proprietary software that doesn’t sync with commonly used accounting software. For a solution that will grow with your business, try Pilot. Read our review of Pilot if you’re thinking of switching providers or need to scale your business.
- Businesses seeking affordable bookkeeping services: If you’re on a budget and don’t require tax or consulting services, Merritt Bookkeeping is an excellent option. It also received the highest user reviews of any online bookkeeping service we’ve reviewed. For more information, check out our Merritt Bookkeeping review.
If you’re unsure whether Bench Accounting is the right assisted bookkeeping service for you, check out our list of the best online bookkeeping services for more choices.
Bench Accounting Deciding Factors
Supported Bookkeeping Software | Bench’s proprietary software |
Pricing (Monthly Contract) | Starting at $299 per month |
Free Trial | One prior month of bookkeeping |
Exclusive Offer for Fit Small Business Readers | Two free months |
Assigned a Personal Bookkeeper? | ✓ |
Bookkeeper Communications | Telephone and in-app messaging |
Monthly Account Reconciliations & Financial Statements | ✓ |
Back-office Services Like Customer Invoicing & Bill Pay | Starting at $100 per month |
Full-service Payroll Available | Via Gusto integration (read our review of Gusto) |
Tax & Consulting Services Available | ✓ |
If you’re looking for accounting software that’s the most beneficial for your business, we recommend checking out our guide to the best small business accounting software.
Comparison of Bench Alternatives
Monthly Pricing | Dedicated Bookkeeper | Catch-up Bookkeeping | Bill Pay | Invoicing | Bank Reconciliation | Payroll Integration | Tax Filing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Starts at $299 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Starts at $200 | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
 | Starts at $395 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Starts at $399 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | $190 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
 | Starts at $499 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Starts at $129 | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bench Accounting offers two monthly plans, Essential and Premium, which cost $299 and $499, respectively. Both include monthly bookkeeping and year-end reporting, but Premium gives you more features, such as unlimited tax advisory services and federal and state income tax filings.
These prices are based on a monthly contract; if you elect for an annual contract, then monthly prices go down to $249 for Essential and $399 for Premium. Bench also offers a pay-as-you-go option, which is available for only at $349 per month on the Essential plan.
If you require specialized accounting, such as segment tracking, invoicing (A/R), and bill payment (A/P), you’ll need to purchase the Specialized Accounting add-on, which starts at $100 per month.
Essential | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
Monthly Contract (Price per Month) | $299 | $499 |
Annual Contract (Price per Month) | $249 | $399 |
Monthly Bookkeeping | ✓ | ✓ |
Access to a Dedicated Bookkeeping Team | ✓ | ✓ |
Year-end Reporting | ✓ | ✓ |
Unlimited Communication With Bench’s Research Team | ✓ | ✓ |
Unlimited Tax Advisory Services | ✕ | ✓ |
One-on-One Tax Strategy Planning | ✕ | ✓ |
Annual Tax Filing for Businesses Like S-corps, C-corps & Partnerships | ✕ | ✓ |
Annual Tax Filing for Sole Proprietors, including Schedule C & 1099-MISC | ✕ | ✓ |
- Historical bookkeeping: Starts at $299 per month
- Specialized bookkeeping: Starts at $100 per month
- S corporations (S-corps), C corporations (C-corps), and partnerships’ owner’s individual return filing add-on: $69 per month for one partner or shareholder when billed monthly and $59 per month when billed annually
Upon enrollment, you’ll be paired with your own dedicated bookkeeper. They’ll get to know your business, explain how Bench works, and gather everything they need from you to get started, which includes your information for bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and merchant processors. If you need to contact your bookkeeper, you can book a call or message them directly through the app. One of the most appealing features of Bench is that you have access to unlimited support, no matter which plan you choose.
Bench Accounting’s mobile app is available for iOS users and provides financial reporting functionality and real-time cash flow updates. It also gives you the ability to check accounts, vendors, spending categories, dates, credit, and more to ensure that your business is on track. As of this writing, there’s no mobile app for Android devices. You can check out Bench Accounting on App Store.
Bench Accounting is best for freelancers and small businesses with basic bookkeeping needs, such as providing cash-basis financial statements for tax return preparation. It’s an ideal solution if you have limited time or want to outsource your books to a certified bookkeeper so that you can focus on the other aspects of your business. You’ll also have access to a tax professional to help you make tax preparation and filing easier.
The main reason Bench didn’t score better in our evaluation of its bookkeeping service is that it lacks bill payment and invoicing services, but most companies choose to handle those back-office tasks themselves. Also, it doesn’t have financial planning services like investment and business expansion. Finally, because it operates on proprietary software, it doesn’t sync with commonly used accounting solutions like QuickBooks Online and Xero.
Click on the items below for the details of Bench’s features.
The Bench dashboard contains two menus: Accounting and Messages. The Accounting tab gives you an overview of your financial standing and allows you to instantly view reports, if needed. You can also upload documents, run reports, and connect your bank accounts from the tab.
Accounting Tab on Bench’s Dashboard
The Message tab enables you to send and receive messages from your assigned bookkeeper.
Message Tab on Bench’s Dashboard
For an additional fee, Bench’s bookkeepers can provide overdue bookkeeping services, depending on how far you’ve fallen behind on your books. If you’re less than two years behind on your bookkeeping, you’ll need the catch-up bookkeeping add-on. Your bookkeeper will update your books accordingly on your behalf. If you’re behind on your books for more than two years, Bench offers a special program called BenchRetro.
If your business needs invoicing, bill payment, property tracking, or third-party revenue collection, you’ll need to sign up for specialized bookkeeping, which starts at $100 per month.
Bench Accounting integrates with Gusto to help you manage your payroll transactions. Gusto files local, federal, and state payroll taxes automatically and generates W-2s. It helps you manage employees’ information, benefits, and deductions. Learn more about the solution by reading our Gusto review.
The Accounting tab on your dashboard provides you with real-time updates of your financials, showing exactly how much money you have and how you’re spending it. You can access your income statement, balance sheet, and other reports that are fully customizable. You can tag transactions with labels like products, clients, locations, or sales channels to see exactly how your business is performing.
Click on the tabs below to see each of the reports that Bench Accounting generates.
Presented as a visual chart that is broken down by month, this report gives you a quick glimpse of your revenue, expenses, and net profit.
Sample Profit and Loss Report in Bench Accounting
This report shows the areas of your business where you spend the most money.
Sample Top Expenses Report in Bench Accounting
This shows what your company earns, what it spends, and whether the company is profitable.
Sample Income Statement in Bench Accounting
This provides a summary of your assets, liabilities, and equity at a given point in time.
Sample Balance Sheet in Bench Accounting
Bench’s Essential plan includes the preparation of a year-end financial package needed to file your taxes. To make taxes more hassle-free, you can upgrade to the Premium plan, which includes unlimited bookkeeping and tax support. Premium also has filing for sole proprietors, contractors, and businesses (S-corps, C-corps, and partnerships).
When your books are completed, your dedicated tax coordinator will help you track down forms to help you simplify the filing process. Bench partners with Taxfyle for filing your return at the end of the year.
Bench recently added 1099 reporting, with reports available year-round. Your 1099 transactions will be categorized with the date, details, and the payee name, making it easier to process forms. You’ll have access to IRS forms for filing and reports that provide the information you need to process your 1099s.
Those who left a Bench Accounting review on third-party sites said that the platform is easy to use and that the user interface is very intuitive. They also like the ability to access Bench from anywhere when on the go and its tax and consulting services.
One of Bench’s biggest drawbacks is that it doesn’t offer a mobile app for Android. Other users said that they wished that it was possible to use the software for bill payment and invoicing.
The solution earned the following average scores on these popular review sites:
- Trustpilot1: 4.1 out of 5 based on around 860 reviews
- GetApp2: 4.7 out of 5 based on nearly 300 reviews
- G23: 4.4 out of 5 based on about 75 reviews
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Each month, your bookkeeper will import all of your business transactions and categorize them, then reconcile your bank accounts and prepare financial statements. If your bookkeeper has any questions about a particular transaction, they’ll send you an in-app message. When your bookkeeping has been completed for the month, you’ll receive a message inviting you to view your financial statements and account information online.
You can book a call with your bookkeeper or send them an in-app message directly through the Bench app. There’s no extra fee or hourly charges for support, and you’re welcome to reach out to them whenever you have a question.
Once your bookkeeper wraps up your books every month, the information is reviewed by an in-house support team that ensures accuracy. Also, they never make assumptions about your business, preferring instead to reach out with any questions.
Bench Accounting offers two monthly subscription plans, Essential for $299 and Premium for $499. If you sign up for an annual contract, the monthly price goes down to $249 for Essential and $399 for Premium. While both offer basic bookkeeping and year-end reporting, Premium has unlimited tax advisory services and federal and state tax filing.
Once you sign up for Bench Accounting, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who will learn more about your business and help you connect your bank and credit card accounts. They’ll also categorize your transactions and send you monthly reports and a year-end financial package. Premium subscribers will also receive tax assistance.
Bottom Line
Bench Accounting is a great option if you lack in-house accountants or don’t want to purchase or learn how to use accounting software. Bench bookkeepers are trained professionals, so you can be sure that your books are well taken care of, at a fraction of the cost of hiring a local certified public accountant (CPA).
If you only need basic bookkeeping and your business makes enough money to sustain the $299 price tag for unlimited monthly bookkeeping support, then Bench is a cost-effective solution. You can try Bench Accounting for free to see if it’s a good fit.
User Review References:
1Trustpilot
2GetApp
3G2
