Bench vs Bookkeeper360 2022 Comparison

Bench and Bookkeeper360 are virtual bookkeeping services that allow you to outsource your bookkeeping and other financial tasks, combining the best of both worlds—the automation of accounting software and the guidance of a professional bookkeeper. A key difference between Bench and Bookkeeper360 is that Bench focuses on basic bookkeeping tasks for a low price while Bookkeeper360 offers a wider range of services, such as chief financial officer (CFO) advisory, payments and lending, and inventory management.

When to Use Bench

• Better for freelancers and small businesses with limited bookkeeping needs: Bench specializes in backend bookkeeping, such as expense categorization and account reconciliation, and is ideal for businesses that need help with tracking financial data. It’s useful for viewing financial reports, such as your profit and loss (P&L) statement and balance sheet.
• Better for businesses that are behind in their bookkeeping: If your business has fallen more than two years behind, Bench can get you caught up and produce cash-basis financial statements for tax returns. We selected Bench as the best online bookkeeping service for businesses that are behind in their bookkeeping.
• Better for businesses that want unlimited support: Bench’s goal is to make bookkeeping as easy as possible by providing guidance and answering your questions. Your bookkeeping team is available for direct and unlimited communication.

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When to Use Bookkeeper360

• Better for startups and growth-stage businesses: Bookkeeper360 is both scalable and customizable, and its add-on services, such as payroll and human resources (HR) solutions, CFO advisory, and tax filing, make it a great option for these types of businesses.
• Better for businesses that are using accrual-based accounting: Accrual accounting is available with Bookkeeper360, which includes inventory, deferred revenue, and accrued expenses.
• Better for businesses using Xero accounting software: We ranked Bookkeeper360 as the best online bookkeeping service for Xero users, due in large part to its flexible mobile app, which integrates with your Xero account.

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When to Choose a Different Online Bookkeeper

There are some situations where another online bookkeeping service may be a better fit for your business, such as:

• QuickBooks users: If you’re currently using QuickBooks Online to manage your books, then you’re eligible for QuickBooks Live, an affordable add-on. It gives you access to a QuickBooks ProAdvisor who will provide bookkeeping services similar to Bench on a monthly basis.
• Small businesses on a budget: Offering a flat monthly fee of $190, Merritt Bookkeeping is an ideal solution for small businesses on a tight budget. Its bookkeepers will perform basic bookkeeping tasks and track income and expenses for your tax return.
• Businesses that need a financial advisor: If you’re also looking for financial planning services, we recommend Bookkeeper.com. Its financial advisors can assist with issues like business expansion and investment.

Are you looking for more information about the best software to manage your bookkeeping? Check out our recommendations for the best small business accounting software.

Compare Bench and Bookkeeper360 at a Glance

Bench vs Bookkeeper360: Pricing

Bench has fairly straightforward pricing with two plans that offer either basic bookkeeping on a monthly basis or the addition of tax filing and support. As compared to Bench, Bookkeeper360’s plans are more varied, with the option of pay-as-you-go, monthly, or weekly service and additional support like payroll and HR, payments and lending, and CFO advisory. Bookkeeper360 customers have much more flexibility with customizing a plan that suits their business, while Bench users are more limited with their options.

Bench Pricing

Bench offers a choice of two subscription plans: one provides basic bookkeeping while the other includes tax preparation, filing, and planning services. Catch Up and Retro bookkeeping services are also available for businesses that are behind on their bookkeeping, starting at $299 per month. Businesses that need to track their accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) can use Bench’s add-on service for an additional $100 per month. Bench users can connect up to 15 merchant, bank, credit card, and loan accounts for free. If you need to connect additional accounts, you can contact Bench for a custom quote.

* Businesses can add a personal tax return for one partner or shareholder for $45 per month or $430 per year.

Bookkeeper360 Pricing

Bookkeeper360 allows you to select the level of service based on whether you prefer a pay-as-you-go, monthly, or weekly plan. Prices vary depending on your monthly expenses and whether your business uses a cash or accrual accounting method. There are several different services and solutions offered, and you can either choose from the established pricing plans for individual services or work directly with the Bookkeeper360 team to create a custom service plan.

In addition to the prices for bookkeeping, below are the prices for each of Bookkeeper360’s optional services:

• CFO advisory: Starting at $1,000 per quarter
• Tax preparation and filing: $800 per filing for business returns and $200 per filing for personal returns
• Payroll & HR: Starting at $45 per month
• Back office: Starting at $99 per month—includes invoicing and bill pay, payments and collections, and inventory management

Takeaway: Judging from its pricing plans, Bookkeeper360 is better suited to businesses that are seeking additional financial services such as payroll and HR, CFO advisory, and inventory management.

Bench vs Bookkeeper360: Features

Both Bench and Bookkeeper360 offer “lightweight” bookkeeping services by categorizing your transactions and reconciling your accounts every month, providing you with financial statements for review. You’ll also have your own dedicated bookkeeper with both services, but Bookkeeper360 has much more to offer in terms of add-on services. While both offer some form of catch-up bookkeeping, Bookkeeper360 is better suited to start-ups and growth-stage businesses that would benefit from CFO advisory services, payments and collections, and inventory management. Tax support is only available with Bench’s Premium plan, but it’s available as an add-on service with Bookkeeper360.

Bench Features

Bench is designed to be a user-friendly service for small businesses with basic bookkeeping needs such as access to financial statements and integrations to streamline business management processes, such as a payroll integration with Gusto and merchant accounts with Square. With the help of your dedicated bookkeeper, you can monitor your financial statements and stay on top of your books. You can also opt for catch-up bookkeeping or tax support if needed.

For more information about the features offered, check out our Bench Accounting review.

• Dedicated bookkeeper: Upon enrollment, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who’ll manage your account and serve as your point of contact. You’ll also have two to three secondary bookkeepers who are available as backup.
• Financial statements: You’ll receive reports from your dedicated bookkeeper on a monthly basis, which include your P&L statement and balance sheet. You’ll also have access to both real-time and monthly statistics such as expenses. Reports are fully customizable and you can tag transactions with labels to monitor your business performance. You can also export Bench data to Excel and run multiple scenarios.
• Integrations: Bench partners with Gusto to provide payroll services, Bill.com for A/P, and FreshBooks for basic accounting such as invoicing customers. It uses integrations to incorporate the data into your Bench financials.
• Catch-up bookkeeping: Bench provides one month of historical bookkeeping for free, but if you have fallen more than two years behind, it has an add-on service called BenchRetro. It’ll help you get back on track quickly, and your bookkeeper will ensure that your books are accurate and tax-ready.
• Tax support: The Bench Premium plan gives you access to a licensed tax professional who’ll handle your tax planning, preparation, and filing. An annual business income tax return is included in the Premium plan.

Bookkeeper360 Features

Bookkeeper360 allows you to select from a menu of services to create your own customized plan. These services include hands-on bookkeeping, payroll and HR solutions, tax support and filing, payments and lending, and CFO advisory services. All plans come with your own dedicated bookkeeper who serves as your point of contact.

For more information about the available features, check out our Bookkeeper360 review.

• Payroll support: Bookkeeper360’s payroll team will process payroll for both employees and contractors and provide full-service support with direct deposit set-up and health benefits, starting at $45 per month. If you’re using another payroll provider, such as ADP or Gusto, Bookkeeper360 will integrate with it.
• HR solutions: Using a tool called HR360, Bookkeeper360 can provide HR support for small businesses. Available with payroll services and starting at $45 per month, it gives you access to a forms library and salary benchmarking tools. Assistance with federal and state compliance is also available, as well as employee onboarding forms and compliance auditing.
• Payments and lending: Offered as a back-office solution that starts at $99 per month, Bookkeeper360 provides merchant services that can integrate with QuickBooks and Xero and includes next-day funding.
• CFO advisory services: Starting at $1,000 per quarter, Bookkeeper360 enables you to collaborate with your own virtual CFO, who’ll analyze your financials and offer strategic planning or executive coaching. CFOs can also provide inventory projections, workflow planning, and key performance indicator (KPI) reporting.
• Tax services: Bookkeeper360 offers a wide range of tax services, including individual or business income tax filings, 1099 reporting, sales and local tax filings, and overall tax planning and compliance. Prices are $800 per filing for businesses and $200 per filing for individuals.

Takeaway: If you’re looking for a basic bookkeeping service that is intended to track rather than manage your finances, then Bench is a great option because of its ease of use and straightforward pricing plans. It’s also useful if you need catch-up bookkeeping help. Businesses that are looking to customize a plan that suits the needs of their business might want to consider Bookkeeper360, which offers payroll and HR solutions, tax services, and CFO advisory services.

Bench vs Bookkeeper360: Working With Your Bookkeeper

Bench and Bookkeeper360 both assign you to a dedicated bookkeeper upon sign-up, but the difference between the two services is that Bench offers a free trial for one month of prior bookkeeping before you commit to the service. Also, your Bench bookkeeper uses the company’s proprietary software to work on your books, whereas your Bookkeeper360 bookkeeper uses Xero or QuickBooks. Bench bookkeepers are also more accessible, as they’re open to calls as often as needed. Bookkeeper360 limits your financial review meetings to a monthly basis.

While you’re still responsible for day-to-day bookkeeping tasks, your bookkeepers will categorize, adjust, analyze, and reconcile your transactions. They’ll provide you with key financial reports, and tax services are available with both for an additional fee.

Bench: Working With Your Bookkeeper

Bench is so confident that you’ll be satisfied with its service that it offers a free trial for one month of prior bookkeeping. This will be completed within one to two days, and no credit card is required to enroll. Bench bookkeepers will categorize your transactions, reconcile your accounts, and make any necessary adjustments. They’ll then produce an income statement and balance sheet and review them with you over the phone, ensuring that your questions are answered before you commit to enrolling with Bench.

Once you enroll, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who’ll learn more about your business and explain how Bench works. The onboarding process takes approximately thirty minutes, and items such as your bank and credit card statements will be collected during this time. You’ll also receive assistance with connecting your bank and merchant accounts so that read-only data will be imported automatically into your Bench account.

Your bookkeeper will use Bench’s proprietary software to import all of your business transactions and categorize them, reconcile your accounts, and send monthly financial statements for review. Account reconciliation will be completed within 15 business days, and both you and your bookkeeper can leave comments directly on transactions for further review. There’s an in-app status feature that allows you to view what has been completed, what’s in progress, and what’s outstanding. You’ll also receive a year-end financial package to assist with preparing your tax return.

You can book a phone or Zoom call with your bookkeeper or communicate via in-app message directly through the Bench app. They can assist you with monthly calls or a tax season review and welcome calls whenever you have a question. Bench doesn’t charge a monthly support fee or extra for these calls—it’s all included with their service.

Bookkeeper360: Working With Your Bookkeeper

Upon enrollment with Bookkeeper360, you’ll be assigned a dedicated bookkeeper who’ll work with you to create a service strategy that suits your needs. You’ll determine if any additional services are needed, such as payroll or tax filing. Your bookkeeper will then assist you with connecting Bookkeeper360 to your accounting system—either QuickBooks or Xero. You’ll work collaboratively online to manage your finances.

Your bookkeeper is available to meet via email, live chat, or phone. Meetings are scheduled on a monthly basis to review financial reports, and your bookkeeper will grant you access to their screen so that you can view your books. Bookkeeper360’s mobile app is available for Xero users, and it integrates with the software to let you track your goals and view your financial data. You also have access to a full team of bookkeepers, certified public accountants (CPAs), and advisors.

Takeaway: While Bench and Bookkeeper360 have similarities when it comes to working with your bookkeeper, you have more access to your accounting software with Bookkeeper360. Some of the benefits of using Bench are its free trial, which essentially lets you “try before you buy,” and the fact that it provides unlimited support, no matter the size of your issue.

Bottom Line

Whether Bench or Bookkeeper360 is the better option depends on the needs and budget of your business as well as its potential for growth. Bench offers straightforward bookkeeping and proprietary software, with the option to add tax filing and catch-up bookkeeping services. In contrast, Bookkeeper360 offers a customizable package that can be tailored to your business with additional options such as payroll and HR solutions and is available for either QuickBooks or Xero.