QuickBooks Live vs Bench Accounting 2022 Comparison

Choosing the right virtual bookkeeping solution for your business will help you to maximize your tax deductions and run your business effectively, creating an excellent return on your investment. QuickBooks Live will manage your bank feeds and reconcile your accounts for a low monthly price while Bench offers the same services plus tax and financial advice for a higher monthly fee.

You’re still responsible for daily bookkeeping tasks with both, but your bookkeepers will maintain, update, fix, reconcile, and categorize your transactions. They will review and close your books at month’s end and provide you with key financial reports. One major difference between the two is that Bench also offers tax services and catch-up bookkeeping if you have fallen behind with your books.

When to Use QuickBooks Live

• Better for QuickBooks Online users who handle their day-to-day bookkeeping tasks: QuickBooks Live bookkeepers will provide assistance with setting up your QuickBooks and help with reconciling your bank and credit card accounts, leaving the ongoing tasks to you.
• Better for QuickBooks Online users looking for access to a QuickBooks ProAdvisor: Upon enrollment, you will be matched with a dedicated bookkeeper who is often a QuickBooks ProAdvisor. They’re available to answer your questions and provide analysis of your monthly reports.

When to Use Bench

• Better for small business owners looking for tax advice and tax preparation: Bench offers a one-stop shop of services for the small business owner, and they can all be combined with its monthly bookkeeping services.
• Better for small business owners looking for chief financial officer (CFO) advisory services and business consulting: If you’re seeking a CFO or someone to assist with high-level business decisions, Bench is an excellent option. These are add-on services that are priced based on the complexity of your needs.

Do you want to learn more about the best accounting software for your small business? Check out our picks for the best small business accounting software.

When to Choose a Different Online Bookkeeper

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

• Xero users: Since QuickBooks Live works with clients that are QuickBooks Online users and Bench uses its own proprietary accounting software, Xero users may opt for Bookkeeper360, which provides bookkeeping, accounting, and advisory services for Xero and QuickBooks users.
• Small businesses on a budget: If you’re looking to save money, you may want to consider free software, such as Sunrise, which has assisted bookkeeping available for a fee.

For more information about the types of assisted bookkeeping available for small businesses, check out our article on the best online bookkeeping services.

Compare QuickBooks Live to Bench at a Glance

Quickbooks Live vs Bench: Pricing

Bench pricing is flat-rate, and QuickBooks Live is priced based on your monthly expenses, regardless of the number of transactions you have. QuickBooks Live works with any version of QuickBooks Online, which starts at $25 per month for QuickBooks Simple Start.

QuickBooks Live Pricing

There are three levels of service available for QuickBooks Live, which vary in price depending on your company’s monthly expenses. Other than that, the services offered are essentially the same as all provide access to a dedicated bookkeeper, monthly scheduled meetings, and month-end close with financial reports. QuickBooks Live allows you to connect an unlimited number of accounts.

There’s an initial cost of $500 for onboarding, and then the appropriate monthly fee applies. QuickBooks Live doesn’t offer a free trial, but you can book a free consultation for more information about its services. Also, you don’t need to sign a long-term contract and can switch or cancel service at any time without incurring fees.

*Doesn’t include software subscription and banking fees.

Bench Pricing

Bench has two subscription plans available: one provides basic bookkeeping while the other includes tax preparation, filing, and planning services. Catch Up and Retro bookkeeping services are available for businesses that are behind on their bookkeeping, starting at $299 per month. Bench also offers a specialized bookkeeping service for an additional $100 per month for businesses that need to track accounts payable and accounts receivable. Bench users can connect up to 15 merchant, bank, credit card, and loan accounts for free. If you need to connect more accounts, you can contact Bench for a custom quote.

There’s a free trial available for one prior month of bookkeeping, which will be completed in one to two days, and no credit card is required. Bench bookkeepers will reconcile your accounts, categorize your transactions, and make any necessary adjustments to your books. They’ll produce a balance sheet and income statement and review them with you over the phone, ensuring that all of your questions are answered before you commit to signing up with Bench.

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

Takeaway: The starting cost for bookkeeping services that are provided by QuickBooks Live is significantly less than Bench’s services when you consider that the minimum cost of a QuickBooks Online subscription is $25 per month for QuickBooks Simple Start. While both offer basic bookkeeping services, Bench has options for tax services, catch-up bookkeeping, and A/P and A/R tracking or segment-level reporting for an additional fee.

QuickBooks Live vs Bench: Features

Both QuickBooks Live and Bench offer “lightweight” bookkeeping services, providing you with financial reports and reconciling your accounts every month. But while Bench offers additional services besides bookkeeping, QuickBooks Live can do a bit more heavy lifting because of the software itself, which is far more customizable and has more features. Bench’s proprietary software lacks any sort of application programming interface (API) that allows you to combine financial and nonfinancial data, whereas, with QuickBooks, you can integrate data, such as inventory, to obtain a comprehensive picture of your business.

QuickBooks Live Features

QuickBooks Live has a couple of features that set it apart from the competition, specifically a 100% Accurate Books Guarantee, which allows you to request a free audit to ensure that your books are accurate. All of its bookkeepers are certified QuickBooks Pro Advisors, which means that they’re well versed in the ins and outs of the software. Your bookkeeper will reconcile and close your accounts each month and provide you with financial reports that they’ll review with you on a monthly basis.

For more information about the features offered, check out our QuickBooks Live review.

• Dedicated bookkeeper: Your dedicated bookkeeper will assist you with setting up your chart of accounts, connecting your bank and credit card accounts, and will meet with you to review your reports or answer any questions. One of the most standout features of QuickBooks Live is the ability to communicate with your bookkeeper via one-way video conference and screen sharing. This can help to cut down on any potential miscommunication when reviewing a transaction or referencing documents.
• Financial reports: Your bookkeeper will provide you with key financial reports, such as a balance sheet and P&L, at the end of each month. While you can also process these yourself within QuickBooks Online, you’ll have the opportunity to review the reports with your bookkeeper and ask any questions that you may have.
• 100% Accurate Books Guarantee: QuickBooks Live guarantees its bookkeepers’ work, and if you’re at all concerned about the accuracy of your books, you can request a free audit by QuickBooks specialists. They’ll search for errors, such as miscategorized transactions and account balances, in QuickBooks that don’t match the actual account balances.
• Month-end close: At the end of each month, your bookkeeper will close your books. After reviewing all of the month’s transactions and making any necessary adjustments, they’ll set a closing date and lock anything that was entered before then. You’ll be notified before they close out the month so you can enter any transactions that might be missing. If any errors are discovered that require opening your books for any month, they will be corrected at no charge.
• Historical data: Your bookkeeper will assist with importing any transactions that have occurred in the past, ensuring that your books are up to date.
• QuickBooks Pro Advisors: QuickBooks Live bookkeepers are also certified QuickBooks Pro Advisors, and some are even certified public accountants (CPAs). They have experience working with small businesses and have received extensive training in accounting, bookkeeping, and finance.

Bench Features

More than just a bookkeeping service, Bench offers a variety of services that are useful for small businesses that need tax assistance or catch-up bookkeeping services. Your dedicated bookkeeper will work with you to determine if any add-on services are necessary for your business, and you can enjoy the convenience of real-time reports and access to a mobile app.

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

• Mobile app: Available for iOS, the Bench mobile app allows you to upload digital copies of bills and receipts to the Bench software for your bookkeeper to review. You can also communicate with your bookkeeper through the app or check your accounts, vendors, spending categories, and more.
• Dedicated bookkeeper: You’ll be assigned your own dedicated bookkeeper, who will organize your business transactions, prepare financial statements, and serve as your point of contact for any questions you may have.
• Catch-up bookkeeping: Bench offers catch-up bookkeeping as an add-on service; Bench Retro is specifically for businesses that have fallen more than two years behind with their bookkeeping. Bench will help you get back on track quickly, and your bookkeeper will work with a supporting team to ensure that your books are accurate and tax-ready.
• Tax preparation and planning: The Bench Premium plan includes access to a licensed tax professional, effectively making it a one-stop shop for small business owners. Bench will handle your tax planning, preparation, and filing from start to finish.
• Financial reports: Bench has a robust reporting feature that provides you with standard reports, such as a P&L and balance sheet. You also have access to both real-time and monthly statistics like expenses. Reports are fully customizable, and you can tag transactions with labels to view your business performance.
• Payroll with Gusto: Bench partners with Gusto to provide payroll services, and Bench clients are eligible for three free months. Gusto will process your employees’ payroll, automatically file local, state, and federal payroll taxes, and generate W-2s. You’ll also be able to manage employee information, deductions, and benefits.

Takeaway: Bench offers a variety of services besides basic bookkeeping, including tax preparation and filing and catch-up bookkeeping. In contrast, QuickBooks Live bookkeepers don’t provide tax services and, although they’ll enter historical data, they won’t go further back than five years.

QuickBooks Live vs Bench: Working With Your Bookkeeper

With both Bench and QuickBooks Live, you’ll be able to develop a relationship with your dedicated bookkeeper. However, while both offer the option of collaborating via phone, email, or live chat, QuickBooks Live also lets you meet with your bookkeeper via one-way video chat, and you can share your screen with them. Therefore, if you want to feel like your bookkeeper is in the room with you, then QuickBooks Live is the better option.

QuickBooks Live: Working With Your Bookkeeper

During the onboarding process, you’ll have a one-way video chat with your bookkeeper. They’ll walk you through connecting your bank and credit card accounts and setting up your chart of accounts. After that, you’ll receive PDFs of key financial statements each month. There’s the option to have your bookkeeper walk you through these reports. While most users will meet with their bookkeeper once or twice per month, there’s no set amount of time that you can meet with them. However, you’re only able to schedule one appointment at a time.

You’ll then be given access to the QuickBooks Live Hub, which is your own personal, secure space on the site and is available 24/7. You’ll be able to check on your bookkeeper’s progress there, view related documents, and access their schedules so that you can make an appointment for a video chat. Your bookkeeper will maintain their task list here, so you’ll be able to view items that have been completed and those that are still pending.

QuickBooks Live Dashboard (Source: QuickBooks Live)

Bench: Working With Your Bookkeeper

Upon enrollment with Bench, you’ll be assigned a team of three dedicated bookkeepers, one of which will be your account manager. Your account manager will learn more about your business and help you to customize your account for accurate expense tracking. Once your account is established, your bookkeeping team will send you financial statements for review. You’ll also receive a year-end financial package, which includes all of the data that your accountant will need to file your taxes.

You can access your financial information at any time by logging into your account on the Bench website. Your bookkeeper uses Bench’s proprietary software, which is both user-friendly and intuitive, to track your income and expenses. During the onboarding process, your account manager will help you connect your bank and merchant accounts so that read-only data will be imported automatically into your Bench account. You can contact your bookkeeper to schedule a call via a direct message on the Bench website or by app or email. The software also allows you and your bookkeeper to leave notes on transactions, which saves time.

Bench also offers historical bookkeeping—the team will sort through months or even years of mismanaged books and recover missing documents to get you back on track. You’ll receive a financial summary for every month of historical bookkeeping as well as any supporting documents that may be necessary to apply for loans.

Example of Accounts section of Bench Dashboard (Source: Bench)

Takeaway: Like Bench, QuickBooks Live matches you with a bookkeeper. The difference is that with QuickBooks Live, you’ll have a single bookkeeper with specialized experience in your industry, a minimum of at least three years of bookkeeping experience, and a certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor.

Bottom Line

Whether QuickBooks Live or Bench is the better option depends on your budget and the complexity of your business. QuickBooks Live offers more scalability and customization as well as more enhanced options for communicating with your bookkeeper. Bench offers straightforward bookkeeping and software, with the option to add services, such as tax filing and catch-up bookkeeping.