Bench

Pros

I really like it that Bench people essentially leave me alone and they will do all the bookkeeping stuff for me. It is not my forte, so it is great and done at much lower price point than hiring a firm. The web interface is great and pretty much you upload your expense receipts and they will take care of it.

Cons

Occasionally the bank statement transfers stops, then takes a bit of trial and errors for it to work, only happens perhaps once a year or so. No biggie, but could improve it.

Pros

My Team and I are very happy with the Bench software and customer service. It's easy to use, a breeze to read, and simple to update.

Cons

The lag time to get a response from a human being is something I'm getting used to as our world is moving to the online/AI experience.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Bench

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Bench

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

Reasons for Choosing Bench

Reasons for Switching to Bench

Pros

What we like most about Bench is their level of customer service. From setup to now, the team has been here with us and is extremely easy to reach out to. Beyond this, the interface is very clean, quick to load.

Cons

There are some accounts that can't be automated, but we understand this. That aside, we would like to see Bench expand and offer more all-in-one service beyond book-keeping and tax returns or make any partners more accessible (virtual CFO, CPAs would be great).

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Bench

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Bench

Pros

It was great to see a breakdown of all three financial statements for our business, both from a macro and micro perspective. Being able to pull up accounts and see specific transactions from desktop and on the go through mobile was indispensable in running a healthy business and planning for the future. The messaging system was prompt and efficient for keeping in touch with our book keepers and account manager with any pressing questions. They were always very professional and did high quality work. Any questions or concerns with categorization and interpreting information were answered well.

Cons

I think it would be helpful to expand the software to allow for the dropping of all receipts into our account in order to have a one stop location for accessing and printing receipts for accounting and tax purposes. We were informed that only high ticket items needed receipts, and so we ended up using other third party software to track mileage and keep track of receipts.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Bench

Reasons for Switching to Bench