Bench Reviews

All of my book-keeping headaches are gone!

Pleasant interactions with all personnel I’ve spoken with over the phone or via email. Onboarding was easy and comprehensive. The financials dashboard -+ the app is well designed and easy to access.

I tested Bench out at the end of 2019 and then hired them for my entire 2020 books. In the beginning, they were on top of things. Then, mid-summer they dropped the ball. My account got passed to another team, and they didn't even touch my books for months. It was a mess. I reached out to customer service and they did give me 2 months of a refund, because the customer service rep (who was very kind & courteous) saw what I saw. In December, I requested for my bookkeeper to fix some miscategorized transactions and later asked, "Hey were those fixed?" She said she fixed them, which was a blatant lie!

On top of all of that, it took them about TWO MONTHS to do my final end of year books that I could pass onto my CPA. I was told they were uploaded, but then they weren't there when I looked for them. I had to request, "Please upload them again." They apologized and did so right away, but by the time I saw them, thank goodness for the COVID extension, because I literally didn't have my deliverables from Bench until April 2020. My filings would have been late.

Generally my experience has been good. The device is expensive compared to other bookkeeping devices. My biggest concern is that in working with the company you get handed off to several different staff. It has been hard to build a relationship with my bookkeeper for this reason. I’ve found that I have to reexplain a number of our specifics over and over again because I am working with new people within the company. It would be better to be assigned to one bookkeeper, especially in our case, which included historical books and present day books. My business isnt open yet but some of the limitations in the software (particularly a lack of an A/P system) cause concern for me in considering continuing use once we are open.

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

So far so good! Love seeing reports every month.

Bench is useful and helped me to navigate the early days of my company, but I could've saved a lot of money doing some of the data correlation myself and hiring a tax expert directly.

Terrible, terrible, terrible. They did not make my life easier. They cost me money in lost time and lost access to reports. They made me pay for the year upfront; Sunk Cost Fallacy kept me there, and I have many regrets. Their Gaslighting makes you think you are the problem.

After a few years with them, I can say they will keep asking over and over for more categorization of the same items to keep you busy so you don't ask for reports.

They did not provide my final year-end report when I canceled their service, even though I paid for the year in advance. They told me it would be months after my tax filing deadline before I would receive it. I'm not counting those chickens.

First time around was good. This time around I’m not too pleased with the person assigned to my account

I saw many articles about bad experiences with Bench before I decided to work with them. I also saw dozens of good reviews about them. I didn't mind bad ones and thought it won't happen to me. But it happened.

Let's talk about the service and value I got; It's just bookkeeping software with a guy sitting in front of it. They consistently put my expenses in the wrong category. I had to check all the transactions manually every time. I did this with Xero for less than $40/mo. All transactions from my bank account are automatically imported to Xero and I just need to check once a month. No value here.

I didn't mind paying +$200/mo more for the same result since we had no problem with them. I also felt more secure since there is someone on the line. They offered me to file my taxes for an additional fee. I agreed. They filed franchise and corporate taxes for 2020. Everything was smooth and simple. I decided to extend my subscription for another year.

Last month, in the middle of tax season, I received an email saying that they will not file my taxes since I am a US non-resident. I respectfully understand that they made some decisions regarding their services. I am totally ok with it, but I should be informed about this in advance.
But informing me a few weeks before the deadline, in the middle of tax season, when it's impossible to find an available CPA is a selfish attitude that shows they don't care about their clients.

As a small business we're constantly prioritizing big time spends and deciding what's worth us outsourcing and spending money on rather than time. Bench was one that, as soon as we were set up and going with them, we've never looked back. It is not cheap. But it's worth it for us, no question about it!

My overall experience is great. this is my second time using them. I had to leave the first time while switching my business format but it’s worth the investment knowing that my books are in order in I can easily track my growth and readjust expenses.

It almost ruined my business working with Bench. I wish I would have known sooner that they are not a good book keeping company. No real time insights. My last completed books were in 2021! I'm still waiting on 2022 and 2023 to be done. Why did I keep giving them a chance?

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

Overall Bench has saved me time with preparing all bank reconciliations and year end tax preparation. It's also a stress relief that it's done thoroughly and properly. It's not just one person being accountable for my bookkeeping needs but the company stands behind it.

Overall I am more than pleased. I have no doubt that my books are being done correctly, which frees me up to deal with other things.

Bench allows us to accurately forecast our cashflow with ease.

We hired Bench to do some simple bank statement sync entries for the previous 6 months. They charged my credit card 1 day after signing the agreement. They never did a single entry when I say a single entry not 1.I call and talk to [sensitive content hidden] and he says they need documentation from my merchant account to begin work. I am like dude all i need is my bank account entries mapped to the chart of accounts. He says they can't start without the merchant documentation.I tell him since they haven't started please issue a refund and I will get the work done somewhere else.Now, I get directed to [sensitive content hidden] (Client Success team) about the refund on [sensitive content hidden] . She responds on [sensitive content hidden] . Sorry I was out sick . Here is her response to my refund request: To answer your question "Have I refunded the account" , there has been no refunds processed. The reason this has occurred is Bench is a stand-ready service (similar to Netflix). What that means is we do not process refunds for previous months of service; whether you have used the service or not.NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM IN THE PROCESS OF DISPUTING WITH THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY NOW THE $1200 THEY CHARGED ME!!!DON'T GET SCAMMED BY THIS COMPANY.

Like family

Bench has made accounting for our small business so simple.
I struggled with other software that had clunky user interfaces (Quickbooks) and a steep learning curve, I needed something that could ensure that my business accounting would be accurate and up to date without it eating all of my time.
Our Bench bookkeepers have all been wonderful - they're fast to respond, give good information and work really well with our accountant. Taxes were a breeze this year after a full year with Bench! I have recommend them to other small business owners and urge you to try them out. You'll wonder what you ever did without them.