Bench 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

In the wake of COVID I left the agency I was at to do my own agency. While I had my business as a side-agency for a number of years and applications like Freshbooks and then Quickbooks Self-Employed helped me manage things I dreaded tax season and all the work I needed to do every year. During COVID I had to get my business up and going, get clients, execute projects, and get things done. I had zero time for managing my books. When the end of the year came up I dreaded the work that was ahead of me with several big projects in progress. Then, through the service I use to pay my contractors, I found out about Bench and it has changed my business AND my life. Bench took 15 months' worth of books that needed to be done and assigned them to a "catch-up" accountant. He went through everything, classified all my expenses, and had a simple way to ask me to review anything they need clarification on. They pulled difficult things to deal with like my processing fees from Stripe and instantly accounted for them. On top of that, having an honest to goodness accountant and accounting team to know how to PROPERLY set up a Chart of Accounts and classify expenses was game-changing. This service easily pays for itself in the time it saves me and the peace of mind it gives me.

This company just went silent for literally MONTHS while they underwent an acquisition (they only let customers know about this after the fact). They are unclear about what information they need from you, the customer, and ask for various things in multiple places. For instance, my "alerts" section continuously tells me I'm "all caught up!", but then my tax person will ask for things in lengthy messages that I'm not notified of. Speaking of tax person - I've been a client for two years and have had SIX different accountants, and have to get each new person up to speed. I have to file an extension again because they didn't have my bookkeeping ready in time, despite me monitoring and updating all transactions on my end throughout the year. When I ask for a phone call, they don't call me. When I call them, no answer. At this point it feels like a borderline scam.

Overall experience is positive. There is a slight learning curve at first but once you get used to the system, it becomes intutive. It's a great value for money.

Really bad and dishonest service. They always claim that they marked the file as high priority...but nothing happens.

I signed up for Bench's bookkeeping services in September, expecting professional and accurate records within the 10–15 days they promised for historical bookkeeping. However, nearly two months later, my records remain incomplete, and the work done so far contains hundreds of miscategorized transactions. Despite repeatedly submitting requested documents, my accounts are still inaccurate, and there seems to be no end in sight. The Terms of Service state they will deliver "accurate monthly books and year-end tax-ready financial packages." Unfortunately, this has not been my experience. For two months in a row, I've received inaccurate monthly books, and I now lack confidence in their ability to complete accurate year-end financials. Had I relied on their data for tax filing, I would have drastically overpaid in taxes. Despite reaching out and escalating to their management, I’m left with the feeling that this service is not delivering on its promises. I paid over $4,600, and yet I’m now hiring another provider to get the job done correctly. I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel obligated to warn others about my experience. I would strongly advise anyone considering Bench to look elsewhere for reliable bookkeeping support.

I am a bit puzzled on how there are so many 5 star reviews. My experience has been a total disaster. Stay away, just Google for "Bench reviews Reddit" and you will find the real users experience.

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?

Oh, Bench, where do I begin? Our journey together has been like a rollercoaster designed by a clown – full of unexpected twists, turns, and a few too many pies in the face. From the magical year of 2020, we embarked on an adventure, not knowing it would turn into a saga worthy of its own sitcom. Our point of contact changed more often than a chameleon in a disco, each time promising a smooth transition that felt more like a game of hot potato. The nuances and complexities of our account were supposed to be handled with care, yet they were tossed around like a salad, leading to a delightful mix of confusion and misplaced assumptions. Let's not forget the enchanting dance of communication with our main Bench point of contact, our very own guide through this nightmare. Their performances were nothing short of spectacular, a blend of confusion, misinformation, and the occasional contradiction. It was like watching a mime trying to explain quantum physics – utterly baffling but strangely captivating. If you like jokes, you should hear the one were they cancel tax fillings the week before they are due after months of working with their team to get everything reviewed and ready for filing. Their solution, leave your business hanging and waiting for updates and promises that never seem to come all while collecting their monthly billings and service fees but never actually providing the contracted services. Use Bench if you like your accounting services like a rollercoaster without the thrill, a puzzle without a solution.