Completely alleviated stress while reducing my bookkeeping costs

When I first heard about Bench, I was nervous about switching from a standard, old school accounting firm I'd worked with for many years. Within a week, my fears were dissipating. Three years later, my fears are completely gone. Bench completely meets my needs as a small business owner - while saving me time and money.

Pros

Bench is SIMPLE. The software provides me an accurate and easy to understand overview of my monthly and annual financials with easy-to- process visuals and graphs. The software integrates automatically with my bank and credit card, alleviating the back and forth calls and emails I used to labor through with my former "brick and mortar" accountants. When I have a question, the Bench team is always available and quick to respond.

Cons

Nada! No complaints here! I have not experienced a single problem with the Bench software

Exceptional Services for Small Businesses

Bench executives should develop the bookkeeping platform further to include items that allow the end user to have a total experience. I understand that the goal is to lead bookkeeping into full tech. However, I feel that users want some form of one-on-one service where they are able to meet and greet their bookkeeping expert. What I have experienced with Bench thus far are a series of glitches when adding accounts, not being able to delete accounts, and occasionally having to repeat myself when discussing issues with numerous customer support staff members that are not apart of my bookkeeping team. I feel that by establishing a video conferencing feature to the dashboard, it would be a brilliant opportunity for us, end users, to get to know their experts and to limit any inconsistencies while providing a more personal experience.

Pros

Bench has done a great job of placing most items one would require into a dashboard that makes the bookkeeping experience simple. Customer service at Bench is by far the best in the market! Staff at the company truly believe in the product and provide the end user with an exceptional experience each and every call.

Cons

Platform errors and the lack of additional features.

Takes the hassle work out of financial reporting

Overall Bench has helped me to track and monitor my business financials. Tax seasons has been a breeze the last two years with Bench - something a lot of freelancers struggle with.

Pros

- no need to use quickbooks - friendly and responsive staff when issues arise - individual bookkeeper assigned to your account - user interface is friendly and accessible - reporting features are solid - costs less than hiring your own bookkeeper - affordable rates which are advantageous for small businesses

Cons

- auto syncing does not connect w Capital One bak accounts which results oftentimes a 2-3 week lag in getting monthly reports back - only retrospective reporting; no prospective budgeting features (need to use separate software) - does not provide tax accounting services; only bookkeeping - cannot easily customize revenue subledgers without discussing w accountant - no categories of fixed/variable expenses - cannot upload documents via mobile devices

RUN FAR FAR AWAY!

Pros

Nothing food to say honestly. Never got it off the ground. When I asked for a refund it was a hassle

Cons

If you look around and have your ducks in a row you will find these people are price gouging businesses and their pricing tactics are horribly unfair to the prospective customer. My best advice is RUN FAR FAR AWAY!

It's like having a personal bookkeeper at a much lower cost.

We save a considerable amount of money over brick-and-mortar services and save a huge amount of time by not trying to do this ourselves with Quick Books or similar software.

Pros

Value. They provide services like a personal bookkeeping company. Very helpful and quick response.

Cons

Nothing comes to mind. We've been very happy with it.