Bench shuts down, leaving thousands of businesses without access to accounting and tax docs

We evaluated whether the online bookkeeping service offered tax and consulting, and the scope of those services. Try us for free—we’ll do one prior month of your bookkeeping and prepare a set of financial statements for you to keep. Justin Metros, the co-founder and CTO of Radiator, said years of his company’s accounting and tax documents are still stored on the site, although he no longer uses the platform. If you sign up for a Premium Bench account, you can get tax services like having your forms finalized and filed all in one place. The Premium plan fulfills your bookkeeping needs and also provides help with your taxes.

QuickBooks Live

• We take care of the tedious bookkeeping work, you get more time to focus on what you care about—helping your business succeed.
• While both offer basic bookkeeping and year-end reporting, Premium has unlimited tax advisory services and federal and state tax filing.
• Monthly prices are either $299 or $499 per month, depending on whether you need tax services.
• You will work with a Bench bookkeeping team to reconcile your business’s monthly expenses.
• The Get Started checklist made it incredibly easy to set up my account and ensure I gave the team everything they needed to help me.
• It does, however, allow you to download Excel files of historical data, which can be uploaded to other programs.

You’ll bench accounting have access to IRS forms for filing and reports that provide the information you need to process your 1099s. The Bench platform gives you monthly financial statements and expense overviews to keep you in control of your money. At-a-glance visual reports help you see the big picture and give you actionable insights to help you grow your business.

• In general, the QuickBooks platform is more scalable and widely used among accountants, so it could be a better solution for a rapidly growing business.
• I did have some trouble getting it to load all my transactions for multiple accounts.
• Bench trains all their accountants in-house and each employee undergoes extensive background checks.
• If you have any questions, you can get in touch with your Bench bookkeepers via in-app message or by booking a call.
• Bench is an online accounting software tool designed to help small business owners save time and money when it comes to bookkeeping and taxes.
• By clicking ‘Get Started’, I agree to Bench’s Terms & Privacy Policy.

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Bench Accounting, North America’s largest bookkeeping service for small businesses, has abruptly closed. “As you saw on the website, we’re moving fast and are available to support many of Bench’s customers with their bookkeeping needs,” he told TechCrunch. The company’s entire website is currently offline except for the notice, leaving thousands of businesses in the lurch. Bench touted having more than 35,000 U.S. customers just hours before it was shut down, according to a snapshot saved by the Internet Archive. Also, you can access the Bench app to chat with customer support representatives — although there is only an Apple iOS app available at this time.

Back taxes piling up? Let bench help get your Bookkeeping caught up.

Bench themselves recommend using Gusto, and if you do, you’ll get a 30% discount on Gusto’s services since Bench is a partner. If you’re already using Quickbooks Online, but want the added advantage of a real bookkeeper to help you along the way, you may want to consider QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping. While many reviews speak highly of Bench and how it lets them focus on running their business, some complain of missed deadlines and slow feedback from their bookkeepers. When he couldn’t reach me upon the first call, he called back a couple of times until I answered, and he was helpful once I connected with him on the call. From there, I could quickly integrate my bank accounts and download the Bench app from the Stripe App Marketplace to make integrating my account a cinch.

• This comprehensive Bench Accounting review aims to provide an in-depth look at one of the leading online bookkeeping services available to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Prices start at $399 per month and vary depending on your total monthly expenses and whether you need cash basis or accrual basis accounting.
• Bench offers online accounting services for businesses of all sizes, including bookkeeping for startups.
• Bench simplifies your small business accounting by combining intuitive software that automates the busywork with real, professional human support.
• But if yours is more complicated, you might look into other accounting software options besides Bench accounting.
• Those who left a Bench bookkeeping review on third-party sites said that the platform is easy to use and that the user interface is very intuitive.

See your business’s financial health at a glance, and stay unearned revenue in control of cash flow. The Bench company does online bookkeeping for you, so you can focus on growing your business. Bench helps small business owners like you save time and money doing your bookkeeping and income taxes.

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

The pricing will depend on your plan and your business entity, but it’s possible to have Bench take care of your business tax filing. Bench is a bookkeeping and accounting service that connects small business owners with financial experts. You’ll connect your bank accounts to your Bench bookkeeping account and your dedicated bookkeepers will receive a read-only Law Firm Accounts Receivable Management version of the information. The in-house Bench team then categorizes your transactions and gives you financial statements every month. Bench offers online accounting services for businesses of all sizes, including bookkeeping for startups.

Additionally, Bench customers will get discounts from popular business subscriptions that have a partnership with Bench, like Gusto and Stripe. For businesses that have fallen behind on their bookkeeping, Bench offers a catch-up service to bring your books up to date quickly and efficiently. You’ll also have access to the IRS forms you need to file; the reports give you what you need to file. What I really appreciated about Bench as a small business owner is the access to the research team to ask questions.

Bench Accounting integrates with Gusto to help you manage your payroll transactions. Gusto files local, federal, and state payroll taxes automatically and generates W-2s. It helps you manage employees’ information, benefits, and deductions. The Fit Small Business editorial policy is rooted in the company’s mission, which is to deliver the best answers to people’s questions. This serves as the foundation for all content, demonstrating a clear dedication to providing valuable and reliable information. The number of active Canadian businesses this past June fell to just over 929,000, the biggest monthly decrease since May 2020.