17 years helping Australian businesses
choose better software
Bench
What Is Bench?
Bench is for small business owners who want to focus on their business, not their bookkeeping. Every month, Bench turns your data into tax-ready financial statements. You can monitor your business's financial health, download your financial statements, and chat with your team any time via the Bench app. And at the end of the year, Bench provides you with everything you (or your CPA) will need to file your taxes.
Who Uses Bench?
Small business owners who want to focus on their business, not their bookkeeping.
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Reviews of Bench
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Love Bench!
Comments: Bench is the easiest way to manage our books online. It's been a huge time and money saver over the last few years.
Pros:
I've been using Bench for years now and it's so simple to see and manage my books. When something isn't categorized correctly, I add a comment and it's moved over to the right one. It's been great and easy to use.
Cons:
The monthly income statements are behind often. I have to ask to get them on time. I wish it integrated with Quickbooks as my CPA can easily manipulate the data for reports.
Bench Accounting Response
4 years ago
Thanks, Chris! We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and feedback. We've passed your comments to your team as well! Wishing you all the best.
A great value of service for taking care of bookkeeping
Comments:
Great experience and helpful service. Awesome value since an in-person CPA would be double the cost.
Bench was especially around tax time when it comes to working with me to get my numbers buttoned up.
Pros:
The iOS app is simple and easy to use. I appreciate the quick access to messaging back and forth with my bookkeeper, making notes about transactions, and they referred me to Gusto for an integrated payroll service
Cons:
Some of the features like their Pulse tab of real time bank account syncing and electronic PDF statement syncing are glitchy.
Bench - A rollercoaster designed by a clown – full of unexpected twists, turns, and a few too many pies in the face.
Comments:
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.
Pros:
Simple and easy to use platform interface and features. Consolidated communication in platform.
Cons:
Contradicting communication from our point of contact. Multiple changes with our point of contact and main bookkeeper. Charging us 21+ months of billings for accounting and tax services they never provided or actually completed. Bench promising to fix and refund those services and tax filings and then never doing so, over and over fro months. Tax filing errors that we had to discover with a 3rd party accounting firm. If you like getting ripped off, money stolen and then have to hire another accounting firm to fix all the issues they caused, then Bench is for you.
Good Quality; Probably too Much for a Smaller Company
Comments: I like the product, but am unsure of the value for smaller firms with fewer expenses.
Pros:
I like the ease of use. There is a lot of info that is consolidated well, and the customer service is quick.
Cons:
Overall the service works well, but for a small company with relatively few expenses, the $300/mo pricing is a bit steep. I feel that a tiered rate based on expense quantities would be valuable to smaller companies wishing to offload the accounting work, but can't justify the cost.
Bench Accounting Response
last year
Thank you for your feedback. We strive to offer competitive pricing to reflect the value of the services we provide, including access to a dedicated team of in-house bookkeepers and our proprietary software that automates many bookkeeping tasks. Most recently, we launched Real-Time Data from your connected financial accounts. This means you get a snapshot view of all your money in and money-out, out whenever you need it, even before your books are closed, allowing you to focus on what's most important - focusing on your business.
Bench is great
Comments: My accounting was solved using bench, literally it's set it and forget it, these guys are top notch and make your life easy.
Pros:
Incredibly supportive staff, intuitive friendly user-interface, provided year end tax portfolio that I could easily give to my CPA. Bench is just fantastic, I can't say enough good things about the way they have handled my accounts for the past 3 years, highly recommend. If you're a professional, this is for you.
Cons:
The only con here is that I didn't switch sooner.
Bench Accounting Response
5 years ago
Thank you so much Byron for your kind words! We are so happy to be working with you.
