Bench

"Huge help for an entrepreneur"

Pluspunten: Bench was critical in helping me with catch up books for tax time. Being able to upload reports easily from my bank and various credit card processors made things so much easier, and the bookkeepers learned quickly how to categorize the transactions. I'm not sure when I would have caught up on my historical books without Bench. Going forward from there has been very easy as well. I've been able to link the reports to my card processing software and bank, and get updates as they have questions. So simple! I find the monthly reports easy to understand and its given me a much clearer picture of my numbers.

Minpunten: The only challenging initial integration was with Paypal- myself and the Bench team member had a hard time linking everything. We resolved it and I didn't have that issue with other accounts. I do wish that this software integrated with my invoicing system, so I could easily see where the profits were coming from. However, I use that system's reports to get a good idea of what's bringing in income.

"Clean"

Opmerkingen: Our overall experience has been that Bench is personable, intuitative, and user-friendly.

Pluspunten: What we like most about Bench is their level of customer service. From setup to now, the team has been here with us and is extremely easy to reach out to. Beyond this, the interface is very clean, quick to load.

Minpunten: There are some accounts that can't be automated, but we understand this. That aside, we would like to see Bench expand and offer more all-in-one service beyond book-keeping and tax returns or make any partners more accessible (virtual CFO, CPAs would be great).

"Bench is Amazing"

Opmerkingen: Bench is amazing. As a small business owner I was spending too much time categorizing expenses and correctly documenting items for the P&L or balance statement. Bench offers such an amazing service and any time I had a question or issue my Bench specialist was right there. I would highly recommend Bench to anyone who needs bookkeeping services (and their tax team is amazing as well). Couple all of that with their service team's (big shout out to [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]) genuine care for you and your company and you have kind of a no brainer.

Pluspunten: The platform is intuitive and easy to use. You speak directly with the individual managing your account, which is nice for continuity. Any discrepancies are easily adjusted or annotated. It exports to multiple file types for integration with other platforms. It links with your accounts so you don't have to manually input everything. AND THEIR TEAM ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT YOU, which is a breath of fresh air.

Minpunten: Sometimes there are functionality issues with linked accounts, but usually it is because of the security protocols of the bank or account.

"Bench dropped the ball & gave me a partial refund."

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten: Bench is easy to use and navigate. In the beginning, they were fantastic at answering questions I had to help understand how my bookkeeping was being handled. That's about the only good thing I have to say.

Minpunten: I spent more time dealing with Bench all year long than when I was doing my own bookkeeping on a simple spreadsheet. I expected a learning curve in the beginning. They promised it would get easier "as we learn about your business and transactions," but I found month after month that the same transactions got flagged needing my input. Then, when I did thorough checks on my books, I found several transactions not in the right category. The other thing I didn't like was that my bank constantly needed to be reconnected. I truly felt like I spent more time handling Bench than I would've spend just doing my own bookkeeping.

"Only Do What Only You Can Do"

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten: Offloading expense tracking was a massive weight off of my shoulders. I now have more time to lead my small team and know that my accounting is in good hands - if there is ever a question or discrepancy they reach out immediately.

Minpunten: Honestly the price. I wish it were significantly cheaper. Much of the expense tracking is already done through freshbooks, other financial input apps have APIs for the Bench team to use as well - so I don’t think the limited personal interactions (which is not a detriment-the less I can talk to accountants the better) warrants the steep price tag.