Bench

Life and Business Changing

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.

Nightmare! Terrible, unethical company!

Terrible, terrible, terrible. They did not make my life easier. They cost me money in lost time and lost access to reports. They made me pay for the year upfront; Sunk Cost Fallacy kept me there, and I have many regrets. Their Gaslighting makes you think you are the problem.

After a few years with them, I can say they will keep asking over and over for more categorization of the same items to keep you busy so you don't ask for reports.

They did not provide my final year-end report when I canceled their service, even though I paid for the year in advance. They told me it would be months after my tax filing deadline before I would receive it. I'm not counting those chickens.

Extremely Disappointed with Inaccurate and Incomplete Bookkeeping Services

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.

They WILL miss the deadlines. No doubt

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

Do Not Recommend

My service has been terrible. I spent over $5000 and do not have access to my books. Customer service was lacking and my bookkeeper would respond to my inquiry on timeline with responses like... I am on it like white on rice. Professionalism, accuracy and commitment to the contract is very lacking.