Bench Accounting

US
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4.00
Based on 886 Reviews

5

70.65%

4

8.01%

3

2.71%

2

3.16%

1

15.46%
About Bench Accounting

Bench does your small business books for you. We'll connect you with one of our in-house bookkeepers. Then, they'll prepare your monthly and year-end financials—so you don't have to. Sign up for a trial, and get 1 month of bookkeeping done risk-free.

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Kris Williamson
United States | 18 February 2025

I would not trust these people with your money. They started drafting money out of our account and we noticed differences in amounts that should be billed so we questioned it and couldn't get any straight awnsers so we told them to cancel their services we would not be using them any longer. For 4 months they kept taking money form our account and we ended up having to try to go to our bank to get it to stop even though we sent them a cancellation notice. Come to find out they went bankrupt and if I want to get my money refunded to me I have to get in line and try to get my money back from he Bankruptcy group. These guys have gone out and created a new business for Bench but I would not trust them as they stole over $2800 from a small business and all they did was kick the can down the road until they had to file the bankruptcy and their employees are fully complicit in this scam and fraud.

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Sam Stein
United States | 08 February 2025

3 years of relationship ruined by the bankruptcy and employer.com acquisition. I paid for all of 2024, but they won't finish my books for 2024 unless I pay them an incremental $1200 one-time fee or pay ~3K for another year of their service. Not right. Giving 2 stars instead of 1 out of respect for a once good company.

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Mike
United States | 04 February 2025

Employer.com has recently acquired Bench.co, and is reforming the company - however intentionally extorting Bench customers in the process to try and recover revenue from the now defunct and bankrupt operation. I have been a Bench customer for 6+ years, and have paid a minimum of $14,328.00 to Bench, likely a lot more - and I have already paid for the entire year of bookkeeping for 2024. However, my books for 2024 are nowhere to be found and were never even completed to begin with, and we are now in February of 2025. So not only have I not received what I *already* paid for - but they are now trying to hold my books hostage to try and get me onto a new subscription with Employer.com. Not only unethical, but feels like a full-blown scam to me. To make matters worse - I have even been a Brand Partner for them. Meaning over the years, they have had me create video content for them, which has associated my brand and my name with Bench. I have shared Bench and their services with my audience of over 250,000 people, my newsletter of 17,000 as well as close personal friends and colleagues.

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Anthony Meninno
United States | 29 January 2025

They are so predatory with their cancelation process READ THE FINE PRINT. They talk you into signing for the year as it's cheaper but if you want to cancel you owe them the full amount for the entire year. They will fight you constantly to cancel services and they use 3rd party for payments who also use a 3rd party so good luck trying to get reimbursement if you don't like their services.

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Matt Heltzel
United States | 28 January 2025

I signed up for historical bookkeeping and ongoing monthly bookkeeping in October 2024. I was scheduled to pay for it over the course of a year in installments. In December, they filed for bankruptcy. They were acquired by employer.com but I opted out of their service because their bookkeeping is absolute trash (I confirmed this in multiple calls with accountants who agree with me). The service I received was subpar, shoddy at best. AND even though I'm no longer receiving service, I have to pay these montly installments on an ongoing basis. This is borderline a scam, and this misleading advertising and sales tactic was manipulative and gross. I hate playing the victim, but this is a really awful way to treat customers.

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Matthew Conte
United States | 20 January 2025

Bench went under, bought out, but refuses to honor any existing agreed upon work unless you pay the new owners more money. Let it die.

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BS
United States | 17 January 2025

I need to share my recent experience with this company. I've been with them since before the ownership change, and things have gone downhill. First, the original business suddenly shut down without telling anyone, leaving our books unfinished. Then the new owners took over and asked us to pay extra for bookkeeping work we'd already paid for in 2024. When I tried to cancel before my next payment was due, they charged me anyway. Plus, I've noticed our numbers are rarely current - which is pretty frustrating when you're trying to run a business. I actually used to really like their service, but I've since found several AI bookkeeping tools that do a better job, work faster, and have fewer mistakes. And they cost about a third of what I was paying here. Save yourself the frustration - there are definitely better options out there these days. The customer service headaches and billing issues just aren't worth it.

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Richard
United States | 08 January 2025

Theives. We signed up at the later part of December for over $2000. No services. The company declares Bankruptcy and continues to say "Thank you for calling Bench Americas largest bookeeping for small businesses. Run to Pilot for your accounting.

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NP
United States | 04 January 2025

Bench does one thing well - bait and switch.   We signed up for one year with a “Specialized team”. The first team lead quit within 3 months. The second team lead was ok but then totally stopped communicating after 3 months. After that responses came from 7 random people (all not team leads). Messages are rarely well read and an overwhelming amount of communications are to ask me for details previously provided over and over again, such as statements for accounts someone else confirmed were closed, statements already uploaded, access to external accounts that constantly had to be re-administered, and more.  Somehow every few months "the team" lost most of what had been setup many times before. The time it took to constantly re-update made the entire service nearly as time consuming and definitely more frustrating than doing books myself.  It's obvious Bench is trying to automate more and doing a horrible job at it. The AI feature they pushed mid 2024 made tasks take 3 times as long for the client. I'm sure the deplorable communication had something to do with this as well. I would have no faith in them harnessing new technology in a way that benefits their customers.   Looking back, I wouldn't doubt if they had determined my account couldn't be automated as much as they wanted and decided to gently push me out with terrible service.   In the end, only 4 of the 12 months of books I paid for got close to finished and I have a cleanup bill from my accountant.

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Erson
United States | 01 January 2025

Even before their shutdown, and 3 days later, their acquisition, this service was terrible. Your "dedicated" account manager changed every few months. I stopped last year after they failed to complete my books before taxes were due in April. I kept getting reassurances it would be completed. They have the nerve to keep raising their prices despite their services and website getting worse. This year, I rejoined in Sept, and they literally did nothing for my two businesses. Kept saying they were working on my books and they were complete up to June (well that's when my last subscription ended). So email after email they said they were working on it, then they shut down, and 3 days later are back in business? They aren't even offering refunds for literally doing zero. The worst business in America. Avoid like the plague. I hope they fail again.

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Dan misuraca
United States | 31 December 2024

Went out of business overnight and won’t give me access to my data and books from 8 years. The worst….

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Bryan
United States | 31 December 2024

Vertex CPA P.C. is here to help amidst the abrupt shutdown of Bench Accounting. Please contact at 631-708-8140 for a free consultation.

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CJ Zales
United States | 29 December 2024

For those of you who are left without services, I hurt for you. I suggest you try out HarQuin Bookkeeping. They use QuickBooks Desktop or Online (tried and true), you have 24/7 access to your reports on their decor cloud or app, you have a dedicated bookkeeper and a team of experts behind them. They are nationwide, specialize in dozens of industries, and handle sales tax and payroll. Most clients pay $65-$275 a month.

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Sincerely Ty
United States | 28 December 2024

I just received an email today that they will no longer be in business. I have been waiting and complaining for my final 2023 books. I kept getting the run around. Now I can see they were stalling. So now I don't have anything I paid for. I have exceeded the tax extension deadline and now they're out of business. I WANT MY MONEY BACK. THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE AND NOW THEY'RE THIEVES.

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Chad Bishop
United States | 21 December 2024

AVOID this accounting/bookkeeping firm at ALL costs!!! As a small business owner this was a DISASTER! They made many promises, had poor communication throughout the process, constant staff turnover and delivered the worst accounting sheets ever seen and my CPA is now having to completely start over, resulting in more costs. Bench acknowledged their incompetence but refuses to give a refund to allow for the expense of having the entire scope of work completed so I can file taxes. If there were an option for negative stars I would have chosen that option. I can not express enough what a terrible company I believe Bench to be. The entire experience has been a nightmare. 3 years lost and catchup work is now being completed from scratch, as their bookkeeping program is a mess and does not transfer to any of the common programs. Communication is done through online emails and only scheduled phone calls. No updates given throughout the entire process until you have a mess and the CPA tells you all the information provided is such a chaotic mess I can not file my taxes on time. Buyer beware!!! I wish I had the ability to read this type of review before trying their service. I can not express enough the need to avoid this company! Find anyone else!

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SD Calhoun
United States | 18 December 2024

About me; I am a contractor who remodels homes. I am a 1 man operation. I never had a bookkeeper before. I want to get caught up on taxes and get ahead of my books for the first time in many years. I could not find a bookkeeper on the streets for none of the other contractors I know have a bookkeeper. Quickbooks and others apps, I thought charged too much! I sign up for the business app called Freshbooks. They allow me to produce estimates and all. Well, they tell me they come with a bookkeeping company! They really hyped up this service. I signed up for $400/mo!! Well.......the 1st year, I did not know what to expect. I wanted to talk to someone so I can learn. This bench only has a portal. If you want to talk to someone you must schedule an appointment for your bookkeeper to call or zoom you. The person is from out of state in some foreign land who barely speak English. Their system is ran by A.I.. Basically, if they just sold us the AI system we can put our info in and allow it to track everything and not have to pay $400/mo!! So, they pull money out of my account every month! Yet, they are always 3 months behind on the bookkeeping! They keep asking me to put my expenses into the correct category. So between AI and me placing the expenses into the right cartegory, it cause me to think....WHY AM I PAYING $400/month!!!?? I wanted to complete a full 1 year so I can have a real P&L statement. I have been with then 1 year and 4 months now. I want my 1 full year P&L statement but I can't retrieve it because they are 3 months backked up!. I requested them to cancel my account. They emailed me telling me that I can not for another 8 months! I have found a lady who is a real person that I can call and text and talk to. She will be doing bookkeeping for me but now this Bench refuse to release my account. So....Im just going to cancel my debit card and lock them out of my bank account. Im sure the last 3 months of bookkeeping I will not be able to retrieve from them since they are always 3 months in rears. So that is $1,200 I just lost ($400/mo). Do yourself a favor, if you are a small biz like me, just find a real person to do your books. Leave this evil, money grab company alone!

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Patrick
United States | 14 December 2024

I signed up both of my businesses with Bench for bookkeeping services, paying over $10,000 in advance. Shortly afterward, I decided not to proceed with onboarding or utilize their services due to concerns raised in reviews on Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau. When I reached out to cancel, I was informed that “fees are non-refundable,” despite no services being rendered. This stance is highly unethical and indicative of deceptive practices, as Bench.co has retained payment for work that was never initiated. I have escalated this matter to my credit card company and am actively reaching out to the state attorney general’s office in Delaware, where Bench.co is registered, to report these practices. Businesses should operate with integrity and respect for their customers. Retaining funds for unrendered services is not just poor practice but raises significant questions about the company’s ethics. I strongly caution potential customers to review Bench’s terms carefully and consider the numerous similar complaints reported by other customers.

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Anonymous
United States | 13 December 2024

Horrible Business - Avoid at all cost. Negligence to even finish the simplest bookkeeping tasks. Empty Promises - Zero Deliveries. Canned Email responses when you really need help. Same as all their canned replies here on Trustpilot. Your "Dedicated Bookkeeper" changes every year if not earlier. Escalating to Manager, does ZERO. You get fancy canned responses, sometimes cocky responses but always followed by empty promises. I just gave them new deadlines to meet for my year end package needed to file my taxes with my CPA. If these deadlines are not met, my legal team advised me towards a class action lawsuit. Oh and if you think "If they are so bad, why are they listed on all these websites for Best Book Keeping Company"? AFFILIATE MARKETING. That's the only reason. If my concerns are addressed and my deadlines are met, then this review might change, but up until then, this is my experience.

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An Pei
United States | 12 December 2024

Believe the recent reviews. these people are absolutely awful they never got my books done in time, and get this, they got HALF of my books WRONG, in which they denied a refund (i had to file a chargeback) and asked me to wait as they fixed it, while they were already 3 months late on my books because of them, this company is absolutely garbage, not to mention my account manager was absolutely incompetent and kept hassling me with calls to verify stuff, wasting my time at 7 in the morning, avoid at all cost, you can hire a filipino for $3 part time that knows how to do bookkeeping that will do a better job for you, finish on time, and not give you a ton of BS

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Kimberly Adams
United States | 06 December 2024

Run! We signed up following the initial sales call. Sounded like a great service meant to make the life of a business owner easier. We then received the onboarding information, including a disclosure that our personal information would not be protected. We are mind-blown that a company would send such a disclosure and called to cancel. They gave us the run around and continued to charge us. We just heard back saying that only one of our accounts would be cancelled only because we were able to successfully block the charges through our bank. They want to continue to charge us for the company even though no services were or will be rendered whatsoever. I find it embarrassing for a business to have to try to force unhappy customers to pay them. Run while you can!

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