Connecting Accounts FAQ Bench Help Center

The in-house Bench team then categorizes your transactions and gives you financial statements every month. If you’re wondering whether Bench is a service for bookkeeping or accounting, it can be both. Bench offers both bookkeeping services and tax preparation and filing services. 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. Each month, your bookkeeping team — made up of three in-house Bench employees — will categorize all your transactions, reconcile your bank accounts and prepare financial statements. This process is completed within 15 business days once you’ve sent all the necessary documents.

When you sign up, you’ll be matched with a dedicated bookkeeper who is backed by a team of in-house accountants. Your bookkeeper will categorize transactions, reconcile accounts, and prepare reports on your behalf. You’ll also be granted access to an online application that allows you to view the status of your financial data and communicate with your bookkeeper.

Financial Reports

In addition, we employ a comprehensive editorial process that involves expert writers. This process ensures that articles are well-researched and organized, offering in-depth insights and recommendations. At the end of each month, your bookkeeper delivers accurate, up-to-date financials. You won’t need any other software to work with Bench—we do everything within our easy-to-use platform.

Each month, your bookkeeper will import all of your business transactions and categorize them, then reconcile your bank accounts and prepare financial statements. If your bookkeeper has any questions about a particular transaction, they’ll send you an in-app message. When your bookkeeping has been completed for the month, you’ll receive a message inviting you to view your financial statements and account information online. 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 version of the information.

Bench Accounting Tax & Consulting Services

Bench recently added 1099 reporting, with reports available year-round. Your 1099 transactions will be categorized with the date, details, and the payee name, making it easier to process forms. You’ll have access to IRS forms for filing and reports that provide the information you need to process your 1099s. You can send a message to your Bench team from your computer or the app at any time, and your bookkeeper will reply within one business day. You can also schedule a time for your bookkeeper to call you at no additional charge. Bookkeepers are available Monday through Friday during “normal business hours PST,” according to Bench’s website.

My bookkeeper does change every 6 months of so, but the handover has been good each time. I have multiple bank accounts and they always reach out on time when they need a document uploaded. I plan to continue working with them for as long as I’m in business. Plaid is a platform that lets you securely connect your financial accounts to Bench in a matter of seconds.

My bank or institution is not listed in Plaid? What should I do?

A year end package with everything you need to file comes standard with Bench. With Premium, you get expert tax prep, filing, and year-round tax advisory support. Absolutely – we take the safety and security of your financial data very seriously.

• Bench offers both bookkeeping services and tax preparation and filing services.
• This is essentially an extremely overpriced version of QuickBooks Online.
• My bookkeeper does change every 6 months of so, but the handover has been good each time.
• Books that are in progress are not yet at a stage where they can be used for financial reporting.
• Danielle Bauter is a writer for the Accounting division of Fit Small Business.

This is the more complex stuff that often gets missed when people do the books themselves. When you see the “In progress” status, it means that your team is actively reconciling your financial data behind the scenes. They’re still collecting and reviewing your financial data, categorizing transactions, and doing any required adjustments. Books that are in progress are not yet at a stage where they can be used for financial reporting.

When can I use my financial information to make confident business decisions

You can access your income statement, balance sheet, and other reports that are fully customizable. You can tag transactions with labels like products, clients, locations, bench accounting login or sales channels to see exactly how your business is performing. Bench has a proprietary bookkeeping system that doesn’t sync with other accounting software.

It’s best for freelancers or small businesses with relatively straightforward financials. Tax season supportAt tax time, we send a tidy financial package and everything you need to file. Or, let us handle the year end prep and filing for you with BenchTax.Catch up (without the stress)If you’re feeling disorganized and way behind on your financials, don’t sweat it. We can complete months (or even years) of overdue bookkeeping—fast. In this phase, we make the necessary adjustments and reconcile transactions to ensure accuracy and completeness. These may include adjustments for merchant fees, loan interest, and payroll, among others, to capture your expenses and revenue fully and make sure your books are compliant for future tax filing.