BENCH ALTERNATIVE
Bench alternative:
what happened, and how to move your books.
Bench still operates. It shut down on December 27, 2024, Employer.com announced it was buying it three days later, and its plans now run from $199 to $649 a month. Stay if you want tax filing from the same provider. Switch to ZeraBooks bookkeeping services, from $150 a month, if you want your own read-only login and every month proven against your bank statements.
Free call · from $150 a month (USD) · we set up your opening balances from your Bench reports
WHAT HAPPENED
What happened to Bench?
Bench was a bookkeeping service for small businesses that ran on its own software. It closed with almost no notice at the end of 2024 and was bought within days. Here is the timeline from Bench’s own notices and its pricing page.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| December 27, 2024 | Bench’s site told customers the platform would no longer be accessible from that day, and suggested they file a six-month IRS extension while they found a new bookkeeper. |
| December 28, 2024 | The date Employer.com’s announcement gives for Bench suspending operations. |
| December 30, 2024 | Employer.com, based in San Francisco, announced it was acquiring Bench. It said customers would keep their bookkeepers, keep full access to the platform, and that their data was intact. |
| October 15, 2026 | Bench’s pricing page lists bookkeeping plans from $199 to $649 a month, a tax-only plan and an hourly bookkeeper who works inside QuickBooks Online. |
Sources: Bench’s press release (bench.co/press-release), Bench’s pricing page, and TechCrunch’s report of December 30, 2024, which quotes Bench’s shutdown notice. Price for the takeover was not disclosed.
Tell us about your books. We’ll scope the work and quote it before anything starts.
SIDE BY SIDE
ZeraBooks bookkeeping vs Bench
Bench prices were read on its pricing page on October 15, 2026, in U.S. dollars. Where Bench’s page doesn’t say something, we say so instead of guessing.
| Feature | ZeraBooks bookkeeping service | Bench |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the books | Our team, on ZeraBooks’ own AI ledger | Bench’s bookkeepers, on Bench’s own software |
| Monthly price | From $150, agreed after a free call | Bookkeeping Light $199 (revenue of $250K a year or less), Bookkeeping $399, Bookkeeping + Tax $649 |
| Paying yearly | Quoted monthly | $1,910, $3,830 or $6,230 a year for the same three plans |
| Tax filing | No. We hand clean books to your tax preparer | Yes, on Bookkeeping + Tax, or Full-service tax alone at $300 a month |
| Catch-up | Quoted once, on top of the monthly fee | Free for the current year on an annual plan; older years quoted as a flat fee |
| Hourly option | No | $55 an hour plus $1,200 onboarding, working inside your QuickBooks Online |
| Seeing your books | Your own read-only login: transactions, reconciled months and reports | Not described on its pricing page |
| Where clients are | Anywhere in the world | Not stated on its pricing page |
Competitor facts from their public pages, checked October 15, 2026: Bench pricing · Bench press release, December 30, 2024 · TechCrunch, December 30, 2024. Prices and features change; check each vendor before you buy.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
What should you download from Bench before you switch?
Take everything while you still have a login. The new bookkeeper needs your last closed balances, and you need the history for tax questions later.
- 1
The year-end financial statements
The profit and loss and balance sheet for every year Bench closed. Your tax returns were built on these, so keep them even after the move.
- 2
The latest balance sheet or trial balance
As of the last month Bench finished. This is where your new books start, so the date on it matters more than any other report.
- 3
Every transaction export Bench offers
A list of categorized transactions by month shows how each vendor was treated. A new bookkeeper can follow the same treatment instead of guessing.
- 4
Your bank and card statements, from the bank
Download the PDFs from each bank directly, not from Bench. They are the record every month gets proven against, and the bank keeps them whatever happens to a bookkeeping provider.
- 5
Anything you uploaded
Receipts, loan papers and payroll reports you sent Bench. If they are hard to get back, ask your bank, lender and payroll provider for copies.
WORKED EXAMPLE
How do you set opening balances from Bench’s last month?
A fictional shop whose Bench books end on December 31, 2025. The new books start on January 1, 2026 with the balances below. Before anyone trusts them, each bank and card balance is compared with the printed statement.
| Account | Bench balance sheet, Dec 31 | Printed statement, Dec 31 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business checking | 18,420.55 | 18,970.55 | 550.00 |
| Savings | 25,000.00 | 25,000.00 | 0.00 |
| Business credit card | (2,316.40) | (2,316.40) | 0.00 |
| Equipment loan | (14,800.00) | (14,800.00) | 0.00 |
Checking is 550.00 higher at the bank because check #1043, written on December 29, hadn’t cleared yet. That is fine: it is listed as an uncleared check and the opening balance stays at 18,420.55. A difference with no uncleared item behind it means the last months Bench closed need another look before anything else is built on them.
WHICH MONTHS TO CHECK
Which months should you re-check after leaving Bench?
You don’t need to redo every year Bench kept. Check the months where a mistake would still cost you something.
The last month Bench closed
Its balances become your opening balances, so it has to tie to every bank and card statement. This is the one check you can’t skip.
Every month of a tax year not yet filed
If December 2024 or any of 2025 was still open when you left, prove each month against its statement before your return is prepared.
Months around the shutdown
Late 2024 and early 2025 are where work was most likely left half done. Look for uncategorized lines and transfers recorded on one side only.
Anything that never tied
If a month won’t reconcile, it needs fixing, not carrying forward. Our guide to bookkeeping cleanup shows the order of that work.
WHO SHOULD PICK WHICH
Should you stay with Bench or switch?
Stay with Bench if you want bookkeeping and the business tax return from one provider, or an hourly bookkeeper who works inside your existing QuickBooks Online. ZeraBooks does neither. If your books have been fine since the takeover, moving has a cost of its own.
Switch to ZeraBooks if you want to see your own books at any time, with every month proven against your bank statements, and a monthly price that starts at $150. You send documents through an upload portal and keep a read-only login. Your tax preparer gets clean reports.
Still working out a budget? Our guide to how much a bookkeeper costs prices one business four ways, and outsourced bookkeeping explains the handover. Industry guides, such as bookkeeping for restaurants, show what a month looks like.
Is Bench still in business?
Yes. Bench stopped on December 27, 2024 and Employer.com announced it was acquiring the company on December 30, 2024. As of October 15, 2026 Bench’s site sells bookkeeping plans from $199 to $649 a month.
Who owns Bench now?
Employer.com, a San Francisco company, according to the press release on Bench’s own site dated December 30, 2024. The price was not disclosed.
How much does Bench cost now?
Bench’s pricing page lists Bookkeeping Light at $199 a month for businesses with revenue of $250K a year or less, Bookkeeping at $399, and Bookkeeping + Tax at $649, with about 20% off billed yearly. Checked October 15, 2026.
Can I move my Bench books to ZeraBooks?
Yes. Our team starts your books from Bench’s last balance sheet or trial balance, proves each bank and card balance against your statements, and lists any uncleared checks. The steps are the same ones in moving your books to ZeraBooks. Your old transactions don’t need to be re-entered one by one.
Does ZeraBooks file my taxes like Bench + Tax?
No. ZeraBooks keeps and reconciles the books and sends reports on your schedule. Your tax preparer files the return from those reports.
Does ZeraBooks connect to my bank?
ZeraBooks has no bank feed. It works from the statements you upload, which is also how each month is proven: the statement’s opening and closing balances have to match the ledger.
WE DO YOUR BOOKS
Leaving Bench?
Start with a free call.
Tell us the last month Bench closed and how many accounts you have. We’ll quote the monthly fee and any catch-up before anything starts. Book the free call.
Last updated October 15, 2026 · Written by Damin Mutti, founder of ZeraBooks