Alternatives to Bench, Botkeeper and other online bookkeeping services

What happened to Bench and Botkeeper

Bench told customers on December 27, 2024 that it was shutting down, filed for bankruptcy in Canada in January 2025, and was then acquired by Employer.com, which restarted the service. As of September 2026 Bench is taking customers again, with monthly plans starting at $199.

Botkeeper, an automated bookkeeping platform that sold to accounting firms, announced in early February 2026 that it was winding down the business, leaving the accounting firms that used it to move that work elsewhere.

The alternatives, as of September 2026

Each of these is a reasonable choice for someone. The right one depends on your stage, your software and whether you want a firm or a platform.

• Pilot: built for startups. Its Essentials plan is $99 a month with AI categorization for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses; its Core plan adds a dedicated US-based bookkeeper, and it sells tax and CFO services too.
• Bookkeeper360: a monthly plan from $399 a month and a weekly plan from $599 a month, with a dedicated accounting team and US-based support; onboarding and prior-period work start at $1,000.
• Bench (restarted): plans from $199 a month, up to $599 a month with tax included; it also offers a QuickBooks Online bookkeeper at $55 an hour plus onboarding.
• 1-800Accountant: bookkeeping for small businesses, also sold as part of a small business bundle of accounting services.
• QuickBooks Live: Intuit's own bookkeeping service inside QuickBooks, with an assisted plan and a full-service plan that includes a cleanup and a dedicated bookkeeper.

Pilot or Bookkeeper360?

Pilot fits venture-backed startups that want bookkeeping, tax and CFO services from one vendor. Bookkeeper360 fits small businesses that want weekly books and US-based support in Xero or QuickBooks Online. If both are more than you need, a firm with a lower starting price is the cheaper route.

Where SF Business Solutions fits

We are a bookkeeping firm, not a software platform: we work in your QuickBooks Online or Xero file, so your books stay in software you own if you ever leave. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $250 a month, and we also run payroll and prepare and file your tax return. If your books from a previous provider are incomplete, our cleanup service rebuilds them first, starting at $250.

For accounting firms that used Botkeeper, our white-label bookkeeping does the same job with people: we keep your clients' books under your firm's name, billed at $12–$15 an hour.

Before you switch

Export everything from your current provider: general ledger, reconciliations, financial statements and supporting documents. Keep the books in QuickBooks Online or Xero where you can, so you are never locked into a provider's own system again.