AI bookkeeper · Daily close · Import from Bench · Free Plan
When Bench went dark overnight in December 2024, 12,000+ businesses were locked out of their own financials. HelloBooks is the AI-first alternative built so that can never happen to you — the ledger lives in your account, and an AI bookkeeper does the categorizing, reconciling, and closing your Bench team used to do, every day.
Import your Bench data, run AI cleanup on any stalled period, and move to software you control — Free Plan for freelancers, Pro at a $9.99/mo founding-member price (then $19.99) with unlimited users, AI included. Keep your CPA in the loop with reviewer mode.
1. You own your books — no lock-out risk
Bench went dark overnight in December 2024 and locked thousands of businesses out of their own financials. HelloBooks is software you control: your ledger lives in your account, you export any time, and the AI agent runs on a public MCP server you can query from Claude or ChatGPT. No single service you can be shut out of.
2. AI does the work Bench’s humans did — daily
Bench paid people to categorize your transactions once a month. HelloBooks runs an AI bookkeeper on your bank feed every day — categorizing at 95%+ accuracy, matching transfers, reconciling accounts, and drafting month-end journal entries. Your books are close-ready continuously, not weeks after the month ends.
3. Software pricing, not a monthly retainer
Bench charged a monthly service fee that ran into the hundreds. HelloBooks Pro is a $9.99/mo founding-member price (then $19.99) with unlimited users, and the Free Plan covers most freelancers and solo LLCs at $0 — with AI included on every plan.
4. AI cleanup for the catch-up
If your books stalled during the Bench disruption, point the AI cleanup mode at the backlog — it backfills categorization, matches transfers, surfaces duplicates, and reopens the books in an afternoon. What catch-up bookkeeping firms charge $1,500–$5,000 for.
5. US compliance + your accountant, built in
IRS-ready books, 1099 e-file, and 50-state sales tax generated from the same ledger — plus a reviewer mode so your CPA reviews and signs without a separate subscription. You keep the human oversight Bench sold, minus the single point of failure.
The differences that matter most when you replace a human bookkeeping service with AI you own. For the full side-by-side, see the detailed HelloBooks vs Bench comparison.
| Feature | HelloBooks | Bench |
|---|---|---|
| Model | AI bookkeeping software you own + optional CPA review | Outsourced human bookkeeping service (retainer) |
| Cadence | Daily — books stay close-ready continuously | Monthly cleanup, delivered weeks after month-end |
| Who does categorization | AI agent at 95%+ accuracy, learns your patterns | A human bookkeeper / rotating team |
| Data ownership | Your account, export any time, open MCP access | Locked inside the service — lock-out risk (Dec 2024) |
| Starting price | Free Plan + Pro at $9.99/mo founding price (then $19.99), unlimited users | Monthly service retainer (hundreds/mo) |
| Catch-up / cleanup | AI cleanup mode included — backfills a stalled year in an afternoon | Historical/catch-up billed as an add-on |
| Bank connections | 11,000+ US banks via Plaid + AI statement upload | Connected on your behalf by the service |
| US tax filing | 1099 e-file + 50-state sales tax from the ledger | Tax add-on / partner (BenchTax) |
| Accountant access | Built-in reviewer mode + CPA practice dashboard | You rely on the assigned bookkeeper |
| Open AI integration | MCP server — works in Claude, ChatGPT, any MCP client | None — closed service |
| Multi-entity | Built in, every plan | Separate engagement per entity |
You were one of the 12,000+ businesses locked out overnight in December 2024. Import your last Bench export, run AI cleanup to bring the books current, and move to a system you control — where a shutdown can never lock you out of your own financials again.
Months slipped while Bench was in limbo or you were finding a replacement. The AI cleanup mode backfills categorization, matches transfers, and reopens the books in an afternoon — for the price of a subscription, not a $1,500–$5,000 catch-up quote.
Bench delivered your books weeks after the month closed. HelloBooks keeps them reconciled daily, so you always know where you stand — and month-end is a 15-minute review instead of waiting on a service.
A human service to categorize transactions is the exact work AI now does well. HelloBooks does the categorization and reconciliation automatically and keeps your CPA in the loop for the judgment calls — at a fraction of a monthly retainer.
With Bench your books lived inside someone else’s service. HelloBooks puts the ledger in your account with export any time and open MCP access, so your financials are yours — queryable from Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-aware client.
Moving off a service you were locked out of is simpler than it sounds — you bring your data in, the AI backfills the gap, and you own everything from there.
Step 1
Sign up free
Create your HelloBooks account at no cost — the Free Plan includes 5,000 AI credits and full reporting, no credit card.
Step 2
Import your Bench data
Bring in your last Bench export / CSV — chart of accounts, historical transactions, and balances flow into your new ledger.
Step 3
Connect your bank
Link your bank via Plaid for live feeds across 11,000+ US banks. AI statement upload covers anything Plaid misses so nothing is lost from the gap.
Step 4
Run AI cleanup
Point the AI agent at any stalled or uncategorized period. It backfills categorization, matches transfers, surfaces duplicates, and reopens the books.
Step 5
Own it going forward
The AI runs daily from here — categorize, reconcile, close. Add your CPA in reviewer mode for oversight. Your books, in your account, on autopilot.
Free Plan with 5,000 AI credits, full reporting, and bank connection. No credit card. Import your Bench data and run AI cleanup on the backlog in an afternoon — then own your books going forward.