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One of the secrets to ensuring the success of your business is outsourcing time and labor-intensive tasks to people who know what they are doing. “Know what they are doing” being the key phrase here. And this is what BenchTax promises to do as an all-in-one bookkeeping and tax prep solution.

If you don’t have the expertise when it comes to bookkeeping and taxes, you should definitely outsource it. Why, because the mistakes you make are hugely consequential. Whether it is accounts receivable, making the wrong deduction or filing on the wrong date, a mistake can cost you dearly.

For small business owners who want to get rid of one of the many hats they wear, BenchTax provides an all-in-one filing solution. The service uses vetted and certified experts to do everything from bookkeeping and managing to deductions, tax prep and filing.

And this is one of the questions Small Business Trends asked Taxfyle co-founder and CEO Richard Laviña, in an exclusive email interview.

SBT: What is the vetting process of the accountants you use?

Laviña: Anytime a pro on BenchTax performs a job they are putting their reputation and license behind it. Right now, there are 2,000 licensed certified public accountants and IRS enrolled agents on the platform. Only individuals with active licenses maintained by the AICPA and IRS can apply. Furthermore, background checks are performed and skills are assessed to make sure a user’s unique needs are matched with the right pro.

As a small business owner, this ticks one of the boxes to ensure you are getting a qualified person. After all, you don’t want to second guess the work of the person who is doing the job.

How BenchTax Works

Another issue for a small business owner is ease of use. And it is one of the questions Laviña answers in the interview.

SBT: With small business owners wearing many hats, they don’t have time to learn yet another solution. How easy is it to integrate Benchtax?

Laviña: We created BenchTax with the small-business operator in mind. We know the challenges of operating a small business and how that to-do list can pile up. You have more important things to focus on than administrative tasks, which can become burdensome. By combining bookkeeping and tax services in one easy-to-access place, we reduce that list and drive more efficiencies for your business. We also designed the platform to be super user-friendly.

The process of using BenchTax is as simple as Laviña explains. You set up your account and send your yearend financials. At this time, they will tell you the documents they need. And once you are set up and tax time comes around, they will connect you to a certified Taxfyle expert.

After the introduction, they will start working on your return. When the return is good to go, they will get in touch again to get the all-clear from you. They will then file your taxes and pull funds directly from your account to pay any applicable taxes.

If you are already using another platform, Laviña also answers this question.

SBT: Businesses are probably already using a different platform, what’s it like transitioning from one solution to another?

Laviña: Change management can be a challenge, but our platform makes it easy to link existing general ledgers and tax documents.

Being able to link all of your existing ledgers and tax documents means it is yet another task you don’t have to do.

The Right Solution

Having the right solution in place translates to more time to grow your business. The fewer tasks you perform as a business owner, the more time you have to focus on your core competencies.

In parting, SBT asked Laviña why it is so important to have fully integrated bookkeeping and tax solutions for small business owners as their operations grow and get more complicated?

Laviña: Establishing good bookkeeping and tax compliance practices early in the life cycle of businesses helps protect against future back taxes and assessments. Also, as a business grows and operators look for funding outside the company a clean set of books will be needed. Avoiding prior-year journal entries will save the company days of expensive rework.

Speaking of protection.

SBT: Where is the data owners provide being stored and what are the security protocols you have in place?

Laviña: We adhere to advanced encryption standards, ensuring your information is encrypted at rest and in transit. Just as important, the platform tracks all changes to your job, including document edits, so you can always go back and review your history.

Pricing

As an all-in-one solution, it means it covers everything. So, all BenchTax plans cover unlimited state filings, investments, rental income, itemized deductions, and quarterly estimates.

• Sole Prop Filing: For filing personal returns and Schedule C is $600 per annual filing.
• Business Filing: For filing partnership, S-Corp and C-Corp returns is $900 per annual filing.
• Business/Personal Filing: For Schedule C, personal, and business returns is $1320 per annual filing.

The above prices don’t include monthly bookkeeping.

Get in touch with BenchTax here.

Image: bench.co

This article, “BenchTax Promises an All-in-One Bookkeeping and Tax Prep Solution” was first published on Small Business Trends