35,000+ small businesses were left without bookkeeping when Bench shut down on 27 December 2024. Pilot pushed promos. Most either piled into Pilot or tried QuickBooks Online alone. If you're still shopping six months later, here's why $495/mo with a single named CGMA beats both options.
Get Your Migration Plan →No call required to start · Reply within 1 business day · 14-day migration
What you actually get at each price point. All prices verified 2026-05-14.
| Feature | DIY QBO | Pilot Essentials | Xendoo Essential | BlackpeakCFO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $30-$200 (QBO sub only) | $99/mo | $355/mo (annual) | $495/mo |
| Who does the bookkeeping | You | AI categorisation + rotating staff | Pooled team | Single named CGMA |
| Monthly P&L + Balance Sheet | If you build it | Yes | Yes | Yes — by the 10th business day |
| Cash flow forecast | No | No (CFO add-on $1,750+/mo) | No (custom tier) | Included quarterly |
| Strategic financial advice | No | $1,750+/mo CFO add-on | Quote-based | Quarterly review included |
| Migration from Bench | DIY | Yes (paid catch-up) | Yes (paid catch-up) | Included, 14 days |
| Lock-in | QBO annual | Annual billing for best rate | Annual contract | Month-to-month |
Pricing verified directly from pilot.com/pricing, xendoo.com/xendoo-pricing on 2026-05-14. Pilot's Essentials tier requires $1,750+/mo CFO add-on for the strategic capabilities most Bench refugees actually need.
Bench used pooled staff. Pilot's Essentials tier uses AI + rotating juniors. We assign one CGMA-qualified professional (Stuart Wilson, ACMA CGMA — Group FD for a portfolio of SMEs for 7 years, 24 years in finance overall) to every account. No "let me check with the team."
$495/mo flat. No "starting at." No discovery-call-then-anchor-high routine. The CFO advisory most businesses actually want isn't a $1,750/mo add-on — quarterly reviews are included in the $495.
No annual contract. No discount for locking in. If we're not the right fit after month 1, you cancel with 30 days notice. Bench customers got burned once; you shouldn't have to bet on a vendor's longevity.
Pilot and Xendoo charge separately for catch-up bookkeeping when you switch — typically $300-$800/month of history. We rebuild 12 months of your records during the standard 14-day setup. No additional fee.
Tell us where you stand. We'll reply within one business day with a specific migration timeline, a recovered-data audit checklist, and a flat-rate quote. No call required to start.
Yes. Bench gave customers until March 2025 to download their data; if you missed that window, we can rebuild from your bank feeds, credit card statements, and any QBO/Xero export you saved. We rebuild 12 months of history as part of standard setup — included in the $495/mo plan, no extra catch-up fee.
Three differences: (1) Pricing is published — $495/mo flat for bookkeeping, vs Pilot's $99 starter that requires a $1,750+/mo CFO add-on for anything strategic. (2) Single named CGMA-qualified professional handles your account, not a rotating junior. (3) We're explicit about what we won't do — we don't sell add-ons you don't need.
QBO is software; it doesn't categorise transactions correctly, reconcile bank feeds, catch errors, or prepare books for tax filing. Most Bench refugees who went QBO-alone are now spending 4-6 hours/month on bookkeeping themselves, making errors that come back at tax time. $495/mo is the trade-off for getting that time back AND clean books your CPA can actually use.
Two weeks from sign-off to fully migrated: Week 1 — system access, bank feed reconnection, chart of accounts mapped to your business model, historical data import. Week 2 — 12 months of catch-up reconciliation, first management report delivered. From month 2 onward you receive monthly P&L, balance sheet, and cash position by the 10th business day.
We do bookkeeping and management reporting only — we don't file your tax return. The clean books we produce go to your tax CPA and dramatically reduce their fee. If you don't have a CPA, we refer to vetted partners (typically $500-$1,500/year for SMB tax filing depending on entity type).
$495/mo covers up to one US entity with up to 200 transactions per month and up to two bank accounts. Multi-entity, high-transaction-volume, or multi-state sales tax businesses are typically $695-$995/mo on a customised tier. The discovery email exchange determines the right fit.
$495/mo. Single CGMA. 14-day migration. Month-to-month. Get the plan; decide afterward.
Get Your Migration Plan →Send your details at /start/ — we reply within one business day, by email.