Why this comparison matters. December 27, 2024: Bench shut down with no warning. ~12,000 customers locked out of their dashboards and historical data. Class action filed. Customers re-charged for services they had already paid for. The "done-for-you" model cuts both ways: when the company goes, your books go with it.

Cost difference. Bench / Pilot / FinancePal cost $300-$2,500/mo. MyAIAccountant Investor is $79/mo. Pro tier with concierge migration is $349/mo.

Data ownership. Your MyAIAccountant books export at any time, no charge, in CSV / JSON / OFX / QBO migration format. Our Terms commit to: 60+ days notice if we ever cease operations, 90+ days export functionality maintained post-notice, refund of any prepaid amounts.

What you give up vs Bench. A bookkeeper doing your data entry. MyAIAccountant is software — you (or your existing bookkeeper, or a marketplace bookkeeper) operate it. AI does the categorization heavy lifting; you review.