Richard C.
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Verified by
Inês P.
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Last updated:
August 25, 2024
— User Reviews
(9)
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Online accounting isn’t easy, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. With so many menus full of complicated features, it can be challenging for beginners. That’s something that 1-800Accountant avoids by offering a simple yet functional tool that helps small businesses tackle online accounting head-on. Based in New York and established in 1999, 1-800Accountant offers a user-friendly dashboard that is stripped down to the basics, making accounting painless. You can also use the software to do your personal taxes, and the company even guarantees that you’ll get every dollar you’re entitled to. If that wasn’t enough, 1-800Accountant also offers a human touch by providing you with dedicated experts that not only help you along the way but who actually feel like they’re part of your team. With prices starting at $125 a month, this online accounting firm has many features for accounting and business registration services. To top it all off, you can also get up to a 90% refund of the service within 30 days of signing up if you decide that it isn’t for you.
The first thing you’ll notice about 1-800Accountant is its simplistic dashboard. But that’s not a bad thing – you want your accounting software to be utilitarian rather than full of unnecessary bells and whistles. Everything you need is just a few clicks away and easy to access from the main menu. From the dashboard, you can find your financial team. Depending on the subscription, you’ll be able to send an instant message or schedule an appointment with your dedicated tax advisor, tax accountant, tax analyst, bookkeeping specialist, payroll specialist, or retirement specialist. This is ideal for small businesses because it saves on the costs of hiring specialists yourself.
The menu has everything you need within easy reach, including transactions, banking, invoices, and reports. Like most features of 1-800Accountant, everything is straightforward and designed for maximum efficiency. However, sometimes this can be detrimental. For example, it’s not possible to set up a recurring invoice as everything has to be done individually.
Surprisingly, one thing that 1-800Accountant really delves deep into is travel expenses. Through the Mileage Tracker menu, you can add trips that employees have taken. This includes setting up the company cars used, locations visited, and reasons for traveling, such as commuting, conferences, or site visits.
The invoicing section has all the essential features you need, with the exception of recurring invoices. The first thing you need to do is fill out the Products/Services category with the relevant information. This doesn’t work like an inventory page, which means it’s not possible to limit products according to stock level.
The Invoices List section shows you all of your previous invoices, which you can send by email or download as a PDF file. The list can be filtered by paid, unpaid, and overdue invoices, making it easier to find a specific file, but a search bar would be a big help in the future. Finally, there’s a helpful overview of your invoices with a cash flow chart for extra visualization in the Invoice Dashboard.
Perhaps the most established feature of 1-800Accountant is how it deals with taxes – both business taxes and tax advisory services. All you need to do is input your tax information, and your dedicated tax accountant will get to work on preparing your tax return. From the tax portal, it’s possible to apply for personal and business tax extensions, which will also be filed on your behalf. The Tax Projections section provides a helpful breakdown of all taxable income and potential credits, so you know exactly what to expect. Finally, there’s the handy Tax Suggestions area where you’ll find all the suggestions of your personal tax advisor.
1-800Accountant allows you to do your accounting on the go with its Android and iOS apps. The good news is that the apps are essentially just mobile-friendly versions of the dashboard. You can do everything you would normally do without being tied to your desk. Although the app doesn’t let you use your phone’s camera to scan receipts, you can easily use an external printer to scan a document, save the file on your phone, and upload it to the app. You can also opt not to download the mobile app since 1-800Accountant’s website is optimized for mobile browsers, meaning you’ll have no problem navigating the menus on any of your devices.
Although 1-800Accountant doesn’t offer much in the way of software integrations, there are some noteworthy extra services it provides. If you’re just getting started, the company will provide you with a certified public accountant, at a cost, to help you set up your business and have it optimized to avoid fines and penalties, as well as ensure it is totally IRS-compliant. You can also get help from 1-800Accountant’s dedicated bookkeepers to take care of all your business records and keep your financial affairs in order.
Moreover, the company provides payroll processing tailored to your needs after a consultation with a payroll specialist. This ensures you get exactly what you need for your business and avoid delayed payments.
1-800Accountant‘s cost naturally depends on what you want to get out of the software. The company offers three paid plans where users also receive expert advice from a team of specialists. Prices start at $125 a month, which is billed annually for the Business tier. It includes year-round advice and a dedicated accountant.
You’re going to need more support as the size of your business grows. Thankfully, 1-800Accountant offers more pricing plans for your expanding company. There’s the Corporation package, which is similar to the basic Business tier but with much more in-depth tax preparation. The next plan is Enterprise, which includes bookkeeping and priority support for $375 per month. If you’re not ready to commit just yet, there’s also a free Startup option specially made for businesses looking to file an LLC.
It’s possible to pay for the service using any of the major credit cards, and you can cancel at any time by email. If you change your mind within the first 30 days of signing up, any initial costs of service are up to 90% refundable.
With 1-800Accountant, your financial team is your primary point of contact, and they can help you with the software as well as the nitty-gritty of accounting. But if you want to get in touch with customer support, then you can do so by phone or email. 1-800Accountant is also reachable via social media outlets like Facebook and X.
Unfortunately, the 1-800Accountant website doesn’t have a lot of documentation to guide you through the software. There are some video tutorials throughout the dashboard, although they’re few and far between. The website hosts a long FAQ section, but it focuses more on general accounting questions. Having said that, it’s worth checking out the 1-800Accountant blog because it’s frequently updated with all the latest accounting news.
1-800Accountant is the ideal solution for small businesses that not only need accounting software but also experts in the field. But while the platform is user-friendly and allows even the most novice user to navigate it seamlessly, it lacks some key features. For example, it’s not possible to set up recurring invoices. On top of that, the steep price may be an issue for some. However, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth if you consider the fact that you have access to a financial team that can help you achieve your business goals. Indeed, another way that 1-800Accountant essentially pays for itself is with its in-depth and helpful tax preparation. That means the company’s tax specialists will ensure you get the maximum return and save more money in the long run. For up-and-coming businesses, 1-800Accountant’s free plan might be the best move. But don’t be scared to take the plunge and get one of the paid subscriptions. 1-800Accountant offers a refund of up to 90% of the value of its services if you cancel within the first 30 days of signing up.
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1-800-Accountant has been the biggest financial mistake I have ever made. I found them when I did a search for CPAs for LLCs. I called and the salesperson I spoke to was AMAZING. She told me everything I wanted to hear:
1) Is this a good program if I am the sole proprietor and really only need it for tax filing – yes!
Nope – It would be way more helpful if I had several people working under me.
2) Will the CPA be more knowledgeable than my standard CPA regarding LLC tax right offs- yes!
Nope – one woman just emailed me a list of things I could write off, which I could have done in a Google search.
3) Can the CPA file an extension for my personal and LLC taxes? Yes!- They do it automatically!
Nope – I had to do it myself in their portal and later learned that my second LLC, although in their portal, wasn’t a part of that tax season, so it hadn’t been extended.
4) Will my CPA upload everything for me, just as my current CPA does? Yes!
Nope – I was later informed that I had to fill out everything and that a CPA would “review it” before filing it. There was an additional program I could purchase if I wanted the CPA to fill out everything. It would have been simpler and less expensive (I paid over $2,000 for this program, thinking that a high quality CPA would be filling everything out on my behalf, reviewing with me, and then submitting). It is the most complicated system I have ever used. TurboTax would have been a better way to go.
5) Can I talk to my accountant at any time? Yes!
Nope – I loved the person I first worked with, but she was promoted. I was assigned to Barry and didn’t feel that we worked well together, so I asked for someone else. I was assigned to another woman (I can’ t recall her name but I had two phone conversations with her with questions and on one of our 30-minute scheduled calls, she got frustrated with me because she had just “worked for free for 5 minutes” since the call went over 5 minutes. She had actually called me 5 minutes late, so I had been waiting on her to call and the timer on my active call showed that it was still under 30 minutes. I called in another time and was told that I needed to talk to my CPA, Barry. I told them I was no longer working with Barry but had spoken with a woman twice since then. There were ZERO records of this on their side and they had no idea what I was talking about. Unbelievable. And even though my taxes that I have extended until 10/15 aren’t yet filed (because their software program is so complicated), I can’t even send a message to my “team” because I didn’t pay for the 2024 tax year. But my 2023 taxes haven’t yet been completed and I can’t just send a simple question via the message portal.
I have called and emailed 1-800-Accountant multiple times and was told “Barry is just waiting for you to finish entering all your information and upload your documents”. Well, that’s hard to do when I don’t understand sections and have a question before I can proceed. I have asked for a refund several times and was told that I could get 10% off the 2024 year. Why in the world would I use this program again? I called a little over a month ago, told a customer service rep my frustrations, that I couldn’t access the message board, that I wanted this company to pay for whatever late fee I inquire for my second LLC not being extended to 10/15, etc. and was told that they would escalate it to management, and someone would call. I have not received a call. I just tried calling but they close at 5:15pm EST.
I have never been so financially flustered. This was supposed to make my life easier, and it made it harder. It is something that I think about and stress over almost daily as the 10/15 extension deadline approaches, but no one calls me, the person I had been in email contact with told me that since I wasn’t a 2024 tax client, I have to call directly, which is hard to do when you are working, and they are closed on weekends. I didn’t want to write a bad review. I wanted my issue resolved. But I will be posting this on BBB, Yelp, Google, and all the small business formats and NC meetings I am a part of them, warning them, “DO NOT USE 1-800-ACCOUNTANT”.
Would give negative stars if possible. Don’t fall for this dollar store service, charging designer prices. On our 2021 return they double counted our miles, adding the amount to two lines which they then added together. Something our untrained eyes didn’t catch – but something which, if the organization followed standard quality checks and review protocols, should’ve been caught by one of those steps. Once we got the audit notice, they gave us advice which was very sneaky and would’ve absolved them. Side note: their audit protection is a scam. It’s for a calendar year. And news flash, it takes the IRS more than a year to review returns. So even though 1800-Crap-Countant filed our 2021 return with audit protection… by the time the IRS notified us of an audit in 2023, it was not covered. We asked 1800A to initiate their errors & omissions insurance, which they refuse to do. Now our balance has ballooned to nearly 4times the amount with penalties & interest. All for a simple error that these fools HAVE INSURANCE FOR and should use for their negligence. They are impossible to communicate with and provide zero value. Don’t walk, RUN AWAY!!!
Hello Jill, thank you for such a detailed review about 1-800Accountant. Our experience with the company was quite different to yours, so it was a surprise to read about how you had been let down. Going forward, we recommend transitioning to another provider: FreshBooks, QuickBooks, and Sage are our three top-rated accounting services. Take a look at our best online accounting software guide for more info on the providers we recommend. Good luck with this and enjoy your day!
I do not recommend 1800ACCOUNT to anyone. They are essentially a very expensive version of TurboTax. You have to do all of the bookkeeping yourself, and while you can send a chat to your assigned accountant, it doesn’t make the process any easier.
You get 30 days to decide if you want to continue with their service and get a full refund. However, within this 30-day period, you don’t have enough time to fully assess if the software meets your needs, especially since you have to see how the software organizes your bookkeeping over time.
The initial training call with your assigned accountant is supposed to help you get started, but in my case, it was scheduled two weeks out. I reviewed the software ahead of time, but found it confusing. When the training call finally happened, the trainer was 15 minutes late for a 30-minute call and cut me off when I had questions to stay on schedule for his next appointment. This left me with just two weeks of the trial period to figure things out on my own.
I called customer service to complain and requested a refund, explaining what happened with the initial training. They refused the refund but offered me a new accountant instead. I decided to give it another try, hoping for the best, but the software was difficult to use and no easier than QuickBooks. The new accountant was knowledgeable and nice but hard to reach; I had to use the chat feature, and appointments were weeks out.
When I needed my accountant to look into something, she had to be on the phone; she couldn’t handle it over chat, which left me feeling lost. The software had numerous errors, including duplicate items, wrong dates, and organizational issues. I had to turn off the AI feature because it was making more work for me by incorrectly learning information.
During tax season, I organized all my documents into the correct folders for the tax agents, but I had to prefill everything for them. They couldn’t access the documents directly; I had to upload them to a specific area. This was overwhelming because I was used to simply handing my documents to a tax agent, who would sort through them and ask for any missing information.
Overall, 1800ACCOUNT was an expensive, time-consuming experience. They are like TurboTax but more costly, and you end up doing all the work while they just collect the fees. Despite expressing my dissatisfaction and requesting a partial refund, I was only offered another accountant. I would recommend anyone considering 1800ACCOUNT to just use QuickBooks and pay for a recommended accountant through QuickBooks. It’s cheaper and more effective when you need help.
Hi Edward, and thank you for such a thorough review of 1-800Accountant. We’re sorry to hear that the software didn’t work for you. Considering your story, we recommend filing a complaint with BBB in addition to this review. We hope that bookkeeping and tax season are easier with – https://online-accounting-software.bestreviews.net/quickbooks-online-reviews/ – QuickBooks. We have reviewed it before and think of it as one of the best online accounting platforms on the market. Have a wonderful day!
I started with 1800ACCT 8 months ago and now have paid them $6560.32. I’ve had 5 bookkeepers in this 8 months. When I schedule appointments no one calls me, I have to put in a ticket to get a call back. Book aren’t correct to get my taxes completed. Was told no refund after 30 days, Per Tyler the subscription engagement manager. Best option is to continue to pay and let them figure out how to get books straight. UNACCEPTABLE BUSINESS BEHAVIOR. The book keepers don’t stay long enough to resolve any issue so I keep starting over and over with not resolution or completion of any task. They don’t call to get clarification for what is what they just make assumptions is why my book aren’t correct. Therefore without book correct I can’t have my taxes prepared or completed, but an accountant/tax preparer is being paid. They refuse to REFUND. BBB Complaint was put int today 5/17/2024. Please see BBB for all their complaints. Stay Away from this company. Even with the tax preparer they wouldn’t start until I got on them over and over, and when they did start they stated I needed to put in a request for tax extension, just to find out the book aren’t correct. STAY WAY
Hello Tamara, and thank you for your comment! We’re sorry to hear about your experience with 1-800Accountant. It’s good that you went ahead and filed a complaint with BBB, as companies usually take these seriously and try to solve the issue as soon as possible. We hope you find a solution to your problem and that the company accepts to provide a refund considering the service they have provided so far, even if partial. Have a great day!
I would NEVER!! recommend anyone use this company and I have no idea how on earth they have any positive reviews other than if they were fake because with being forced to work with them for an entire year due to a year contract I signed up for I have not had 1 good experience with them after the contract was signed.
Also know there is no way to call them or contact them other than through the portal that can take 3 days to get a response for a simple question that then leads to another so to get answers to 2 questions it takes 6 days.
I will go on to explain my nightmare with them. My LLC started mid December 2022 and I reached out for their service March 14, 2023 they informed me they would do my taxes for 2022 and business taxes for 2023. I did have a few business expenses in that time that would have to be filed with my 2022 taxes since I’m an LLC they would be filed with my personal taxes there is no other way around it.
I was just informed today that they will not do my 2023 business taxes, which is the only reason I signed up for the service in the first place unless I pay for another year of them doing them because they filed my 2022 “business taxes” when they did them last year with my personal taxes because as an LLC that is how they are filed is with personal taxes. Not only have they screwed me out of thousands of dollars for their services, they completely messed up my 2022 tax return and filed them late and required me to have to pay an additional late fee for their mistake.
I would give negative stars but it is not an option. I would NEVER!!!!! recommend anyone use this company and have to deal with their bull and lying. If they have not been such a pain I would put up a bigger fight about them doing my 2023 business taxes but with how much they screwed up my last years taxes, and that only included a couple weeks of business information on it, the rest was the easiest return possible 2 adults each with 1 full-time job, no tips, no children, just straight forward, I have a hard time trusting they would do it right even though I have already paid thousands for their service that they are now trying to claim they already provided and is complete bologna .
Hello Janelle, and thank you for your comment.
We’re surprised to hear about your experience with 1-800Accountant. During our testing, we didn’t encounter any of the issues you are describing. Still, we’re sorry that you’ve been let down by the company – this kind of situation shouldn’t happen.
Going forward, if you’re seeking another online accounting service then we recommend looking through our reviews before committing to a purchase. Hopefully, you’ll find one that meets all your requirements and takes the hassle out of the tax-filing process. Thank you for your review, and have a good day.