Most finance applications tend to offer one of two things — personal finance software for individuals or business accounting software for medium-to-large sized businesses. A new financial management platform is looking to change that.
hello benji, a new Des Moines-based startup is giving self-employed (sole proprietors, freelance workers, gig workers, independent contractors, etc.) the opportunity to better manage their finances and tax plans.
The startup, led by James Armstead, offers self-employed individuals a platform to manage their finances, keep track of their expenses, prepare for tax season, and set financial goals. The hello benji platform scans your accounts, suggest categorizations, and gives you everything you need to understand what you owe in taxes at any point in the year.
“When we started talking about what we wanted to do with hello benji, where we really saw value was in the ability to check in where you are with your finances, with your taxes and with your tax liabilities at any point throughout the year,” said Armstead. “That ability to understand what your tax liability looks like versus what you think it looks like is huge. It allows you to plan better and relieves a lot of stress come tax time.”
The hello benji platform officially launched in late September and is now available at two different tiers — a free plan and a business plan for $19.99 per month.
Going forward, Armstead says the company plans to add more features to the platform including tax calculators for specific projects and a platform that enables accountants to leverage and use the hello benji platform to make an offering of their own.
“We’re trying to sit somewhere in between personal finance applications and the business tax applications,” said Armstead.