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How well-organized their systems (website, dashboard, integrations, staff) and communications are. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Tax filings are the biggest obstacle; last year there were technical issues/roadbumps and extensions had to be filed for both business and personal, which was disappointing. Then this year they farmed out the personal taxes (I'm assuming they just don't have enough tax pros on Collective's staff to handle it?). Although I give them credit for integrating the outside vendor into the Collective platform/dashboard in a way that doesn't feel nearly as awkward.
I also wish there greater ability to help local tax issues. For example, they told I really need to have someone else handle my PTE tax paperwork, which feel cumbersome and less than ideal. My local CPA told me it's actually very straightforward, yet I still have to hire him. And getting anything not all with one person from a tax perspective makes me nervous. Yet it would cost SO much more money for me to go back to my former CPA to do all my tax prep because S-Corps make the fees skyrocket. We'll see how this next year or two goes! But I gotta say I don't like the feeling that they're WANTING me to farm out my taxes (understandable since I pay the same price either way, but still an icky feeling).
These are the reasons I couldn't give them an even higher star rating, but truly I've otherwise been very happy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
63 out of 64 Total Reviews for Collective
Overall Review Sentiment for Collective
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I like that Collective gives its members dedicated relationship managers that become very familiar with our individual business. They also are certified accountants, which is so helpful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It can be difficult to get responses, especially during busy tax seasons. And everything goes through the hello@collective.com email, which makes it difficult to know who will be receiving your message and makes it very difficult to organize conversations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Converting my sole prop solo-preneur business to an LLC with S Corp election was easeful. Going through the onboarding made an otherwise confusing process feel like a relief. I also appreciated the promise of helping solo-preneurs with tax preparation and bookkeeping, which tend to be the bane of our existence. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I've been a customer since April 2023 and the quality of service has declined steadily since. I used to get my financials by mid-month and over the past few months, it's slowly creeped to getting them the last 2/3 of the month. When I write in to ask why (because there is no proactive communication to reset customer expectations), I'm told someone was out and my deeper concerns are rarely addressed. It feels like I'm a box to be checked off, not a real human customer whose needs matter.
Timelines for responses from the team can vary from 3-7 days. I often feel like I have to chase answers. I get the sense the team is overloaded and it pisses me off that Collective will push for referrals to grow when I as a customer am not heard or made to feel like my business matters.
I wanted to like Collective so badly because the idea is great, but delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Not to mention the price increase to $350/month with service declining a lot compared to 2023. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The team is really responsive and it has now become less of a tool and more of a community of likeminded solo-prenuers who are both sharing their expertise and learning from each other. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I wish it were easier to know who my main contact is. There is a main alias that all submissions are submitted through and the people who answer my questions tend to vary. There's also so much information that Collective offers S-Corps which is fantastic, but it also makes me feel that there is potentially a lot I'm not doing correctly and I wish it were easier for information to be disseminated, especially for newer S-Corps. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I like the fact that Collective not only has experts in every field of Accounting, Bookkeeping, Tax and Payroll, they also have Member Relationship Managers who are dedicated to your account. Most of the time, these Member Relationship Managers are not just general, jack of all trades folks, but are also CPAs or ex-IRS or both, so they are able to answer most of your questions without having to pass the ball on. Time is saved and decisions can be made more quickly as a result. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Some of the things that need improvement:
1. They need a phone app. It is a major inconvenience to not be able to check something on my iphone.
2. Answers to questions can take up to 5 days, they need a chat interface that would allow people to post questions, like a users forum. Might be faster. Email Q&A can be slow, Modern technology is way ahead of email only as a way of communication. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I do like how responsive they are when I do have questions. Customer service is make or break for me, so they exceed in that. The monthly bookkeeping is helpful for them to understand my business. On top of that, they do my s-corp & personal taxes, which is huge value for my business. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Their fees have increased over time, which makes sense, but it has been a huge ongoing expense in my business that exceeds my health insurance. I don't like how they phased out QuickBooks and limited me to their proprietary bookkeeping software. The way they display charts, and reports wasn't as easy to read and comprehensive as QBO. I also wish they did some form of tailored business advice in order to grow my business, based on my reports. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
They specifically focus on soloprenuers and S-Corps, so they understand my company and situation. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The customer services was a bit rocky getting started, but I also started right at the beginning of the year when everyone is starting the get taxes ready. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I love that I get quick responses to my question, they seem to be constantly focused on improving, and I have complete peace of mind knowing that they are capably taking account and finance tasks off my hands as a busy small business owner. I also love their Community feature as it has already generated several leads for my business. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I do wish personal tax filing was included in the total cost. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
They were great at quickly converting my single member llc to an s corp, setting up my payroll with Gusto and books on Xero (though I hate Xero). They also have a great reimbursement tool for monthly deductible expenses. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Despite feedback given to Collective over nearly 3 years, I've experienced repeated mistakes in my bookkeeping, and in taxes they filed for me which they then had to amend. They charged me for another year after I gave them nearly 3 months notice and have not provided me with a full refund. Any questions take a lifetime to be answered and there is no strategic advisory provided, and why do literally over 100 people have access to my xero account??? Google reviews for collective.com and you'll find many unhappy folks like me. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Their availability and hands-on support. I love that I can easily book a call with someone whenever I have a question, and they also host live FAQ events. The platform itself is user-friendly. Overall they really hold your hand through everything, which is what I was looking for. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I’m still in the early stages of working with them and haven’t gone through a tax season yet, so I can’t speak to that experience. But so far, no major complaints. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
They are friendly, responsive, and help me understand things in a straightforward way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Nothing so far. I’ve been very pleased with my experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
