CollectiveReviews of collective.com

Updates and notifications of due dates

Kept me on task

Simple questions, easy flow.

I've been with collective for years. Unfortunately it's the type of service that has huge lock-in: once they are running your books for your business, it's a huge task to transfer to a new firm. If it were easy, I would have transferred years ago. In the past year it's finally gotten so bad that I decided to invest the dozens of hours and hundreds/thousands of dollars to switch away from Collective - they're that bad. They have huge incentives (like $1,000) for referrals for new customers, so you'll hear a lot of people advertising for them, but as somebody who's been on the inside - let me tell you, you'll be better off elsewhere. I've documented dozens of instances each year I've been with them where they've dropped the ball. They've given me wrong information about taxes that, if I didn't catch it, would have cost me thousands of dollars. They routinely mis-classify transactions (literally every single month) even though I've sent clear instructions on what the correct categorization is. They are extremely slow on tax filings and returns. I've given them over a month to return a few minor corrections to my tax returns, and they haven't done it. It's September 12th and the due date is the 15th - and still no action. I've sent dozens of messages and they still don't have it together to make a few simple corrections and get the tax return filed on time without stress. Instead I'm here on my weekend hounding them to do a very simple and basic part of their job, and I still have no confidence it will get done correctly or get done on time. They've added a lot of stress to my life not just this tax return season but every time I put my trust in them to do something correctly, knowing that if I don't double check it, there will probably be mistakes. I'm almost tempted to give them two stars - they do usually function at a basically correct level and their fees are reasonable, but the horrendous recent experience puts them so far in the negative that it averages out to one.

I have been navigating some difficulties and I have felt supported along the way. Everything in the portal is simple - which I appreciate!

I am officially at the point where I feel obligated to warn other business owners AGAINST using Collective. Now, to be fair, I always liked my local accountant. Had a good relationship with them. BUT they dropped the ball on some important stuff (literally forgetting to get my S Corp election filed 2 years in a row). That was the problem Collective sold me on. So I paid thousands of dollars to handle this stuff. And now I'm dealing with ALMOST $40,000 (NOT a typo) in proposed Arkansas tax assessments because, among other things, an Arkansas withholding account was apparently created for my ALASKA business. Read that again. I am in Alaska. I did not need or ask for an Arkansas withholding account. It should never have existed. This isn't them cleaning up my books and finding back taxes I didn't know I owed. The AR Department of Finance and Administration is now sending proposed assessments for 2024 and 2025 based on an erroneous account and threatening legal action including suing to have my business closed. And before anyone says, “Well, you should have been paying attention”: I WAS. About a month ago, Collective told me they had opened AND CLOSED the Arkansas account and that the issue was resolved. Then I received a stack of letters from Arkansas... and ANOTHER stack of letters. So... I called myself. And according to the DFA rep I spoke with, Collective had never followed through on fixing AND something else that FLOORED me: they weren't sure the person who had called them spoke enough English to understand the instructions they had been given. Let that sink in. That is what AR-DFA told me ON THE PHONE. It was noted in my tax file! To be clear: these are proposed assessments, not a final determination that I owe $40,000. Arkansas says the tax amounts were estimated because returns weren't filed, and I'm working through the appeal/correction process now with little to no help or communication from Collective. But here's what makes me furious: I DID PAY ATTENTION. I caught the problem, was assured it was fixed. And thank GOD I didn't just take their word for it when the letters kept coming. I called AR myself. Which is where my frustration with their offshore-heavy labor model comes in. I don't care what country someone is from. I DO care whether they're qualified to handle the work they're doing, whether they understand instructions from U.S. government agencies, and whether someone at the company is actually accountable. If a state tax agency gives your employee instructions and they don't understand them, that's a Collective problem. If a diff employee then tells the customer (ME!) the issue has been fixed when it hasn't, THAT'S ALSO a Collective problem. And if the customer eventually gets hit with almost $40,000 in proposed tax assessments? Guess whose problem it is? MINE. If you're using Collective, I strongly recommend checking every state payroll and tax account associated with your business. I'll also be documenting what happens with Collective from here in my newsletter.

Do not use Collective. I started with them in 2025 and to date, their bank statements have failed to pull for my bank requiring manual uploads and 2-3 month delays in set up for proper categorization. This year, I decided to cancel them and use a local provider for high quality service and more integrated strategy. When going to download my books, I noticed Collective failed to render any services for all of 2026 (up to cancelation). They categorized nothing and worked on none of my reports. They charged me a fee to cancel and failed to respond to multiple tickets to request a refund for services not rendered. Their agent failed to follow up and since have deleted my account rendering me limited in communication means considering they run messages through the portal once signed in. I've left external support tickets since and have failed to be contacted by anyone to make it right. Do not use Collective... the price seems like it's a good deal but the experience will fail you. Terrible business ethics.

Constant updates