In a Nutshell
pros
- Each user gets a dedicated bookkeeper and CPA
- Syncs easily with bank accounts and credit cards
- Customizable, visually appealing dashboard
cons
- No free version
- No mobile app (although the platform is mobile-friendly)
- Not suitable for big organizations
KPMG Spark at a Glance
Best for: Small and medium businesses, startups, non-profits
Price range: $195 - $495 / month (1-10 employees) or custom price for 10+
Benefits & HR: Handled by ADP – incl. retirement (e.g. 401(k), health insurance, business insurance
Automatic tax filing: Yes
Apps: Web browser app
Features and Add-ons
KPMG Spark manages everything to do with accounting, tax preparation, and payroll.
These features are built in.
- Real-time data. The Spark platform displays live data from connected bank accounts, credit cards, and third-party apps (incl. PayPal, Square) on your customizable dashboard. Data updates approximately every 3 hours.
- Bookkeeping. Your dedicated bookkeeper prepares monthly profit & loss and income statements.
- Payroll. KPMG Spark has an exclusive relationship with ADP to take care of your payroll. This includes handling everything to do with local, state, and federal payroll taxes.
- Accounts receivable. Spark’s proprietary technology lets you create professional invoices and get paid by credit card using WePay.
- Accounts payable. Spark lets you connect to your bank accounts for the purposes of paying bills.
- Dedicated team. When you use Spark, you get more than just technology. You also get a dedicated bookkeeper, account manager, and CPA that you can communicate with at any time.
- Expenses. The Spark platform has a useful function that lets you easily track mileage and other expenses and have these expenses integrated into your bookkeeping.
Tax Compliance
As one of the ‘Big 4’ global accounting firms, KPMG specializes in tax compliance. Spark is the platform through which it helps SMBs and startups stay tax compliant.
For a small fee, Spark will prepare and file your business’s yearly tax returns. Your dedicated bookkeeper and CPA gather all the information they need from your connected accounts—turning to you only when they need additional information to complete the process.
The Spark platform lets you track expenses like mileage and travel, making it easy to claim those all-important automatic deductions at year’s end.
Payment Options
When it comes to collecting payments from customers, KPMG Spark has an exclusive agreement with WePay (a Chase Company) that lets customers pay invoices instantly. WePay accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and ACH transfers. Fees are 2.9% + $0.55 per invoice paid. There’s no obligation to use WePay. Spark can also collect details from connected bank accounts, credit cards, and third-party processors like PayPal and Square.
As for payroll, KPMG lets you pay employees using standard methods such as direct debit and check.
Pricing/Costs & Fees
The pricing model here is fairly straightforward. The monthly rate is determined purely by the amount of accounts you need to perform bookkeeping on. In this case, ‘accounts’ means any source of transactional data (e.g. checking, savings, credit card, loan accounts, Square, PayPal).
- For 1-3 accounts: $195/month
- For 4-6 accounts: $395/month
- For 7-10 accounts: $495/month
- 11+ accounts: Custom price
For an additional fee, KPMG Spark will also help you with:
- Tax preparation. Starts at $50 per month.
- Business licensing. Starts at $20 per month.
- R&D Feasibility Study Credit. $500 one-time refundable fee.
Usability
The KPMG Spark platform is a mobile-friendly web-based platform, meaning you can access it from a web browser on desktop or mobile.
Setting up an account is very straightforward. The first step is connecting your bank accounts and credit cards. Simply choose a bank/card, select the financial institution, then enter your username and password to give Spark read-only access to your data. If you work with a financial institution that doesn’t support Spark, you can upload data manually.
With KPMG Spark, you can access your account to view or export real-time data at any time. At month’s end you’ll receive a notification that your financial statements are ready to view or export. All statements can be filtered by custom date range.
The other notable thing about the Spark platform is the hands-on service. When you enter your dashboard, you’ll find your bookkeeper’s and account manager’s contact details clearly displayed on the right-hand side of the screen. You can contact them at any time. They may also contact you if something in your data needs clarification. You can also share documents with your bookkeeper using the inbuilt shared Dropbox tool.
The last thing worth mentioning is Spark’s support for multiple locations or projects. If you have multiple locations/projects, these can be tracked individually and combined into a consolidated report.
Conclusion
When it comes to managing your bookkeeping and payroll, most solutions involve using software and hiring a separate team of bookkeepers and accountants to tie it altogether. With KPMG Spark, you get an all-in-one solution comprising bookkeeping technology on the one hand and a dedicated team of bookkeepers and accountants on the other. This solution is perfect for any business owner looking to outsource all their bookkeeping and payroll duties.
