Question 1

What is KiwiBooks?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks is an AI-powered bookkeeping platform for small businesses and the CPAs who serve them. It manages invoicing, expenses, receipts, mileage, and cash flow in one place, with tax-ready reports across every entity type. Accountants and bookkeepers get free unlimited access to all their clients' books.

Question 2

How much does KiwiBooks cost?

Accepted Answer

There is a free plan that never expires, so a small business can keep real books without paying anything. Premium is $15 a month or $120 a year and adds automatic bank sync, AI categorization, more businesses and unlimited scanning. Every new account starts with 7 days of Premium, no credit card required, and moves to the free plan when the trial ends. Accountants and bookkeepers use KiwiBooks free across all their clients, with no seat fees. For each client on Premium, you choose who covers the fee: bill it straight to your client via Stripe, or put your firm's card on file and fold it into your retainer. Your accounting services stay billed by you, however you price them.

Question 3

How do I set up my first business in KiwiBooks?

Accepted Answer

After signing in, go to Settings → Business Setup and click "Add Business." Choose your entity type (Schedule C for sole proprietorship, Schedule E for rental income, etc.), enter your business name and details, and you're ready to start tracking finances.

Question 4

What entity types does KiwiBooks support?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks supports Schedule C (sole proprietorship), Schedule E (rental and royalty income), Schedule F (farming), Form 1065 (partnership), Form 1120 (C-Corp), Form 1120-S (S-Corp), and Form 1040 personal consolidation. The Chart of Accounts is seeded per entity type so every category maps directly to its tax-form line.

Question 5

Can I manage multiple businesses in one account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The free plan covers one personal account and one business. Premium covers one personal account and nine businesses in a single subscription. Switch between them using the business selector in the top navigation.

Question 6

Can I import data from other accounting software?

Accepted Answer

Currently, KiwiBooks supports CSV import for transactions and contacts. You can upload your exported CSV files from other software through the Finance Hub → Transactions page using the import button.

Question 7

Is there a free plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it has no time limit and no credit card. The free plan gives you one personal account and one business, unlimited transactions that you type in or import from CSV, 25 receipt and document scans a month with AI extraction and a suggested category, all reports and tax outputs, unlimited invoices and estimates, mileage for one vehicle, tax-ready categories out of the box, and free access for your accountant. Unlimited here is subject to the fair use limits described in our Terms.

Question 8

What does Premium cost?

Accepted Answer

Premium is $15 a month or $120 a year. Paying yearly costs 33% less than paying month to month. On top of everything in the free plan you get automatic bank and credit card sync powered by Plaid, AI auto-categorization and auto-matching, one personal account and nine businesses, unlimited scanning, custom categories, and unlimited vehicles.

Question 9

What happens when my trial ends?

Accepted Answer

Your account moves to the free plan automatically. Nothing is charged, because we never asked for a card to start. Your transactions, receipts, invoices and reports all stay exactly where they are, and you can move to Premium whenever you want.

Question 10

Can I cancel Premium?

Accepted Answer

Any time, from your billing page. Premium runs to the end of the period you already paid for and your account then moves to the free plan. Nothing is deleted.

Question 11

Do accountants and bookkeepers pay?

Accepted Answer

No. Firms use the Expert console free across every client, with no seat fees. When a client wants Premium, the fee is billed to the client or to the firm, whichever you set per client.

Question 12

How do I connect my bank account?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → Bank Connections and click "Connect Bank." Follow the secure Plaid-powered flow to search for your bank, log in with your credentials, and select the accounts you want to link. Your transactions will start importing automatically. Automatic bank sync is part of Premium, and it is included for the 7 days of Premium every new account starts with.

Question 13

Is connecting my bank account secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KiwiBooks uses Plaid, a trusted bank-grade security provider, to handle all bank connections. Your bank credentials are never stored on our servers. They go directly to Plaid, which is used by millions of users and thousands of apps.

Question 14

What types of bank accounts can I connect?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks supports Checking, Savings, Credit Card, Investment, Loan, and other account types. All are linked through our secure Plaid integration, which connects to thousands of financial institutions.

Question 15

What should I do if my bank connection says "Requires Reauth"?

Accepted Answer

This typically happens when your bank's security requires you to re-verify your identity. Go to Settings → Bank Connections, find the affected connection, and click "Reconnect." You'll go through the Plaid flow again to re-authorize access.

Question 16

How do I categorize transactions?

Accepted Answer

In the Finance Hub → Transactions, click on a transaction to open it and select a category from your Chart of Accounts. KiwiBooks also suggests categories based on your past entries and the merchant name to speed up the process.

Question 17

How do I create a transaction manually?

Accepted Answer

In Finance Hub → Transactions, click the "Add Transaction" button. Fill in the date, description, amount, and select the appropriate account and category. You can also attach a receipt or link an invoice to the transaction.

Question 18

Can I bulk import transactions from a CSV file?

Accepted Answer

Yes. On the Transactions page, click the import button and upload your CSV file. KiwiBooks will map the columns to the correct fields and let you review the transactions before importing them all at once.

Question 19

What does reconciling a transaction mean?

Accepted Answer

Reconciliation means matching a transaction with supporting documentation like a receipt, invoice, or bank statement. This confirms the transaction is accurate and complete, which is essential for clean bookkeeping and tax preparation.

Question 20

How does receipt OCR work?

Accepted Answer

When you upload a receipt, KiwiBooks automatically scans it using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract the vendor name, date, amount, and other details. You'll see a confidence score and can review or correct any extracted data before linking it to a transaction.

Question 21

What file types can I upload as receipts?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks accepts common image formats (JPG, PNG) and PDF files for receipts and documents. The OCR system works best with clear, well-lit photos or scans of your receipts.

Question 22

What do the different document statuses mean?

Accepted Answer

Processing = OCR is scanning your document. Needs Review = data was extracted and needs your confirmation. Suggested = a matching transaction was found. Linked = successfully attached to a transaction. Not Linked = no match found yet. Duplicate = a similar document already exists.

Question 23

How do I create and send an invoice?

Accepted Answer

Go to Finance Hub → Invoices and click "Create Invoice." Add your client (or create a new contact), add line items from your product/service catalog or enter custom items, set payment terms, and save. You can then download the PDF or share it with your client.

Question 24

Can I create estimates as well as invoices?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KiwiBooks supports both invoices and estimates. Estimates follow a similar creation flow and can have statuses like Draft, Sent, Accepted, or Rejected. Once accepted, you can easily convert an estimate into an invoice.

Question 25

How do I track overdue invoices?

Accepted Answer

The Invoices page shows the status of every invoice, including any that are overdue. You can also see invoice insights, a summary showing total outstanding, overdue amounts, and status breakdowns, at the top of the Invoices page.

Question 26

How do I track mileage for tax deductions?

Accepted Answer

Go to Finance Hub → Mileage to record trips. Add your vehicle first, then log each trip with the start/end addresses, distance, and business purpose. KiwiBooks calculates your deduction using either the Standard Mileage Rate or Actual Expenses method.

Question 27

What's the difference between Standard Mileage Rate and Actual Expenses?

Accepted Answer

Standard Mileage Rate uses the IRS per-mile rate (e.g., 72.5 cents/mile) multiplied by your business miles. Actual Expenses tracks real costs like gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation, then applies your business-use percentage. KiwiBooks can calculate both so you can choose the higher deduction.

Question 28

Can I export my mileage log?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can export your trips as a CSV file from the Mileage page. This is useful for sharing with your tax preparer or keeping offline records. The export includes trip dates, addresses, distances, and business purpose.

Question 29

What tax forms does KiwiBooks support?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks supports Schedule C (sole proprietorship), Schedule E (rental and royalty), Schedule F (farming), Form 1065 (partnership) with Schedule K-1 shares, Form 1120 (C-Corp), Form 1120-S (S-Corp) with K-1 shares, and a Form 1040 personal consolidator that rolls up every entity. Each one maps to the correct tax-form line items at the category level.

Question 30

How are quarterly tax estimates calculated?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks estimates your quarterly taxes based on your year-to-date income, expenses, and self-employment tax obligations. Visit the Tax Center to see estimated amounts and due dates for each quarter so you can make timely payments.

Question 31

Does KiwiBooks handle home office deductions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Tax Center includes a Home Office module where you can calculate your deduction using either the Simplified Method (flat rate per square foot) or the Regular Method (actual expenses proportional to office space).

Question 32

How does KiwiBooks handle multiple businesses for taxes?

Accepted Answer

Each business entity has its own tax summary with separate income, expenses, and deductions. The Tax Center aggregates all businesses to give you a complete tax picture, while still allowing you to drill down into each entity individually.

Question 33

What reports are available in KiwiBooks?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks offers Profit & Loss (P&L), Balance Sheet, Assets & Depreciation, Detailed Transactions, Mileage Summary, General Ledger, 1099 Vendor Payments Tracker, and Customer Statements. All reports can be filtered by date range, tax year, and business.

Question 34

What is the 1099 Tracker report?

Accepted Answer

The 1099 Tracker helps you identify vendors you've paid $600 or more during the tax year, which may require you to issue a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC form. It aggregates payments by vendor and flags those above the reporting threshold.

Question 35

How do I track assets and depreciation?

Accepted Answer

Go to Finance Hub → Assets to add depreciable assets. Enter the asset name, cost basis, date placed in service, and select a depreciation method (De Minimis, Section 179, Bonus, or MACRS). KiwiBooks automatically calculates annual depreciation and tracks accumulated amounts.

Question 36

What depreciation methods are supported?

Accepted Answer

KiwiBooks supports De Minimis (expense items under $2,500 immediately), Section 179 (full deduction in the first year up to the limit), Bonus Depreciation (100% first-year deduction for qualifying assets), and MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System with standard IRS recovery periods).

Question 37

What is the Chart of Accounts and how do I customize it?

Accepted Answer

The Chart of Accounts is the list of categories used to classify your transactions (income, expenses, assets, liabilities, etc.). Go to Settings → Chart of Accounts to view and customize it. Each account maps to a specific tax form line for accurate reporting.

Question 38

How do I manage clients and vendors?

Accepted Answer

Go to Finance Hub → Contacts to add and manage your clients and vendors. You can store contact details, multiple email addresses and phone numbers, and track tax-related info like 1099 exemption status and whether a W-9 is on file.

Question 39

Does KiwiBooks automatically recognize merchants from bank transactions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When transactions are imported from your bank, KiwiBooks learns merchant names over time and can automatically match them to existing contacts. This helps keep your vendor records organized without manual data entry.

Question 40

Is my financial data secure?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. We use bank-level 256-bit encryption, secure cloud infrastructure, and never sell your data. Your financial information is protected with the same security standards used by major financial institutions.

Question 41

Can my accountant access my books?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for free! You can invite your accountant, bookkeeper, or tax advisor to view and collaborate on your books in real-time. There's no extra charge for accountant access.

Question 42

What is the lock period feature?

Accepted Answer

The lock period lets you prevent changes to transactions in prior tax years. Once locked, no one can edit, add, or delete transactions in that period. This protects your filed tax records from accidental modifications.

Question 43

Is there an audit log of changes made to my books?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Go to Settings → Audit Log to see a chronological record of all actions taken in your account, including who made changes and when. This is useful for accountability and for working with advisors.

Questions, answered.

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