Pilot

Pilot is a San Francisco company founded in 2017. It sells outsourced bookkeeping as a managed service rather than as self-serve accounting software. Its bookkeepers work in a QuickBooks Online file that Pilot sets up and maintains, and they close the books each month. Customers see financial reports, dashboards, and an AI assistant through the Pilot portal. The entry Essentials plan costs 99 dollars a month and covers businesses with up to 100,000 dollars in monthly expenses. It does cash-basis books from bank and card feeds and offers in-app support only. Core adds a US-based bookkeeper, accrual accounting, a custom chart of accounts, and reports by the 10th business day. Core's price was not clearly shown on the pricing page. Custom is quoted by sales and adds full AR and AP, payroll administration, and faster reporting. Tax filing for LLCs, partnerships, S-corps, and C-corps, fractional CFO plans starting at 1,750 dollars a month, R&D tax credit work, and operations services such as bill pay, invoicing, and payroll are sold separately. Most of these require a bookkeeping subscription. Pilot connects bank feeds with tools such as Stripe and Gusto and partners with Bill.com and American Express. It suits venture-backed US startups that want accountants to do the work instead of running the books themselves. The main limitation is cost and turnaround: Core reports arrive mid-month, and full AP, AR, and payroll help needs the costlier Custom tier. Some reviewers also report occasional service lapses.