Benji & Column Tax: Supporting the creator economy through tax season and beyond

About Benji

Benji is an all-in-one tax software that helps content creators, freelancers, and independent contractors track business expenses, find tax write-offs, and file taxes.

While nontraditional career paths have become increasingly popular, legacy bookkeeping systems haven’t kept pace with their unique financial needs, leaving YouTubers, influencers, and other self-employed taxpayers in the lurch. Even experienced accountants don’t always know how to track these workers’ reportable income, identify every deductible expense, and list everything correctly on tax forms.

That’s where Benji comes in. Benji makes it easy for self-employed individuals to link their bank accounts, identify and categorize tax deductions in real time, and save big on their tax returns. And it’s all free up to the first $1,000 in write-offs.

‍

‍

The problem: Extra hurdles before tax filing

Until recently, Benji would send users a comprehensive year-end tax report. But, from there, it was up to them to file on their own or pay for an accountant or tax software to file. Aside from not being designed for the burgeoning creator economy, these services would often upcharge for more “complex” employment scenarios while offering zero guarantees around accuracy or results.

Being directed to a third party to file added significant friction and stress for Benji’s users. It meant more difficult choices to make, more data to enter, and more time and money to spend. Benji needed a tech-forward solution built directly into Benji’s app, simplifying the tax process from end to end.

‍

‍

The fix: Seamless tax prep, from expense tracking to accepted return

Now, Column Tax’s embeddable API is integrated directly into Benji’s back end. That means, come tax season, Benji passes all of the expense information they’ve collected for a user instantly to Column Tax and have that data automatically fill that user’s tax return. Rather than starting over with a third-party filer, a user can easily file their taxes all within Benji’s app.

That means no need to gather expenses, crunch numbers, or look for tax assistance at year’s end. Instead, Benji users can get back to doing what they do best: creating meaningful content.

Together, Column Tax and Benji offer not only superior value, but unparalleled efficiency and a more unified experience.

Finding Column Tax was a lightbulb moment. Their automated tax-filing technology has turned Benji into a simple, one-stop shop for self-employed taxes. Now, our users can track their expenses, identify tax write-offs, and file their taxes all in one place. – Mohammed Asaduallah, Co-Founder and CEO, Benji

‍

‍

The outcome

• Money saved: With Benji and Column Tax, users save even more money on their tax returns by allowing them to file for free, rather than paying an outside service hundreds of dollars.
• Friction avoided: Benji users can submit their tax returns without ever leaving the app, so they can skip the hassle of shopping for and using a third-party filer or accountant.‍
• Accuracy upheld: With Column Tax’s embedded API, Benji can transfer users’ data directly to their tax forms, bypassing any risk of human error that could derail the process.