Last updated: 2026-08-20
Kick is an AI bookkeeping platform used by more than 5,000 business owners and accounting firms as of 2026. It auto-categorizes transactions from Stripe, PayPal, Plaid, and other connected accounts, then exposes an MCP server so owners can query their profit and loss statement directly from Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor.
About Kick
Kick is an applied AI company building what it calls a self-driving bookkeeper. Founder Conrad Wadowski started the company in 2021 in Palo Alto after selling his previous company, Teachable, and discovering taxes had become his largest business expense. Kick has raised $20M total: a $9M seed round in October 2024 led by General Catalyst and the OpenAI Startup Fund, followed by an extension in November 2025 led by Felicis and GV with continued participation from General Catalyst and the OpenAI Startup Fund. The product connects to business bank accounts, cards, and tools such as Stripe, PayPal, Mercury, Plaid, and Ramp to pull in transactions automatically, then uses AI to categorize each one, learning from the corrections a user makes over time. A human reviewer checks categorized transactions for accuracy before they land in the ledger. From there, Kick generates profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and tax-ready financial reports that a user can hand to an accountant. Kick is built for solo freelancers, independent contractors, and small business owners looking for bank-feed automation without hiring a bookkeeper, including owners running several LLCs, partnerships, or real estate entities from one login. It is not built for businesses with complex accrual accounting, international operations, nonprofit structures, or heavy inventory and fixed-asset tracking; those workflows are still better served by QuickBooks Online or Xero. Kick runs as a web application only, with no dedicated desktop or mobile app, and it publishes a public trust center at trust.kick.co covering its security practices. Its pricing runs from a free tier through a custom enterprise tier, detailed on its own pricing page. On its paid plans, Kick also exposes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and CLI, letting a user query their own books directly from Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor instead of opening a separate dashboard. Kick itself does not file taxes; it prepares books and refers users to outside accountants and tax preparers.
Pricing
Free: $0/mo, 250 transactions/year, 1 entity. Basic: $40/mo billed annually ($480/yr), unlimited transactions, 1 entity. Plus: $100/mo billed quarterly ($300/quarter), unlimited entities. Advanced: custom pricing, billed monthly. Extra entities beyond the first are free up to 250 transactions/year, then $50/mo each on Plus.
Key Features
- Automated Transaction Categorization: Connects to Stripe, PayPal, Mercury, Plaid, Ramp and 50+ other accounts to auto-categorize business transactions, with AI that improves its labeling as users correct it.
- Multi-Entity Management: Runs unlimited business entities from a single login on the Plus and Advanced plans, giving owner-operators one consolidated view across accounts and teams.
- MCP Integration with AI Assistants: Basic-tier and above accounts expose an MCP server and CLI so users can query their profit and loss, balance sheet, or specific transactions from Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor.
- Expert-Reviewed Books: Every auto-categorized transaction is checked by a human bookkeeper before it lands in the ledger, pairing AI speed with a manual accuracy pass.
- Tax-Ready Financial Reports: Generates profit and loss statements and balance sheets formatted to hand directly to a CPA, since Kick itself does not file taxes.
- Plaid-Routed Bank Security: Bank connections run through Plaid, which keeps login credentials out of Kick's own systems, and data moves under TLS in transit and AES-256 at rest.
Pros
- The Free plan lets a new freelancer try real bank-feed automation on one entity before committing to a paid tier, rather than gating every feature behind a trial.
- Backed by $20M from the OpenAI Startup Fund, General Catalyst, Felicis and GV, funding that has kept features like MCP support and a universal importer shipping.
- Multi-entity owners get a single login across every business at no extra charge on the Plus plan, unlike per-entity billing on services such as Bench.
- Trustpilot reviewers cite responsive support during onboarding, including customers who switched after a previous bookkeeping provider closed unexpectedly.
Cons
- Not built for international businesses, nonprofits, complex revenue recognition, or heavy inventory and fixed-asset accounting; QuickBooks Online or Xero stays the safer pick for deep accrual models.
- Kick does not file taxes itself and only refers users to outside accountants, so a solo user still needs to budget for a separate tax preparer.
- Only 17 reviews on Trustpilot as of mid-2026 is a thin public track record next to established providers like QuickBooks or Bench.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Kick's pricing plans in 2026?
Kick's Free plan is $0/month with a capped number of yearly transactions on one entity (see the free-plan question below for the exact cap). Basic runs $40/month billed annually ($480/year) with unlimited transactions on one entity, Plus is $100/month billed quarterly with unlimited entities, and Advanced is custom-priced for complex businesses. Extra entities on the Plus plan are billed as a flat monthly add-on once they pass their own free transaction cap.
Is Kick free to use?
Yes, the Free plan covers one business entity and up to 250 transactions a year at no cost, including auto-categorization, receipt matching, and basic profit and loss and balance sheet reports. It does not include the MCP/CLI integration, universal importer, or reconciliation tools that ship on the Basic plan and above.
What should you use instead of Kick?
QuickBooks Online remains the default choice for businesses that need a full general ledger, payroll integration, and broad accountant compatibility. Pilot and Bench sell bookkeeping-as-a-service with a human team doing the work, suited to owners who want to do none of the categorization themselves. Digits is the closer AI-native peer, built around an autonomous general ledger rather than Kick's bank-feed automation.
Is Kick better than QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Online is a full general ledger with deep accountant and payroll ecosystem support, built for accrual accounting and complex e-commerce. Kick trades most of that for AI-driven categorization that needs less manual data entry, but it is not designed for international, nonprofit, or heavy inventory accounting where QuickBooks still wins.
How long does it take to get going with Kick?
Sign up at kick.co and connect business bank accounts, cards, and tools like Stripe, PayPal, or Plaid-supported banks during onboarding. Kick auto-categorizes the transaction history it can pull in, and a human reviewer checks the categorization before it is finalized. From there, profit and loss and balance sheet reports update as new transactions arrive.