Test scope, screenshots, checkpoint findings and tier rationale were supplied by an identified reviewer. Identity is retained internally unless public attribution is explicitly enabled.
FinTech · South AfricaFull evidence record
Beqy.ai
Beqy.ai is an AI-assisted bookkeeping platform for startups, SMEs and accountants, with transaction review, accounts, invoicing, budgets and integrations.
Sandbox Africa checked the submitted evidence and promoted the verified checkpoint record. Any visible adjustment is identified rather than silently rewritten.
The official public tier and technical record below are the verified publication outcome.
Tier 1 — Functional MVP
Keep Tier 1. The core loop is accessible and functional in form, but a bookkeeping product that materially misclassifies transaction data is not market-ready on the reviewed evidence.
Strongest supporting evidence
Self-serve access was achieved and the full core loop was exercised firsthand end to end — registration, upload, import, categorisation and account display. However, the categorisation engine produced a precisely verified, reproducible error: it ignored an explicit category field already present in its own sample data and summed all transactions as income, additionally including a failed and a pending transaction in its totals.
Why the next tier is not yet supported
Tier 2 requires a stable product that performs its core function correctly. The loop runs, but does not run correctly — a bookkeeping product unable to distinguish income from expenses using data that already labels the difference fails at the most basic level of its stated purpose.
Verified findings and limitations
Direct review observations
The intern obtained a self-service trial, uploaded transaction CSVs and compared application outputs against the source data. The system classified all ten imported rows as income, including rows explicitly labelled as expenses, and included failed/pending transactions in totals.
Independent verification
The current official site continues to present Beqy.ai as an AI-powered bookkeeping and accounting product.
Observed issues
A reproducible core financial-classification defect propagated into accounting views; a second file also remained pending without completing import.
Testing limitations
Paid integrations and higher-tier functions were not tested, but the observed defect is within the core free-trial accounting workflow.
Independent verification sources. Source 1
What was actually assessed
egistered self-serve for a free trial with no sales contact, reaching a working account on the "Bootstrapper" plan immediately. Reviewed the full application structure across all navigation sections — Review, Transactions, Accounts, Invoices, Budget, Integrations, Settings — confirming the product loads correctly throughout. Uploaded two sample transaction CSVs via the Review screen; one completed with 10 records imported, the second remained in a "Pending" state with 0 records imported. Reviewed the successfully imported transactions on the Transactions page, recording the platform's reported totals (Income R20,625.23, Expenses R0). Retrieved and read the raw source CSV file directly to compare its contents against the platform's output, checking the file's own Category and Status columns row by row against what the platform reported. Verified the arithmetic independently, confirming the platform's R20,625.23 "Income" figure exactly matches the sum of all ten rows in the file regardless of category or status. Reviewed the Chart of Accounts page to check whether the categorisation error propagated into the accounting equation (Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Net Worth). Reviewed the Integrations page, recording the number of available versus connected integrations and the upgrade requirement. Checked the site's TLS certificate directly via browser inspection to confirm HTTPS configuration. Navigated through all sections a second time to confirm no load delay or lag was present.
Environment / device / browser
Edge on Windows
Account or access type
Business account
Access limitations
Multiple integrations and any features beyond the free “Bootstrapper” trial tier could not be tested, as upgrading requires payment.
What was observed
These images formed part of the evidence pack considered during verification. Full-standard records retain the contributor's factual caption for each screenshot.
Evidence 1
Review page, uploaded documents Document Review screen showing two uploaded sample CSVs. "transaction_example (1).csv" completed with 10 of 10 records imported; "transaction_example.csv" remained in a Pending state with 0 records imported, evidencing inconsistent import reliability across files.
Evidence 2
Transactions page Transactions view following import, reporting Income of R20,625.23 across all 10 transactions and Expenses of R0. Includes a visible row labelled "Clothing" categorised under "Shopping" — an expense-type transaction counted toward the Income total, the first visual evidence of the categorisation defect confirmed against the source file.
Evidence 3
Chart of Accounts page Chart of Accounts showing Total Assets, Total Liabilities, Equity and Expenses all at R0, with only Income populated (R20,625.23) and Net Worth displaying R0 despite recorded income — evidence that the categorisation error propagates into the core accounting equation, the product's central deliverable.
Evidence 4
Integrations page Integrations screen showing 0 of 13 available integrations connected, with an "Upgrade Required" notice restricting multiple integrations to paid plans (Startups, Accountants or Enterprise). Confirms integration capability exists but could not be exercised on the free "Bootstrapper" trial tier.
Seven checkpoint assessment
The verified result is the official public checkpoint record. For earlier-standard reviews, these findings may have been reconstructed from preserved evidence during Sandbox Africa’s 2026 audit; they are not presented as if the contributor originally completed a structured worksheet. Contributor-submitted checkpoint wording is shown only where explicit public reviewer attribution has been enabled.
Step 1 — The Existence & Accessibility Check
Is it live?
Checking for dead links, infinite loading screens, or "Coming Soon" landing pages masquerading as live products.
Sandbox verifiedpass
Full authenticated application loads correctly across all sections — Review, Transactions, Accounts, Invoices, Budget, Integrations, Settings.
Onboarding friction
Can a user or enterprise actually sign up, or is it gated behind broken "Contact Sales" forms?
Sandbox verifiedpass
Self-serve free trial registration completed independently, no sales contact required, reaching a working “Bootstrapper” plan account immediately.
Step 2 — Functional Testing (The "Try It Out" Phase)
Core loop execution
Does the application actually do what it claims to do? (e.g. a payment gateway completing a test transaction, a logistics app's routing engine working.)
Sandbox verifiedfail
The uploaded sample file contained an explicit Category column, correctly labelling 9 of 10 transactions with expense categories (Food, Entertainment, Transport, Utilities, Shopping, Telecommunications, Cash Withdrawal) and 1 with Income (Salary, R15,000). The platform categorised all 10 transactions as Income, totalling R20,625.23 — an exact arithmetic match for the sum of every row in the file regardless of its labelled category. The source data additionally included one transaction marked Status: Failed (Online purchase, R899.99) and one marked Status: Pending (Clothing, R1,200), both of which were included in the platform's totals. This indicates the categorisation engine did not use the explicit category field already present in its own input data, and transaction status is not filtered from financial totals. The error propagates into the Chart of Accounts, where Expenses, Assets, Liabilities and Equity all show R0 and Net Worth displays R0 despite R20,625.23 in recorded “income.” Raw source file retained as supporting evidence for independent verification.
User experience (UX) & interface (UI)
Assessing the logical flow, responsiveness, and basic accessibility of the platform.
Sandbox verifiedpartial
Interface is clean, well-organised and responsive. However, the categorisation error is presented with full confidence — no warning, flag, or “needs review” indicator appears anywhere despite Income, Expenses and Net Worth all being materially incorrect on the platform's own sample data.
Step 3 — Technical & Architectural Assessment
Performance
Load speeds, uptime reliability, and basic stress responses.
Sandbox verifiedpass
No lag or load delay was observed during navigation, file upload, or page transitions across all sections tested.
Integration readiness
Availability, clarity, and functionality of API documentation and webhooks.
Sandbox verifiedpartial
13 integrations available, 0 connected on the free trial. Connecting more than one integration requires an upgrade from the “Bootstrapper” plan. Integration capability is real but gated, and could not be exercised directly.
Security basics
SSL certification, basic encryption standards, and data handling transparency.
Sandbox verifiedpass
HTTPS confirmed via a valid, currently active TLS certificate for www.beqy.ai, issued by Let's Encrypt on 4 July 2026, expiring 2 October 2026 — standard, correctly configured, domain-validated certificate. Authentication (self-serve signup and login) functions correctly.
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