The bench closes, leaving thousands of businesses without access to accounting and tax returns

Bench, a Canadian start-up accounting firm that provides software as a service to small and medium-sized businesses, has closed suddenly, according to a notice posted. his page.

“We regret to inform you that effective December 27, 2024, the Bench platform will no longer be available,” the statement read. “We know this is an emergency and can cause confusion, so we’re committed to helping Bench customers make the transition.”

The company’s entire website is currently offline except for information, leaving thousands of businesses at risk. The bench was reported to have more than 35,000 US customers in the hours before it closed, according to a snapshot. archived by the Internet Archive.

Bench, which raised $113 million from top sponsors such as Shopify and Bain Capital Partners, created a software program to help customers store and manage their accounting records and tax reports.

The move is a surprise to current and former customers. Justin Metros, co-founder and CTO of Radiatorhe said that many years of his accounting and tax services are still stored on the site, although he is no longer using the platform. Learned about the TechCrunch shutdown.

“I’ve never seen anyone just shut down like this,” said Metros. “He’s crazy.”

Some are airing their concerns on social media, and one delivery “as a customer, I’m pissed off” after I migrated from QuickBooks to Bench.

Bench’s notice states that its clients must extend six months with the IRS to “find a suitable bookkeeping partner.” It also says customers will be able to download their data by December 30, and will have until March 2025 to do so.

Information motivates customers migration at Kick, a new digital startup which announced its $9 million seed was raised in an October 2024 round led by OpenAI and General Catalyst. Kick’s CEO and founder, Conrad Wadowski, has been sent message on LinkedIn to former Bench users about how Kick is “working to put your money back in your hands.”

Bench did not respond to a request for comment by TechCrunch as of press time. Wadowski did not directly respond to a question from TechCrunch about the details of any contract or other business relationship it had with Bench before it closed.

“As you’ve seen on this website, we’re moving quickly and are available to support more Bench customers with their storage needs,” he told TechCrunch.

Established in 2012, Bench has employed more than 600 employees, according to a ‘About page’ icon. The startup was backed by investors, including IT firm Sage, Contour Venture Partners, and Altos Ventures. It was also a member of the TechStars accelerator.

Bench last promotion $60 million in line for Series C in 2021. Co-founder and CEO Ian Crosby left soon after.

Crosby posted on LinkedIn today that he was “very sad” to see the Bench closed, saying it had been replaced by unnamed board members who wanted to bring in a “new CEO” to take the Bench in a different direction.

“I hope the Bench case continues to serve as a warning to VCs who think they can ‘raise’ a company by firing a founder. It doesn’t work,” Crosby wrote.