Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a notice posted on its website.
“We regret to inform you that as of December 27, 2024, the Bench platform will no longer be accessible,” the notice reads. “We know this news is abrupt and may cause disruption, so we’re committed to helping Bench customers navigate through the transition.”
The company’s entire website is currently offline except for the notice, leaving thousands of businesses in the lurch. Bench touted having more than 35,000 U.S. customers just hours before it was shut down, according to a snapshot saved by the Internet Archive.
Bench, which had raised $113 million from high-profile backers such as Shopify and Bain Capital Partners, developed a software platform to help customers store and manage their bookkeeping and tax reporting documents.
The move is a shock to current and former customers. Justin Metros, the co-founder and CTO of Radiator, said years of his company’s accounting and tax documents are still stored on the site, although he no longer uses the platform. He learned about the shutdown from TechCrunch.
“I’ve never seen anyone just shut down like that,” Metros said. “That’s crazy.”
Others are airing their concerns on social media, with one posting “as a customer, I’m pissed” having just migrated from QuickBooks to Bench.
Our company specializes in QuickBooks Online software, which is based in Mountain View, California… and is owned by Intuit Software, which was founded in 1983. The original QuickBooks software program was released in 1992, and IS NOT going anywhere, anytime soon.
This is one of the foundations to our company philosophy. Use American products, developed and operated by American companies. This way we won’t suffer any loss of services like the over 35,000 U.S. Bench customers just found out was possible.
So… here’s what we’re going to do.
We, at Eric Buchholz Bookkeeping, don’t want anyone left out in the cold. Being locked out of your financials and your books is not a good feeling to wake up to on the last Friday in December… Merry Christmas!
So to help in this emergency situation, we are offering ALL Bench customers 50% OFF all our services for the first 3 months of 2025… just to get you transitioned over and settled, so you can once again rest assured that someone is working diligently to keep all your books up-to-date, accurate, and complete.
Just mention that you were a Bench customer when we talk on your FREE phone consultation. You can schedule your call HERE.
We look forward to speaking to you soon, and rest assured… We’re here. We’re NOT going anywhere, and we’ll help you get transitioned over to our team. We can’t wait to meet you.
Welcome to the family,
