Bench Accounting

Last updated
Bench Accounting, Inc.
Bench Corporate Logo.svg
Type of business Private
Available inEnglish
Founded2012
Headquarters
Vancouver
,
Canada
Area servedUnited States of America, Canada
Key peopleJP Durrios (CEO)
Evan Birch (VP Finance)
Jenn Bouyoukos (VP People)
KD Dorsey (VP Sales)
Brittany Hamilton (VP Operations)
Jared Jost (VP Marketing)
Prasad Sristi (VP Product)
Industry Bookkeeping, Tax return preparation
Employees650
URL bench.co
CommercialYes

Bench Accounting (branded as "Bench") was a fintech company that used proprietary software to automate bookkeeping and provide financials for small business owners. [1] The company provided subscription access to cloud-based software in combination with in-house bookkeepers. [2] Bench raised over $100M in funding before shutting down [3] and employed around 650 people out of its Vancouver headquarters. [4]

Contents

History

Bench was founded in 2012 under the name "10sheet Inc." and was accepted into the TechStars NYC accelerator program that same year. The company rebranded as "Bench" in 2013 after relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia, and publicly launched its product. [5]

Over the years, Bench secured multiple rounds of venture funding and expanded its services. By 2021, the company introduced "Bench Banking," integrating financial services with its core bookkeeping offerings. [6]

Funding

Bench launched with a $2 million seed round in 2013, [7] followed by $7 million Series A funding in 2015 led by Altos Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. [8] In January 2014, Bench raised an additional $1 million from VCs and angel investors. [9] In 2016, the company raised $16 million in Series B funding, led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Altos Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. [10] This was followed in 2018 by $18 million in Series B-1 funding led by iNovia Capital, alongside existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Altos Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank. [11] In 2021, Bench secured $60 million in Series C funding led by Contour Venture Partners, allowing the company to expand its offerings to include integrated banking services. [12] The company's total funding exceeded $100 million before its closure.

Product

Features and Integrations

Bench is available on desktop and iOS mobile app. Bench's core product is online bookkeeping software paired with in-house bookkeepers. Services include historical and monthly bookkeeping, cash flow and expense tracking, and financial reporting. [13] Bench Bookkeeping also integrates with several other third-party apps including Stripe, Square, [14] and PayPal.

In June 2019, Bench launched a new cash flow management tool called Pulse. [15]

As of August 2019, Bench announced BenchTax in partnership with Taxfyle [16] in order to provide tax preparation and filing for clients.

Closure

On December 27, 2024, Bench emailed its customers and posted a notice of closure on its website that the platform would be immediately inaccessible. [17] [18]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Bench Bookkeeping Service Cooks Up $7 Million Series A". TechCrunch. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  2. ↑ "Bookkeeping For Those Who Don't Like Using An App". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  3. ↑ "Bench Raises $60 Million USD Series C and Expands Beyond Accounting with Launch of Bench Banking". businesswire.com. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  4. ↑ "Why This Bookkeeping Company Created the Ultimate Guide for Mental Health at Work". Inc.com. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  5. ↑ "A Virtual Accounting Department for Small Businesses". You’re the Boss Blog. 2013-08-01. Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  6. ↑ "Bench Raises $60 Million USD Series C and Expands Beyond Accounting with Launch of Bench Banking". Business Wire. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  7. ↑ "Frustrated by lack of venture capital in Canada, startup moves south" . Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  8. ↑ "Bench Bookkeeping Service Cooks Up $7 Million Series A". TechCrunch. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Startup Bench Accounting Raises $1 Million from VCs and Angels". Techvibes. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  10. ↑ "Bench raises $16 mln from Bain, Altos, Contour". PE Hub. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  11. ↑ "Largest Bookkeeping Service for Small Businesses, Bench, Expands into Canada". Newswire. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  12. ↑ "Bench Raises $60 Million USD Series C and Expands Beyond Accounting with Launch of Bench Banking". Business Wire. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  13. ↑ "Largest Bookkeeping Service for Small Businesses, Bench, Expands into Canada". www.newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  14. ↑ "Integrate Bench Accounting with Square". Square. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  15. ↑ "Bench Accounting Launches New Real-Time Financial Tool To Help Small Business Owners Track Their Cash And Spending". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  16. ↑ "Taxfyle partners with bookkeeping service Bench". Accounting Today. 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  17. ↑ "Notice of Service Closure". Bench Accounting. Bench Accounting. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  18. ↑ The Canadian Press (27 Dec 2024). "Vancouver's Bench Accounting abruptly shuts down, with 600 potential jobs lost". CBC British Columbia. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 Dec 2024.
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