Major Accounting Firm Deletes Entire Platform, Screws 35,000 Clients Before Tax Season...

It’s not every day that an accounting startup pulls a full-on disappearing act, but Canada-based Bench just set a new standard for how not to exit the stage. Imagine logging in to check your year-end financials, only to find out the entire platform is offline and all you're left with is a short, cryptic notice. That’s exactly what happened to Bench’s 35,000 U.S. customers this week—just days before the year-end financial scramble and the start of tax season. Timing: impeccable.

(Source: Giphy) 

"We regret to inform you that as of December 27, 2024, the Bench platform will no longer be accessible," the company’s website announced. Translation: “Good luck out there.” The rest of the site? Completely wiped. No archives, no FAQ section, just a single page of instructions telling customers to file a six-month IRS extension while they “find the right bookkeeping partner.” 

(Source: Financial Post) 

Now what’s interesting here is that Bench wasn’t just some rinky-dink startup; they were the name in bookkeeping-as-a-service for small and medium-sized businesses. Backed by heavy hitters like Shopify, Bain Capital Ventures, and even IT giant Sage, Bench raised a mountain of $113 million over its lifetime. The company claimed to have 600 employees and, up until this week, bragged about being North America’s largest bookkeeping service for SMBs.

But things apparently fell apart faster than a poorly built IKEA chair. Customers were blindsided, employees were left jobless, and years of financial records are now stuck in some digital limbo. One customer, who had recently migrated from QuickBooks to Bench, summed it up perfectly on social media: “As a customer, I’m pissed.”

(Source: Giphy) 

And the cherry on top? Bench is pointing customers toward Kick, a brand-new accounting startup that just raised $9 million in October. Kick’s CEO, Conrad Wadowski, posted a LinkedIn message basically saying, “We’re here to help,” but refused to spill the tea on whether there was any deal between the two companies. Suspicious? Absolutely. 

The official explanation for this torture is nonexistent. Calls to Bench’s Vancouver office went straight to voicemail, and press inquiries were met with radio silence. Even Bench’s co-founder and former CEO, Ian Crosby, chimed in on LinkedIn, throwing shade at the company’s board for replacing him after its last funding round in 2021. “I hope the story of Bench goes on to become a warning for VCs that think they can ‘upgrade’ a company by replacing the founder. It never works,” Crosby wrote.

(Source: Tech Crunch) 

Meaning, while we don’t have all the details, the signs point to a classic case of overpromising and under delivering. Bench had been struggling with global production slumps, customer churn, and the ever-present challenge of scaling a SaaS business without burning cash like it’s going out of style. 

For customers, the immediate concern is getting their data back. Bench has promised that customers will be able to download their financial records by December 30, with access available until March 2025. But considering the company’s abrupt exit, it’s hard to feel confident in those assurances.

(Source: Giphy) 

For the accounting world, this is a major black eye. Bench’s collapse highlights the risks of relying on cloud-based platforms for critical business functions. Sure, SaaS is the future, but when your provider goes belly-up, it’s your business that pays the price.

And for investors, this is a harsh reminder that even the most promising startups can go poof. Shopify, Bain Capital Ventures, and all the other backers who poured millions into Bench are now left holding the bag, while their portfolio company becomes a punchline in the fintech world. Plus let’s not gloss over the fact that this is an eerily bad example of putting all your eggs in one (cloud-based) basket. For the 35,000 businesses left scrambling to find a new accounting solution, this is a legit nightmare scenario.

(Source: Giphy) 

Of course, I’m sure we’ll find out the real reasons for this ghost act in the coming days, but in the meantime, businesses who are set to report their taxes are now in hot water—and investors like Sage and Shopify have just experienced the worst thing imaginable in corporate America… money go burrrrrn. Terrible. 

As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time. 

P.S. The New Year is upon us! Will 2025 be the same for you as 2024 was? The choice is yours. Click here to join Stocks.News premium and start the new year off on the right foot…

Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.