Bench, the venture capital-backed accounting startup that abruptly shut down last week, leaving thousands of customers locked out of their accounts, will be acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed price in a last-minute deal. was obtained exclusively by TechCrunch.
San Francisco-based HR technology company Employer.com focuses on payroll and onboarding, in contrast to Bench, which specializes in accounting and tax. Matt Charney, Employer.com's chief marketing officer, told TechCrunch that the company is bringing back the Bench platform and providing instructions for customers to quickly log in and retrieve their data.
Charney told TechCrunch that customers will have the option of porting their data or keeping the service under new ownership. The bench's previous recommendation to apply for a six-month extension from the Internal Revenue Service to find a new bookkeeper will no longer be needed if the client decides to proceed, Employer.com has confirmed. .
Bench's website is still offline at the time of writing, but previously advertised more than 35,000 “America's Small Business Owners” on its platform, according to an archived copy. (After publication, Employer.com told TechCrunch that Bench has about 12,000 customers.) Bench's website now says, “More information on how to continue service will be posted soon. ” is written. The startup's abrupt closure on Friday sparked confusion, with customers finding themselves locked out of their accounts just before tax season began, and emails from TechCrunch to Bench employees bounced back.
TechCrunch confirmed the acquisition to members of Bench's board of directors. Neither Bench nor Employer.com would comment on the acquisition price.
Employer.com is a new company. CEO Jesse Tinsley announced in November that it had acquired the domain name for about $450,000. Tinsley powers numerous HR, onboarding and recruiting businesses, including Recruiter.com and BountyJobs. In a Dec. 11 post, Tinsley said the company is “still acquiring companies” in human resources. Employer.com has no VC backing and is entirely self-funded, Charney told TechCrunch.
In a statement announcing the acquisition, Employer.com said Bench customers can expect to “continue to work with the same in-house bookkeeping experts they know and trust.”
“This acquisition allows Bench customers to continue to rely on the same high-quality service they have always had, while also opening the door to future enhancements and capabilities leveraging Employer.com's extensive resources. ” said a statement from Employer.com.
In reality it may be difficult. According to the company's website, Bench employs more than 600 people, several of whom posted on LinkedIn that they were currently looking for work after the closure notice. However, Bench has now begun asking “many, but not all” employees to return to work to ensure continuity, Bench chief human resources officer Jennifer Vuyoukos told TechCrunch. .
TechCrunch archived Bench's original closure notice on December 27th:
Copy of bench notice regarding termination of service on December 27, 2024. Image credit: TechCrunch (screenshot)
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