Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that left 1000’s of consumers locked out of their accounts after it abruptly shut down final week, might be acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed value in a last-minute deal, TechCrunch has solely discovered.
The San Francisco-based HR tech firm Employer.com focuses on payroll and onboarding, in distinction to Bench, which focuses on accounting and tax. Employer.com’s chief advertising and marketing officer Matt Charney informed TechCrunch the corporate will revive Bench’s platform and supply directions for patrons to login and acquire their information imminently.
Prospects might be given the selection to port their information or preserve their service beneath new possession, Charney informed TechCrunch. Bench’s earlier advice to file for a six month extension with the Inside Income Service to search for a brand new bookkeeper is not wanted if clients determine to remain on, Employer.com confirmed.
Bench’s web site, which remains to be offline on the time of writing, beforehand touted greater than 35,000 “American small business owners” on its platform, in accordance with an archived copy. (Submit-publication, Employer.com informed TechCrunch that Bench has roughly 12,000 clients.) Bench’s web site at present reads: “More information on how to continue your services will be available soon.” The startup’s abrupt shutdown on Friday brought on chaos, with clients discovering themselves locked out of their accounts proper as tax season is ready to start, and emails from TechCrunch to Bench workers bouncing again.
TechCrunch confirmed the acquisition with a Bench board member. Neither Bench nor Employer.com would touch upon the acquisition value.
Employer.com is a brand new firm: Its CEO, Jesse Tinsley introduced his acquisition of the area identify in November for about $450,000. Tinsley is behind a bunch of HR, onboarding, and recruiting-related companies, together with Recruiter.com and BountyJobs. In a publish on December 11, Tinsley mentioned that the corporate is “still acquiring companies” within the HR area. Employer.com will not be VC-backed and is completely self-funded, Charney informed TechCrunch.
In a press release saying the acquisition, Employer.com mentioned Bench clients can count on to proceed “working with the same expert in-house bookkeepers they know and trust.”
“This acquisition ensures that Bench customers can continue relying on the same high-quality service they’ve always received, while also opening the door to future enhancements and capabilities powered by Employer.com’s extensive resources,” Employer.com’s assertion mentioned.
That could be difficult in apply. Bench employed greater than 600 folks, in accordance with its web site, a few of whom posted on LinkedIn after the shutdown discover that they had been now in search of work. Bench is now beginning to name “many” – however not all – of its workers again to work to make sure continuity, Jennifer Bouyoukos, Bench’s chief folks officer, informed TechCrunch.
TechCrunch archived Bench’s authentic shutdown discover from December 27 under:
