Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that left 1000’s of consumers locked out of their accounts after it all of the sudden shut down final week, shall be acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed worth 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 makes a speciality of accounting and tax. Employer.com’s chief advertising and marketing officer Matt Charney advised TechCrunch the corporate will revive Bench’s platform and supply directions for purchasers to log in and acquire their knowledge.
Clients shall be given the selection to port their knowledge or preserve their service beneath new possession, Charney advised TechCrunch. Bench’s earlier advice to file for a six-month extension with the Inner Income Service to search for a brand new bookkeeper is now not wanted if clients resolve to remain on, Employer.com confirmed.
Bench’s web site, which continues to be offline on the time of writing, beforehand touted greater than 35,000 “American small enterprise house owners” on its platform, in line with an archived copy. (Submit-publication, Employer.com advised TechCrunch that Bench has roughly 12,000 clients.) Bench’s web site at the moment reads: “Extra data on how you can proceed your providers shall be out there quickly.” 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 staff bouncing again.
TechCrunch confirmed the acquisition with a Bench board member. Neither Bench nor Employer.com would touch upon the acquisition worth.
Employer.com is a brand new firm: Its CEO, Jesse Tinsley, introduced his acquisition of the area title 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 put up on December 11, Tinsley stated that the corporate is “nonetheless buying firms” within the HR area. Employer.com just isn’t VC-backed and is fully self-funded, Charney advised TechCrunch.
In a press release saying the acquisition, Employer.com stated Bench clients can count on to proceed “working with the identical skilled in-house bookkeepers they know and belief.”
“This acquisition ensures that Bench clients can proceed counting on the identical high-quality service they’ve at all times acquired, whereas additionally opening the door to future enhancements and capabilities powered by Employer.com’s in depth assets,” Employer.com’s assertion stated.
That could be tough in observe. Bench employed greater than 600 individuals, in line with its web site, a few of whom posted on LinkedIn after the shutdown discover that they have been now searching for work. Bench is now beginning to name “many” — however not all — of its staff again to work to make sure continuity, Jennifer Bouyoukos, Bench’s chief individuals officer, advised TechCrunch.
TechCrunch archived Bench’s unique shutdown discover from December 27 beneath:
