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Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup, locked thousands of customers out of their accounts after it it closed suddenly last weekIt will be acquired by Employer.com in a last-minute deal for an undisclosed price, TechCrunch has learned exclusively.
Employer.com, a San Francisco-based HR tech company, focuses on payroll and recruiting, unlike Bench, which specializes in accounting and tax. Matt Charney, chief marketing officer of Employer.com, told TechCrunch that the company will be revitalizing the Bench platform and providing instructions for customers to log in and access their data soon.
Customers will be given the option to move their data or keep their services under new ownership, Charney told TechCrunch. Employer.com has confirmed that if clients decide to stay, the Bench’s previous recommendation to apply to the Internal Revenue Service for a six-month extension to seek a new accountant is no longer necessary.
Bench’s website, which is still offline at the time of writing, previously listed more than 35,000 “American small business owners” as customers. according to the archive copy. Bench site currently studying: “Details on how to resume your services will be available soon.” The startup’s sudden shutdown on Friday caused chaos, with customers locked out of their accounts as tax season began and emails from TechCrunch to Bench staff bounced back.
TechCrunch confirmed the purchase with a Bench board member. Neither Bench nor Employer.com would comment on the purchase price.
Employer.com is a new company: CEO Jesse Tinsley announced that he had received of the domain name in November for about $450,000. Tinsley is behind many HR, recruiting and recruiting related businesses including Recruiter.com and BountyJobs. a post on Dec. 11, Tinsley said the company is “still acquiring companies” in HR. Employer.com is not VC-backed and is completely self-funded, Charney told TechCrunch.
Employer.com said in a statement announcing the acquisition that Bench clients will be able to “continue to work with the same expert in-house accountants they know and trust.”
“This acquisition ensures Bench customers can continue to rely on the high-quality service they’ve always received, while opening the door to future enhancements and opportunities powered by Employer.com’s extensive resources,” Employer.com said in a statement.
This can be difficult in practice. According to information, more than 600 people worked at Bench his websitesome have posted on LinkedIn after closing that they are now looking for work. But Bench is now starting to bring employees back to work to ensure continuity, Bench CEO Jennifer Bouyoukos told TechCrunch.
TechCrunch has archived Bench’s closing notice from December 27 below:
