Athira Sethu
Kochi, 31 December 2024
Bench, an accounting startup that suddenly shut down, has been acquired by Employer.com, a human resources technology company in San Francisco. The terms of the deal are not disclosed.
Employer.com, which specializes in payroll and employee onboarding, will relaunch Bench’s platform. Customers will be informed of how to access their accounts and data. They can either continue using the service under new ownership or transfer their data elsewhere. This acquisition puts an end to Bench’s previous advice for customers to file a six-month tax extension to find a new bookkeeper.
Before its closure, Bench catered to thousands of small business owners in the U.S. According to Employer.com, Bench now has around 12,000 customers; although earlier reports mentioned a much bigger number. The website of Bench is still not available; however, Employer.com promises to update more information soon.
This week’s sudden shutdown of Bench caused massive disruptions especially considering the tax season that is around the corner. Many customers were locked out of their accounts, and attempts to reach Bench employees proved futile. Users on Employer.com assuredly informed users that they could continue working with the same bookkeeping team they trusted before.
Employer.com, run by CEO Jesse Tinsley, is self-funded and currently growing in the HR space. The company’s acquisition of Bench comes after buying the Employer.com domain in November. Tinsley also operates other HR-related companies, including Recruiter.com and BountyJobs.
The shutdown marked a heavy blow to Bench, where more than 600 employees were affected.
According to Employer.com, this deal will keep maintaining Bench’s existing services but still introduce new ones utilizing its arsenal. The acquisition could only instill hopes into the minds of Bench customers and employees.
