Vancouver-based bookkeeping service Bench Accounting has announced its sudden closure, potentially putting hundreds of staff out of work.
The company that has described itself as North America’s largest bookkeeping service for small businesses says on its website in a “notice of closure” dated Friday that the platform is “no longer accessible.”
The statement acknowledges that the closure is “abrupt and may cause disruption,” and says the firm is committed to helping customers “navigate through the transition.”
Bench has previously said it had more than 600 employees and had received investor funding of US$113 million.
It said it moved to Vancouver and changed its name to Bench in 2013, having started out in 2012 as 10sheet Inc in the U.S.
Calls to Bench’s Vancouver office went to voice mail and did not immediately receive a response.
But the company’s former CEO and co-founder Ian Crosby released a statement on social media on Friday, saying he was “very sad” about the closure.
Crosby, who said he was ousted by the company’s board about three years ago, said there was a lesson in the fate of the company.
“I hope the story of Bench goes on to become a warning for VCs (venture capitalists) that think they can ‘upgrade’ a company by replacing the founder. It never works,” he said.
The University of British Columbia Sauder Business School alumni said he had been avoiding speaking publicly about Bench since his exit, but wanted to make a statement in light of the company’s demise.
He said that in 2021 he had been battling with some board members over their strategy for a “new direction” that he thought was a “very bad idea.”
“Rather than continuing to fight with me, they opted to just replace me, thinking that they could run the company better themselves,” he said.
“I was totally convinced that their approach would destroy the company. I opted to resign rather than fight.”
Other bookkeeping companies were quick to reach out to Bench’s former clients, with rivals such as Acuity and Better Bookkeeping making reference to Bench’s closure in social media pitches.
A spokeswoman for B.C.‘s jobs ministry said they were looking into a request for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024.
