Bench shutdown FAQ

Last updated: January 3, 2025

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It has been a rollercoaster past few days. On Friday, Dec 27, Bench announced that they were shutting down, customers were locked out of their data, and it seemed like their prepayments were not going to be honored. On Monday morning, December 30, they announced that they've been acquired by Employer.com, after what must have been a very short diligence process.

There’s a lot going on here, and I’ve done my best to pull all of the relevant resources for current Bench customers into one place.

I happen to also run an accounting firm, but the spirit of this post is truly “Here’s the info you need,” not a sales pitch. If you have any questions/comments, please email me: waseem@pilot.com.

What happened?

On December 27, 2024, Bench abruptly took down its website, replacing it with a notice that the Bench service is no longer operating, effective immediately. Customers couldn’t log into their Bench dashboard or download data, and we’re told that a huge percentage of the team was laid off.

On Monday 12/30, customers are being met with the following, needing to make a choice to transfer ownership of their data to Employer.com or to immediately suspend service with some kind of data export available:

As of Friday, January 3, we're now being told that you must consent if you want the data download, and that there's no way to opt out. From an email Bench has sent to previous opted-out users:

We noticed that you previously opted out of continuing services with Bench. To ensure you have full control over your options and access to your data, we need your consent to move forward.

Please note that without your acknowledgement, we will not be able to create your data download or provide you access to your account to make any changes to your services.

So it seems that you have no choice, if you want to access your data.

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Should I click the I Consent button?

If I were you, here’s what I would do:

1. Consent to the agreement so that you keep access to Bench's system
2. Log in and export all available data to the best of your ability
3. If you don’t want to continue with Bench after your export is complete, cancel your ongoing Bench subscription so you don't get charged again (if after due diligence on this transition you do want to stay with them, you can always sign back up)
   

That way you avoid the go-forward dependence on Bench, but you have a little more breathing room (until your last prepayment runs out) to access the platform—just in case.

Reasons to not click the button and instead opt out and download your data:

1. You are not comfortable with the new owner or their privacy policy
2. You know for sure that you want to switch to a new provider (though we're told that clicking "download data" doesn't actually give you an export—we're hearing an estimated date of January 15 to receive said exports)

What will happen to services I’ve already paid for?

If you are continuing with Employer.com, in theory they will pick right back up where they left off.

If you opt out, they’ve made it clear that they are going to immediately suspend services without a refund, even for a prepayment where they still owe you months of work.

This is obviously tough if you don’t want to continue the service, since you will need to potentially pay a new provider to do the work you already paid for.

Some providers (including Pilot) are offering free or discounted services for Bench customers, to ease the financial burden of this transition.

One special case: if you made a payment to Bench within the last 60 days, you can usually dispute the charge with your credit card company, and you may be able to get that money back. (Note that this money comes from the credit card company, not from Bench — it’s a cost of doing business as a credit card company to have situations like this)

I've consented. How can I export my data?

Bench doesn't have an official, self-service way to export the general ledger yet, which would really be the way to do this. We're aware of some folks cobbling together thier own manual exports in various ways—we'll keep this spot updated, but if you come across anything promising, please let us know at bench-help@pilot.com

The ideal things you'd include in an export are:

• The full general ledger
• Any attachments (receipts, etc.)
• The chart of accounts
• Balance sheet by month
• P&L by month

Where the latter two don't actually contain any data not present in the first two bullet points—but are useful in helping verify that your reconstruction is accurate.

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I have a robust export from Bench. Now what do I do with it?

Unless you want to re-do your books from scratch, you’re going to need to import that data into a new bookkeeping system.

We've put together a free migration service that will migrate your Bench export into QuickBooks Online, which you're welcome to use even if you have no interest in becoming a Pilot customer.

I paid Bench to do my 2024 taxes, and now I don’t want them to. What do I do now?

You need to find a new tax preparer to do your 2024 taxes. You should do this soon, because it takes time to gather all of the required information, produce a draft return for review, and file the return, and because of that tax preparers will often have a cutoff date by which they’ll accept new clients.

Once you find someone, you can work with them to file by the deadline (March 15 for LLCs and S Corps, April 15 for C Corps), or file an extension. If you file an extension, the returns are not due until the end of the year (September 15th for LLCs/S Corps, October 15th for C Corps).

Keep in mind that you may have obligations beyond the annual federal and state filings. If you are profitable, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments. You may also need to make sales tax payments, which are unrelated to income taxes (totally different government department) and typically handled internally or by your bookkeeper. If you are not sure what your compliance obligations are, the way to minimize surprises and penalties is to hire a professional and have them hold your hand through it.

Are there near-term compliance deadlines I need to worry about?

Yes, and there’s a 2-part need here:

1. You need complete financial data for 2024, as an input into the filings
2. You need a plan for how you are going to complete the filings (for some of these you could DIY, but for business income tax returns I strongly recommend using a licensed professional)

Some key deadlines to make sure you have a plan for:

• January 31, 2025: 1099s due
• March 1, 2025: For companies incorporated in Delaware: Delaware Franchise Tax filing due
• March 15, 2025: Income Tax Filing Extensions Due - LLCs/S Corps
• April 15, 2025: Income Tax Filing Extensions Due - C Corps

For 1099s, you need to know what you paid all of your 1099-eligible vendors. Ideally this is trivial to pull from complete 2024 books. More on how 1099s work here.

For income tax filings, your tax preparer needs a balance sheet and income statement, ideally pulled from complete 2024 books.

I need a new bookkeeper. How do I pick a good one?

There are many good options. Here is a short framework for picking one.

Start with the question: what do you actually want and need from your go-forward accounting provider?

Bench mostly provided basic “modified cash-basis” books and basic (focused on the filings, not on tax optimization) corporate income tax prep, with limited support via a chat system. Maybe that’s exactly what you need going forward, or maybe it’s not. This is an opportunity to take a step back and think about what your finance, accounting, and compliance needs are and will be over the next couple of years, and select a provider that will deliver on those needs.

In my opinion:

1. If you are a low spend (< $5k / month) solopreneur-style business such that you can keep track of all of your expenses in your head, you might be fine with compliance-oriented books and basic tax filings without tax planning (there’s not really any optimization to do). Your goal is probably to find a bookkeeper + tax prepare you trust, who will do reasonable work without taking up a ton of your time, who is inexpensive.
2. If you are a larger business, work with a tax preparer who will do some tax planning and optimization with you, because it will more than pay for itself. Work with a bookkeeper who is going to give you the reporting and insights to manage your spend, because it will more than pay for itself. Consider working with someone who can take activities like payroll, sales tax, and vendor payments off your plate, if that frees you up for higher-ROI activities.
3. If you are a venture-backed business, you should be receiving monthly, accrual-basis financials. That’s what your investors will expect, and it ensures that you won’t be scrambling when you find yourself doing fundraising or M&A on short notice. You should also generally be engaging with a professional (a fractional CFO) on managing the business against an operating model and budget once you’ve raised a Series A.

I have a specific situation where I urgently need up-to-date books, and Bench is behind on my bookkeeping. What do I do?

There are a bunch of reasons why you might urgently need up-to-date books and financials, including:

1. Applying for loans or securing other financing.
2. Meeting reporting deadlines for investors or other financing providers.
3. Making timely sales tax or estimated income tax payments.
4. Understanding who owes you money and who you owe money, especially as part of closing out 2024 operations.
   

If Bench was behind on your books 1 week ago, it seems unlikely that they are going to suddenly catch up now. If you are in this boat, your priority is probably working with a provider who can get your Bench data imported into a new system and get you caught up on year-to-date books ASAP.

If you’d find it helpful to talk through your situation with us (maybe there are some creative ways to get you the information you need without complete books), please reach out through our contact info below.

I have other questions.

Even if you're not considering becoming a Pilot customer, please email us at bench-help@pilot.com or text us at 415-745-9971. (This can be with questions about this doc specifically, or just general questions about what to do here.)

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Ok, but surely you have some special promo for former Bench customers?

Yes.

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