Bench
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Bench firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bench
- Legal name
- Bench Accounting, Inc.
- Website
- https://bench.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bench industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Small Business Bookkeeping Services
- NAICS
- Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)
Keywords
Where Bench is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bench business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Monthly Bookkeeping Subscription: Ongoing online bookkeeping service for small business owners with a dedicated bookkeeper, automated software, and monthly financial statements. Pricing is subscription-based, likely tiered by business complexity.
- Catch-Up Bookkeeping: Catch up bookkeeping services for small businesses that are behind on their books, no matter how far behind they are
- Income Tax Filing and Advisory: All-in-one small business tax preparation, filing and year-round income tax advisory services
- Tax Resolution Services: Expert support for small businesses to resolve IRS issues and reduce back tax liabilities, including back taxes, tax penalties, tax liens, and tax levies
- Banking by Mainstreet: Dedicated business accounts, debit cards, and automated financial management tools that integrate seamlessly with bookkeeping operations
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Bookkeeping - Core service tier |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Bench product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bench provides monthly online bookkeeping for US small business owners by pairing a proprietary SaaS platform (automated transaction categorization, financial reporting, document organization, account automation, and notifications) with a dedicated human bookkeeper. The offering extends to catch-up bookkeeping, income tax filing and advisory, tax resolution, and business banking through Banking by Mainstreet, with integrations to Stripe, Shopify, Square, Gusto, Bluevine, and Relay.
Product overview
Bench is a US-based online bookkeeping and financial services company offering a hybrid platform-plus-human-support model. The core offering is Monthly Bookkeeping, which combines intuitive software with real professional human bookkeepers. Additional services include Catch Up Bookkeeping for businesses behind on their books, Income Tax Filing and Advisory, Tax Resolution services, and Banking by Bench (business accounts and debit cards with integrated financial management). The platform provides features including communication tools, document organization, automation, transaction categorization, financial reporting, and notifications. Bench also offers a suite of free financial calculators and an accountant partner program. The company is now owned by Employer.com, positioning itself as part of a comprehensive business operating system.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Monthly Bookkeeping Ongoing online bookkeeping service for small business owners that pairs automated software with a dedicated human bookkeeper to deliver monthly financial statements, transaction categorization, expense tracking, and year-round financial visibility.
- Catch Up Bookkeeping Project-based bookkeeping service that brings a small business current on its financial records, regardless of how many months or years it is behind, including back tax liabilities handling.
- Income Tax Filing and Advisory Small business tax preparation, filing, and year-round income tax advisory service for owners who want integrated bookkeeping and tax support from a single provider.
- Tax Resolution Professional service helping small businesses resolve IRS issues and reduce back tax liabilities, covering back taxes, tax penalties, tax liens, and tax levies.
- Banking by Bench (Banking by Mainstreet) Business banking offering providing dedicated business accounts, debit cards, and automated financial management tools that integrate directly with Bench's bookkeeping operations for small businesses.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1M+ months of completed books
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Bench
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Bench technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature5 records
Bench partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- GustocoreIntegration partner providing payroll data connectivity. Gusto is a popular HR and payroll platform for small businesses, and the partnership allows seamless data flow between Gusto payroll and Bench bookkeeping.
- RelaycoreBanking integration partner providing automated bank connections for transaction reconciliation. Relay is a business banking platform that integrates with Bench's bookkeeping system.
- BluevinecoreBanking and lending integration partner. Bluevine provides business banking services that connect with Bench for synchronized financial data and automated bookkeeping.
- ShopifycoreE-commerce platform integration partner. Shopify store data flows into Bench for automatic transaction categorization and sales tracking for ecommerce businesses.
- SquarecorePoint-of-sale and payment integration partner. Square's transaction data automatically syncs with Bench bookkeeping for retail and service businesses using Square for payments.
- StripecoreStripe App Marketplace integration. Bench's income statement is accessible directly within the Stripe dashboard, providing ecommerce businesses with seamless financial reporting.
- Employer.comflagshipEmployer.com acquired Bench's assets after Bench Accounting, Inc. became insolvent on December 27, 2024. Under Employer.com ownership, Bench continues operating as a bookkeeping service for small businesses, now part of a broader business operating system including payroll, compliance, and HR services.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bench competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pilot: Pilot provides outsourced bookkeeping, tax and CFO services for SMBs and startups using a hybrid software-plus-human model nearly identical to Bench's core offering, making it the closest head-to-head competitor.
- Botkeeper: Botkeeper combines AI-driven bookkeeping automation with human accountants for SMBs and accounting firms, directly competing with Bench on the hybrid-software-plus-human value proposition.
- 1-800Accountant: 1-800Accountant delivers outsourced bookkeeping, tax and advisory services to SMBs via a virtual CPA/bookkeeper model, competing for the same small business segment Bench targets.
- inDinero: inDinero offers outsourced bookkeeping, tax and CFO services for small and mid-market businesses with a software-plus-advisor delivery model highly comparable to Bench.
- Kruze Consulting: Kruze Consulting provides bookkeeping, tax and CFO services primarily to venture-backed startups and SMBs, overlapping directly with Bench's customer base and service mix.
Broad incumbents
- Intuit QuickBooks Live: Intuit's QuickBooks Live bundles human bookkeepers with QuickBooks software for SMBs, giving Intuit a vast distribution and pricing advantage versus Bench in the same hybrid-bookkeeping category.
- Xero: Xero is a global cloud accounting platform for SMBs with an ecosystem of bookkeeper partners; it overlaps with Bench's SMB accounting and bookkeeping workflow at broader scale.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks is a long-standing SMB-focused accounting and invoicing platform with optional human-assisted bookkeeping services, competing for Bench's small business segment.
- Wave Financial: Wave (a H&R Block product) offers free accounting, invoicing and payroll to very small businesses, competing with Bench at the low end of the SMB bookkeeping market on price.
- Sage: Sage is a global incumbent in SMB accounting software (Sage Business Cloud Accounting / Sage Intacct) and was also a Bench investor; it competes broadly in the same SMB bookkeeping category.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bench social profiles
Digital presenceBench compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Bench financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bench leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Bench funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors18 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bench M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bench
What does Bench do?
Bench provides monthly online bookkeeping for US small business owners by pairing a proprietary SaaS platform (automated transaction categorization, financial reporting, document organization, account automation, and notifications) with a dedicated human bookkeeper. The offering extends to catch-up bookkeeping, income tax filing and advisory, tax resolution, and business banking through Banking by Mainstreet, with integrations to Stripe, Shopify, Square, Gusto, Bluevine, and Relay.
Is Bench a public or private company?
Bench is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Bench founded?
Bench was founded in 2011. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Bench based?
Bench is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bench make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Monthly Bookkeeping Subscription is the primary driver. The others are catch-Up Bookkeeping, income Tax Filing and Advisory, tax Resolution Services and banking by Mainstreet.
Who are Bench's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pilot, Botkeeper, 1-800Accountant, inDinero and Kruze Consulting. Broad incumbents are Intuit QuickBooks Live, Xero, FreshBooks, Wave Financial and Sage.
Does Bench have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bench.
What industry is Bench in?
Bench's product category is Small Business Bookkeeping Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAIAB, Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS). Its NAICS code is 54121 and its SIC code is 8742.