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Bench accounting services shutting down

bench.co

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Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#381

Post by edoceo »

mbrameld wrote: post #347
boxed wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> every good ship can get a new captain and sail on. If not, the problem isn't the sailors it's the captain (who set the ship before the fall). You're seriously claiming a bad leader can't destroy a company/organization/project/country?

You're arguing a different point. The old CEO claims it's his absence that caused the failure, not the presence of the new CEO. You're arguing that it's the presence of the new CEO that caused the failure. GP is pointing out that if the absence of the old CEO is what caused the company to fail as the old CEO claims, and not the actions of the new CEO, then it wasn't in good shape to start with.

Glad someone got it.

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#382

Post by illmasterj »

conradwa wrote: post #145

I can’t imagine the frustration you’re going through if you’re a Bench user. Paying for a service and not getting what you expect, especially when it comes to your taxes is no joke. Instead of having to start from scratch, our team at Kick is moved quickly to build these resources to help prior Bench customers: 1. Free Bench migration 2. Free 2024 Bookkeeping review calls 3. Free Daily Live Q&As (coming soon) We’re m…

I signed up to the paid account ($125 per month), added credit card details. Your system has me on free trial until early January.

I've followed all the steps required to unlock the "sorry to hear about the Bench situation" onboarding.

Now after jumping through all the hoops, I'm told that the "free onboarding" and call only happens after the payment is processed later in January.

Why wait?

It's difficult to vet your service without this assistance. Money aside, time is of the essence here.

Really hoping to be proven wrong here, but this feels like an opportunistic sales initiative that claims to be more, but is really just a "20% off for your first year" coupon code.

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#383

Post by ttul »

iwcrosby wrote: post #231
ttul wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I advise caution in believing his statements to be true, particularly about Bench’s board and investors. The truth will live in their financial statements, which no doubt will be revealed in bankruptcy proceedings in the coming months.

Ian Crosby here. If you don't believe me, believe the CEO of Shopify who was an investor and partner: https://x.com/tobi/status/1872753436116332994

I’d like to clarify - and ought to have done above - that I’m not saying you’re lying in your Tweets. Just that the story of any business failure is often more nuanced than “investors are bad”. And that story may be revealed in court filings as I’m sure creditors will be going to court to get their money back in the coming months.

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#384

Post by ttul »

Schiendelman wrote: post #248
ttul wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sure all of this will be played out in spectacular fashion in the courts of British Columbia in the coming months. Directors in BC are liable for unpaid wages to employees. No doubt they pulled the rug just in time to ensure people got their statutory severance. But beyond that, anyone hoping for more will have to get in a long line behind secured creditors. Man this sucks.

In a situation like this, someone with a contract not receiving consideration mere days after signing can probably just not pay. It would be very difficult for a company in the midst of shutting down to fight anyway.

It would indeed be foolish to pay an invoice to a company that has very publicly declared insolvency. Many if not most contracts I have ever signed contain a provision voiding the obligations of the parties if either party is insolvent.

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#385

Post by chrismaeda »

Amfy wrote: post #364
chrismaeda wrote: post #362

It seems to me that this is the key takeaway for founders: Your accounting stack is 1. accounting software 2. bookkeeping (ie operating the accounting software) 3. cpa / cfo (ie for tax and financial planning) The benefit and problem with "nextgen" solutions like bench, kick, etc is that they provide a proprietary solution for the entire stack. This could be better/faster/cheaper but also comes with risk, as we are s…

Agreed, but how do you protect yourself against quickbooks/xero/wave going under? Especially with Wave being mostly(?) free

Good question. Quickbooks, Xero, and Wave are all owned by publicly traded companies.

(H&R Block owns Wave.)

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#386

Post by Spivak »

jegolden1 wrote: post #235
Spivak wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The plan for profitability was that they'd eventually automate the human part away, but eventually never came. Every. Damn. Time. I've fought and lost this battle at so many companies with directors and executives who were genuinely completely delusional about how much of a human process could be automated. It's always the tasks that are easy and don't take up much time. If you end up solving one of the genuinely h…

Accounting startups that rely on automation are doomed to fail. Customers demand perfect accounting at automation-reflective prices. It’s just not possible. Check out story of scalefactor.

Well yeah, if you're saying you can automate something, something as tractable as bookkeeping, then why would customers expect less quality? It should be perfect, and instant— that's the entire sales pitch of having a machine do it in the first place.

It might not be optimal, a human tax professional might be more creative and save you money, but it should always produce correct forms.

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#387

Post by vednig »

sumeno wrote: post #195
yolo2122 wrote: post #176

Founder/Former CEO Ian Crosby's post about the Bench closure: https://x.com/ianwcrosby/status/1872724231999381790

Is there a version readable for people without twitter accounts?

https://unlace.app/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fianwcrosby%2Fs...

Re: Bench accounting services shutting down

#388

Post by boxed »

edoceo wrote: post #381
mbrameld wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're arguing a different point. The old CEO claims it's his absence that caused the failure, not the presence of the new CEO. You're arguing that it's the presence of the new CEO that caused the failure. GP is pointing out that if the absence of the old CEO is what caused the company to fail as the old CEO claims, and not the actions of the new CEO, then it wasn't in good shape to start with.

Glad someone got it.

Doesn't make a ton of sense though. A bad captain can steer into the coastline and kill everyone.
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