Bench, the accounting startup that collapsed over the holidays, filed for bankruptcy in Canada on Jan. 7, revealing huge debts, according to documents seen by TechCrunch.
The archives – one for the bench and another for 10 SheetBench’s original name — show that Bench had $2.8 million in cash by the end of his life, but $65.4 million in liabilities. (TechCrunch converted the bankruptcy data from Canadian to US dollars at a rate of $1 USD to $1.44 CAD.) Bench was founded in 2012 and had raised $113 million from investors including Shopify and Bain Capital Ventures.
Most of Bench’s debt — $50 million — is owed to National Bank of Canada, one of Canada’s largest commercial banks. More than 85% of that debt is unsecured, meaning the bank has little collateral to claim against the loan now that Bench has defaulted. This debt may have contributed to the sudden closure of Bench: Tech publication The newcomer reported that NBC refused to make concessions on Bench as it was being bought for sale. NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bankruptcy filings also reveal financial obligations to Bench’s VC investors, split between convertible bonds (intended to convert to stock) and direct shareholder loans. Bench owes $1.3 million to Bain Capital Ventures, whose partner Sarah Hinkfuss was appointed to Bench’s board in 2023. according to a press release. Bench owes another $1.2 million to Canadian VC Inovia Capital, whose Adam Schlesinger was appointed as Bench’s last chief executive, according to filings. Contour Venture Partners, a New York-based VC; who drove Bench’s $60 million Series C round owes about $750,000. California-based Altos Ventures, another investor, is owed $777,000. All of that VC-related debt is unsecured, the filings said.
Bench’s other debts include $1.8 million in severance pay to former employees, the documents state. TechCrunch previously reported that Bench staff were suddenly fired on December 27 without any notice or severance. (Bench’s new owner, Employer.com, says it has rehired a large number of staff, but told TechCrunch they are on temporary 30-day contracts as Bench works out its issues.)
Bench also owes tens of thousands of dollars in severance pay to former executives: CEO Jean-Philippe Durrios, CRO Todd Daum and CFO Mor Lakritz are all named in the filings. of Lakridge LinkedIn shows that Bench had about $50 million in annual recurring revenue.
Finally, bankruptcy filings show that Bench owes $4 million in unpaid rent to Canadian real estate agency Morguard, likely for his office. At its peak, Bench employed over 600 people. Beyond money owed on employees, office space and about $1.5 million (by our back-of-the-envelope math) due to a scattering of expected creditors such as SaaS business software providers, the records don’t show what the rest was like money spent.
As Bench moves into bankruptcy, it is also in the process of being acquired by San Francisco-based HR technology company Employer.com. Although her customers have also told TechCrunch Employer.com asks them to convert their data to the employer or risk losing it.
Gary Levin, head of corporate development for Employer.com, told TechCrunch that the Canadian court oversees Bench’s insolvency proceedings and will oversee the distribution of proceeds to creditors. He emphasized that Employer.com has a strong balance sheet that allows it to invest in Bench significantly moving forward.
