Bench, the accounting startup that imploded over the holidays, filed for bankruptcy in Canada on January 7 revealing massive debts, documents seen by TechCrunch show.
The filings – one for Bench and another for 10Sheet, Bench’s original name – show that Bench had $2.8 million in cash on hand by the end of its life but $65.4 million in liabilities. (TechCrunch converted the bankruptcy filing data from Canadian to US dollars at a rate of $1 USD to $1.44 CAD.) Founded in 2012, Bench had raised $113 million from investors like Shopify and Bain Capital Ventures.
Most of Bench’s debt – $50 million – is owed to the National Bank of Canada, one of Canada’s largest commercial banks. Over 85% of that debt is unsecured, meaning the bank has little collateral to claim against the loan now that Bench has defaulted. That debt may have helped prompt Bench’s sudden shutdown: tech publication Newcomer reported that NBC declined to make concessions to Bench as it was being shopped around 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 notes (which are meant to convert to equity) 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 executive-in-residence Adam Schlesinger was appointed as Bench’s last CEO, the filings show. Contour Venture Partners, a New York-based VC which led Bench’s $60 million Series C round, is owed about $750,000. California-based Altos Ventures, another investor, is owed $777,000. All of this VC-related debt is unsecured, the filings state.
Bench’s other debts include $1.8 million in severance pay to former employees, the documents say. TechCrunch previously reported that Bench’s staff were suddenly let go on December 27 with no notice or severance provided. (Bench’s new owner, Employer.com, says it has re-hired a large number of staff, but told TechCrunch they are temporarily on 30-day contracts as Bench sorts out its issues.)
Bench owes tens of thousands of dollars in severance pay to former executives too: CEO Jean-Philippe Durrios, CRO Todd Daum, and CFO Mor Lakritz are all listed in the filings. Lakritz’s LinkedIn indicates Bench had about $50 million in annual recurring revenue.
Finally, the bankruptcy filings show Bench owes $4 million in unpaid rent to Canadian real estate agency Morguard, most likely for its office. At its peak, Bench employed over 600 people. Beyond the money owed to employees, office space and about $1.5 million (by our back-of-envelope math) due to a scattering of expected creditors, like SaaS business software providers, the filings don’t show how the rest of the money was spent.
As Bench works its way through bankruptcy, it is also in the process of being acquired by San Francisco-based HR tech company Employer.com. Although its customers have also told TechCrunch that Employer.com is requiring them to turn their data over to Employer, or risk losing it.
Gary Levin, head of corporate development for Employer.com, told TechCrunch that the Canadian court is overseeing Bench’s insolvency proceedings and will supervise 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.
