Bench centralizes finance for small businesses with first-of-its kind, integrated banking products
Bench, America’s largest bookkeeping service for small businesses, announced today that it raised $60 million USD in Series C financing led by Contour Venture Partners. The raise more than doubles Bench’s total funding to over $100M, and was supported by existing investors Altos Ventures, iNovia Capital, and BMO T&I, and new investors including Sage and Shopify.
The fundraise coincides with a major relaunch of Bench’s product offering. Launching today, Bench now offers a first-of-its-kind integrated offering that includes banking, cards, payroll, full-service bookkeeping, taxes, and advice in a single streamlined software and service offering for small businesses. Customers can now spend on their Bench cards and see real-time updates to their profitability and cashflow, which flow into the customer’s accounting and end-of-year tax filings.
“We’re here to make a profound difference in the quality of life of one million business owners. We’ve re-imagined Bench from the ground up to do that, and our new funding will allow us to continue reinforcing our product and service vision,” said Ian Crosby, the CEO and co-founder of Bench. “Entrepreneurs need to focus on their business and their dream. We let them do that, by getting their finances under control and out of the way. And increasingly, we’re working with other globally leading companies to make this a reality.”
“At Shopify, we’re always looking for ways to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and run their businesses,” said Bram Sugarman, Director of Corporate Development and Strategic Initiatives with Shopify. “That’s why we’re thrilled to participate in Bench’s recent round of funding, which will help them provide professional bookkeeping to even more entrepreneurs so that they can focus on growing and serving their customers.”
“The Bench+Freshbooks experience is so powerful for our customers, that when we attach Bench to a customer, we observe churn decrease by 80%,” said Mark Girvan, Chief Commercial Officer of Freshbooks. “We’re so excited to collaborate with Bench to build a better financial future for small businesses across the US and empower business owners with the financial tools they need to succeed.”
“Bench is the perfect accounting partner for our SMB customers,” said Lexi Reese, COO at Gusto. “Their model of building software that is easy to use and combining it with high levels of service is exactly what SMBs need to be successful.”
In line with the company’s mission to make a profound difference in the quality of life of one million people, Bench’s new product will offer a robust financial toolkit to small business owners across the United States. Bench Core includes a free business bank account and debit card – in partnership with LendingClub and Stripe – for customers in need of a banking solution, while Bench Flex is tailored to support those with existing bank accounts and service providers. Both Core and Flex include Bench’s signature bookkeeping, tax preparation, tax filing and tax advisory services, providing a comprehensive financial overview on one easy-to-access platform. These products eliminate the challenges that many businesses face in ensuring consistency, gathering data and juggling multiple relationships with banks, bookkeepers, accountants and more. Bench Core and Bench Flex are first of their kind offerings that offer compelling time and money savings for small business. Bench Core and Bench Flex are both priced with financial accessibility at the forefront. Bench Core is available to customers for $249 per month and Bench Flex is $349 per month.
This launch, along with Bench’s integration with Shopify, Stripe, Freshbooks, Sage, LendingClub, and Gusto, are indicative of the trend towards a more centralized, tailored and streamlined financial experience for business.
“We have been working closely with Bench since 2012, and have been consistently impressed by their relentless focus in improving the Bench platform on behalf of their small business customers,” said Matt Gorin, Managing Partner and co-founder at Contour Venture Partners. “The combination of a comprehensive yet elegant platform and unparalleled service delivered at a disruptive price point makes Bench a highly compelling solution for small businesses across all industries. We are excited for the next chapter in the company’s journey.”
“Bench is a perfect example of Canada’s rich pool of tech champions, delivering incredible fintech solutions while building best in class employment opportunities,” said Shawn Abbott, co-Founder at Inovia Capital. “We’re thrilled to support Bench in the company’s latest fundraise to further bolster the company’s product offerings.”
Bench continues to be a leading employer in Canada, having rapidly scaled to over 650 employees, and aims to double the company’s product and technology teams before the end of 2021.
For more such updates and perspectives around Digital Innovation, IoT, Data Infrastructure, AI & Cybsercurity, go to AI-Techpark.com.
