Bench, a Canada-based accounting startup that offered software-as-a-service for small and medium businesses, has abruptly shut down, according to a notice posted on its website. The sudden closure has left thousands of businesses in the lurch, with many customers expressing shock and frustration on social media.

The company's entire website is currently offline, except for the notice, which informs customers that the Bench platform will no longer be accessible as of December 27, 2024. The notice also advises customers to file a 6-month extension with the IRS to "find the right bookkeeping partner" and promises that customers will be able to download their data by December 30, with a deadline of March 2025 to do so.

Bench had raised $113 million from high-profile backers such as Shopify and Bain Capital Partners, and had developed a software platform to help customers store and manage their bookkeeping and tax reporting documents. The startup had touted having over 35,000 US customers just hours before it was shut down, according to a snapshot saved by the Internet Archive.

The sudden shutdown has caught many customers off guard, including Justin Metros, the co-founder and CTO of Radiator, who said that years of his company's accounting and tax documents are still stored on the site, although he no longer uses the platform. "I've never seen anyone just shut down like that," Metros said. "That's crazy."

Others have taken to social media to express their concerns, with one customer posting "as a customer, I'm pissed" after having just migrated from QuickBooks to Bench. The shutdown has also raised questions about the role of venture capital in startup management, with some speculating that the sudden closure may be related to a change in leadership or direction.

Bench's notice recommends customers migrate to Kick, a new accounting startup that announced its $9 million seed raise in October 2024 in a round led by OpenAI and General Catalyst. Kick's CEO and founder, Conrad Wadowski, posted a message on LinkedIn to former Bench users about how Kick is "working to get your financials back in your hands." However, Wadowski did not respond directly to a question from TechCrunch about details of any possible agreement or other business relationship it had with Bench prior to the shutdown.

Bench did not respond to requests for comment by TechCrunch as of press time. The startup's co-founder and former CEO, Ian Crosby, posted on LinkedIn that he was "very sad" to see Bench shut down, alleging that he had been replaced by unnamed board members who wanted to bring in "a new professional CEO" to take Bench in a different direction. "I hope the story of Bench goes on to become a warning for VCs that think they can 'upgrade' a company by replacing the founder. It never works," Crosby wrote.

The sudden shutdown of Bench raises important questions about the stability and reliability of cloud-based accounting services, and the potential risks and consequences for businesses that rely on these platforms. As the industry continues to grapple with the implications of this sudden closure, one thing is clear: the story of Bench serves as a stark reminder of the importance of due diligence and contingency planning in the fast-paced world of startup innovation.