Bench Accounting Closes its Doors

According to an article in the Globe and Mail on December 27th, 2024:
“Bench Accounting, a Vancouver-based bookkeeping company, ceased operations Friday, potentially putting hundreds out of work and leaving customers scrambling for alternatives.”

So what was Bench?
According to former CEO Jean-Philippe Durrios:
“Bench is the world’s largest bookkeeping and tax advisory platform. Our mission: to help every business owner thrive, by providing financial insight and peace of mind in one seamless platform.”

And how did it manage to squander $138 million in private equity?
The description by the former CEO may contain some clues as to why it failed.
It started life in about 2012 as 10Sheet an online service – with “human bookkeepers that oversaw the happenings within their system”.
In July of 2013 it rebranded as Bench, “with more of a focus on human interaction”.

So – was it a bookkeeping platform or a tax advisory service?
And was it based in Canada, or the US?
Why did they pretend to be “the largest bookkeeping service for small businesses in America”?
What about H&R Block, Inc – which is probably 6 times as large?

Bench Accounting Closes its Doors –

WATCH FULL VIDEO:

Influencers and Experts

Mainstream news publications in Canada operate on very tight, near-zero profit margins, as total industry revenues have contracted sharply over the past two decades. But,

Academic Freedom or a Tax on Jobs

The grey (time) zone of academia The growing cohort of aging professors is raising intergenerational tensions on campuses The Editorial Board The Globe and Mail

Hunter-Gatherers vs City States

Were there parallels to contemporary micro-firms and today’s global corporate behemoths? by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.sba-canada.com) Both Dr. Luke Kemp – author of Goliath’s Curse

How Canada’s SR&ED Should Affect Your Startup’s Tax Planning

by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.suttoninnovation.com) As an SR&ED tax specialist working with micro-businesses doing eligible experimental development, I have noticed a tendency among practitioners at

Accounting Software for Micro-Businesses – Dashboards (Part 3)

KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.suttoninnovation.com) The accounting strategy we recommend for small, high-tech startups is to use naturally-generated information prepared by

Accounting Software for Micro-Businesses (Part 2)

Marketing vs. Reality Gap by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.the-hatchery.org) While software vendors market management insights heavily to sell subscriptions, industry usage data shows a distinct

Small Business Accounting Challenges by Business Size

Management Tool or Wishful Thinking? by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.the-hatchery.org) I’ve worked with tech startups and small businesses in Canada for decades. As a former

Built to Start, Not to Scale

by Rob Farrow, SBA (www.robfarrow.net) According to an article published in June of 2026 in The Globe and Mail, Canadian startups struggle to pass the

Canadian Tech Playbook

Here’s an enhanced, more polished version of your blog post—tightened for clarity, stronger flow, and a more provocative close, while keeping your core arguments intact:

VC-Backed FAAS

As a professional accountant with more than 3 decades of experience – including 5 years with the CRA as an auditor and 5 years with

Influencers and Experts

Academic Freedom or a Tax on Jobs

Hunter-Gatherers vs City States

How Canada’s SR&ED Should Affect Your Startup’s Tax Planning

Accounting Software for Micro-Businesses – Dashboards (Part 3)

Accounting Software for Micro-Businesses (Part 2)

About THE MAIN STREET JOURNAL

FIGHTING THE BIAS AGAINST SMALL BUSINESS

The Main Street Journal challenges the tendency to overestimate medium-sized and large businesses and overlook the smallest firms that make up Canada’s economy

THE REALITY OF CANADA'S SMALLEST BUSINESSES

Half of workers in business with fewer than 50 employees work for micro-businesses with 0-4 employees.

87%

of private-sector firms are self-employed or micro-business

0-4

employees defines a micro-business

99.7%

of Canadian firms are not large

WHY SMALL BUSINESSES ARE OVERLOOKED

Our hope is to challenge our own perspectives and those of public-sector and corporate finance counterparts to deliver perspectives relevant to the ‘missing middle’ of Canada’s economy.

Critical Thinking