Bench Secures $23 Million Series B-1 Funding Round

Bench has announced a $23 million Series B-1 round of funding. The Vancouver-based company is the largest bookkeeping service in the U.S. and has grown quickly since being founded in 2012.

The new round of funding was led by iNovia Capital with participation from existing Bench investors Bain Capital Ventures, Altos Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. The new funding will go towards the accelerated development of Bench’s human-powered automation platform, expansion of the team, and the overall expansion of the service.

Bench’s platform is based on proprietary automation and can reduce the labour time of a traditional bookkeeper by up to 75 per cent. With more advanced and widespread automation along with deep learning, Bench can consistently lower prices and allow bookkeepers to be more efficient with their clients—from 10 to 30 per cent.

“2017 was a milestone year for Bench as our approach to human-powered automation continued to take hold in the US,” said Ian Crosby, co-founder and CEO at Bench. “Together with our clients and partners, we are redefining what high-quality, cost-effective and efficient bookkeeping means and helping small business owners and accountants build and grow their companies.”

As Crosby mentioned, 2017 saw a lot of growth for Bench. The platform’s enhancements can automate 60 per cent of of a typical bookkeeper’s job, and those Bench bookkeepers have looked over $19 billion worth of funds to provide accurate financial transparency to U.S. small businesses.

Bench has also grown to over 250 employees, a large number that helps to support Crosby’s stance on “cross-pollination” of the tech industry. 

“This new capital will accelerate the development of Bench’s cognitive augmentation platform— a key element of the company’s ability to deliver incredibly high-quality yet cost-effective bookkeeping services,” said Shawn Abbott, partner at iNovia Capital. Abbot will also be joining Bench’s board.

The last funding round for Bench was an original Series B round worth $20 million back in 2016.

Bench is a finalist in the Financial Services category for this year’s Canadian Innovation Awards. Voting closes on February 2—cast your vote now.