There doesn’t appear to be many accounting firms that missed the news about Bench over the festive period but in case you’re one that did, the link is at the foot of this bullet.
Basically, a low-cost online compliance provider shut their doors without warning, only to re-open them under new ownership 72 hours later.
No explanation, apologies or contingencies had been offered to clients.
Now, why did this happen?
Did they not care about their clients?
Did they not see the cash runway ending as quickly as it did?
Were there flaws in the tech?
Were there flaws in the business model?
The reality is that all of these were factors but the one I want you to focus on is the first one. This is technology leverage over service. Thousands of businesses were locked out of their accounts and would still be locked out now if it wasn’t for the last-minute deal to rescue the organisation.
What do we learn from this for 2025?
We learn that relationships still trump tech in accounting. We learn that no AI can replace you and how much you care about the success of your clients, and we learn that if we don’t educate our clients correctly, they go with the cheapest (and this case it could’ve been the costliest) solution out there.
Get close to your clients, ask them about their ambitions, give them a business hug.
Technology is an aid to your clients’ relationships, not a replacement for them.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/30/bench-to-be-acquired-after-abruptly-shutting-down/%C2%A0
To your success,
Martin Bissett
