Switch · From Bench
Switching from Bench (now Mainstreet): rescue your data, move to books you own.
Bench shut down abruptly on December 27, 2024, was acquired by Employer.com, resumed operations in January 2025, and has been Mainstreet since August 11, 2025. If you’ve decided to move on, this page is the rescue: export the data still available from the Bench / Employer.com portal, migrate it into a QuickBooks file you own, clean up any gaps so the books tie out, then ongoing monthly with a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Independent firm — not Intuit, and not affiliated with Bench or Employer.com.
Switching from Bench means moving your bookkeeping off the Bench platform — which shut down abruptly on December 27, 2024, resumed in January 2025 as an Employer.com subsidiary, and was rebranded Mainstreet on August 11, 2025 — and into a QuickBooks file you own outright, maintained by a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor. The rescue is four stages: export everything available from the Bench / Employer.com portal, migrate it into your own QuickBooks file, clean up any gaps so reconciliation ties, then ongoing monthly bookkeeping. The deciding point today is how the work is priced: Bench’s fractional bookkeeper is listed at $55/hr plus $1,200 one-time onboarding (bench.co/pricing, checked September 26, 2026); a switch to TechBrot is scoped as one written fixed fee before any work starts. Books you control, in standard software, with a provider you can reach, come with it. If you’re still comparing rather than decided, the full side-by-side lives on the TechBrot vs. Bench page.
Reference maintained by TechBrot Inc., an independent firm — not Intuit, and not affiliated with Bench or Employer.com.
Certifications
Current certifications held by TechBrot’s founder, who reviews every engagement: QuickBooks Online Level 2 and QuickBooks Payroll — verification on request. Intuit’s ProAdvisor program becomes ProPartner Accountants in early 2027; the certifications continue.
Switching from Bench, in five questions.
What happened to Bench, and what does switching mean now?
Bench abruptly shut down on December 27, 2024 — its platform became inaccessible immediately, with data available to download until March 2025. Its acquisition by Employer.com was announced on December 30, 2024; it resumed operations in January 2025 as an Employer.com subsidiary, and on August 11, 2025 Employer.com rebranded it as Mainstreet. Sources: Bench’s shutdown notice as reported by TechCrunch (December 28, 2024); the Licensed Insolvency Trustee’s notice of bankruptcy (January 16, 2025); Employer.com’s rebrand announcement (August 11, 2025). “Switching from Bench” means moving your bookkeeping off that platform and into a QuickBooks file you own outright, with a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor who maintains it month to month.
Is my Bench data recoverable?
What you exported can be rebuilt — the first step is pulling everything available from the Bench / Employer.com portal (financial statements, transaction detail, prior-year records). From there we rebuild it into your own QuickBooks file. Where the export has gaps or a stretch of months is incomplete, a focused cleanup reconstructs the missing period from bank and card records so the books tie out.
How does the switch from Bench actually work?
Four stages: export the available data from the Bench / Employer.com portal; migrate it into a QuickBooks file you own; clean up any gaps so reconciliation ties; then ongoing monthly bookkeeping with a named ProAdvisor. The goal is a stable home that won’t vanish — your file, your data, a provider you can reach.
What does switching from Bench cost?
It starts with a free file review — we look at what you exported before scoping anything. From there the work is fixed-fee: a focused diagnostic runs from $1,200, moving the books into a QuickBooks file you own is a migration at $2,500–$10,000+, a full bookkeeping cleanup runs $1,500–$15,000+ when months are missing, and ongoing monthly bookkeeping is quoted to your volume. Written scope before any work begins; independent firm. For comparison, Bench’s fractional bookkeeper is listed at $55/hr plus $1,200 one-time onboarding (bench.co/pricing, checked September 26, 2026) — a meter, where ours is a fixed fee agreed first.
Why are former Bench customers switching now?
After an abrupt shutdown, a Canadian bankruptcy filing, an acquisition, a return under new ownership and, later, a rebrand to Mainstreet, the case for switching is a provider that won’t vanish — books you own, in standard QuickBooks, maintained by a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor you can reach — and a fee agreed in writing before work starts, rather than an hourly meter with an onboarding fee.
“Switching from Bench,” plainly.
Switching from Bench means taking your bookkeeping out of the Bench platform and putting it somewhere you control: a QuickBooks file registered to your business, on your own subscription, maintained by a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor. It became an urgent question for thousands of small businesses when Bench shut down without warning on December 27, 2024, leaving customers locked out of their own records with a deadline to download what they could before access closed.
The rescue itself is straightforward in shape, even when the data is messy: pull everything still available from the Bench / Employer.com portal, migrate it into your QuickBooks file, reconstruct any months the export is missing, and reconcile until the books tie out — then keep them current month to month. What you end up with is a stable home for the books that can’t disappear under new ownership, in standard software you own. If you’re weighing whether to make the move at all, the side-by-side comparison is the place to start; this page is for when you’ve decided and want to know how the switch works.
Staying is a real option too. Bench’s pricing page, checked September 26, 2026, lists a fractional bookkeeper who works inside your own QuickBooks Online account at $55/hr plus a $1,200 one-time onboarding fee. If what you want is occasional help by the hour on books that are already in order, that may suit you. If the books are behind or broken and you want the total agreed before work starts, a switch scoped as one written fixed fee is the difference this page is about.
Switching from Bench, step by step.
What to export, how the data moves into a QuickBooks file you own, how missing months are rebuilt and verified, and how the books stay current after — set out in full below.
Get the free file reviewQuickBooks migrationTechBrot vs. BenchBook the discovery call
The full explanation, section by section — the background, the six steps, the signs to move now, and what the switch costs.
“Switching from Bench,” plainly
To switch from Bench and keep your books, move them into a QuickBooks file you own. Export everything still available from the Bench portal. Set up a QuickBooks file in your business’s name, on your own subscription, and migrate the export into it. Rebuild any missing months from bank and card statements, reconcile until the books tie out, then keep the file current month to month.
The platform went dark, without warning
Public reporting at the time records the starting point. Bench ceased operations without notice on December 27, 2024, and the platform became inaccessible immediately. Thousands of small businesses were locked out without notice, and the books, statements and historical records that lived inside Bench were suddenly out of reach. For many owners, that was the moment they realized their records lived somewhere they didn’t control.
A relaunch under new ownership
Bench changed hands within days. Its acquisition by a new owner was announced on December 30, 2024, and Bench resumed operations in January 2025 as that company’s subsidiary. On August 11, 2025, the parent rebranded Bench as Mainstreet, and it operates under that name in 2026. Nothing obliges you to stay: your financial data is yours, and you’re free to move it into your own QuickBooks file at any time.
You don’t own the books you depend on
The structural point is ownership. When your bookkeeping lives entirely inside one vendor’s proprietary platform, your access to your own financial history depends on that vendor. A standard QuickBooks file removes that single point of failure. The file sits in your business’s name, on your subscription, with your access, and if you ever change providers again, the books go with you.
Export everything available from the Bench / Employer.com portal
Step one is the export, and it comes first because access is the asset. Pull every record you can still reach: financial statements, the transaction-level detail, prior-year filings support, and any chart-of-accounts export the portal offers. The priority is capturing the complete picture, so nothing recoverable is left behind. Six steps run in order from here, scoped in writing after a free file review.
Set up a QuickBooks file you own outright
Step two sets up a QuickBooks file you own outright. A QuickBooks Online or Desktop file is provisioned in your business’s name: your subscription, your data, your access. From the first day forward, the books live somewhere you control, rather than inside a vendor platform you can be locked out of. Owning the file is the entire point of the switch, and every later step builds on it.
Migrate the exported data into your QuickBooks file
Step three migrates the export. The Bench data is mapped into a clean QuickBooks chart of accounts. Balances, historical transactions and opening positions are imported and structured the way an accountant, and your tax preparer, expect to see them. Here proprietary records become standard, portable books. The QuickBooks migration page covers how that mapping works for data coming from another platform.
Clean up the gaps so the books tie out
Step four cleans up the gaps so the books tie out. Exports rarely arrive complete. Where months are missing, miscategorized or unreconciled, the period is reconstructed from bank and card statements, and each month is reconciled until the file ties to reality. Even if your download window has closed, the records can often be reconstructed, and the sooner the work starts, the cleaner the result.
Verify prior-period balances and reconciliation
Step five verifies the file before anything goes live. Opening balances are confirmed, reconciliation is run against statements, and the prior period is checked against what was filed. The new file becomes a defensible continuation of your history, rather than a fresh start that loses it. Every part of the rescue runs against a written scope, agreed before any work begins.
Go live with ongoing monthly bookkeeping and a named ProAdvisor
Step six goes live, month to month. Once the file is clean and tied out, a named Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor maintains it on a monthly cadence: categorization, reconciliation, and statements you can reach a person about. TechBrot is an independent bookkeeping and advisory firm. It is not affiliated with Bench, with Bench’s new owner, or with Intuit.
Signs you should move now
Three signs say move now. Your data-download window is closing, or has closed: if you can still export, pull it now. You want the books somewhere you control. Or tax season is coming and the books are in limbo. If filings are due mid-year, the data is tied out first for the periods those filings cover, and the rest is brought current after.
What does switching from Bench cost?
Switching starts with a free file review of what you exported, before anything is scoped. From there the work is fixed-fee, on a written scope agreed up front. A full cleanup runs fifteen hundred to fifteen thousand dollars and up when months are missing or unreconciled, and ongoing monthly bookkeeping is quoted to your transaction volume. The timeline depends on how complete the export is, and it comes in writing too.
Start with a free file review of what you exported
Still choosing where to go? The Bench alternatives guide weighs the options, and the TechBrot versus Bench page puts the two side by side. Decided to move? Book the discovery call, and start with a free file review of what you exported. Send this to anyone whose books are still waiting on a Bench export, and subscribe for the rest of the series.
Why Bench customers are switching.
The publicly documented sequence of events — reported plainly, in order. No speculation about the people involved; just why former customers are moving their books somewhere stable.
The platform went dark, without warning
Bench abruptly ceased operations on December 27, 2024. The platform became inaccessible to customers effectively immediately — books, statements, and historical records that lived inside Bench were suddenly out of reach, with data available to download only until March 2025. For the businesses caught by it, that was the moment they realized their records lived somewhere they didn’t control.
An acquisition by Employer.com, days later
On December 30, 2024 — three days after the shutdown — Bench was acquired by Employer.com. The brand survived, but ownership changed hands in the span of a long weekend, and customers were left to evaluate a service under entirely new control while still trying to recover their data.
A Canadian bankruptcy filing
Bench Accounting, Inc. filed an assignment in bankruptcy in Canada on January 7, 2025, and a Licensed Insolvency Trustee was appointed (trustee’s notice, January 16, 2025). A bankruptcy filing behind the brand you trust with your books is a clear signal that it’s time to move the records somewhere stable.
A return under new ownership, then a new name
Bench resumed operations in January 2025 as an Employer.com subsidiary, and on August 11, 2025 Employer.com rebranded it as Mainstreet. The name continued, but the continuity customers had counted on did not — and a service that can disappear and reappear under new ownership in a matter of weeks is a different risk profile than the one they originally bought.
You don’t own the books you depend on
The deeper lesson former customers draw is structural: when your bookkeeping lives entirely inside one vendor’s proprietary platform, your access to your own financial history is only as durable as that vendor. Moving to a standard QuickBooks file you own removes that single point of failure.
A provider that won’t vanish
Across the former customer base, the request is consistent: a stable home for the books, in software they own, maintained by a named professional they can reach by phone. Not the lowest price — the one that’s still there next quarter. That is exactly what a bookkeeping and advisory firm led by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor is built to be.
How the switch from Bench works, step by step.
Six steps, in order: export, set up your own file, migrate, clean up the gaps, verify, then go live monthly. We scope it in writing after the free file review — you always know what comes next.
Export everything available from the Bench / Employer.com portal
We start by pulling every record you can still access — financial statements, the transaction-level detail, prior-year filings support, and any chart-of-accounts export the portal offers. The priority is capturing the complete picture before anything else, so nothing recoverable is left behind.
Set up a QuickBooks file you own outright
We provision a QuickBooks Online or Desktop file in your business’s name — your subscription, your data, your access. From the first day forward the books live somewhere you control, not inside a vendor platform you can be locked out of.
Migrate the exported data into your QuickBooks file
The Bench export is mapped into a clean QuickBooks chart of accounts: balances, historical transactions, and opening positions are imported and structured the way an accountant — and your tax preparer — expects to see them. This is where proprietary records become standard, portable books.
Clean up the gaps so the books tie out
Exports from a shut-down platform are rarely complete. Where months are missing, miscategorized, or unreconciled, we reconstruct the period from bank and card statements and reconcile each month until the file ties to reality. This is the step that turns a recovered pile of data into trustworthy books.
Verify prior-period balances and reconciliation
Before going live month to month, we confirm opening balances, run reconciliation against statements, and check that the prior period agrees with what was filed — so the new file is a defensible continuation of your history, not a fresh start that loses it.
Go live with ongoing monthly bookkeeping and a named ProAdvisor
Once the file is clean and tied out, a named QuickBooks ProAdvisor maintains it on a monthly cadence — categorization, reconciliation, and statements you can reach a person about. The whole point of the switch: a stable home, owned by you, that won’t vanish.
Signs you should move now.
Your data-download window is closing (or closed)
If you still have access to export from the Bench / Employer.com portal, that access is the asset — pull it now. If the window has already passed, don’t assume the books are lost: a cleanup can often reconstruct the period from bank and card records, but the sooner it starts the cleaner the result.
You no longer trust the platform to be there
After an abrupt shutdown, a bankruptcy filing, a return under new ownership and a rebrand, some owners simply want out — not because of any one feature, but because they need books that can’t disappear. That instinct is reasonable, and moving to a file you own resolves it permanently.
Tax season is coming and the books are in limbo
If filings are due and your records are stranded between a shut-down platform and an uncertain replacement, the migration becomes time-sensitive. Getting the data into a clean QuickBooks file before the deadline is the difference between a calm filing and a scramble.
Ready to move your books off Bench?
Book a discovery call and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor maps your rescue: export, migrate to a QuickBooks file you own, clean up any gaps, then ongoing monthly. Free file review first, then fixed-fee — $2,500–$10,000+ for the migration, $1,500–$15,000+ if months need rebuilding.
A named QuickBooks ProAdvisor rescues the data and owns the migration.
The hard part of switching isn’t the export — it’s turning a recovered pile of data from a shut-down platform into trustworthy books, then keeping them that way. A QuickBooks ProAdvisor with active QuickBooks Online (Level 2) certification maps the Bench export into a clean chart of accounts, reconstructs any missing months from bank and card records, reconciles until the file ties out, and verifies prior-period balances against what was filed — all against a written scope. From there the same named professional maintains the books monthly, so you have someone to reach. Independent firm — not Intuit, not Bench, not Employer.com.
Free
file review first — we look at your export before we scope
From $1,200
fixed-fee focused diagnostic scope; a migration is $2,500–$10,000+
What former Bench customers ask about switching.
Is my Bench data recoverable?
What actually happened to Bench?
Do I have to keep using Bench under its new owner?
How long does switching from Bench take?
What does switching from Bench cost?
Will I own my books after the switch?
Are you affiliated with Bench, Employer.com, or Intuit?
Can you help if I’m mid-year and my filings are due?
Decided to move off Bench?
Start with a free file review of what you exported.
Send us what you pulled from the Bench / Employer.com portal and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor reviews it free — then scopes the move in writing. A focused diagnostic is a fixed-fee scope from $1,200; a migration into a QuickBooks file you own runs $2,500–$10,000+; a full bookkeeping cleanup runs $1,500–$15,000+ when months are missing; ongoing monthly bookkeeping is quoted to your volume. Written scope before any work begins.
Tell us what’s wrong with the books. We’ll tell you whether cleanup, catch-up or monthly bookkeeping fits.
Call (877) 751-5575. If we miss you, we return your call within one business day. Written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. No hourly billing.