Receipt Bank has received $73m worth of investment, reflecting a continued market confidence in accounting software companies, and the advance of automated accountancy.
The capital has been raised in order to expand Receipt Bank’s award-winning product suite and to continue its expansion in Europe, Australia, South Africa and North America.
“The money gives us firepower to extend the range of our products around automated and digital business solutions,” said Paul-Reza Afshar, Global Head of Brand and Communications at Receipt Bank.
“Growing further, faster in our existing markets is the key to our success over the coming years. North America has the largest base of accounting/bookkeeping firms across our portfolio and it is one of our largest markets.”
Existing investors Kennet, Insight and the CIBC were joined by new investor Augmentum, one of Europe’s leading venture capital investors focusing on the fintech sector, to fund the $73m investment.
“Receipt Bank’s momentum has been tremendous and, with this new investment and new investor in Augmentum, we believe the growth is set to accelerate in the future.” said Thierry Monjauze, Managing Director at Harris Williams, the global investment bank that brokered the latest round of fundraising.
“Receipt Bank’s CEO Adrian Blair has established a team with exceptional talent, depth and experience – the opportunity ahead is exciting,” he added.
Afshar was also keen to credit a reshuffle of senior management last year for their growth, with two new General Managers being appointed in North America.
“Kalliopi Vlastos, GM of the US and Eric Tung, GM of Canada, both operators with world-leading experience, joined the business in the second half of last year to turbo charge our growth in both markets.”
No Brexit fear
With the prospect of Brexit being finalised at the end of the year, markets have become unstable amid uncertainty over what this will mean for accountancy moving forwards. According to Afshar though, Brexit was not a factor in the deal.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments as Britain leaves the EU. But it’s worth saying the accountancy practices and businesses we work with are based around the world, in Australia, the US and Canada, France and South Africa.”
Helping Accountants
By offering to streamline, optimise and automate much of the process and remove data entry, Receipt Bank claims to save small businesses one hour per client a week.
“We are making accountants far more productive to help millions of small businesses grow by giving them control and visibility into their finances. We have always seen ourselves as the connective tissue between businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers,” said Afshar.
“We are transforming millions of businesses, saving them time and money to focus on what they do best. And we are doing this through connecting them with an army of trusted accountants and bookkeepers across the world.
“When small businesses can save 120 hours on financial admin each year, that is transformative for them.”