The economy remains unstable in Europe, but there’s good news for enterprise startups: those developing tools to help businesses manage their finances more predictably are thriving.
In recent news, Dublin-based accounting technology company AccountsIQ, which has mostly been bootstrapped for nearly 20 years, has raised €60 million ($65 million) in funding. This will help them build “the finance function of the future” for mid-sized companies, offering cloud-based, AI-enhanced services to streamline accounting processes.
Founded by accountants, AccountsIQ has been fiscally prudent in its growth. With just €12.7 million in previous funding, it has grown to 1,000 customers, covering 10,000 entities and 20,000 users. The company’s CAGR has been a steady 30% annually for the last several years, according to COO Darren Cran.
AccountsIQ’s offerings include digital accounting services (accounts receivable/payable, banking, business intelligence, forecasting, and budgeting), digital tax services, and reporting. It integrates with third-party services and offers an API for other platforms, delivered on a SaaS model starting at $250 per user per month.
Hosted on Azure, AccountsIQ leverages Microsoft’s AI tools and builds customizations in-house to enhance its services. Future plans include more robotic process automation and AI-based features to increase efficiency.
“We are now poised to take the AccountsIQ product and service to the next level,” said Tony Connolly, founder and CEO of AccountsIQ. “This investment comes at a perfect time to integrate AI tools into practical services for our users, making finance roles more flexible, valuable, and interesting.”
The funding is significant not only because it’s nearly five times AccountsIQ’s previous total funding but also because it’s happening during a challenging time for startups to raise money, especially in Ireland. The Irish Venture Capital Association reported a 48% drop in startup funding in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.
AccountsIQ takes in $65M to boost its bookkeeping tools with AI https://t.co/YnvvdfGYeg
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 13, 2024
While AI startups dominate funding news, solutions that improve company efficiency continue to attract attention during bear markets. This trend benefits prosaic accounting startups like AccountsIQ.
“Recognizing the potential to accelerate AccountsIQ’s product development with additional capital and expertise, we are excited to partner with them to scale AIQ to the next level,” said Martin Wygas, founding partner of Axiom Equity.
For comparison, PennyLane, another accounting startup focused on SMBs, recently raised $40 million at a valuation of over $1 billion and now has around 120,000 users. AccountsIQ and its investor Axiom Equity have not disclosed their valuation.
AccountsIQ positions itself as the platform for businesses scaling up, in contrast to competitors like PennyLane, Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage, which target smaller businesses.
