Osome raises $16M to automate repetitive accounting tasks – VentureBeat

AI-powered accounting platform Osome today announced that it raised $16 million in a series A funding round. The company plans to put the proceeds, which bring its total raised to over $24 million, toward expanding its footprint internationally and building new product integrations.

Studies show that the vast majority of day-to-day accounting tasks can be automated with software. That may be why over 50% of respondents in a survey conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants said they anticipate the development of intelligent systems will have a significant impact on accounting businesses over the next 30 years. Another report found that 96% of accountants are positive about the role that automation will play in their day-to-day processes, with 89% viewing automating data entry and reporting as a way to create more value-add service for clients.

Singapore-based Osome’s core offering is online accounting services for small and medium-size enterprises — particularly those involved in ecommerce. Accountants take over customers’ documents and convert them into tax filings and reports, helping to set up corporate secretary services and check compliance and deadlines. The platform categorizes, tags, and stores the documents that companies send to them, ensuring traceability while creating the necessary compliance paperwork.

“It dawned on me that despite being in Singapore, one of the best places in the world to start a business, I was still suffering death from paperwork. I was doing the same thing, in almost exactly the same way as business owners did 100 years ago,” cofounder and CEO Victor Lysenko told VentureBeat in an interview via email. “That’s a travesty, especially when we have the technology to improve this; that is why we’ve started Osome.”

Above: Osome’s web dashboard.

Image Credit: Osome

To upload a document, users snap a picture on their phone, drag and drop a file from their desktop, or forward an email with the document attached. Osome stores the file and automatically matches it, tagging accounts and highlighting what’s missing, if anything. Thanks to AI and software robots, the company says that it usually delivers answers to clients within 15 minutes, even late at night and on weekends. And it only takes about 38 minutes for a customer to register.

“Osome’s core offering is online accounting services for small- and medium-sized businesses, especially those involved in ecommerce — аccountants take over [a company’s] documents and convert them into actionable numbers, tax filings and reports,” Lysenko said. “[We also help] with business set up and provides corporate secretary services — Osome checks compliance, tracks deadlines, files documents, and answers questions in a chat at any time of the day or week. The platform categorizes, tags, and stores any documents you send to them … and then creates management reports, tax returns, and does all necessary filing on time.”

Growing demand

Lysenko says that the demand for Osome’s services has accelerated with the pandemic as clients embrace digital transformations. In 2020, the company notched over 100% year-over-year revenue growth and $9.5 million annual recurring revenue, driven by a customer base of more than 6,500 businesses.

“Our mission is to take away the admin stress and workload from entrepreneurs, allowing them to focus on growing their business, pleasing their clients and building their product to change the world for the better. With this new round of funding we will be able to empower more entrepreneurs than ever, in our existing markets and new ones,” Lysenko said. The team plans to dive deeper in the ecommerce industry, launching more specific products and apps in the near future.

Osome, which has over 250 employees and plans to hire 100 more toward the end of the year, competes with accounting automation firms including Botkeeper and Zeni, which recently raised $13.5 million. But according to investor Igor Ryabenkiy, managing partner at AltaIR Capital, the company has managed to carve out a niche in the over $544 billion accounting services market.

“The Osome team has developed a widely sought-after solution for entrepreneurs. Their product takes off the burden of accounting and compliance tasks and helps business owners and management to concentrate on core activities,” Ryabenkiy said in a statement. “We see a huge potential for the company, both working with its loyal client base and attracting new satisfied customers.”

Target Global, AltaIR Capital, Phystech Ventures, S16VC, and angel investor Peng T. Ong participated in Osome’s most recent round.