Danish startup Dealflow hopes to move beyond its invoicing roots after raising $700,000.
The company will use the capital to help support a vision of developing an artificial intelligence (AI) “worker” to automate finance, according to a company blog post.
“We’re already moving hundreds of thousands of [euros] per month for a select clientele, and we have a growing list of companies that are very interested in our solution,” the Copenhagen-based firm wrote in the post. “However, this is only Day One for Dealflow. We imagine a future where the true power of finance is available with the tap of a button for founders and builders everywhere around the world. Invoices [are] just the very first step for us to achieve this vision.”
Launched last year, Dealflow initially focused its efforts on becoming a B2B payment solution for influencer agencies across Denmark, per the post. Eventually, the company began to see demand from online small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), such as marketing agencies and Software-as-a-Service startups.
“It turned out that a lot of them struggled with B2B invoicing as well,” the post said. “This customer type had shorter sales cycles, was willing to pay a lot more, and generally showed more interest in our solution. Thus, we decided to pivot.”
PYMNTS Intelligence examined the benefits of automating B2B payments earlier this year, noting that — especially for SMBs — “stepping up to the next level of B2B payments is essential for staying competitive in a global economy.”
Payments digitization can make sending and receiving money faster and more convenient, and it can make transactions more predictable and secure. Using the same system for both domestic and international payments makes cash flow tracking and management simpler.
“At the same time, companies that have yet to automate payments often underestimate the benefits of greater transparency,” PYMNTS wrote in June.
Additional research found that automation can shave days of delay off the accounts receivable (AR) process, offering tracking, preventing errors and improving customer service.
Close to three-quarters of chief financial officers surveyed said they saw a direct impact on cash conversion cycles by automating AR customer service. And 63% of CFOs reported that the increased processing speed from AR automation also helped prevent invoicing errors.
For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.