FreshBooks Acquires FastBill to Boost Growth in Canada

Cloud-based financial software platform FreshBooks, which is headquartered in Toronto, announced on Thursday (Oct. 7) that it will acquire the German FinTech FastBill, according to reports.

With corporate customers in more than 160 countries, FreshBooks focuses on freelancers and small service providers. In August, the company closed a $130 million Series E financing round led by Accomplice — which also included J.P. Morgan Chase, Georgian and Oak Investment Partners — that boosted its valuation to $1 billion.

At the time of the round’s closure, FreshBooks said the new funding would be used for sales and marketing efforts, along with research and development and other acquisitions. FreshBooks also acquired the online invoicing system Facturama from Mexico last year.

FastBill, which has customers in 16 European countries, automates invoices, receipts, banking and other financial processes. The company is working on new functions for its platform with the goal of growing into new markets.

“Especially in DE, almost all companies work closely with tax consultants,” said FastBill Founder Rene Maudrich. “FastBill enables fully digital and pre-structured data exchange with common systems, and thus efficient collaboration. Only a few solutions can meet this basic need. Therefore, the strategic partnership with FastBill was the best way for FreshBooks to enter the market in Germany and Central Europe.”

Maudrich remains CEO of FastBill after the acquisition and will also become managing director of FreshBooks Germany. The FastBill team will remain at its current headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Related news: Chaser, FreshBooks Team on Automatic Invoice Payments

Global credit control automation platform Chaser recently integrated with small to mid-size business (SMB) accounting software FreshBooks to carry out payments in an automated way, with cloud-to-cloud integration and automated and personalized invoice payments.

Sonia Dorais, CEO of Chaser, recently told PYMNTS that the problem of late payments could often be solved with a more personalized approach that considers each customer’s individual needs.