Tax season is upon us, and that pesky IRS deadline is knocking at the door. Given that most of us are focusing on looming tax filing dates, we thought it might be interesting to see how Seattle-area startups are tackling the thornier issues of company finances and accounting. Turns out, Seattle is kind of a hub when it comes to developing new technologies for mundane financial tasks.
Acumatica is a good example. The Bellevue-based company leverages the cloud to create an enterprise resource platform (ERP) that handles basic online accounting as well as more sophisticated financial management tasks. Since its founding in 2006, the company has raised almost $50M; it most recently received a cash infusion from Accel-KKR to advance its software targeted at the construction industry.
Avalara offers a number of products aimed at simplifying sales tax calculation and filing. The company’s Compliance Cloud product delivers transactional tax compliance automation services to businesses of all sizes – and is especially important given the rise of digital commerce and the varying tax rates of different states and countries. Founded in 2004 on Bainbridge Island, the company now has more than 1500 employees and is publicly traded (AVLR).
Named in February as one of the 10 most promising Sage solution providers by CIOReview, Swizznet brings the power of the cloud to a company’s existing accounting software through enterprise hosting. Swizznet interoperates with Sage and Intuit’s Quickbooks, two of today’s most common accounting software choices The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in West Seattle.
One of Seattle’s newest startups in the accounting/tax field is LumaTax, which promotes the idea of a touch-free tax return. Founded in 2016, the company was one of the first startups to be spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and has raised over $5M in funding from companies such as Madrona Venture Group and Vulcan Capital. LumaTax offices are in downtown Seattle and San Diego.
Finally, say hello to ZenLedger, a Bellevue-based startup focused on intersecting cryptocurrency wallets with the appropriate tax reporting forms. Since most investors operate on several platforms (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), ZenLedger supports all digital currencies and exchanges, giving the consumer an easy way to manage a portfolio and calculate profits/losses. The company was founded in 2007. Late last year, Vestigo Ventures led the company’s initial funding round with an investment of $1.5M.
There you have it – a quick look at the very robust world of tax and accounting technology firms in the area. Know one we should have mentioned? Let us hear about it!
