Indy raises $44 million to simplify taxes and paperwork for freelancers

French startup Indy has precocious closed a caller backing information of $44 cardinal (€40 million) pinch BlackFin Capital Partners starring nan round. Indy started arsenic an automated accounting level for freelancers and different self-employed people.

But nan institution has been slow iterating connected its merchandise to go an all-in-one level for freelancers, from accounting to institution creation, taxation preparation, invoicing and (soon) business banking. It’s an absorbing illustration of nan affirmative effects of bundling successful a software-as-a-service company. And it could animate different entrepreneurs addressing a highly fragmented marketplace of imaginable customers.

As agelong arsenic you’re moving a institution without immoderate employee, Indy wants to connection each nan administrative and finance devices that you request to tally your business. It’s designed for freelancers, self-employed people, doctors, architects, lawyers, etc.

Other investors successful nan caller backing information see La Maison and iXO. Indy closed its backing information this summer. While nan startup didn’t want to stock its valuation, nan institution said that it’s higher than nan company’s valuation aft its previous €35 cardinal backing round ($38.3 cardinal astatine today’s speech rate).

Indy’s halfway characteristic remains its automated accounting feature. When you create an account, you tin automatically commencement synchronizing your slope relationship pinch Indy truthful that past and early transactions are automatically fetched.

After that, Indy tries to categorize each transaction automatically. In immoderate cases, users person to bespeak nan type of transaction successful nan app. Customers adhd a receipt to each transaction — VAT is automatically detected and receipts are past automatically archived and tin beryllium utilized successful nan arena of a taxation audit.

At nan extremity of nan year, Indy tin pre-fill taxation forms and nonstop them to nan firm taxation management directly. Similarly, Indy handles VAT returns.

Indy’s accounting devices are free to usage forever. As soon arsenic you want to make taxation forms and taxable them, you person to salary a monthly subscription. But it remains overmuch cheaper than hiring an accountant.

“As we are connected mean 4 to 5 times cheaper than a chartered accountant for nan taxation mentation part, location are galore group who are utilizing our free services and who will besides subscribe to our paid services. But it’s up to them, they tin besides determine to prosecute an accountant,” Indy co-founder and CEO Côme Fouques told me.

Product bundling playbook

With this elemental merchandise positioning, Indy managed to person tens of thousands of paid subscribers. But nan institution hasn’t been opinionated still arsenic it rolled retired different products to move Indy into a merchandise suite.

For instance, you tin now create quotes and invoices from Indy and shop them successful your personification account. Of course, you tin ever usage Word aliases Excel for these documents, but location are immoderate benefits successful having those documents successful Indy directly. For instance, erstwhile a customer pays an invoice pinch a slope transfer, Indy tin automatically people an invoice arsenic paid.

Similarly, earlier you tin usage a merchandise for illustration Indy, you really request a institution to measure customers. In France, moreover if you’re a part-time freelancer looking for further income, location is immoderate paperwork progressive and location are aggregate options.

The startup helps you make nan correct decisions erstwhile you create your company. Unlike accepted institution creation services, Indy offers this work for free arsenic agelong arsenic you commencement a subscription — but you tin cancel that subscription whenever you want.

These products summation nan merchandise stickiness and users are much apt to urge Indy to different self-employed people. Similarly, nan income chimney useful peculiarly good arsenic a bully information of group who want to go freelancers will person to prime a institution creation work first.

The adjacent measurement is clear: Indy is going to go a fintech startup. In conscionable a fewer months, nan startup will connection a free business slope relationship pinch a costs card. Once again, it makes consciousness to bundle this work arsenic existent customers person to move betwixt their banking app and Indy to power their business finances.

Current companies moving connected business banking, specified arsenic Qonto and Shine successful France, attraction heavy connected mini and mean companies. They don’t person a basal merchandise offering pinch basal features that would activity good for freelancers. “Business banking for a self-employed personification is beautiful basal — they want to nonstop money via a transfer, person money via a transfer, person a costs card, and that’s each location is to it,” Fouques said.

And Indy tin past leverage this fintech perspective for different services. For instance, nan institution could connection caller costs methods for invoices, specified arsenic online paper payments, QR code-based payments aliases utilizing nan smartphone arsenic a contactless paper reader.

“As we connection each those features successful nan aforesaid service, we make immense economies of standard and we prevention money connected personification acquisition costs,” Fouques said. “This intends we tin connection a full scope of services free of complaint — services which would different beryllium paid services location else. At nan aforesaid clip we person a hyper-healthy, hyper-scalable model.”

Some companies person identified nan aforesaid problem successful nan U.S., specified arsenic Found and Lili — they’ve some raised astir $80 cardinal according to Crunchbase data. Indy isn’t going to compete head-to-head pinch these well-capitalized companies. Instead, nan French startup is looking astatine different European countries to spot if it tin replicate its work successful different markets.

But Indy is still very overmuch focused connected its location marketplace arsenic location are millions of self-employed group successful France. The marketplace opportunity is already important. And it sounds for illustration Indy has recovered nan correct distribution strategy.