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Image Credits:Layer / Layer co-founders Justin Meretab and Daniel O’Neel
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The main accounting dashboard SMBs see when accessing Layer’s embedded accounting software within their existing SMB platforms.Image Credits:Layer
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embed financeis usually what we hear about when brand and non - financial businesses want to offer fiscal products or service — like banking , policy , lending and payments — to provide a better user experience for client .
Layeris leaning into that better drug user experience , but with embedded accounting . Its customers are those , like Square or Toast , act with small-scale and medium - sized byplay to offer up accounting and bookkeeping features inside their own products . These large companies would engraft Layer ’s tools into their platform for small businesses to employ .
SMBs can now access bookkeeping and accounting tools inside the Square or Toast platforms they use to ply their business organization . This is instead of using a freestanding accounting software system , like QuickBooks , to manage their business finances .
Justin Meretab , a former production leader on Square ’s Banking team , start San Francisco - based Layer in 2023 with Daniel O’Neel , a former engineering drawing card at Wealthfront . Their goal was to make a curing of genus Apis that allows platform client to happen data from their small business customers to Layer . Then Layer provides connections to external bank chronicle and credit cards to pull in the data and hang that into Layer ’s account book and report organisation . This reserve the small businesses to then build a gross exposure of all their fiscal data point .
In a way , Layer is likeUnitor Check , but for SMB accounting alternatively of banking and paysheet . In fact , the companionship aims to totally supervene upon legacy accounting and bookkeeping platforms like QuickBooks , Meretab say TechCrunch .
So did investors laugh them out of the room when they explained how they want to replace QuickBooks ? Kind of .
“ Many investor we ’ve spoken with have told us this is a noble-minded finish given how much QuickBooks presently overtop the SMB accounting food market , ” Meretab said . “ However , they also agree with our kernel belief that there ’s been a fundamental shift in how SMBs run their businesses that now makes it potential to interrupt QuickBooks ’ fosse . ”
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Meretab went on to explicate that over the last few years , platforms like Square , Toast and Shopify became the hubs where SMBs run their business concern . These political platform have built deep human relationship with those customer , and as a event , increasingly help them manage all of their day to 24-hour interval performance .
Meretab was at Square for six years and listen from customers that they wanted to do their accounting directly within these weapons platform instead of in separate puppet . He and O’Neel spoke to likely customers and learned it would be challenging to build up that kind of embedded accounting feature article internally , so they did it .
bed is not alone here . There are some companies doing imbed accounting for SMBs , like Hurdlr and Fiskl . Meretab read Layer essay to distinguish itself in the general market by focusing on building comprehensive accounting system products without making customers do a luck of piece of work themselves , or without them even call for to understand how account statement work .
The troupe has a small set of early customer , four in fact , that have launched their own SMB accounting products embedded within their platform . Customers dish a wide range of SMB industries , from truck drivers to medical spa , and collectively mould with over 100,000 low businesses .
“ One surprisal has been that many SMB users tell us our embedded account views are really the first fourth dimension they ’ve ever see a clear net profit and exit view of their patronage , ” Meretab said . “ Many tried to use separate accountancy software but obtain it too complicated or hard to keep in sync with their primary useable package . ”
Layer ’s different approach has also attracted investors . Better Tomorrow Ventures led a $ 2.3 million pre - seed investment into the companionship and was join by a group of executives at companies , let in Square , Plaid , Unit and Check .
The company plans to deploy the new funding into expanding its services to extra small business package platforms this yr . It will also expand its team of four across engineering and business operation roles .
“ Over the course of this year , our goal is to grow customers significantly , like triple the number of customers , and plate taxation , ” Meretab said .
