French startup To govern has raised a $20 million (€20 million) Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures. The company has built a modern software-as-a-service product that integrates directly with your existing accounting package and connects to your corporate bank account.
This way you can automate and simplify some of your finance and accounting tasks without having to switch to a brand new accounting tool. For example, Regate has built integrations with Sage, Cegid and MyUnisoft.
In addition to Valar Ventures, 360 Capital is also participating in today’s funding round. 360 Capital previously invested in the startup’s starting round. The company previously raised a €7 million seed round ($7 million at the current exchange rate).
Companies usually have to use different fintech and accounting tools for their day-to-day operations. They often have an accounting tool, an invoicing tool, a cash flow management tool, etc.
Essentially, Regate aims to act as the glue that holds this ecosystem together. There are two types of clients for Regate: companies with their own accounting department or accounting firms that work with small and medium-sized companies.
Since building a new accounting platform is extremely complex if you want to comply with all accounting rules, Regate works with software companies that have been working with accounting software for years.
It also opens up some interesting opportunities on the distribution side. For example, Sage recommends Regate to his own clients, especially accounting firms.
Businesses using Regate will benefit from an upgrade in user experience when it comes to sorting invoices and receipts, retrieving receipts, tracking incoming payments and paying suppliers.
For example, when you receive an invoice from a supplier, you can get approval from the right people in your company and schedule a payment for later directly from Regate. The startup can issue virtual or physical cards thanks to a partnership with Treezor. It can also initiate bank transfers thanks to an integration with Fintecture.
Regate also helps you track unpaid invoices and contact your customers. Using EBICS or open banking APIs, Regate customers can view transactions from their bank account without logging into a banking portal.
For accounting firms, they can add Regate to their accounting package and communicate with their clients directly from Regate. They don’t have to migrate to a new accounting platform and they can save time because customers can see missing receipts directly in Regate.
It’s a different go-to-market strategy and product philosophy compared to Pennylane, a startup that aims to completely replace legacy accounting software. Regate currently works with 10,000 clients – many accounting firms and many companies directly, such as Le Slip Français, Jimmy Fairly, Cityscoot and Skello.
With today’s funding round, Regate aims to become a certified platform for digitized receipts. This move will boost customer adoption as companies will seek solutions to help them comply with French regulations.
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