Fintech start-up Khatabook acquires Biz Analyst for $10 mn in a cash, equity deal

Fintech start-up, Khatabook, on Thursday announced the acquisition of Biz Analyst, a leading SaaS business management application, in a deal worth $10 million in a mix of cash and equity.

With this acquisition, Khatabook aims to leapfrog into the next phase of growth and offer its customer base of over 10 million monthly active merchants an opportunity to scale up their businesses by utilising premium value-added services. Creating a closer integration with their upstream supply chains — distributors, wholesalers, traders, and suppliers, Khatabook users can now seamlessly avail additional features to improve their efficiency through business analytics, sales force automation and digital invoicing.

Also read: Khatabook launches app to help MSMEs digitally manage workforce

Launched in late 2016, Biz Analyst is a cash flow positive business providing solutions to SMEs using Tally accounting software to automate daily business operations and make data-driven decisions to manage sales, inventory, outstandings and productivity. The company has achieved consistent growth and currently has over 80,000 paid users. Biz Analyst, now as part of Khatabook, aims to double the user base in 2021 and create bigger opportunities for the network of its 1,000+ channel partners (sellers of accounting software products).

The Biz Analyst team will continue to run independently, retaining Mumbai operations, while maintaining synergies with the Khatabook headquarters in Bangalore. The original co-founding team of Biz Analyst Vaibhav Vasa, Mehul Sutariya, and Nilesh Zaveri will now be part of Khatabook’s leadership team.

The acquisition is in line with Khatabook’s continued efforts to drive meaningful change and solve complex problems in-house through technology and focus on building the right infrastructure to empower MSMEs in the country. Utilising Khatabook’s core strength, Biz Analyst’s tech solutions will potentially reach a widespread and massive network of MSMEs spanning almost every district in India. The tech and product development efforts will be scaled up while streamlining hiring and talent development under the Khatabook structure.

Ravish Naresh, CEO and Co-founder, Khatabook said, “This deal is our first strategic acquisition as we intensify our network effects, up the supply chain and focus on monetisation. The features and strengths that Biz Analyst offers are the perfect extension to our present business portfolio.”

Over the course of the last year, several MSMEs and kiranas have adopted technology to become more operationally resilient. Powering the digital transformation of the ecosystem, Khatabook platform recorded 1.4 billion+ transactions with a cumulative value of more than $100 billion.