Accounting software investors capitalizing AI and automation tools

Accounting software deals look boring until you check the numbers. Rillet raised $100M in under a year. FreshBooks hit unicorn status. Xero went from unknown to $13.8B market cap. QuickBooks basically prints money for Intuit. The investors who saw this early made returns that put consumer social apps to shame.

This list covers 20 investors who've funded accounting companies from 2023 through November 2025. Some wrote $4M seed checks. Others led $70M Series B rounds. All of them understand that unglamorous bookkeeping software generates more reliable revenue than whatever's trending on Product Hunt.

Quick list

Picking accounting investors who understand the category

Find investors who've actually worked with finance teams or sold to CFOs. Accounting software takes longer to prove than consumer apps — implementations run 3–6 months and sales cycles drag past 90 days. Strong document analytics can also help show investors why validation takes longer.

Experience with B2B finance software matters when explaining why your close process takes 8 weeks to show improvement. Ask their portfolio companies if the investor understood complex compliance requirements or just wanted to see MRR growth charts. Many founders now prioritize secure sharing when distributing sensitive financial materials.

Network access to CFOs and controllers is worth more than introductions to other founders in accounting. Check if they can get you meetings with finance leaders at companies doing $50M+ in revenue. Those buyers make actual purchasing decisions, and most expect top-tier security standards from vendors.

Alignment on timeline prevents problems. Seed investors expecting Series A metrics in 12 months don't understand that accounting software adoption curves are slow. Finance teams test for 3-6 months before committing.

Track record shows up in companies that actually scaled past $10M ARR. Dead accounting startups usually ran out of money before securing 50+ paying customers. Look at whether their portfolio companies closed follow-on rounds without panic fundraising. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links so investors can review your pitch deck with full visibility into engagement.

Value-add beyond capital matters in accounting. Generic advice about growth hacking doesn't apply when your customer is a 50-person finance team with quarterly close deadlines. Ask portfolio founders if the investor helped them navigate SOC 2 audits or just showed up to board meetings with slide templates.

How to approach accounting software investors

Research funds that have closed accounting deals. Andreessen Horowitz co-led Rillet's Series B in August 2025. They understand AI-native finance software. Don't pitch consumer-focused VCs who've never backed accounting tools. They won't understand why implementations take 12 weeks.

Show the metrics that accounting investors care about. Net dollar retention above 110% matters more than user growth. Accounting software keeps customers once they're implemented. Focus on expansion revenue and reduction in churn to under 5% annually instead of showing DAU charts. Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which investors spend time on your security and compliance documentation - if they skip your SOC 2 audit trail, that's useful information.

Get introduced through portfolio CFOs. Cold emails to accounting investors work less than 1% of the time. Message finance leaders at their portfolio companies on LinkedIn. Ask which investors actually helped during diligence or just asked for more dashboards.

Attend fintech and SaaS conferences. SaaStr and Money2020 are where accounting deals happen. Accounting investors don't waste time at general startup pitch events. They attend 2-3 major conferences per year focused on B2B software and financial services.

Build relationships before you need money. Comment on their blog posts about accounting automation. Reference specific deals they've done when you connect. Messages that say "exploring funding options" get ignored. Conversations about SOC 2 compliance or close process automation sometimes start relationships.

Prepare your data room early. Set up an Ellty data room with your security documentation, customer contracts, and financial model before anyone asks. Accounting investors move fast when they see clean documentation. Missing compliance documents during diligence kills momentum.

Lead with retention and expansion metrics. Accounting investors have seen 50+ pitches about “making bookkeeping easier.” Show that you retain 95%+ of customers and expand accounts by 120% annually. A polished pitch deck reinforces these numbers far better than generic claims.

Why accounting software matters in late 2025

Accounting software reached $98.25B globally in 2024 and is projected to hit $142.9B by 2030. AI reshaped the category beginning in 2023 — tasks that required 40 hours now take four. The shift has changed startup fundraising dynamics as more investors recognise the acceleration.

Rillet doubled ARR in 12 weeks by cutting close times from weeks to days. Quanta raised $4.7M to automate accounting for software companies. Y Combinator funded multiple AI accounting startups in their recent batches. The category isn't boring anymore when AI can close books in 72 hours instead of 3 weeks.

20 top accounting investors

1. Andreessen Horowitz

Co-led Rillet's $70M Series B in August 2025 just 10 weeks after their Series A. A16z understands that AI transforms accounting from manual data entry into automated intelligence. They back companies rebuilding categories from scratch, not adding features to existing systems.

• Recent Deals: Rillet Series B (August 2025, $70M co-lead), AI accounting startups (amounts undisclosed)
• LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
• Sector Focus: AI-native ERP, fintech automation, enterprise SaaS, accounting software
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: a16z.com

2. ICONIQ

Co-led Rillet's $70M Series B alongside A16z in August 2025. ICONIQ backs companies that can achieve $1B+ valuations through technology that replaces manual work. Their portfolio includes multiple fintech and enterprise software winners.

• Recent Deals: Rillet Series B (August 2025, $70M co-lead)
• LinkedIn: ICONIQ Growth
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, fintech, AI-powered platforms, accounting automation
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth equity, late-stage
• Location: San Francisco, CA
• Website: iconiqcapital.com

3. Sequoia Capital

Backed Rillet's $25M Series A then returned for their $70M Series B just 10 weeks later. When Sequoia writes checks in accounting software, they're betting on companies that can own the category. They don't invest in features - they fund platforms.

• Recent Deals: Rillet Series A (May 2025, $25M lead), Rillet Series B (August 2025, participating investor)
• LinkedIn: Sequoia Capital
• Sector Focus: Enterprise SaaS, AI automation, fintech, accounting platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth, late-stage
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: sequoiacap.com

4. Accel

Led Quanta's $4.7M seed round in February 2025. Accel backs accounting tools that solve specific problems for defined customer segments. They invested early in vertical SaaS and understand that accounting for software companies differs from accounting for retail.

• Recent Deals: Quanta Seed (February 2025, $4.7M lead)
• LinkedIn: Accel
• Sector Focus: Fintech, accounting automation, vertical SaaS, AI tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Palo Alto, CA
• Website: accel.com

5. Oak HC/FT

Participated in Rillet's Series B in August 2025. Oak HC/FT specializes in healthcare and financial technology. They understand compliance requirements and regulated markets better than generalist investors. That matters when you're building accounting software that needs SOC 2 and audit trails.

• Recent Deals: Rillet Series B (August 2025, participating investor), healthcare fintech deals
• LinkedIn: Oak HC/FT
• Sector Focus: Healthcare tech, financial technology, compliance software, accounting platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Stamford, CT
• Website: oakhcft.com

6. Oak Investment Partners

Led FreshBooks' $30M Series A in July 2014 and continued through Series E. Oak Investment Partners has backed accounting and financial software for decades. They understand long sales cycles and the economics of subscription accounting platforms.

• Recent Deals: FreshBooks Series A (July 2014, $30M lead), FreshBooks Series B (July 2017, $43M participating investor)
• LinkedIn: Oak Investment Partners
• Sector Focus: SaaS, accounting software, small business fintech, cloud platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth equity
• Location: Westport, CT
• Website: oakvc.com

7. Georgian Partners

Led FreshBooks' $43M Series B in July 2017. Georgian is thesis-driven and focuses on applied AI in business software. They saw AI potential in accounting before it was obvious. Their portfolio includes multiple SaaS companies using data to improve workflows.

• Recent Deals: FreshBooks Series B (July 2017, $43M lead)
• LinkedIn: Georgian Partners
• Sector Focus: SaaS, applied AI, business software, accounting platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, growth equity
• Location: Toronto, ON
• Website: georgianpartners.com

8. Accomplice

Led FreshBooks' $80.75M Series E in August 2021 at over $1B valuation. Accomplice backs self-employed professionals and small business tools. They understand that accounting software for freelancers needs different features than enterprise ERP.

• Recent Deals: FreshBooks Series E (August 2021, $80.75M lead at $1B+ valuation)
• LinkedIn: Accomplice
• Sector Focus: Small business software, accounting platforms, fintech, SaaS
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Series E, growth
• Location: Boston, MA / San Francisco, CA
• Website: accomplice.co

9. JPMorgan Chase

Participated in FreshBooks' Series E in August 2021. JPMorgan makes strategic investments in fintech that could become partners or acquisition targets. They bring banking relationships and understand finance team needs from working with thousands of CFOs.

• Recent Deals: FreshBooks Series E (August 2021, participating investor)
• LinkedIn: JPMorgan Chase
• Sector Focus: Fintech, banking software, payments, accounting platforms
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Series E, growth, strategic investments
• Location: New York, NY
• Website: jpmorgan.com

10. Barclays

Invested in FreshBooks Series E after being a UK platform partner. Barclays invests in fintech that serves small businesses and integrates with banking services. Strategic investors like Barclays can accelerate partnerships but sometimes want acquisition options.

• Recent Deals: FreshBooks Series E (August 2021, new investor)
• LinkedIn: Barclays
• Sector Focus: Fintech, payments, accounting software, small business banking
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Series E, strategic investments
• Location: London, UK
• Website: barclays.com

11. TCV

Invested $26.4M in Xero's post-IPO round in April 2017. TCV backs later-stage software companies with proven products. They wrote one of Xero's largest funding rounds and helped the company expand beyond New Zealand and Australia into UK and US markets.

• Recent Deals: Xero post-IPO round (April 2017, $26.4M)
• LinkedIn: TCV
• Sector Focus: SaaS, cloud software, accounting platforms, enterprise applications
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, growth equity, post-IPO
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: tcv.com

12. Matrix Capital

Backed Xero from November 2012 through multiple post-IPO rounds. Matrix saw Xero's potential when most US investors didn't understand cloud accounting. They stuck with the company through its expansion into competitive markets.

• Recent Deals: Xero post-IPO rounds (November 2012, $49M; October 2013, $150M participating investor; March 2015, $10.8M)
• LinkedIn: Matrix Partners
• Sector Focus: Cloud software, SaaS, accounting platforms, fintech
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth equity, post-IPO
• Location: San Francisco, CA
• Website: matrixpartners.com

13. Valar Ventures

Peter Thiel's fund made Xero's first major VC investment at $16.6M in February 2012. Valar focuses on fintech outside Silicon Valley and was early to cloud accounting. They backed Xero when it had under 100,000 customers and most investors thought accounting software was boring.

• Recent Deals: Xero Series funding (February 2012, $16.6M; November 2012, participating investor), Monite fintech (February 2024, $6M lead)
• LinkedIn: Valar Ventures
• Sector Focus: Fintech, accounting software, payments, international SaaS
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: New York, NY
• Website: valar.com

14. Y Combinator

Seeds accounting startups every batch. Agentive (AI for audit firms), Fazeshift (AR automation), and Boton (Latin America accounting) all came through recent YC batches. The accelerator model means fast funding but fierce competition for follow-on rounds.

• Recent Deals: Agentive (YC batch, amount undisclosed), Fazeshift (YC batch), Boton (YC batch), multiple accounting AI startups
• LinkedIn: Y Combinator
• Sector Focus: All sectors including accounting, AI automation, fintech, B2B SaaS
• Stage Focus: Seed, pre-seed
• Location: Mountain View, CA
• Website: ycombinator.com

15. Kleiner Perkins

Early Intuit investor when QuickBooks was just a payroll processing add-on. Kleiner Perkins backed Intuit's expansion in the 1980s and helped the company grow from $20M to $55M in annual sales. They understand that unsexy accounting tools generate consistent revenue.

• Recent Deals: Historical Intuit investor (late 1980s), modern fintech investments
• LinkedIn: Kleiner Perkins
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, fintech, accounting platforms, SaaS
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: kleinerperkins.com

16. Technology Venture Investors

Backed Intuit's retail distribution expansion in late 1980s and early 1990s. TVI helped Intuit grow Quicken into one of the top-selling software applications globally. They understood that accounting software could dominate if distributed properly.

• Recent Deals: Historical Intuit investor (1980s-1990s)
• LinkedIn: Technology Venture Investors
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, technology platforms, accounting software
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: Information not readily available for historical firm

17. Sierra Ventures

Early Intuit investor helping scale Quicken beyond $55M in sales by 1991. Sierra backed accounting software when most VCs focused on operating systems and databases. They saw personal finance and small business accounting as massive markets.

• Recent Deals: Historical Intuit investor (late 1980s)
• LinkedIn: Sierra Ventures
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, SaaS, fintech, B2B platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: sierraventures.com

18. Foundation Capital

Backs Y Combinator accounting companies like Agentive. Foundation focuses on B2B software and understands audit automation and compliance workflows. They invest in companies solving specific accounting pain points, not generic bookkeeping tools.

• Recent Deals: Agentive (YC co-investor, amount undisclosed)
• LinkedIn: Foundation Capital
• Sector Focus: B2B software, enterprise SaaS, accounting automation, AI tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, CA
• Website: foundationcapital.com

19. Dell Technologies Capital

Co-invested in Agentive alongside Y Combinator and Foundation Capital. Dell Technologies Capital focuses on enterprise B2B software and brings Fortune 500 customer relationships. That matters when selling accounting software to large companies.

• Recent Deals: Agentive (YC co-investor, amount undisclosed)
• LinkedIn: Dell Technologies Capital
• Sector Focus: Enterprise software, B2B SaaS, accounting platforms, infrastructure
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, growth
• Location: Palo Alto, CA
• Website: delltechnologiescapital.com

20. One Peak

UK growth equity firm that invested £25M in iplicit accounting software in January 2025. One Peak specializes in B2B SaaS and understands the UK accounting market. They back companies that have outgrown entry-level tools and compete against legacy on-premise vendors.

• Recent Deals: iplicit (January 2025, £25M)
• LinkedIn: One Peak
• Sector Focus: B2B SaaS, cloud software, accounting platforms, UK and Europe
• Stage Focus: Growth equity, late-stage, scale-ups
• Location: London, UK
• Website: onepeak.com

How Ellty helps accounting startups close deals faster

These 20 investors closed accounting deals from January 2023 to November 2025. Before reaching out, set up tracking so you understand which investors are actually interested versus politely ignoring you.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create unique links for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they review and how long they spend on your security documentation. Most founders discover that investors skip market size slides but spend 10+ minutes reviewing SOC 2 compliance and customer implementation timelines.

When investors request additional materials during diligence, share an Ellty data room instead of scattered email attachments. Your financial model, customer contracts, security documentation, and cap table organized in one place with view tracking. You'll know if they actually reviewed your audit trail or just said they would.

Common questions

How do I know if an accounting investor is active in 2025?

Check their portfolio page for deals in the past 18 months. Crunchbase shows Andreessen Horowitz co-led Rillet's Series B in August 2025. If their most recent accounting deal was 2019, they've moved to other sectors. Look at which partners posted about fintech or AI accounting on LinkedIn recently.

Should I cold email accounting investors or get warm intros?

Get introduced through portfolio CFOs or finance leaders. Cold emails to accounting investors convert under 1%. Message finance teams at their portfolio companies and ask which investors actually helped during implementation versus just attending board meetings.

What's the difference between seed and Series A accounting investors?

Seed investors expect you're still proving product-market fit with 5-10 pilot customers. Series A investors want $1M+ ARR, proven implementations under 12 weeks, and NDR above 100%. Don't pitch growth equity firms when you have 3 customers and $200K ARR.

How many accounting investors should I reach out to simultaneously?

Focus on 8-10 firms that have actually funded accounting software at your stage. Pitching 50 investors simultaneously signals desperation. Accounting investors talk to each other and they'll know if you're running a spray-and-pray process.

When should I set up a data room for accounting deals?

Before your first investor call. Upload security documentation, customer contracts, financial models, and compliance certifications to Ellty now. Accounting investors move fast when they see organized documentation. Missing SOC 2 reports or customer agreements during diligence kills momentum.

Do accounting investors care about pitch deck analytics?

The experienced ones do. If an investor opens your deck four times and spends 15 minutes on your security and compliance slides, they're seriously interested. If they skim for 60 seconds and never return, move on. Ellty tracking shows which investors are actually evaluating your company versus being polite.