Small Business News
Small Business Payment Automation Tool Plooto Raises $20 Million
A FinTech that helps small businesses manage their payments just collected some cash of its own. This week, Toronto-based Plooto announced it has raised $20 million USD — or $27 million CAD. The Series B was led by Centana Growth Partners, while returning investors FINTOP Capital and Luge Capital also participated. Previously, the company closed an $8 million CAD ($6.34 million USD) Series A early last year. According to Plooto, the newly-raised funds will be used to help drive customer expansion, roll out new products, increase hiring, and allow it to offer more customized options to small businesses.
Plooto is an automation tool that helps small businesses manage their accounts payable and accounts receivable. As a result, the service also assists these businesses with their cash flow, which can be critical to an operation’s success. In fact, the company notes that poor cash flow management is the largest cause of failure for small businesses, with less than one in five small businesses making it to their 10-year anniversary.
Currently, Plooto offers plans that start at $32 a month. This includes the ability to send and receive payments, integrate with Quickbooks and Xero, automate data entries and workflows, and more. Additionally, the company says it boasts competitive foreign exchange rates.
Speaking about Plooto’s goal to help small businesses, the company’s CEO and co-founder Hamed Abbasi said in a statement, “Our vision, since inception, has been to enable the advancement of entrepreneurs to reach their full potential without being bogged down by cumbersome and inefficient financial processes. By expanding our platform’s automation, workflows and payment capabilities, Plooto has become the mission control for managing cashflow end-to-end.”
Abbasi also addressed the Series B raises, saying, “As Plooto continues to grow, it is crucial to have growth partners that understand the complexities of the industry and share the same vision. Centana’s unrivaled network and experience scaling fintech companies will help us reach more businesses in North America.”
Meanwhile, Centana Growth partner Ben Cukier said of the company, “Plooto is the exact kind of forward-thinking company that we at Centana Growth look for in a partner. They solve a real problem for their customers in an innovative way. We look forward to partnering with Plooto and redefining the industry.”
Just as Plooto points out, cash flow is indeed crucial for small businesses. Yet, managing accounts payable and receivable can be a pain point for many entrepreneurs. Because of this, it’s easy to see why a platform such as Plooto would be finding success, growing its client base, and attracting investors. For small businesses, Plooto’s platform could certainly be a useful tool — making the company one to watch on the FinTech stage.
