Lendio, the nation’s leading marketplace for small business loans, today announced the acquisition of Billy and the launch of its bookkeeping software for small businesses.
Sunrise, a Lendio company, is the first freemium bookkeeping software to meld accounting, cash flow management, loan and credit information into a single platform. This user-friendly cash flow, billing and expense tracking solution also provides solopreneurs and small business owners customized access to Lendio’s marketplace of business loans and award-winning customer service.
Small businesses say cash flow is one of the biggest challenges they face this year, according to a recent Lendio survey of 550 small business owners. Additionally, data from the Lendio platform shows that two-thirds of micro businesses are not currently leveraging an online accounting software. Sunrise aims to give business owners more accurate, real-time insight into their business finances. In turn, business owners will be able to better visualize their cash position, better understand their financial health and better predict their future capital needs.
“We are very excited to announce the acquisition of Billy and the re-brand to Sunrise. The Sunrise platform will bring together previously disparate sources of information for small business owners, such as accounting, loan and credit data,” said Brock Blake, CEO and founder of Lendio. “It’s our goal for Sunrise users to feel more confident in making financial decisions that help their businesses grow.”
Backed by proven technology, Sunrise comes in two versions. The first is a free plan that removes unnecessary enterprise features and allows businesses to do both cash and accrual-based accounting. The platform’s invoicing system allows users to create personalized invoices, as well as automate recurring invoices and pay reminders. Customers can easily pay by credit card through the platform’s secure customer portal, and business owners can see when invoices have been viewed, as well as create quotes and estimates online.
In addition to billing, the free version also allows business owners to easily sync bank accounts and credit cards, categorize and track expenses and income, and store receipts in a central location. Reports including profit and loss, balance sheet, tax summary, accounts receivable and customer statements allow business owners to keep better tabs on their financial health. Security is also a priority; users’ data is backed up to multiple data centers and encrypted.
A paid subscription to Sunrise allows growing businesses to expand accounting capabilities by leveraging Sunrise’s tech-enabled bookkeeping experts. More cost-effective than alternatives on the market, Sunrise’s paid subscription allows business owners to automate and streamline accounting tasks, freeing up their time to focus on building their businesses. With access to bookkeeping professionals, business owners will never have to reconcile their own books again. Sunrise’s expert bookkeepers use a three-part system to recognize revenue, take care of invoicing and reconcile books monthly. The paid version also integrates with Stripe, PayPal and Square.
A Sunrise mobile app is currently in development. Over time, other features will be added to Sunrise including auto categorization, a tie-in to tax software as well as more sophisticated loan integrations.
Lendio was founded in 2011 to provide a marketplace of financing options for small business owners. To date, Lendio has facilitated close to $1.5 billion in financing through more than 70,000 loans to business owners in all 50 states. With this access to capital, Lendio’s small business clients have generated an estimated $5 billion in economic output and created more than 35,000 jobs in communities nationwide.