How SimplBooks simplified accounting for thousands of users

December 02, 2020 | Louise Basse

Based in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, SimplBooks is an online accounting platform that’s on a mission to make accounting easy and accessible for all businesses.

As the platform has expanded its services to Finland – and soon to other European markets – SimplBooks decided to team up with an open banking partner that could deliver instant access to all bank accounts in Northern Europe through one simple integration, as well as the ability to pay invoices directly.

We talked with the CEO of SimplBooks, Jaanus Reismaa, to hear how he believes open banking can be leveraged in the accounting space.

Build or buy?

There’s no doubt that SimplBooks has come a long way with their accounting platform that’s currently used by more than 10,000 users. SimplBooks still consists of a small and agile team that takes care of everything their users need to spend as little time on accounting tasks as possible in their day-to-day lives.

When the company started its expansion journey from Estonia to Finland, SimplBooks looked for an open banking partner that could provide instant access to banks so they wouldn’t have to spend valuable time doing this themselves. 

And with our new fast-track open banking platform, Aiia, SimplBooks was able to integrate all banks in Finland without having to worry about any complexities. Jaanus explains:

“We knew how to make agreements with banks in Estonia, but in Finland the process seemed a lot more complex. We didn’t have the right contacts or know-how to solve that problem and that makes Aiia the perfect match for us. With that solution, we don’t have to deal with all the banks ourselves.”

Placing the power of an online bank in the accounting platform

Dealing with stacks of invoices on the desk, creating billing reports, checking and matching transactions one by one. Those are just some of the tasks that most businesses must deal with to keep up with their accounting needs.

But with open banking, SimplBooks was able to create an all-in-one accounting platform that frees up time-consuming tasks for its users, explains Jaanus:

“The partnership enables us to integrate financial data and payments directly in our accounting platform. With Aiia, you don’t have to manually enter data into your accounting platform anymore. It helps reduce human errors and other mistakes that are likely to happen when dealing with manual processes such as the invoice number, the amount, the client name and more,” he says and continues:  

“Maybe it seems weird, but our ultimate goal is that the user has to spend as little time as possible on our software. Instead, they should be focused on running their main business.”

While Aiia Data enables any business to automate workflows, reduce the risk of human error and create more personalised services, Aiia Pay supports any business that looks to integrate instant payments from their service – whether you’re an online merchant or an accounting system provider.

Do you want to know how you can use open banking to create future-proof accounting solutions? Reach out to our Aiia team to see how you can get started without having to go through long and complex application processes.