Company:FloQast

From HandWiki
FloQast
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded2013
FoundersMike Whitmire, CPA - CEO and Co-Founder
Chris Sluty, CPA - COO and Co-Founder
Cullen Zandstra - CTO and Co-Founder
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California , United States
ProductsB2B Accounting Software
Number of employees
550 (2023)
Websitehttps://floqast.com

FloQast is an accounting software vendor based in Los Angeles . Founded in 2013, the company provides close management software for corporate accounting departments to help them improve the way they close the books each month.

Since launching, the company is regularly mentioned by industry publications as one of the best-reviewed employers in the Los Angeles tech community.[1]

In 2017, the company was named by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the best small companies to work at in Los Angeles .[2] A year later, FloQast was recognized as one of the 15 best medium-sized companies to work for in Los Angeles .[3]

In January 2019, the company ranked #11 on Built In LA's 100 Best Places to Work in Los Angeles.[4]

The company announced the opening of a second office in February 2017, expanding to the Midwest with a new office and team in Columbus, Ohio.[5]

History

FloQast was founded by CPAs and former corporate accountants Mike Whitmire and Chris Sluty, along with veteran software engineer Cullen Zandstra. Whitmire first conceived the idea for the company during his time at Cornerstone OnDemand where he was a senior accountant. Having experienced firsthand the challenges accounting teams face when closing the books each month — from inefficient procedures to outdated workflows and flawed organizational structures —Whitmire aimed to create a product that would support accounting and finance teams during the hectic financial close process.[6]

After devising the concept, Whitmire recruited Zandstra as Co-founder and CTO. The name FloQast was created with the help of a word generator using a combination of accounting terms and contemporary vernacular words. The two developed a minimum viable product (MVP), and were accepted into the prestigious Amplify.LA accelerator program.[7] Following the company’s initial funding, Whitmire recruited his former Syracuse University classmate, Sluty, to join the team as Co-founder/COO/Head of Customer Success.

In November 2014, the company raised a $1.3 million seed round of funding led by Amplify.LA and Toba Capital,[8] before securing a $6.5 million Series A in early 2016.[9] Following a period of growth in which the company tripled its revenues, FloQast raised a $25 million Series B in June 2017.[10] Six months after the funding, the company relocated to a new 20,000-square-foot office in Sherman Oaks to accommodate a staff that had grown 250 percent in 2017 alone.[11]

In July 2021, FloQast raised a $110 million Series D round at a $1.2 billion valuation. The round was led by Meritech Capital with participation from Redpoint Ventures, Sapphire Ventures, Coupa Ventures, and continued participation from prior investors including Insight Partners, Polaris Partners, and Norwest Venture Partners.[12][13]

Product

FloQast is a Software as a Service (SaaS) application. The financial close management software works with Microsoft Excel and uses process management, reporting, and collaboration to automate the month-end closing of an organization’s financial books.[14] The product provides accounting teams with checklists and tie-outs linked to Excel workbooks and the client of organizations’ enterprise resources planning (ERP) system to automate reconciliations and, ultimately, shorten the financial close process. In 2019, the company introduced FloQast AutoRec, a tool that relies on artificial intelligence to help automate the reconciliation process.[citation needed]

FloQast operates with cloud document storage systems Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Egnyte, as well as NetSuite and Sage Intacct financial applications. It is compatible with ERP/General Ledger systems, including Oracle, SAP, Microsoft (Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV), Sage, Epicor, QuickBooks, Financialforce, and others.

Recognition

In 2018, the company was recognized for:

  • 50 Startups to Watch in LA[15]
  • #5 on Top 25 in B2B LA Tech[16]
  • CFO's Tech Companies to Watch 2018: Major Disruptors[17]

In 2017, the company received multiple Stevie Awards for:

  • Gold - Company of the Year, Computer Software (Up to 100 employees)[18]
  • Silver - Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year - Computer Services and Software (Up to 100 employees)[18]
  • Silver - New Product or Service of the Year, Financial Software[19]

In 2017, the company received an award by G2 Crowd for Best Software for Finance Teams.[20]

In 2016, the company received the following two awards:

  • Stevie Award (Silver) - Fastest Growing Private Companies, Technology (Up to 100 employees)[21]
  • G2Crowd - High Performer[22]

References

  1. Hoodline (2018-10-25). "Best-reviewed places to work in Los Angeles include FloQast, Open Listings" (in en). https://abc7news.com/4555637/. 
  2. "Best Places to Work 2017: Small Companies | Los Angeles Business Journal". 28 September 2017. http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2017/sep/28/best-places-work-2017-small-companies/?page=5&. 
  3. "Best Places to Work 2018: The Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work for in Los Angeles | Los Angeles Business Journal". 20 August 2018. http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2018/aug/20/best-places-work-2018-best-medium-sized-companies-/?page=1&. 
  4. "100 Best Places To Work In Los Angeles | Built In Los Angeles" (in en). January 1983. https://www.builtinla.com/companies/best-places-to-work-los_angeles. 
  5. Ghose, Carrie (2017-02-02). "VC-backed accounting software startup from Los Angeles plans 20 jobs in Dublin". https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/02/02/vc-backed-accounting-software-startup-from-los.html. 
  6. "Balancing the books: How FloQast's SaaS platform is revolutionizing the world of accounting" (in en). https://www.builtinla.com/2017/07/26/floqast-salesforce-accountants. 
  7. "Portfolio - Amplify.LA | Venture Capital | Los Angeles". http://amplify.la/portfolio. 
  8. "Accounting Startup Raises Money | San Fernando Valley Business Journal". 5 November 2014. http://www.sfvbj.com/news/2014/nov/05/accounting-startup-raises-money/. 
  9. Amplify.LA (2016-03-17). "FloQast announces $6.5 Million Series A led by Polaris, and more in our latest Community Update". https://blog.amplify.la/amplify-community-update-mar-17-2016-7b2740a1621b. 
  10. "FloQast Raises $25 Million to Accelerate Company Growth and Expand Adoption of Its Close Management Software" (in en-US). 2017-06-21. https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/21/floqast-raises-25-million-to-accelerate-company-growth-and-expand-adoption-of-its-close-management-software/. 
  11. "FloQast relocates HQ" (in en). 20 December 2017. https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/close-management-software-developer-floqast-relocates-headquarters. 
  12. "Accounting automation and collaboration platform FloQast raises $110M" (in en-US). 2021-07-21. https://venturebeat.com/business/accounting-automation-and-collaboration-platform-floqast-raises-110m/. 
  13. https://www.accountingtoday.com/author/michael-cohn+(2021-07-21).+"FloQast scores $110M in latest funding round" (in en). https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/floqast-scores-110m-in-latest-funding-round. 
  14. PYMNTS (2018-01-26). "Big Data, Open Banking And The Close Process" (in en-US). https://www.pymnts.com/news/b2b-payments/2018/floqast-close-process-accounting/. 
  15. "Built In LA's 50 Startups to Watch in 2018" (in en). 16 January 2018. https://www.builtinla.com/2018/01/16/50-la-startups-watch-2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018. 
  16. "The State of B2B Tech in Los Angeles in 2018". 11 January 2018. https://blog.g2crowd.com/blog/technology-research/state-b2b-tech-la-2018/. Retrieved 2 February 2018. 
  17. McCann, David (2018-05-15). "CFO's Tech Companies to Watch 2018: Major Disruptors -" (in en-US). http://ww2.cfo.com/applications/2018/05/cfos-tech-companies-watch-2018-major-disruptors/. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 "2017 Company / Organization Award Winners | Stevie Awards" (in en). http://stevieawards.com/aba/2017-company-organization-award-winners. 
  19. "2017 New Product Award Winners | Stevie Awards" (in en). http://stevieawards.com/aba/2017-new-product-award-winners. Retrieved 2 February 2018. 
  20. "Best Software for Finance Teams | 2017 | G2 Crowd". 18 January 2017. https://www.g2crowd.com/blog/announcements/best-software-finance-teams-2017/. Retrieved 2 February 2018. 
  21. "2016 Company of the Year Award Winners | Stevie Awards" (in en). http://stevieawards.com/aba/2016-company-year-award-winners. Retrieved 2 February 2018. 
  22. "FloQast Named Best Software to Use in 2017 by G2 Crowd" (in en). 2017-01-18. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170118005799/en/FloQast-Named-Software-2017-G2-Crowd.