Money and cash flow are the lifeblood of a small business. And it’s an area often overlooked by traditional online banking providers. So a number of companies have emerged during the past decade-plus to better serve SMB needs. Most providers operate on a dual revenue model which includes:
a.) monthly subscription fees to create predictable recurring revenue
b.) transaction fees to cover interchange and other variable processing costs.
We divided the payment providers into four categories:
- Charge card & expense management (see our list here)
- Bill payments and/or invoicing specialists (see below)
- Payment processors (here)
- Subscription management platforms (here)
Unlike other fintech areas, 6 of the top 7 providers are more than 10 years old. And none have started in the past 5 years.
Year founded:
2000 to 2009 >>> 7
2010 to 2014 >>> 6
2015 to 2019 >>> 6
2020 or later >>> 0
Startup Spotlight
The all-in-one payment automation solution for growing businesses.
> Automate all your payment workflows in one platform
> Boost collections cycle speed so you have cash when you need it
> Accelerate accounts payable processes and keep suppliers happy
> Eliminate errors with automated reconciliation
> Secure payments with a platform that exceeds standards
Automate your payments. Control your cash.
10,000+ companies are powered by Plooto
NEW: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: SMB online lenders (33) | SMB challenger banks (12) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB charge cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (17)| Payment processors (7) | Subscription processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.
Top U.S. BillPay & Invoicing Startups (ranked by FAB score***)
| Rank | Was | Company | FAB Score | Review | Founded | HQ | Total Funding | Visits (Dec ’23) |
| Ad* | Plooto | 41 | 1 Feb ’24 | 2015 | Toronto | 26 | 150,000 | |
| 1 | 1 | Wave Payments (HR Block) | 1305 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2009 | Toronto | 80 | 6,500,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Freshbooks | 760 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2003 | Toronto | 330 | 3,400,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Bill.com | 742 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2006 | SF | 496 | 3,400,000 |
| 4 | 4 | Tipalti | 451 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2010 | SF | 715 | 1,500,000 |
| 5 | 5 | AvidExchange | 258 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2000 | Charlotte, NC | 1760 | 110,000 |
| 6 | 6 | Melio | 207 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2018 | NYC | 504 | 660,000 |
| 7 | 7 | Vcita | 131 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2010 | Seattle | 15 | 670,000 |
| 8 | 8 | Bonsai | 85 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2016 | SF | 0 | 420,000 |
| 9 | 9 | Stampli | 79 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2015 | SF | 147 | 180,000 |
| 10 | 10 | Plastiq | 61 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2012 | SF | 142 | 220,000 |
| 11 | 11 | Autobooks | 43 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2015 | Detroit | 97.8 | 57,000 |
| NEW | Plooto | 41 | 1 Feb ’24 | 2015 | Toronto | 26 | 150,000 | |
| 12 | 12 (t) | PaySimple | 38 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2006 | Denver | 145 | 130,000 |
| 13 | 15 | Emburse (ChromeRiver≥) | 35 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2014 | LA | 0.1 | 180,000 |
| 14 | 12 (t) | Invoice2go (Bill.com) | 34 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2002 | SF | 60 | 190,000 |
| 15(t) | 14 | InvoiceNinja | 27 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2014 | Hefa, Israel | 0 | 140,000 |
| 15(t) | 16 | BillerGenie | 27 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2018 | Miami | 9.5 | 100,000 |
| 17 | 18 | Onlinecheckwriter | 21 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2008 | SF | 2.7 | 140,000 |
| 18 | 17 | Routable | 12 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2017 | Seattle | 46 | 17,000 |
| 19 | 19 | Beanworks | 0 | 30 Jan ’24 | 2012 | Vancouver | 12 | 5,000 |
Source: FintechLabs, 30 Jan 2024 using data from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMrush, Pitchbook, Linkedin
* FintechLabs receives advertising and/or affiliate revenue from the company
**Rank on 29 Aug 2023
***As nerds do, we are developing a proprietary score measuring the adoption of digital financial services at private companies that do not release traditional metrics (# customers, deposits, AUM, etc). We call it the FAB score, standing for Fintech Attention Barometer. The score uses money raised, valuation and website traffic as a proxy for company size and velocity of growth. It’s a work in progress, so expect changes down the road.
****Funding is the amount invested into the company as either equity or debt.
Challenger Billpay & Invoicing Suppliers in the United States
1.Wave (acquired by H&R Block)
FAB Score = 1,305 (down 160 since Aug 2023)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2009
– Raised $79.8M (Crunchbase)
– Exit: Acquired by H&R Block for US$400M in June 2019
– Website visits: 6.5M (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 305 (Pitchbook), down 1 since August, down 38 from Mar 2023
– Articles: 319 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 16,000 followers (300 employees, down 3 since August, down 5 since March)
– iOS rating: 4.5 (5,700 reviews, unchanged since August)
– Rating: 4.4 ( 1,520 reviews per Software Advice, up 50 since August).
2. Freshbooks
FAB Score = 760 (down 107)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2003
– Raised $332M including $131M in 2021 and $125M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 3.4M (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 617 (Linkedin), down 47 since August
– Articles: 621 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 87,00 followers (617 employees, down 47 since August, down 81 since March)
– iOS rating: 4.7 (10,900 reviews, up 200 since August)
– SoftwareAdvice rating: 4.5 ( 4,380 reviews, up 80 since August)
3. Bill.com (see also #13 Invoice2Go)
FAB Score = 742 (up 120)
– HQ: San Francisco Bay Area
– Founded: 2006
– Raised $496M including $216M in its Dec 2019 IPO (Crunchbase)
– Annual revenue (TTM): $1.1B (Yahoo)
– Market Cap: $8.4B (NYSE:BILL 30 Jan 2024) down $3.4B since 29 Aug 2023, up $200M since 24 April 2023
– Website visits: 3.4M (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 2,520 (Pitchbook), up 250 from August
– Articles: 211 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 47,000 followers (2,930 employees, down 20 since August)
– iOS rating: 4.9 (46,100 reviews, up 3,100 since August)
– Capterra: 4.1 (503 reviews, up 32 since August)
4. Tipalti
FAB Score = 451 (down 76)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2010
– Raised $715M including $150M (debt) in May 2023 & $270M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $8.3B (based on Dec 2021 round)
– Website visits: 1.5M (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 1,050 (Pitchbook), down 60 since August 2023, down 76 since April 2023
– Articles: 210 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 38,000 followers (1,110 employees, up 76 since August, up 100 since April)
– G2 rating: 4.5 (206 reviews, up 42 since August)
5. AvidXchange
FAB Score = 258 (down 222)
– HQ: Charlotte, NC
– Founded: 2000
– Raised: $1.8B of which $660M was in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Market cap: $2.3B (30 Jan 2024), up $200M since 29 Aug 2023, up $800M since 24 April 2023; NASDAQ: AVDX
– Annual revenue: $363M (TTM) (Yahoo)
– Website visits: 110,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 1,600 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Nov 2022
– Articles: 141 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 43,000 followers (1,640 employees, unchanged since August 2023, up 103 since April)
– G2 review: 4.3 (222 reviews, up 3 since August)
6. Melio
FAB Score = 207 (down 95)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2018
– Raised $504M including $360M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 660,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 632 employees (Pitchbook), up 30 since August 2023, up 35 since April)
– Articles: 78 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 27,000 followers (646 employees, up 2 from August 2023, up 49 since April)
– Capterra rating: 4.3 (368 reviews, up 14 since August)
7. Vcita
FAB Score = 131 (down 52)
– HQ: Seattle area (Bellevue)
– Founded: 2010
– Raised $15M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 670,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 200 (Pitchbook), unchanged since August 2023, up 28 since April
– Articles: 29 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 11,000 followers (180 employees, down 11 since August, up 6 since April 2023)
– iOS rating: 3.6 (91 reviews, up 3 since August)
– Software Advice rating: 4.5 (254 reviews, up 5 since August)
8.Bonsai
FAB Score = 85 (down 12)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $120,000 in 2016 (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 420,000 (Dec 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 50 (Pitchbook), up 1 since August, up 16 since April 2023
– Articles: 8 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin followers: 3,000 (48 employees, unchanged since August, up 16 since April 2023)
– Trustpilot score: 4.4 (415 reviews, up 20 since August)
9. Stampli
FAB Score = 79 (up 9)
– HQ: San Francisco Bay Area (Mountain View)
– Founded: 2015
– Raised $147M including $61M in 2023 and $50M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 180,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 265 (Pitchbook), up 48 since Aug 2023, up 61 since Nov 2022
– Articles: 55 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 8,000 followers (275 employees, up 30 since Aug, up 55 since April 2023)
– G2 rating: 4.7 (1,050 reviews, up 300 since August 2023)
10. Plastiq (acquired by Priority, Aug 2023)
Fab score = 61 (up 2)
– Founded: 2012
– HQ: San Francisco
– Raised: $142 million including $75M in 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 220,000 (Aug 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 103 (Pitchbook), unchanged since August, down 60 since April
– Articles: 69 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 6,000 followers (82 employees, down 20 since August, down 51 since April 2023)
– Trustpilot: 3.2 (953 reviews, down 1)
11. Autobooks
FAB Score = 43 (down 14)
– Founded: 2015
– HQ: Detroit, Michigan
– Raised: $97.8M including $25M in 2021 & $50M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 57,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 92 (Pitchbook), unchanged since August, down 48 since April 2023
– Articles: 34 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,000 (91 employees, down 1 from August, down 8 since April 2023)
– FeaturedCustomers: 4.8 (637 reviews, up 90 since August)
NEW Plooto
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2015
– Raised $26
– Website visits: 150,000
– Employees: 110 (Rocket Reach)
12. PaySimple (division of EverCommerce)
FAB Score = 38 (down 4)
– HQ: Denver, Colorado
– Founded: 2006
– Raised $145M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 130,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 83 (Linkedin), down 8 since Nov 2022
– Articles: 45 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,000 followers (74 employees, down 10 since August, down 9 since April 2023)
– iOS rating: 4.5 (note: only 2 reviews)
– Capterra rating: 4.5 (296 reviews, up 1)
13. Emburse (acquired by Chrome River in 2019; Chrome River merged with Certify in 2019)
FAB Score = 35 (up 6)
Founded: 2014
HQ: LA
Funding: $120,000 in 2016 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 180,000 (Dec 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 1,000 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Aug 2023
Articles: 43
Linkedin: 14,000 (936 employees, down 6 since August 2023)
14. Invoice2Go (acquired by Bill.com)
FAB Score = 34 (up 16)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2002
– Raised $60M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Exit: Acquired by Bill.com for $625M in July 2021
– Website visits: 190,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 106 (Pitchbook), unchanged since April 2023
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 9,000 followers (24 employees, down 20 since August, down 27 since April)
– iOS rating: 4.8 (45,600 reviews, up 3,000)
– Capterra rating: 4.4 (236 reviews, up 3)
15 (tie). InvoiceNinja
FAB Score = 27 (up 8)
– HQ: Hefa, Israel
– Founded: 2014
– Raised Unknown (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 140,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 4 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 17 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 420 followers (5 employees, unchanged since August)
– iOS rating: 4.9 (60 reviews, up 13 since August)
– Software Advice rating: 4.8 (161 reviews, up 3)
15 (tie). BillerGenie
FAB Score = 27 (up 1)
– Founded: 2018
– HQ: Miami
– Funding: $9.5M including $6M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 100,000 (Dec 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 40 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Aug 2023
– Linkedin: 6,000 followers (38 employees, up 1 since Aug 2023)
17. Online Check Writer
FAB score = 21 (up 3)
– Founded: 2008
– HQ: San Francisco
– Raised: $2.7M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 140,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 133 (Pitchbook), up 1 since Aug 2023
– Articles: 50 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 33,000 followers (130 employees, up 1 since August, up 16 since April)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (1,680 reviews, down 110 since August)
18. Routable
FAB Score = 12 (down 14)
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2017
– Raised $46M including $30M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 17,000 (Dec 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 119 (Pitchbook), down 10 since Aug 2023, 23 from April
– Articles: 11 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 9,000 followers (110 employees, down 8 since Aug 2023, down 24 since April)
– FeaturedCustomers rating: 4.8 (469 reviews, up 109 since August)
19. Beanworks (acquired by Quadient, March 2021)
FAB Score = 1
– Founded: 2012
– HQ: Vancouver, Canada
– Funding: $12M in 2017 and 2018 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: less than 5,000 (Dec 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Articles: 17 (Crunchbase)
– Employees: 90 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Aug 2023
– Linkedin: 8,000 followers (129 employees, down 4 since August)
