Melio, founded in mid-2018, is the latest VC-funded entrant in the payables space.
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
Small Business Billing Startup Spotlight
Simplify invoice payments. Amplify cash flow.
Built for every kind of business and is FREE to use!
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 (Jul ’23) |
| Ad* | Melio | 302 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2018 | NYC | 504 | 490,000 | |
| 1 | 1 | Wave Payments (HR Block) | 1465 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2009 | Toronto | 80 | 7,300,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Freshbooks | 867 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2003 | Toronto | 330 | 3,700,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Bill.com | 622 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2006 | SF | 496 | 2,800,000 |
| 4 | 5 | Tipalti | 527 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2010 | SF | 715 | 1,400,000 |
| 5 | 4 | AvidExchange | 480 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2000 | Charlotte, NC | 1760 | 41,000 |
| 6 | 6 | Melio | 302 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2018 | NYC | 504 | 490,000 |
| 7 | 7 | Vcita | 183 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2010 | Seattle | 15 | 930,000 |
| 8 | 8 | Bonsai | 97 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2016 | SF | 0 | 480,000 |
| 9 | 9 | Stampli | 70 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2015 | SF | 85 | 200,000 |
| 10 | 10 | Plastiq | 59 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2012 | SF | 142 | 210,000 |
| 11 | 11 | Autobooks | 57 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2015 | Detroit | 97.8 | 82,000 |
| 12 (t) | 12 | PaySimple | 42 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2006 | Denver | 145 | 150,000 |
| 12 (t) | 18 | Invoice2go (Bill.com) | 42 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2002 | SF | 60 | 230,000 |
| 14 | 13 | InvoiceNinja | 19 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2014 | Hefa, Israel | 0 | 100,000 |
| 15 | 14 | Emburse (ChromeRiver≥) | 29 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2014 | LA | 0.1 | 150,000 |
| 16 | 15 | BillerGenie | 26 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2018 | Miami | 9.5 | 99,000 |
| 17 | 16 | Routable | 28 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2017 | Seattle | 46 | 44,000 |
| 18 | 17 | Onlinecheckwriter | 18 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2008 | SF | 2.7 | 125,000 |
| 19 | 19 | Beanworks | 3 | 29 Aug ’23 | 2012 | Vancouver | 12 | 23,000 |
Source: FintechLabs, 29 August 2023 using data from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMrush, Pitchbook, Linkedin
* FintechLabs receives advertising and/or affiliate revenue from the company
**Rank on 24 April 2024
***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 = 1,465 (down 140 since April 2023)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2009
– Raised $79.8M (Crunchbase)
– Exit: Acquired by H&R Block for US$400M in June 2019
– Website visits: 7.3M (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 306 (Pitchbook), down 37 from Mar 2023
– Articles: 302 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 15,000 followers (303 employees, down 2)
– iOS rating: 4.5 (5,700 reviews, up 100)
– Rating: 4.4 ( 1,470 reviews per Software Advice).
2. Freshbooks
FAB Score = 867 (down 120)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2003
– Raised $332M including $131M in 2021 and $125M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 3.7M (Mar 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 664 (Linkedin), down 34
– Articles: 613 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 87,00 followers (664 employees, down 34)
– iOS rating: 4.7 (10,700 reviews, up 100)
– SoftwareAdvice rating: 4.5 ( 4,300 reviews, up 100)
3. Bill.com (see also #13 Invoice2Go)
FAB Score = 622 (down 40)
– HQ: San Francisco Bay Area
– Founded: 2006
– Raised $496M including $216M in its Dec 2019 IPO (Crunchbase)
– Annual revenue (TTM): $860M (Yahoo)
– Market Cap: $11.8 (29 Aug 2023, NYSE:Bill), up $3.6B since 24 April 2023
– Website visits: 2.8M (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 2,269 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 164 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 45,000 followers (2,960 employees, up 200)
– iOS rating: 4.9 (43,000 reviews, up 5,500)
– Capterra: 4.2 (468 reviews, up 10)
4. Tipalti
FAB Score = 527 (up 135)
– 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: 1.4M (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 1,108 (Pitchbook), down 16 since April
– Articles: 189 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 35,000 followers (1,024 employees, up 24)
– G2 rating: 4.5 (164 reviews, up 17)
5. AvidXchange
FAB Score = 480 (down 16)
– HQ: Charlotte, NC
– Founded: 2000
– Raised: $1.8B of which $660M was in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Market cap: $2.1B (29 Aug 2023), up $600M since 24 April 2023; NASDAQ: AVDX
– Annual revenue: $299M (TTM) (Yahoo)
– Website visits: 88,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 1,600 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Nov 2022
– Articles: 134 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 41,000 followers (1,643 employees, up 103)
– G2 review: 4.4 (219 reviews, up 5)
6. Melio
FAB Score = 302 (down 24)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2018
– Raised $504M including $360M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 490,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 602 employees (Pitchbook), up 5 since April
– Articles: 68 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 25,000 followers (644 employees, up 47)
– Capterra rating: 4.2 (354 reviews, up 56)
7. Vcita
FAB Score = 183 (down 2)
– HQ: Seattle area (Bellevue)
– Founded: 2010
– Raised $15M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 930,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 200 (Pitchbook), up 28
– Articles: 21 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 10,000 followers (191 employees, up 17)
– iOS rating: 3.7 (88 reviews, unchanged)
– Software Advice rating: 4.5 (249 reviews, up 2)
8. Bonsai
FAB Score = 97 (down 36)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $120,000+ (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 480,000 (Aug 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 49 (Pitchbook), up 15
– Articles: 8 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin followers: 2,600 (48 employees, up 16)
– Trustpilot score: 4.6 (395 reviews, up 14)
9. Stampli
FAB Score = 70 (down 30)
– HQ: San Francisco Bay Area (Mountain View)
– Founded: 2015
– Raised $84.7M including $50M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 200,000 (May 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 217 (Pitchbook), up 13 since Nov 2022
– Articles: 40 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 21,000 followers (245 employees, up 25)
– G2 rating: 4.7 (753 reviews, up 150)
10. Plastiq (acquired by Priority, Aug 2023)
Fab score = 59 (down 4)
– Founded: 2012
– HQ: San Francisco
– Raised: $142 million including $75M in 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 210,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 103 (Pitchbook), down 60 since April
– Articles: 62 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 6,100 followers (102 employees, down 31)
– Trustpilot: 3.2 (954 reviews, up 4)
11. Autobooks
FAB Score = 57 (down 1)
– Founded: 2015
– HQ: Detroit, Michigan
– Raised: $97.8M including $25M in 2021 & $50M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 82,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 92 (Pitchbook), down 48 since April
– Articles: 32 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,200 (92 employees, down 7)
– FeaturedCustomers: 4.8 (547 reviews, up 72)
12 (tie). PaySimple (division of EverCommerce)
FAB Score = 42 (down 4)
– HQ: Denver, Colorado
– Founded: 2006
– Raised $145M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 150,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 83 (Linkedin), down 8 since Nov 2022
– Articles: 42 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,300 followers (84 employees, up 1)
– iOS rating: 4.5 (note: only 2 reviews)
– Capterra rating: 4.5 (295 reviews, up 4)
12 (tie). Invoice2Go (acquired by Bill.com)
FAB Score = 18 (up 15)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2002
– Raised $60M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Exit: Acquired by Bill.com for $625M in July 2021
– Website visits: 230,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 106 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 9,200 followers (44 employees, down 7 since April)
– iOS rating: 4.8 (42,600 reviews, up 3,000)
– Capterra rating: 4.3 (233 reviews, up 8)
14. InvoiceNinja
FAB Score = 19 (down 12)
– HQ: Hefa, Israel
– Founded: 2014
– Raised Unknown (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 100,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 4 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 380 followers (5 employees)
– iOS rating: 4.9 (47 reviews, up 7)
– Software Advice rating: 4.8 (158 reviews, up 5)
15. Emburse (acquired by Chrome River in 2019; Chrome River merged with Certify in 2019)
FAB Score = 29 (unchanged)
Founded: 2014
HQ: LA
Funding: $120,000 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 150,000 (July 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 1,000 (Pitchbook)
Linkedin: 14,000 (942 employees)
16 (tie). BillerGenie
FAB Score = 26 (up 1)
Founded: 2018
HQ: Miami
Funding: $9.5M (Crunchbase)
Articles: 11 (Crunchbase)
Website visits: 99,000 (July 2023, SimilarWeb)
Employees: 40 (Pitchbook)
Linkedin: 5,200 followers (37 employees)
16 (tie). Routable
FAB Score = 26
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2017
– Raised $46M including $30M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 44,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 129 (Pitchbook), down 13 from April
– Articles: 11 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 8,900 followers (118 employees, down 16)
– FeaturedCustomers rating: 4.8 (360 reviews, up 73)
18. Online Check Writer
FAB score = 18 (down 1)
– Founded: 2008
– HQ: San Francisco
– Raised: $2.7M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 125,000 (July 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 132 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 48 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 34,000 followers (129 employees, up 15)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (1,790 reviews, up 140)
19. Beanworks (acquired by Quadient, March 2021)
FAB Score = 3
– Founded: 2012
– HQ: Vancouver, Canada
– Funding: $12M (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 23,000 (July 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Employees: 90 (Pitchbook)
– Linkedin: 7,100 followers (133 employees)
