Companies of all sizes need bookkeeping and accounting services. And it’s an ideal service to consume digitally. When I started reporting on the space in the mid-90s, I thought banks would end up delivering the bulk of basic accounting functions through their online banking programs.
But so far I’ve been proven wrong. There is too much nuance, too many gray areas, too much liability and too much competition for traditional banks to make a material profit. So the market has been ceded to the entrepreneurs, and wow, have they shown up!
It’s been a popular startup category in the 2015 to 2020 era with 17 of the top 26 companies founded in that 6-year period. Surprisingly, we have only one since then: Lettuce Financial.
Year founded:
2010 or earlier: 5
2011 to 2015: 5
2016 to 2019: 12
2020 or later: 4
Resources: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: Small Business (SMB) savings/treasury accounts (7) | SMB online lenders (33) | SMB challenger banks (15) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB credit cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
The FAB Score (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size and growth of fintech companies founded since 1999.
Online Digital Accounting Services for Small Business
| Rank | Was (Dec’25) | Company | FAB Score* | Reviewed | Founded | HQ | Funding ($M)** | Visits (Feb’26) |
| *** | *** | 1-800Accountant | NA | 24 Mar ’26 | 1999 | NYC | 530,000 | |
| 1 | 1 | Xero | 7,371 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2006 | Wellington, NZ | 1606 | 34,100,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Freshbooks | 598 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2003 | Toronto | 457 | 2,500,000 |
| 3(t) | 3 | HighRadius | 145 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2006 | Houston | 475 | 430,000 |
| 3(t) | 5 | Lettuce Financial | 145 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2023 | SF | 57.9 | 540,000 |
| 5 | 7 | Collective | 144 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2020 | SF | 149.7 | 370,000 |
| 6 | 4 | Finally (was BackOffice) | 132 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2018 | Miami | 309 | 49,000 |
| 7 | 6 | Bonsai | 101 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2016 | SF | 0.1 | 370,000 |
| 8 | 9 | Patriot | 98 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2002 | Canton, OH | 4.4 | 550,000 |
| 9 | 11 | Pilot | 70 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2016 | SF | 172 | 220,000 |
| 10 | 10 | Autobooks | 59 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2015 | Detroit | 153 | 88,000 |
| 11 | 12 | TaxBit | 50 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2018 | Draper, Utah | 253 | 26,000 |
| 12 | 13 | Bench | 44 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2012 | Vancouver BC | 109 | 157,000 |
| 13 | 8 | Emburse (ChromeRiver) | 37 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2014 | LA | 0.1 | 190,000 |
| 14 | 14 | Zeni | 20 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2019 | SF | 47.5 | 44,000 |
| 15 | NEW | Hellobooks.ai | 16 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2023 | Dover, DL | 0 | 39,000 |
| 16 | 16 | Proper | 15 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2017 | SF | 32.8 | 6,400 |
| 17 | 17 | Docyt | 11 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2016 | SF | 25 | 11,000 |
| 18(t) | 15 | Synder | 9 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2016 | SF | 3 | 36,000 |
| 18(t) | 20(t) | OneUp | 9 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2017 | SF | 2 | 36,000 |
| 20 | 18 | Fincent | 8 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2020 | SF | 0 | 17,000 |
| 21 | 19 | Bookkeep | 5 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2018 | NYC | 9.9 | 2,200 |
| 22 | 20(t) | Xendoo | 4 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2016 | Miami | 8.5 | 7,900 |
| 23 | 22 | Avise | 3 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2017 | NYC | 5.5 | 600 |
| 24 (t) | 23(t) | FinancePal | 0 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2015 | Chicago | 0 | 800 |
| 24(t) | 23(t) | Reconciled | 0 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2015 | Burlington, VT | 1 | 1,500 |
| 24(t) | 25 | Ceterus | 0 | 24 Mar ’26 | 2008 | Charleston, SC | 33.6 | 3,700 |
Source: FintechLabs, 24 March 2026 using data from Crunchbase, Similarweb, Pitchbook, SEMrush
Employment data from Dec 2025
*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, employees 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.
***Sponsor: Fintech Labs earns money by referring new customers to SMB financial providers. Referral payments may influence where companies are shown.
Profiles
1. Xero
Fab Score: 7,370
HQ: Wellington, New Zealand
Founded: 2006
Raised: $1.6 billion
Market cap: US$13.3 billion (public, 24 Feb 2026)
Rank: 26 on 21st century fintech unicorn list
Website visits (Nov 2025): 34 million
Employees (Pitchbook): 4,610
LinkedIn: 410,000 followers | 6,200 employees
Ad 1800Accountant
HQ: NYC
Founded: 1999
Website visits (Feb 2026): 530,000 (Similarweb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 220
2. FreshBooks
Fab Score: 598
HQ: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Founded: 2003
Raised: $457 million (Crunchbase)
Valuation: US$1 billion (based on Aug 2021 round)
Rank: #338 (tied) on 21st century fintech unicorn list
Website visits (Feb 2026): 2,500,000 (Similarweb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 464
3 (tie). HighRadius
FAB Score: 145
HQ: Houston, Texas
Founded: 2003
Raised: $475 million
Valuation: $3.1 billion (based on Mar 2021 round)
Rank: #120 on 21st century fintech unicorn list
Website visits (Feb 2026): 430,000 (Similarweb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 4,460
3 (tie). Lettuce Financial
FAB Score: 145
HQ: SF
Founded: 2023
Raised ($million): $57.9
Website visits (Feb 2026): 540,000 (SimilarWeb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 25
5. Collective
FAB Score: 144
HQ: San Francisco
Founded: 2020
Raised: $150 million
Website visits (Nov 2025): 97,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 49
6. Finally (was BackOffice)
FAB Score: 132
HQ: Miami, Florida
Founded: 2018
Raised: $309 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 49,000 (SimilarWeb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 260
7. Bonsai (acquired by Zoom Communications, Nov 2025)
FAB Score: 101
HQ: SF
Founded: 2016
Raised: $100k
Website visits (Feb 2026): 370,000 (SimilarWeb)
Employees (Pitchbook): 49
8. Patriot
FAB Score: 98
HQ: Canton, Ohio
Founded: 2002
Raised: $4.5 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 550,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 160
9. Pilot
FAB Score: 70
HQ: SF
Founded: 2016
Raised: $172 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 220,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 397
10. Autobooks
FAB Score: 59
HQ: Detroit, MI
Founded: 2015
Raised: $153 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 88,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 101
11. TaxBit
FAB Score: 50
HQ: Draper, Utah
Founed: 2018
Raised: $253 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 26,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 156
12. Bench (shut-down Dec 2024; then acquired by Mainstreet)
FAB Score: 44
Founded: 2012
HQ: Vancouver BC, Canada
Raised: US$109 million
Website visits (Feb 2026):160,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook):
13. Emburse (acquired by ChromeRiver)
FAB Score: 37
HQ: LA
Founded: 2014
Raised: $100,000
Website visits (Feb 2026): 190,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 750
14. Zeni
FAB Score: 20
Founded: 2019
HQ: SF
Raised: $47.5 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 44,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 393
15. Hellobooks.ai
FAB Score: 16
HQ: Dover, Delaware
Founded: 2023
Raised: Unknown
Website visits (Feb 2026): 39,000 (SEMrush)
16. Proper (acquired by Intuit, March 2024)
FAB Score: 15
Founded: 2017
HQ: SF
Raised: $32.8 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 6,400 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 6
17. Docyt
FAB Score: 11
Founded: 2016
HQ: SF
Raised: $25 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 11,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 224
18 (tie). Synder
FAB Score: 9
Founded: 2016
HQ: SF
Raised: $3 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 36,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 49
18 (tie). OneUp
FAB Score: 9
Founded: 2017
HQ: SF
Raised: $2 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 36,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 49
20. Fincent
FAB Score: 8
Founded: 2020
HQ: SF
Website visits (Feb 2026): 17,000 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 69
21. Bookkeep
FAB Score: 5
Founded: 2018
HQ: NYC
Raised: $9.9 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 2,200 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 42
22. Xendoo
FAB Score: 4
Founded: 2016
HQ: Miami, Florida
Raised: $8.5 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 7,900 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 49
23. Avise
FAB Score: 3
Fonded: 2017
HQ: NYC
Raised: $5.5 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 600 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 21
24 (tie). FinancePal
FAB Score: 0
Founded: 2015
HQ: Chicago, Illinois
Website visits (Feb 2026): 800 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): INA
24 (tie). Reconciled
FAB Score: 0
Founded: 2015
HQ: Burlington, VT
Raised: $1 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 1,500 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 51
24 (tie). Ceterus
FAB Score: 0
Founded: 2008
HQ: Charleston, South Carolina
Raised: $33.6 million
Website visits (Feb 2026): 3,700 (SEMrush)
Employees (Pitchbook): 65
