Haufe Group is already a market leader in enterprise managementand accounting for small and midsize businesses (SMB) and freelancers with itsLexware brand. Now, the company is further strengthening its market position byacquiring a stake in Kontist. The combination of accounting and a financialsolution offers companies a new and innovative way of automating all theiradministrative processes through a single platform. Not only does this lightenthe load on entrepreneurs, but it also drives the digitalization of SMBs.
Times remaintough for the self-employed in Germany: The bureaucratic and administrativehurdles are high and software for managing small businesses invariably comes inthe form of standalone solutions. But help is at hand from Haufe Group and itspowerful Lexware brand, which provides a platform on which SMBs can manage alltheir business processes for accounting, banking, and tax. Kontist is a keycomponent on the road toward the end-to-end automation of business processesvia a central ecosystem. This latest move increases Haufe Group’s focus on thealmost 4.3 million SMBs and the growing freelancer community in Germany.
“With our stakein Kontist, we’re taking another step forward for our customers – towardautomating all their business processes and meeting their tax requirements.Entrepreneurs and freelancers no longer have to separate accounting andbanking. Instead, they can manage their processes and their companyjust-in-time through a single platform solution. We’re therefore making adecisive contribution to driving the transformation of small and midsizebusinesses,” says Markus Reithwiesner, Holding Director Haufe Group.
The twopartners’ first task together will be an in-depth technical integration of theonline accounting software lexoffice and the Kontist bank account. Users will thenprofit from automated accounting, a real-time estimate of tax payments due, andan integrated Mastercard for expenditure management. This combination willcreate a completely new user experience.
What’s more, Haufe Group and Kontist aresetting up a co-creation lab to develop innovative digital products. The objective is to rethink thebusiness workflows of SMBs and streamline them by integrating differentservices and partners on one platform. The search is on for more partners fromthe financial sector to help realize this vision.
“Haufe Group, asthe market leader, is the ideal strategic partner for Kontist, because itshares our vision of developing innovative services for the self-employed – andit also has decades of expertise with its wide range of products,” saysChristopher Plantener, founder and CEO of Kontist.
With HaufeGroup’s minority share in the company, Kontist secures series A funding.Kontist already received 5 million euros in seed financing from Founders, aDanish company builder, and the Danish growth fund VœkstFonden.
