With technological advancements and changing work environments, such as remote and hybrid setups, the demand for flexible, integrated, and real-time accounting solutions has never been higher.
However, many businesses find themselves constrained by legacy systems that hinder productivity, scalability, and adaptability to modern workflows.
Led by CEO Lyndon Stickley, a seasoned entrepreneur, iplicit was established to help organisations grappling with outdated on-premises accounting software or struggling with the limitations of entry-level cloud systems.
Here Stickley delves into the founding, growth, challenges, achievements and future plans of the cloud accounting software company, which now boasts more than 20,000 daily users in 85 countries and is on track to onboard 80,000 users by 2025.
Tell us more about your company and its offering
iplicit is a next-generation cloud accounting software product that sits squarely in the mid-market, typically serving organisations with 30-500 employees.
It represents a significant step up from the entry-level cloud apps, delivering comprehensive and powerful accounting functionality. The modern-day architecture underpinning the solution enables it to be implemented in a fraction of the time of comparable high-end systems.
This results in significantly less disruption for the finance team than would be expected for a system of its type. In addition, the costs to migrate to iplicit’s service, both in terms of implementation and annual fees, are a fraction of those being quoted by vendors offering comparable technology.
iplicit is unique among mainstream finance software providers in that its entire development team, now standing at over 30 engineers, is based in the UK and focuses on evolving the proposition to cater for the multitude of verticals within the UK that have historically struggled to find an affordable path to a powerful true-cloud accounting solution.
Now in its sixth year since launch, iplicit continues to grow at over 100 per cent every year. Daily users have rocketed from zero in 2019 to over 22,500 and since launch, the technology has been recognised as Best in Class at the Accounting Excellence and AccountingWEB Awards.
iplicit represents the most advanced accounting software, for mid-market organisations, in the UK today.
What problem was your company set up to solve?
We solve a fundamental problem for two primary audiences.
Firstly, tens of thousands of organisations today are stuck with on-premises software that has typically been in use for the past decade or more. The existing system still functions but often with the aid of a multitude of spreadsheets and much manual intervention. However, nearly all organisations are evolving to require the following capability:
Integration with other cloud systems within the organisation e.g CRM, HR, payroll etc
Hybrid and remote working, enhanced reporting, real-time information, consolidation and increased automation. On-premises technology, irrespective of the vendor, is unable to deliver to these requirements.
iplicit solves these problems by enabling those mid-market organisations to migrate from their legacy on-premises software to a modern-day cloud accounting product without significant disruption or punitive pricing – something the incumbent vendors have failed to do.
The second audience for which we solve a major problem comprises growing organisations that already have an entry-level cloud accounting system, which was great when they had 10, 20 or 30 staff but is now starting to ‘creak at the seams’ as employee numbers have reached, say, 50 or more.
These organisations are used to cloud functionality and are likely to be exploiting integration with other cloud systems within the organisation, along with enjoying remote and hybrid working capabilities. However, as they have grown, the functional requirements of the finance team have become much more demanding – for instance, multiple legal entities, approval workflow authorisations, group consolidation and automation for payments.
iplicit is the next step for these growing organisations, facilitating an upgrade from entry-level cloud to something far more powerful, but without breaking the bank.
Since launch, how has your company evolved?
We have grown from five staff to over 100. We’ve invested £18.5million privately. We’ve migrated over 1,100 organisations onto our platform, which translates to over 22,500 daily users. We have developed what we believe to be the most advanced technology in our market.
With an initial focus on the non-profit sector, iplicit’s growth in the past five years has now seen it rescue customers held hostage to legacy, on-premises solutions across numerous vertical markets, including education, recruitment, student unions and fast-growth software companies to name a few. In addition, iplicit is growing a significant accountancy practice partner channel. Now, with several accredited Top 100 practices offering iplicit to its medium-sized clients, our technology is poised to become a mainstream disruptor to the major vendors, in the same way, Netflix unseated Blockbuster.
We’ve won the Best Enterprise Accounting/ERP Software title at the Accounting Excellence Awards and AccountingWEB Awards; we won the Fintech award at the Tech South West Awards; we’re ranked 18th in UK businesses in the FT1000 list of fastest-growing companies in Europe; and in education, we’ve been awarded MAT-Tech Company of the Year at the National MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) Awards.
What has been the biggest challenge or most ‘tricky moment’ to overcome?
The biggest challenge was launching a comprehensive, powerful accounting solution with no customers.
We will be forever indebted to the first 50 organisations that took the leap of faith and validated our technology, paving the way for iplicit to be able to truly disrupt the market and provide better technology for tens of thousands of organisations in the UK alone.
These innovators underpinned our proposition, providing us with credibility when other prospects were rightfully doubtful and seeking reassurance. Their case studies paved the way for us to skyrocket. Without a doubt, securing the first 50 was the biggest challenge.
What are your biggest achievements or ‘proudest moment’ so far?
Reaching 100 staff and still maintaining a small-company, passionate vibe, where every single employee has a clear vision of what we’re aiming to achieve and how we’re going to achieve it.
We’ve been able to cultivate this passion and focus almost entirely remotely, with 85% of the organisation working from home.
How would you describe the culture of your company?
Passionate, focused and disruptive. We are all united in our desire to change the landscape in mid-market accounting solutions. Tens of thousands of organisations have been left stranded, either by vendors who have failed to develop a cloud alternative or by several who offer a pathway to cloud that’s completely unaffordable for the majority of their base.
We love innovating and delivering the most advanced tech in our space and it’s a bonus that we also get to punch the incumbent vendors squarely on the nose, every time we rescue one of their clients.
Internally, the culture is about high levels of trust and empowerment. We train well, set clear goals, ensure that everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and then we get out of their way. We don’t measure inputs, we measure outputs.
The company runs on North Stars. These cascade down to departments and every single individual. All staff have a clear understanding of our Purpose, Vision and Mission, and how they can help achieve it.
What’s in store for the future?
We will continue to double in size, exceeding 40,000 users in 2024, while continuing to add software functionality to strengthen our proposition.
We are tripling down in the UK market to deepen our presence in every vertical that we serve.
We’re also transforming the market for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) offered by the Top 100 Accountants in practice.
The iplicit partner portal is set to revolutionise BPO services, providing accountants with a single sign-on to access hundreds of client systems with all the correct authorisations, privileges and security. Our proposition drives efficiency with existing BPO offerings while also creating new opportunities for services and billing.
We’re also heavily disrupting the multi-academy trust market, systematically replacing legacy technology with modern-day cloud, as we’re doing within many other verticals. However, a specific Education edition of the product has been tailored to the requirements of MATs within the UK education market. Of particular note, iplicit facilitates the addition of schools (as the MAT expands) within minutes, compared to several weeks using legacy technology.
Currently, users log into iplicit from 85 countries, though offices to date have been in UK and Ireland. A North American presence is being planned from early 2025.
Several exciting developments, with the use of AI, are scheduled. This will not only enhance the deployment and service experience but also the functionality within the software itself.
