A number of small business owners, say someone with a roadside shop with not more than 5 or 6 employees, do not possess the know-how of technology for bookkeeping. Using technology can be quite beneficial, though, ranging from compliance, and better cash flow management to more educated business decision-making.
Even as the likes of KhataBook are solving problems for micro, small and medium businesses, Mumbai-based OnlineKhata focuses on underserved small businesses and makes it easier for them to manage bills and invoices.
The objective is to do away with the manual labor of putting all bills and invoices in software and generate reports like profit and laws, balance sheets and work. OnlineKhata essentially automates entries and report generation.
“This saves nearly 80% of business compliance costs,” co-founder Krishnakant Mane told Entrackr.
Mane highlighted that most such small business owners do not really need to understand the complexities of accounting. “This is why sometimes our sales executives get confused too, the moment someone says, ‘we don’t know accounting’, just tell them you’re at the right place’,” Mane added jokingly.
He also acknowledged that the platform is similar to QuickBooks, but there is a caveat. The fundamental difference between OnlineKhata and QuickBooks is that the former’s report is more in line with what auditors prefer, he explained. It’s worth noting QuickBooks shut shop in India earlier this year.
OnlineKhata started in June 2020, right when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted our lives. The company, however, managed to bag 500 users in the early months of its launch. At the moment, this has grown to 2,500. Mane added that the company is projecting to increase this number to 25,000 by the end of this calendar year.
To date, the company has raised Rs 1.5 crore in funding. It also plans to raise more funds to further evolve and expand its offerings, Mane further said. One of the marquee features that is going to roll out soon is the ability to voice-based invoicing systems, inspired by the Paytm soundboxes. The company also plans to make the service more end-to-end. For instance, it will partner with chartered accountants to help small businesses in the country.
OnlineKhata is looking to tap into India’s vast small business market, which offers a big window of opportunity. With more than 63 million small businesses in India, account automation SaaS players can really make a big impact. Already, companies like Tally Solutions, Zoho Books, ClearTax, and ProfitBooks are trying to address this gap to a large extent.
