Ordway raised $2.5 million to help growing companies automate billing

Ordway is looking to make billing customers easier for companies as they grow. The D.C. startup makes a platform that can help small and medium–sized businesses automate the process of getting paid, as well as complete finance functions, said CEO Sameer Gulati.

The company announced this week that it recently closed on its $2.5 million in funding, which is its first investment round. The round included participation from New York–based VC Lerer Hippeau, Founder Collective, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund and D.C–based Middleland Capital.

“The world of enterprise software, especially when it comes to billing, needs a more robust software platform that can grow with the company,” said Gulati, who has worked in product leadership roles at companies such as Intacct, Workday, Zuora.

Along with automating invoicing, the platform can also handle more complex billing and collection arrangements that may be unique to individual customers a company brings on as it grows.

“Our software can adapt to different scenarios and different industries,” Gulati said.

Many companies use tools like Excel spreadsheets, and information is scattered between systems that hold specific types of information that are needed throughout the process. The platform puts the info in a central place.

For growing companies, Gulati said a selling point is that it can free up limited staff to work on tasks outside of billing.

Tech companies are among the early customers, which include real estate marketing service ListReports, medical communication platform Klara and Bethesda, Md.–based restaurant deal startup Spotluck. While the platform was in beta, customers have been paying from the start, Gulati said.

“SMBs are increasingly leaning on products and services that automate processes so stakeholders can focus on other areas of their growing businesses,” Lerer Hippeau wrote in a Medium post on the investment. “SaaS companies such as Ordway will be increasingly important as companies hit that middle pain point and realize they need to find a new vendor to sustain their growth.”

With the funding, the WeWork Dupont Circle–based company is formally launching. Going forward, Gulati said its looking to add to a team 10 people, and will look to hire in technical roles as well as sales and marketing.