FastBill

FastBill is a German-based financial technology company that provides cloud-accounting and invoicing software tailored for freelancers, the self-employed, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company was founded in 2011 by René Maudrich and Christian Häfner in Frankfurt, Germany. Both founders brought relevant experience to the venture; Maudrich, with a background in media technology and experience as a freelance software developer, and Häfner, a serial entrepreneur who previously worked in IT project management at Otto Group. They bootstrapped the company for its initial years, focusing on organic growth before securing a seven-figure Series A funding round in May 2017 from investors including Coparion and FinLab AG.

The company's core business revolves around a subscription-based model, offering various pricing plans to accommodate businesses of different sizes. FastBill's platform is designed to streamline and automate financial management, allowing users to handle their accounting processes with greater efficiency. Key features of the software include the creation of professional invoices and estimates, automated recurring invoicing, receipt capture and archiving, and real-time financial overviews. The service also offers expense tracking, an automated dunning process for overdue payments, and integration with bank accounts for payment reconciliation. To facilitate collaboration with tax professionals, the platform allows for easy data export and can grant direct access to accountants. The software is accessible via the cloud, ensuring users can manage their finances from any location, and is complemented by a mobile application for on-the-go tasks like document scanning.

A significant milestone in FastBill's history occurred in October 2021, when it was acquired by the Canadian cloud accounting software provider, FreshBooks. This acquisition was a strategic move for FreshBooks to accelerate its expansion into the German and broader European markets. Following the acquisition, FastBill's team of approximately 30 employees joined FreshBooks. René Maudrich continued to lead the German operations, assuming the role of Managing Director for FreshBooks Germany in addition to remaining CEO of FastBill. The acquisition provided FastBill with additional resources to scale its offerings while allowing FreshBooks to leverage FastBill's established client base and expertise in European tax policies.

Keywords: financial management, cloud accounting, invoicing software, small business bookkeeping, freelance accounting, expense tracking, automated invoicing, receipt management, financial reporting, payment reconciliation, SaaS, FinTech, René Maudrich, Christian Häfner, FreshBooks, German startups, DATEV export, tax preparation, accounts payable, accounts receivable