Layerfi

Layer Financial Technologies, operating as Layerfi, was established in 2023 by co-founders Justin Meretab and Daniel O'Neel in San Francisco, CA. Meretab, the CEO, previously served as a product leader at Square, while O'Neel, the CTO, was an engineering leader at Wealthfront, bringing together experience in financial products and data engineering. The company was founded to address the challenge small businesses face in managing their finances across disconnected software systems.

Layerfi provides an embedded accounting platform specifically for the modern small and medium-sized business (SMB) software stack. The firm's primary clients are other software platforms that serve SMBs, such as point-of-sale systems, neo-banks, and industry-specific tools. By integrating Layerfi's technology, these platforms can offer accounting and AI-powered bookkeeping services directly within their own products. The business model is centered on providing an API and pre-built UI components that allow software companies to embed a full suite of accounting functionalities, from automated bookkeeping and transaction categorization to generating tax-ready financial reports. This eliminates the need for end-users—the SMBs—to juggle separate accounting software.

The core of Layerfi's offering is an API that enables the seamless transfer of financial data into its accounting software, which can then be displayed within the partner platform's interface. A key feature is the AI-powered bookkeeping service, which automates the categorization and recording of business transactions, delivering reconciled financial reports monthly. This service aims to reduce bookkeeping costs by half and close books three times faster than traditional methods. Layerfi's solution supports over 30,000 SMBs through its platform customers, which include companies like Moxie, Nav, and Dripos. The company has secured nearly $9 million in funding, including a $6.6 million seed round led by Emergence Capital, to expand its software and scale its AI bookkeeping services.

Keywords: embedded accounting, SMB software, financial technology, API-based accounting, AI bookkeeping, Justin Meretab, Daniel O'Neel, embedded finance, accounting automation, bookkeeping services, venture capital, Emergence Capital, Better Tomorrow Ventures, financial reporting API, SMB financial management, fintech startup, SaaS for SMBs, white-label accounting, integrated financial services, accounting-as-a-service