The story of Accountflow

The story can be traced back to when the brothers, and co-founders, Sebastian and Daniel Jara were small. Their father was a serial entrepreneur and accountant, and as children older brother Sebastian and younger brother Daniel sat on their father's lap while he kept books. He worked long evenings with papers, pens and binders floating on his desk. The brothers later understood that it was reconciliation he was involved in. Without them even knowing, this memory would lead them from fixed income and stability to the greatest entrepreneurial journey of their lives.

An easy choice of study

For the brothers, the choice of study was simple; they were both going to follow in their father's footsteps and study economics. After his studies, Sebastian started as an ERP consultant at Xledger, and Daniel later got his first job in an accounting office in Drammen. Quite early in their working lives, the brothers realized that they wanted to start something together. They met regularly to discuss solutions to difficult problems, and how they could create something of great value. Sebastian had also been interested in computers and programming from a young age, and this hobby was always in the back of his mind as a possible resource for future projects. Already in 2012, many years before the company was started, the domain accountflow.net had been purchased and registered. 2012 was also the year when Sebastian started his second bachelor's degree at UiO. This time the study was computer science. At the same time, Daniel moved on to Amesto to work on their ERP venture.

The first spreadsheet

The transition from permanent job to student life could be felt on the wallet, and Sebastian therefore put his master's studies on hold in favor of a new job as a consultant at KPMG. However, this was a big step in the right direction. As a new employee, he took on the task of developing a spreadsheet that could automate large parts of the reconciliation work. With his solid programming skills, Sebastian was able to create a spreadsheet that instantly became a huge success internally at KPMG. It was diligently used by the employees, and he received purchase requests from both accountants and auditors. The demand and willingness to pay was immediately visible, and the Accountflow spark was so lit. The brothers had received a clue and continued working towards realizing the idea.

The demand was a fact

In Amesto, Daniel worked on the implementation of a major ERP initiative. Together with the soon to be Accountflow's third co-founder, Robert Bansal, he developed integrations between financial systems. The result of their collaboration was a cut in three years worth of working, and Robert suggested offering the newly developed digitization work as a service to other companies. However, Daniel had a better plan, and after a quick pitch about Accountflow, he brought Robert on board as a third party in the company.
The trio then stepped up to the largest accounting and auditing agencies in Norway to present the company's vision. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and once again it was proven that there was both demand and willingness to pay for what they were going to develop.

The project received additional capital when Ronny Bergstrøm bought in as owner in 2018. The last piece of the puzzle was in place, and the Accountflow investment could finally begin in full.

Accountflow setter fart

Accountflow is one of the few participants who gets accepted in to Startuplabs accelerator program in 2019. After an intensive 3-month program, they secured both very useful advice and an absolutely necessary investment. However, Startuplab required the brothers to quit their full-time jobs, and in the same year both Sebastian and Daniel went 100% into Accountflow.

Believe in good ideas

2020 was the year Accountflow went to market with a product they could finally be proud of. Since then, the company, through its solution for cloud-based reconciliation, has simplified the everyday life for hundreds of accountants and auditors around the country. Accountflow currently collaborates with some of Norway's most forward-thinking accounting offices and has recently entered into a partnership with BDO for international expansion.

The world is at our feet, and together we will simplify the lives of all accountants. We call it the accounting of the future
- Daniel Jara