Latest news with #iplicit
Press and Journal
22-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen duo turn redundancy shock into thriving tech business
Exactly 10 years ago Aberdeen IT workers Kevin Wyness and Mike Charles turned up to the office only to discover their security passes no longer worked and they'd been locked out of their building. Deemed 'at risk of redundancy', their lives were put on hold and they spent a month meeting up around the city for coffee and scones – and coming up with a Plan B. 'It was surreal,' says Kevin, 'One moment we were running projects, the next we couldn't even get through the front door. We hadn't even been told, we were just locked out.' During their meetups the pair plotted their comeback. 'We joked at first – we were basically just moaning about how unfair it was,' Kevin recalls. When confirmation came they were to be made redundant, Escone Solutions was born – named in honour of those early 'scone and coffee' planning sessions. Fast forward a decade, and Escone Solutions now employs 17 people and supports major clients across the UK and Ireland. The company provides specialist business application support, focusing on financial systems like OpenAccounts and eBIS, through its flagship service Escone Assist. Their clients include ScotRail, DFS, West Midlands Trains, and other national operators. But Kevin admits the first few months were brutal. 'We were working from back rooms of cafés, chasing leads, scraping together any work we could,' he says. 'By December, we had £29 left in the bank. 'Mike was working nights at Tesco, and I was putting up fences with my brother-in-law. We were literally about to give up.' But then, an email changed everything. A former colleague offered them a modest contract worth £350 a day between them. 'We dropped everything and took it,' Kevin says. 'It was the turning point and we did a really good job. 'Then, through word-of-mouth, we got some pretty decent contracts and the business just grew.' Escone Solutions has built a reputation not just for its technical expertise, but for its people-first approach. 'What myself and Mike had said was we would never treat anyone the way we had been treated during our redundancy,' says Kevin. 'We have empathy for people.' The company blends experienced business analysts with a pipeline of young talent, as an apprenticeship training provider. 'It's quite a young team,' says Kevin. 'We've got 50% graduates and 50% young people who we take on and give an apprenticeship. 'We make sure they follow the apprenticeship, that we get them through as well as learning how to work our way. 'We are really passionate about developing people as well as developing our business.' One of their early apprentices, Alice Cassie, now holds a senior leadership role as head of consultancy. Escone has also recently partnered with iplicit, a next-generation financial management system, as part of a strategy to future-proof the business and extend their reach into new markets. Despite Escone's success, the founding values remain the same: work hard, treat people fairly, and never forget where you started. 'The way we were let go – we said we'd never treat anyone like that,' Kevin reflects. 'We've had no salaries at times, we've worked through every setback. But we stuck with it. And now, we've built something we're really proud of.'
Finextra
14-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Iplicit partners GoCardless for in-app direct debit functionality
Cloud accounting fintech has announced a new update to its product, in partnership with bank payment provider GoCardless. iplicit, which is purpose-built for the UK and Ireland's mid-market, will bring GoCardless' Direct Debit capabilities to customers using its cloud accounting platform. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. The arrival of GoCardless' Direct Debit features follows the successful roll-out of its open banking-powered Instant Bank Pay to iplicit customers in the first quarter of 2025. Organisations using iplicit will now benefit from a simple in-app interface for managing and automating their Direct Debit payments, powered by GoCardless, with features such as: • Automatic scheduling for one-off or recurring payments on invoice due dates, minimising late payments • Automated payment collection and reconciliation, reducing time-consuming financial admin thanks to connections with over 350 GoCardless partners • User-friendly payment set up, allowing for easy and secure collection of payment details online via customisable payment page or payment link • Payment tracking and visibility, allowing collection at first time of asking and using payment intelligence to retry failed payments at optimal times Direct Debit payments are pull based, meaning that iplicit users, as merchants, initiate the payment once given a mandate by their customer. Direct Debit payments are also bank-to-bank, with no card networks - and the associated high fees - involved. By adding GoCardless' Direct Debit capabilities to Instant Bank Pay, iplicit can now offer busy businesses one place to manage recurring and one-off payments, helping them streamline their operations to save time and money. iplicit announced the extension of its partnership with GoCardless at Accountex in London's ExCel. Having collected its own payments via GoCardless since 2019, the award-winning accounting software provider is confident that the partnership will answer the Direct Debit needs of its midmarket customer base. This includes customers across a variety of verticals, such as non-profit, recruitment, education, fintech, SaaS, and multi-academy trusts. Paul Sparkes, Chief Product Officer at iplicit adds: 'At iplicit, we prioritise listening to the needs of our midmarket customers to continually refine our product and identify ways of improving their day-to-day financial admin and cashflow.' 'Our ongoing partnership with GoCardless, a leader in the payments space, allows us to offer exactly what these customers need, which is a straightforward, seamless, and reliable solution for automating and collecting Direct Debit payments. This eliminates the inefficiencies and errors common with manual payment collection and chasing of failed or missed payments. Merchants using iplicit can now enjoy reliable cashflow and added confidence when managing their recurring payments.' Born in the cloud, iplicit's state-of-the-art platform is specifically tailored for businesses that have outgrown basic entry-level systems or grown frustrated with legacy on-premises vendors. It delivers the advanced functionality and performance of upmarket systems at a fraction of the cost and complexity. Tom Metcalfe, Director, UK&I Partnerships at GoCardless, said: 'We're excited to follow our successful introduction of Instant Bank Pay with this Direct Debit integration. iplicit customers now have an all-in-one solution for recurring and one-off payments, directly within a platform they know and trust. This will help them get paid on time, save time and money, and win and retain more customers.'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
iplicit garners $31m from One Peak
UK-based cloud accounting software provider iplicit has secured £25m ($31m) from growth equity firm One Peak. This is the software company's first external institutional funding round. One Peak's contribution will play a key role in expediting iplicit's product development and propelling its continued expansion efforts. iplicit CEO Lyndon Stickley said: 'This investment marks a pivotal milestone in iplicit's remarkable journey. Since our launch in 2019, we've achieved triple-digit revenue growth annually for six consecutive years. 'This new funding will enable us to sustain our momentum, continue delivering an exceptional experience for our customers, and solidify our position as the leading cloud accounting solution for the UK mid-market.' He added: 'The One Peak team is the latest addition to our all-star line-up of investors and advisors. We anticipate 2025 to be another breakthrough year as we expand our marketing efforts and partner network, recruiting top Sage and Advanced resellers and many of the UK's Top 50 accounting practices.' iplicit noted that its cloud-based platform offers advanced features, ensuring a smooth setup and migration process for clients looking to future-proof their financial operations. This is achieved at a 'fraction of the cost' and complexity of high-end systems, making it easy for businesses to scale, further claimed the company. One Peak co-founder and managing partner Humbert de Liederkerke Beaufort said: 'iplicit's award-winning, intelligent, powerful, and intuitive cloud accounting software, along with best-in-class customer support, makes it a standout leader in its category. 'This investment underscores our belief in iplicit's ability to continue disrupting the market by delivering transformative value to customers who are looking to move away from legacy on-premises vendors or have outgrown the limited functionality provided by entry-level accounting software solutions.' In July 2024, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) selected iplicit to run its finances. "iplicit garners $31m from One Peak" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
