Philippines’ Beppo raises pre-seed funding, buys tax compliance peer JuanTax

Beppo CEO (second from left) Jenny Galang with Wavemaker Partners co-founder Paul Santos (third from left) and Thrive Global CFO Katherine Castro / Photo credit: Jenny Galang’s LinkedIn

As the passing rate of the accountancy licensure exam in the Philippines remains below 25%, the dearth of accountants in the country is a perennial problem across industries.

Local fintech startup Beppo aims to fill that gap. It automates accounting and tax compliance of SMEs through its optical character recognition (OCR) software, which captures data from receipts and other printed documents. The company says it helps businesses categorize transactions, and reduce bookkeeping errors.

That pitch has helped Beppo raise an undisclosed sum in a pre-seed fundraising round led by Wavemaker Partners and other angel investors. The fresh funds enabled Beppo to snap up JuanTax, a similar platform based in the Philippines, and five bookkeeping firms.

“With the acquisition of JuanTax and seasoned partner firms, we’re set to redefine the bookkeeping and tax compliance experience for businesses and the self-employed,” Beppo CEO Jenny Galang said.

The deal also gives Beppo accreditation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which JuanTax secured in 2019. JuanTax was the first accounting platform to earn BIR accreditation in the country.

The new funding will also help Beppo expand in the Philippines through partnerships with other similar service providers. The startup also aims to break into the international market in the next two to three years.

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