Welcome to our weekly round-up of the latest news and updates from across the accounting tech world.
This week, Tech Lowdown features a partnership between tax relief specialists Catax and the Funding Options platform, Hokodo's expansion plans and the new improvements to Pandle Mobile.
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Catax and Funding Options partner up to expand lending offerings
Tax relief expert Catax has partnered with the business finance marketplace Funding Options to offer new tax relief services to businesses.
The partnership with Funding Options will enable Catax to help their clients compare multiple business lenders and lending solutions, including invoice and asset finance, business loans and commercial mortgages.
The partnership will expand Catax’s service offering, which also includes assistance with R&D tax credit claims, capital allowances and patent box tax relief on intellectual property
Paul Johnson, chief development officer at Catax, said the move was made with a view to make Catax a 'one-stop-shop' for growth, advising on everything from funding expansion through to innovating efficiently and profitably.
The partnership comes after the announcement of the expansion of Catax to Canada with a new office in Vancouver, as well as the £5m grant from Pool D of the Capability and Innovation Fund awarded to Funding Options.
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Insurance startup Hokodo receives €2m grant
UK financial services startup Hokodo has received a €2m grant from the European programme for innovation and research Horizon 2020.
Hokodo distributes invoice insurance via accounting and invoicing tools to protect SMEs from unpaid invoices. The company has also developed an assessment tool that rates the financial health of an SME’s suppliers and clients.
The grant will allow Hokodo to start offering its invoice insurance and credit scoring algorithm in France and Germany, as well as to develop two new credit products for the SME market.
The firm, set up in October last year, has already partnered with other financial entities such as the challenger bank CountingUp and the blockchain-based platform Centrifuge.
“Receiving the grant from Horizon 2020 is a huge boost for the business. Not only does it enable us to offer invoice insurance across Europe sooner than we would have otherwise, but we estimate we’ll be able to protect over €200m worth of B2B trade over the next two years,” said Louis Carbonnier, co-CEO and co-founder of Hokodo.
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Pandle Mobile introduces dashboards and biometric login
Accounting software Pandle is simplifying the sign-in process for its mobile app’s users with new biometric login options, using the fingertip sensor on Android phones, or Face ID on Apple devices.
Selecting a biometric login method will replace any previous PIN code logins that might already be set up and users will be prompted for the chosen method each time the app is reopened.
As part of the recent updates of its mobile app, the company has also announced the addition of a new dashboard to Pandle Mobile to match the offering of their web app.
