Certify is continuing its spending spree with the acquisition of Spain-based expense management specialist Captio.
U.S-based Certify was acquired by K1 Investment Management just over a year ago and merged with Nexonia and ExpenseWatch and Tallie in a deal worth more than $125 million.
At the time, the combined entity said it was looking to take on Concur and there was money on the table for further acquisitions.
Certify president and chief executive Bob Neveu doesn’t believe the one-size-fits-all strategy is best for everyone, with some customers looking for expense management solutions specific to their industry or that fits in with their existing accounting software.
“What we hear is that customers are not getting the software they need or there is overkill with way too much functionality."
He sees plenty of opportunity for further growth in different geographies and/or expense management specialists that appeal to a different customer size.
He adds that the Captio acquisition, Certify’s first outside the U.S., makes sense because the company already works with about 250 customers across Europe with further growth in the region on the cards.
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Neveu says that while the top 1,000 global companies mostly use an expense management system, about 50% of the companies with 1,000 employees or less are using Excel or manual processes for expenses. He adds that in Europe, the figure is even lower.
Back in July this year, Certify acquired U.S-based expense reporting technology specialist Abacus.
Neveu says that acquisition targets must have great technology and people, preferably willing to stay on and grow the business.
Further acquisitions are on the cards as the company looks to grow both organically and by buying others.
“There are opportunities to expand our product offering. There is the ability to buy a piece of technology, other platforms or revenue acquisitions.”
Certify will continue its multi-brand strategy.