Software giant Reckon takes 30% stake in Sydney start-up

Australian software specialist Reckon has taken a 30% stake in Sydney start-up Connect2Field for $660,000, with Connect2Field describing Reckon as an ideal partner for its future ambitions.

Founded in 2009, Connect2Field is a field service software for service businesses. Hosted in a cloud based application, it allows business owners to dispatch work to their staff via their mobile phones.

It therefore eliminates the need for job sheets, offering a complete electronic system including inventory management, invoicing and quoting.

“Connect2Field evolved out of the time when I was running a business that helped small businesses manage their computer networks,” founder Steve Orenstein told StartupSmart.

“From the start, it was designed to assist in helping service businesses schedule their staff and dispatch job information to their field staff.”

“The whole idea is to improve their customer service, simplify their communication and organise their back office.”

“We’re aiming for ma-and-pa blue-collar companies here – think maintenance companies, electricians, plumbers, trash removal, repair companies, etc.”

It’s been revealed software specialist Reckon has made a strategic minority investment in Connect2Field, acquiring a 30% stake for $660,000.

This will provide Reckon’s customers with an application for field staff management, and pave its way into the customer relationship management space.

“Many of our small- to medium-sized customers that have field workers may find this a useful complement to their current setup,” Reckon chief executive Clive Rabie said in a statement.

The Connect2Field board has been looking for a large equity investor to accelerate growth and eventually enter the international market.

According to Orenstein, field service businesses are ideal candidates for cloud-based software, and Reckon is an ideal partner for Connect2Field’s future ambitions.

“[The] investment isn’t going to be used for the general running of the company – we’re already cashflow positive and can fund product development… It will be used for growth,” he said.

“We aren’t planning on just burning through a bunch of capital – we have a strategy on how we plan to execute our growth throughout Europe and the US.”

“We currently have customers from all over the world and our product is improving on a weekly basis.”

“Keeping up with the speed at which the company is growing [has been the greatest challenge to date] because we are able to service so many customers worldwide.”

While integration with Reckon products is expected, Connect2Field will remain an independent vendor, and the product will continue to be agnostic to any accounting systems it may connect to.

This article first appeared on StartupSmart.