iplicit named one of UK’s 20 fastest-growing companies in FT1000 list

Rapid growth at iplicit 

iplicit launched into the market in 2019 on a mission to liberate medium-sized organisations that were being tied to outdated on-premise accounting software. 

It recorded a compound annual growth rate of 155.2% and an absolute growth rate of 1,561.5% between 2019 and 2022. 

iplicit was founded by a team that had decades of experience in implementing enterprise focused ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems.  

Employee headcount grew from nine to 37 in the same period and has since topped 100, having continued its rapid growth through 2023 and into the current period. iplicit is set for continued exponential growth throughout 2024 and 2025, and is scaling up its partnerships with accountancy practices and IT resellers.  

The company launched an education product for the multi-academy trust (MAT) market in 2023 and was named MAT-Tech Company of the Year at the National MAT Awards just a year later.

‘Writing is on the wall’ for legacy software vendors 

CEO Lyndon Stickley comments: “After five consecutive years of triple-digit growth in both annual recurring revenue and user numbers, along with a string of award wins, iplicit is going from strength to strength. 

“We launched the business to fill a huge gap in the market that was created as a result of the incumbent providers of on-premise accounting software no longer keeping pace with the innovations required to fulfil the needs of tens of thousands of mid-market organisations.  

“The writing is on the wall for these providers. This is a generational change that has been seen so many times before – where dominant, incumbent vendors are unable to adapt their business models as a result of lucrative income streams still being generated from the old way of doing things.   

“Blockbuster couldn’t conceive forfeiting late fees, Kodak felt unable to move away from film. The same is happening in the accounting software market globally. On-premise vendors still derive billions of dollars from legacy customer bases, which discourages true innovation and results in users either having no pathway to a true cloud solution or, at best, offerings that are far too disruptive and too expensive for them to justify. 

“Our first users went live in 2019 as we set out to first disrupt the UK market. Now, with more than 22,000 users on our platform on a daily basis, we’ve turned theory into reality – and we’re only just getting started.” 

Why organisations are changing finance systems 

Organisations typically move away from on-premise accounting software for three reasons: 

1. A need for the finance software to integrate with other cloud systems across the organisation – to enable one version of the truth and a move away from siloed information. 
2. The need to facilitate remote and hybrid working
3. A requirement for modern-day functionality, such as enhanced reporting and real-time management information that is not offered by legacy, on-premise systems. 
   
   

“There are still many organisations that are being held ‘hostage’ to an on-premise finance system and don’t know which way to turn,” Lyndon Stickley added. 

“They can’t move to entry-level cloud systems as they don’t provide the functionality required, while the enterprise cloud offerings involve excessive disruption, and cost, to implement and are also punitively priced when it comes to annual charges. 

“iplicit offers easier implementation and a compelling price point for organisations with 30-500 staff. 

“We expect to continue doubling year-on-year with our daily user base on track to exceed 40,000 by December this year.” 

iplicit has been named Best Enterprise Accounting/ERP Software at the Accounting Excellence Awards and AccountingWEB Awards and won the Fintech prize at the Tech South West Awards in autumn 2023.

Find out more 

To find out more about iplicit, take a quick tour of the software or book a demonstration of our award-winning cloud accounting software.

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