The race to be the go-to iPad POS continues to heat up with NYC-based ShopKeep announcing today that it has closed $10 million in Series B funding led by Canaan Partners, Tribeca Ventures Partners, and TTV Capital, a returning investor from the company’s Series A funding of $2.2 million earlier in the year. With the additional funding, the company will continue to build out its application and integrate with new partners to be an all-in-one solution for SMBs looking for a way to accept and manage transactions on their tablet.
“We’re excited to get this money in so we can spend it on engineering talent to build what is already a great product into an amazing product for retailers, from tiny small guys to larger chains, and we’re already starting to do that and see it work,” said ShopKeep co-founder Jason Richelson in an interview with BetaKit.
BetaKit covered the startup when it recently added an employee time tracking feature to help SMB owners with their payroll, and earlier when it launched its iPhone app to help them keep track of their sales data in real-time. With an increasing focus on providing additional features geared towards the restaurant and bar industry, it also added the ability for kitchens to print out orders, and has a new app update coming shortly which will allow retailers to enter in the weight of produce, which is targeted to smaller grocery stores.
“What we’re trying to do is help retailers make more money, or save more money, or better manage their store, better manage their employees. We’re helping them make smarter business decisions, that’s what we do,” Richelson added. “POS traditionally has been pay up front and then the guy goes away and you’re left on the hook to figure it out yourself. With ShopKeep you pay a little bit every month but we help you while we’re holding your hand.”
The startup’s POS system is already being used by more than 3,000 SMB retailers across North America and has seen its customer base grow eightfold since the beginning of 2012. It had earlier stated that it will be working with mobile payments company LevelUp, which also announced a partnership with First Trade Union Bank today, and bank-linked payments company Dwolla, which recently added a guest checkout feature, to stay ahead of the curve as the mobile payments trend gains steam. Partnerships and integrations is something that will help the company continue to gain traction with the SMB market, where it has plenty of competition from companies including Vend, Square Register, and Revel which introduced its ‘Revel Router’ earlier in the year to help SMBs route their existing POS systems to an iPad.
As the space continues to become crowded and mobile payments take off, ShopKeep will have to continue adding functionality specific to each industry to drive adoption and continue to form strategic partnerships for a wider array of mobile payment solutions. With the funding secured and an eye towards adding key talent to continue building out its product, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top as the iPad POS market continues to evolve and gain adoption among retailers both small and large.
