Plate IQ

Founded in 2014 by Bhavuk Kaul and Ram Jayaraman, Plate IQ, which has rebranded to Ottimate, provides accounts payable (AP) automation software. The company originated from the founders' realization of the significant invoice processing challenges within the restaurant industry. Kaul, with a background in technology and product development from companies like BlackBerry and IDT Telecom, assumed the CEO role, while Jayaraman, with extensive experience in engineering and product development, became the CTO. The company graduated from the Y Combinator accelerator in the summer of 2015.

Plate IQ operates as a B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, generating revenue through subscriptions to its platform. Initially focused on the complex AP needs of the restaurant and hospitality sectors, the company has since expanded to serve a broader range of industries, including hotels, resorts, country clubs, grocery stores, and accounting firms. The platform is designed for businesses with high invoice volumes, helping them to digitize and streamline their financial operations. In November 2021, the company secured $160 million in Series B funding from FTV Capital to accelerate its expansion and product development.

The core of the business is a cloud-based platform that uses machine learning to automate the entire accounts payable lifecycle. Key features include automated invoice data capture, which digitizes invoices down to the line-item level with high accuracy, eliminating manual data entry. The system automatically codes invoices to the correct general ledger (GL) accounts and syncs this data with various accounting systems. It offers customizable approval workflows, allowing businesses to route invoices for approval based on specific rules. The platform also includes a bill payment feature called VendorPay, enabling users to pay vendors via ACH, check, or virtual card directly from the system, and even earn cash back on certain digital payments. Additional functionalities include spend management, inventory tracking, real-time food costing, and analytics that provide insights into spending patterns.

Keywords: Plate IQ, Ottimate, AP automation, accounts payable software, invoice processing, financial technology, restaurant tech, hospitality finance, B2B payments, invoice management, spend management, bill payment, accounting automation, GL coding, workflow automation, data capture, machine learning, SaaS, Bhavuk Kaul, Ram Jayaraman, FTV Capital, Y Combinator, VendorPay, digital payments, back-office automation