Ageras, the Copenhagen-based software platform for small business administration, has acquired Dutch payroll software company Employes in its eighth acquisition to date. Founded in 2018, Employes provides do-it-yourself payroll tools tailored to the Dutch regulatory system and serves more than 6,000 businesses. The deal strengthens Ageras’ presence in the Netherlands and adds payroll capabilities to its existing suite, which includes accounting, banking, and invoicing tools. The acquisition follows Ageras’ 2024 purchase of French business banking app Shine and reflects the company’s continued strategy to consolidate core financial tools under one platform. Ageras, which reported €55.5 million in 2024 revenue, is backed by investors including Investcorp, Coller Capital, and Lazard, and is expected to pursue further acquisitions across Europe.
Ageras is a European software company that provides digital tools for small and medium-sized businesses to manage core administrative functions, including accounting, invoicing, payroll, and banking. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Copenhagen, the company operates a platform that integrates various financial and back-office services. Ageras serves more than 400,000 businesses across multiple European markets and has grown through a series of acquisitions aimed at consolidating fragmented fintech and business software offerings.
“Employes is a perfect match for Ageras as they too believe in putting business owners first, and building a product that radically simplifies their administration. The acquisition doesn’t just make our Dutch offering much stronger but also gives us a proven, scalable platform to do even more with payroll – ultimately changing the way small businesses pay their wages and take the pain out of payroll. No doubt, this is our most significant acquisition since Shine joined us last year,” says Rico Andersen, CEO and co-founder of Ageras, who earlier in 2025 completed the acquisition of Danish payment reconciliation software Storebuddy.
Founded in 2018 by Rob Kroezen and Marius van den Oever, Employes has reinvented payroll for modern businesses in the Netherlands. With intuitive software designed for entrepreneurs, the platform enables do-it-yourself payroll in the complex Dutch regulatory environment. Employes has in the last years experienced rapid, profitable growth. Currently, Employes serves over 6,000 companies and is recommended or used by more than 300 bookkeeping firms who run payroll for small businesses. As per Employes’ Dutch founders, the move by Ageras is welcomed as the Amsterdam- and Zwolle-based team is looking forward to join forces with the Danish-founded software company’s appx. 450 employees, a figure that doubled through 2024:
“We started Employes because we were frustrated with how difficult payroll management was for small business owners. Joining Ageras gives us the scale, reach, and resources to bring our product to even more entrepreneurs and we’re therefore very excited for what’s ahead,” says Rob Kroezen, co-founder of Employes, who will stay on the combined journey with Ageras.
Ageras has since its inception in 2012 grown into a pan-European software platform offering invoicing, accounting, banking and payroll features to more than +400,000 small businesses across Europe. Backed by strong investors like Investcorp, Coller Capital and Lazard, Ageras recently posted its 2024 annual results revealing an EBITDA of EUR 8.7 million, fueled by a 114% surge in revenue reaching EUR 55.5m – and according to its CEO, the journey has just begun as Ageras aims for more strategic acquisitions to fulfill its vision of owning the European market:
“Small businesses across Europe are increasingly looking for all-in-one platforms to run their businesses. Payroll is a crucial piece of that puzzle, however, it does not conclude our vision to empower businesses everywhere to spend less time on admin and more time on what matters. Therefore, we will still be scouting the market for the right opportunities to arise in Europe,” ends Rico Andersen.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/ageras-acquires-employes/
