KPMG partners with Commonwealth Bank and Microsoft to launch business management software Wiise

KPMG Australia, the Commonwealth Bank, and Microsoft have partnered to launch Wiise, a platform providing cloud-based business management software aimed at the small to medium enterprise (SME) market.

With the entity to be based out of fintech hub Stone and Chalk in Sydney, Wiise’s integrated platform will allow businesses to manage their finances, from their accounting, to payroll, and banking, and their operations, from HR to inventory and manufacturing.

With this in mind, Wiise is aimed at the SMEs that have “more complex needs”, citing a recent poll it conducted of over 300 SMEs that found 78 percent view their business and operations as having either medium or high complexity; its website is inviting businesses to “graduate from accounting software to a complete system”.

James Hunter, national managing partner, markets and growth at KPMG Australia, said the idea for the platform came through the organisation’s acquisition of Hands-On Systems, a Microsoft systems implementer.

“It opened our eyes to a gap in the market between existing cloud accounting software providers to SMEs and enterprise-scale ERP solutions. By collaborating with market leaders, CBA and Microsoft, we have been able to develop a single platform at an affordable price to unite SMEs’ accounting, financial and business needs,” he said.

Microsoft Australia managing director, Steven Worrall added that Wiise has brought together the strengths and expertise of CBA in banking, KPMG in business advisory, and Microsoft in technology to “help tackle the mounting complexity that businesses face with a business management solution that can scale and grow as they do”.

“As businesses mature, they experience the inevitable ‘growing pains’ and complexity that come with growth. The technology solutions that served them well when they first started out are no longer fit for purpose and they just want a solution that makes their business simpler to run and faster to grow but without the complexity of deploying large, expensive ERP solutions,” he said.

Tech solutions that served them well when they first started out could include the likes of cloud accounting software Xero which, though it has been expanding its features and integrations, is focused on accounting for the SMB market.

The company, which in February completed its shift from the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) to a sole listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX, welcomed its new CEO Steve Vamos last month.

It had announced it is earnings positive last November; the company had a positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) of $5.4 million. With 2,000 employees across 17 offices, Xero stated it now has 1.2 million subscribers.

Wiise will launch at the end of July.

Image: the Wiise team. Source: Supplied.