Company type | Public |
---|---|
Traded as | Nasdaq: BL Russell 2000 component S&P 600 component |
Industry | Software |
Founded | 2001; 23 years ago (2001) |
Founder | Therese Tucker |
Headquarters | Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California |
Key people |
|
Products | Financial software |
Revenue | $523 million (2022) |
Number of employees | 1,055 (2019) |
Website | www |
BlackLine Systems, Inc., is an American enterprise software company that develops cloud-based services designed to automate and control the entire financial close process. The Los Angeles–based company has 17 offices worldwide.
History
BlackLine was founded in 2001 by Therese Tucker, a former CTO at SunGard Treasury Systems. The initial goal was to help customers replace their use of Excel with a suite of accounting software.
The company functioned with no outside funding until 2013 when the private equity firm, Silver Lake Partners invested more than $200 million in the company.
Blackline reached an agreement to form a strategic alliance with the financial consulting firm McGladrey, in 2015. As part of the alliance, the companies began offering a business process as a service (BPaaS) platform.
The company's IPO was October 28, 2016; they're listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol BL.
Runbook acquisition
In September 2016, the company acquired its European competitor, Runbook for $34 million.
Runbook marketed a dashboard software application program for SAP; before it was acquired by Blackline.
The software's "automation of recurring financial processes" adds "visibility and transparency" and strengthens "internal controls and compliance documentation" of data maintained by SAP.
SAP agreement
In 2018 Blackline reached an agreement with SAP for the latter "to resell BlackLine's .. cloud-based finance and accounting solutions" as part of "SAP Solution Extensions."
Rimilia acquisition
In October 2020, the company acquired UK-based accounts receivable automation company Rimilia for $150 million.
Rimilia's cloud-based SaaS platform "uses AI to accurately apply payments to customer's invoices with any ERP system".
Operations
Blackline provides software for more than 4,000 companies including Costco, Netflix, Coca-Cola, JetBlue Airways, Google, Kraft Heinz, Under Armour, Sirius XM Holdings. The company creates enhanced financial controls, in contrast to basic general ledger applications. BlackLine's software manages financial data, reconciles balances from sub-systems, ensures accurate and complete closings, and monitors regulatory controls through a system known as continuous auditing. The company's software is cloud-based, primarily running on the Google Cloud Platform, and meets ISO 27001 standards.
See also
References
- "BlackLine Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results". GlobeNewswire. February 14, 2023.
- "Blackline". May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- "Reuters.com Updated BlackLine Definition". Reteurs.
- Emily Chasen (May 20, 2014). "Silver Lake's BlackLine Systems Expects IPO in 18-20 Months". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- Heather Clancy (December 3, 2014). "Could This Cloud Financial Software Reduce Dependence on Spreadsheets". Fortune Magazine. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- "Blackline".
- Hilary Burns (August 28, 2014). "How Hiring Impatient-Even Crazy-Employees Helped This Business Gain 900 Clients". BizJournals.com. Biz Women. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Benjamin Kuo (July 23, 2009). "Interview Therese Tucker, BlackLine Systems". Socal Tech. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ^ I-Chun Chen (October 3, 2016). "BlackLine Files for An IPO to Raise Up to $100 Million". L.A. Biz. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ^ William Alden (August 15, 2013). "Silver Lake Unit Invests in Maker of Accounting Software". The New York Times.
BlackLine makes a suite of accounting software that ...
- Maxwell Murphey (August 15, 2016). "Silver Lake Cash to Help BlackLine Hire, Grow: CFO". The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Danielle Lee (September 3, 2015). "McGladrey, BlackLine Form Strategic Alliance". Accounting Today. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Filed September 30, 2016"Accounting Software Maker BlackLine Files For IPO". Fortune. September 30, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Brian Deagon (October 25, 2016). "ZTO Express, BlackLine Headline Busy Week In IPOs". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Mark Madler (September 2, 2016). "Acquisition Expands BlackLine's Offerings". San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- Steve Brooks (September 2, 2016). "Has BlackLine run closer to SAP?". Enterprise Times.
- "Runbook Company International". Informationweek.
- "Blackline Announces Reseller Agreement with SAP". Computerworld. November 2, 2018.
- "BlackLine Acquires Rimilia to Add AI-Powered Accounts Receivable Automation To Modern Accounting Platform". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- "Rimilia | Rimilia Achieves Certification with S/4HANA® combined with SAP PI". RealWire. 2020-08-17. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
- Brian Sommer (February 20, 2015). "BlackLine:The Big, Understated Force in Cloud Financial Software". ZD Net. Retrieved November 17, 2016.