Intuit buys Invitco to help bookkeepers put bill processing in the cloud

Small-business accounting-software maker Intuit says it has bought the Sydney, Australia-based startup Invitco, whose technology eases the burden of accountants by receiving and reading supplier bills in the cloud.

Invitco’s patent-pending technology accepts PDF bills from suppliers, scans the pertinent data in them line-by-line, and then exports the data to an accounting software program like Intuit’s Quickbooks. Suppliers send the PDF files to a dedicated mailbox hosted by Invitco.

In a blog post yesterday, Intuit suggests that it may fold the Invitco technology into its QuickBooks Online. It may also eventually bring the Invitco magic to other accounting products in its line, according to the blog.

Invitco now integrates with a number of accounting softwares, including MYOB, Adept, and NetSuite. Invitco CEO Roger Gregg says that won’t change after the acquisition. “… we are committed to an open-API approach, allowing you to continue to choose which accountancy software you feel is right for you,” he writes in a blog post.

The terms of the acquisition—which is expected to close in a few days—were not disclosed.