Tradeshift, which has been described as the “Skype for invoicing”, has announced a raft of new partners in the SaaS accounting space, along with plans to open up its API to enable more third-parties to tie into its free invoicing system.
The launch partners who have had access to a beta version of Tradeshift’s API include: ERPLY (free ERP system), E-conomics (a SaaS accounting solution provider), Workbook (a specialized platform for the media business), Office123 (an open-source ERP system), Continia (bank payments systems), Winfinans (Windows-based desktop accounting), and Ibistic (the leading e-invoicing workflow system in Scandinavia).
This, says the company, in which early Skype investor Morten Lund is an adviser, puts it on track to bring “directly integrated electronic invoicing” to more than 100,000 small European businesses over the next 6 months.
Tradeshift, which competes with Maventa.com, is working on what it positions as the world’s first free invoicing platform – essentially dragging invoicing and business transactions into the 21st century via open standards and the cloud – news which we broke on its launch in February. However, the roll out of its API brings into focus more ambitious plans to become “the cloud platform linking what so far have been isolated islands of business software”, says co-founder and CEO Christian Lanng.
The Tradeshift API will launch publicly on the 1st of August 2010 to enable anyone who wants to build connected business software on top of the company’s platform making it possible for developers to create applications that utilize the Tradeshift Business Network Infrastructure in order for users to exchange business documents over the network.