For decades, accounting has remained one of the most manual and repetitive business functions, demanding significant time from businesses and chartered accountants alike. While digital accounting software has improved record keeping, many professionals continue to struggle with rigid systems, manual data entry, GST compliance, and limited customization.

Recognizing these challenges firsthand, Abhinav Sharma & CA Shrigopal Malani, co-founders of HisabKitab, set out to build an accounting platform designed specifically for Indian businesses and chartered accountants. Built by CAs who understand the industry’s day-to-day challenges, HisabKitab combines accounting, compliance, automation, and artificial intelligence into a single platform that aims to make financial management significantly simpler.

Speaking with Indian Startup Times, Sharma shared the company’s journey, the inspiration behind the platform, and how AI is reshaping the future of accounting.

Building Software from Practical Experience

Unlike many SaaS startups that begin with a technology-first mindset, HisabKitab emerged from years of professional accounting experience.

As a practicing chartered accountant, Sharma witnessed how repetitive accounting tasks consumed valuable time. While businesses increasingly adopted digital tools, he found that existing accounting software often lacked the flexibility required by different industries and business models.

According to Sharma, two key problems stood out: the lack of customization and the absence of meaningful automation. These challenges became the foundation upon which HisabKitab was built.

Instead of creating another generic accounting platform, the team focused on developing software that could adapt to different business requirements while automating repetitive financial workflows.

Developing the Product Alongside Users

One of HisabKitab’s biggest strengths has been its customer-driven development approach.

Rather than building features in isolation, the company continuously gathered feedback from accountants, businesses, and local implementation partners. Every product update was shaped by real user experiences, allowing the software to evolve based on practical industry needs rather than assumptions.

Sharma explained that this agile approach has enabled the team to introduce improvements quickly while ensuring the platform remains closely aligned with customer expectations.

Learning Beyond Accounting

Launching a technology company came with its own learning curve.

Although both founders possessed deep accounting expertise, neither came from a technology background. This created significant challenges during the early stages of building the company.

To overcome this, the founders deliberately expanded their own capabilities. Sharma focused on marketing and customer acquisition, while his co-founder, Gopal, immersed himself in technology and product development.

This willingness to continuously learn new skills proved critical in transforming accounting expertise into a scalable SaaS business.

Bringing Artificial Intelligence into Accounting

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing business operations across industries, and accounting is no exception.

HisabKitab has already integrated AI-powered capabilities such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition), allowing invoices and bank statements to be processed automatically without extensive manual data entry.

Sharma believes this is only the beginning.

As government initiatives continue promoting digitization, GST compliance, and digital payment infrastructure through UPI, accounting software will become increasingly intelligent and automated.

He envisions a future where maintaining accounts becomes as effortless as having a conversation on WhatsApp, with AI handling routine bookkeeping, document processing, and financial record management in the background.

Simplifying GST Compliance

GST filing remains one of the most time-consuming responsibilities for businesses and chartered accountants.

To address this challenge, HisabKitab integrates major GST return workflows, including GSTR-1, GSTR-2A, GSTR-2B, and GSTR-3B, allowing users to manage compliance directly within the platform.

By combining accounting and statutory compliance into one ecosystem, the software reduces the need to switch between multiple tools while improving operational efficiency for finance teams.

Solving One of the Industry’s Biggest Pain Points

Despite offering a modern accounting platform, the company initially encountered a common obstacle: businesses were reluctant to migrate years of financial data from Tally.

Rather than asking customers to manually recreate historical records, HisabKitab developed a dedicated Tally Connector capable of importing data into the platform in approximately fifteen minutes.

The company also introduced a two-way integration, enabling businesses to transfer information back to Tally whenever required. This flexibility significantly reduced migration concerns while giving users confidence that their historical data would remain accessible.

Building Trust in Cloud Accounting

Customer trust was another major challenge during the company’s early growth.

Many businesses were hesitant to move sensitive financial information to cloud-based software due to concerns around security and data privacy.

Sharma noted that educating customers became just as important as building the product itself. The company’s background as chartered accountants helped establish credibility, while measures such as ISO-certified security standards and multiple server backups reassured businesses about data protection and reliability.

Funding the Vision

Like many early-stage startups, fundraising was far from straightforward.

Sharma revealed that the company interacted with nearly 80 to 90 investors before securing its first institutional backing. Once the initial investor demonstrated confidence in the business, attracting additional investors became considerably easier.

The company has since raised ₹1.7 crore in seed funding, providing the resources to accelerate product development and strengthen its AI capabilities.

Looking ahead, HisabKitab has set an ambitious target of achieving ₹100 crore in revenue over the next three years, driven by continued investments in automation and artificial intelligence.

Advice for Aspiring Founders

Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Sharma believes that founders should invest in themselves before investing heavily in their businesses.

He emphasized that continuous learning is essential in today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape. Whether it is marketing, product development, or emerging technologies like AI, founders must remain adaptable and develop a strong understanding of the areas that drive their business.

For entrepreneurs building technology companies, Sharma also stressed the importance of acquiring enough technical or marketing knowledge to make informed decisions and effectively lead their teams.

Looking Ahead

As India’s digital economy continues to expand, businesses are increasingly looking for accounting solutions that go beyond bookkeeping to deliver automation, intelligence, and compliance.

By combining chartered accountancy expertise with AI-driven innovation, HisabKitab is positioning itself as a modern accounting platform built specifically for the evolving needs of Indian businesses. With ambitious growth plans, expanding AI capabilities, and a strong focus on customer-driven product development, the startup aims to redefine how accounting is managed in the years ahead.