As its capital burn rose with the expansion of its business, Khatabook, a fintech startup, saw its net loss soar by nearly 3X to INR 111.1 Cr in the financial year 2021–2022 (FY22) from INR 32.5 Cr the previous fiscal year.
The startup's operational revenue increased fourfold, from INR 16.9 Cr in FY21 to INR 71.1 Cr today. The majority of its income came from consulting and software development services. Khatabook saw a 405% increase in revenue from software development and consulting services to INR 58.1 Cr in FY22 from INR 11.5 Cr in FY21.
From INR 19.1 Cr in FY21, total income, which includes other income, increased to INR 78.1 Cr.
Khatabook's expenses increased in FY22 as a result of the growth in operational revenue, albeit more slowly. From INR 108.6 Cr in FY21 to INR 189.3 Cr in FY22, total expenses increased 74%.
The largest portion of overall expenses was made up of employee benefits, which increased 173% to INR 101.1 Cr from INR 37 Cr the year before. Communication costs increased by 200% from INR 8.4 Cr in FY21 to INR 24 Cr.
Vaibhav Kalpe founded Khatabook, a fintech startup that was eventually purchased by Kyte Technologies in 2018. Khatabook helps small business owners and owners of kirana stores manage their accounts and keep track of the money owed to them through a digital ledger. After being acquired, Kalpe became a member of the Kyte crew.
With a valuation of $600 million, the startup raised $100 million in its Phase C round in August 2021 under the direction of US-based VC firms Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV). Alkeon Capital, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Ventures, Unilever Ventures, Better Capital, and others also took part in the investment round.
MyStore, a digital online storefront for kiranas, and the startup's main book-keeping tool were both discontinued after the financing was raised. The firm told its clients that it would stop supporting the MyStore App as of November 15, 2021. The startup currently provides MSMEs with business management tools in different languages. The business says that more than 50 million people have downloaded its software.
Khatabook competes with services like Paytm's Business Khata, Pagarbook, and OkCredit.