Ottawa-based The Better Software Company (TBSC), provider of a robust SaaS solution for small businesses, announced an additional $1.35 million in funding, led by ff Venture Capital with participation by Mistral Venture Partners and local angel groups.

This latest investment brings their total seed round to $2.1 million.

TBSC serves small to medium sized businesses who operate in micro vertical industries such as party rentals, auto detailing and window washing. Before entering the tech industry, TBSC Founder and CEO Steve Cody was a successful independent operator of dozens of small businesses. Based on his experience as an entrepreneur with little time to shuffle between different programs to manage his business, he created a unified, easy-to-use software tool.

“With the additional financing, we are really excited to get to work and create even better business software tools for our customers,” said Steve Cody, Founder and CEO of The Better Software Company in a statement.

In North America, the SMB landscape represents a total addressable market of $21 billion. In a statement addressing the investment, lead investor ff Venture Capital Partner/CFO Alex Katz said, “As investors in early-stage companies, we understand the need for this solution, and are pleased to help the company continue its success.” 

After joining the L-SPARK nine-month Accelerator program in January, [disclosure: I work for L-SPARK] TBSC went from a team of 4 to nearly 60 and have maintained a consistent rate of 35 per cent growth month over month.

The funding announcement comes on the heels of the company’s release of a software update that boasts a slew of API connections as well as features such as real-time notifications and customer profiles.

TBSC’s development team of 11, led by CTO Peter Drinnan, worked on the update for five months.

“While the update was born out of the necessity to address mobile users initially, it was an opportunity to improve the user experience overall,” says Drinnan.

Cody says that the new software update delivers on what his customers have been asking for. They plan to start selling the software to new customers later this month, and will roll out the new platform to existing customers over a six-month period beginning in January 2016.

The Better Software Company, an L-SPARK Accelerator company, has announced a $750,000 injection of capital from a collective of Ottawa-based Angels from the Capital Angel Network with participation by Purple Angel, and The Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF) after a few months in the L-SPARK Accelerator program.

Recently recognized in the Branham 300 as one of the Top 25 Canadian Up and Coming ICT Companies, The Better Software Company provides a fully integrated Small Business Software solution delivered in the cloud to help owners improve and simplify their entire business.

The Ottawa-based start-up moved into L-SPARK’s office space in January 2015, and has since successfully closed their second investment round. This round was led by the Capital Angel Network, with participation by Purple Angel, IAF and existing investors, Wesley Clover International and Naavon Capital. With this investment the company has now raised a total of $840,000.

“I am overwhelmed by the support The Better Software Company has received from the Ottawa angel community. With this funding our focus will be to deliver simplicity and tight integration to the market of 21 million SME’s in North America,” said Steve Cody, Founder and CEO of The Better Software Company.

Through participation in the Accelerator program, The Better Software Company is now armed with an influx of capital that will allow them to grow operations and scale their business.

“This investment is one of the first rounds facilitated by our Enterprise SaaS Accelerator for the portfolio companies in our inaugural cohort. The Better Software Company is growing rapidly and this funding will fuel its future growth,” says Leo Lax, L-SPARK Managing Director.