Phocas is an “out of the garage” finalist: a global growth award

Phocas is a finalist in the 4^th annual Pause Awards for demonstrating global growth, expansion and success.

Pause set up the start-up awards to recognise scaling and corporate innovation. Phocas has been shortlisted for taking its products to market in numerous countries and opening new offices in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The back story

The first iteration of Phocas software did start in a garage in Collaroy in Sydney. It has now grown into a companywide data analytics, financial reporting, budgeting, planning and forecasting solution that is used by 2500 companies and about 30,000 people worldwide.

Phocas was bootstrapped until January 2021 but has been profitable since its inception. A capital raise of $AU45million was achieved in early 2021 and is being invested into growth, new products and new talent.

All the profits made were invested into retaining customers and attracting new ones.

In the last two years, new purpose-built financial products have been developed to help existing and new customers with further data tasks including customising, automating financial statements, and streamlining budgeting and forecasting. These new products are performing well and appeal to companies outside of our traditional manufacturing, wholesale and retail markets so will enable Phocas to accelerate its growth.

Trading division revenue growth was strong in all geographical regions with 24% in the US, 19% in Australia, and 16% in the UK. The company has been growing at a rate of 20% year-on-year for five-plus years. In 2021, Phocas was recognised in the FrontRunners, Capterra, Get App and G2 best product lists.

How do we measure the impact of our success?

The success from the growth Phocas has sustained over the last five years allows the business to continue to develop its people, culture and partnerships.

We have employed 93 new people in the last financial year across new roles in product development, programming, sustainability and HubSpot development. People have been trained in agile methodology and encouraged to pursue training across broad topics relating to both their soft and hard skills.

Teams have moved into new offices in Christchurch and Orange and offices have been refurbished in Coventry to include EV chargers and solar panels.

All team members have access to enhanced benefits which includes healthcare support plus wage continuity after an illness or accident. People can work flexible hours and management has advised people to take personal health or self-care days when the individual deems it necessary. People have a direct manager with whom they have a close 1 on 1 meeting every fortnight so they can discuss their progress, issues, where they are stuck and new ideas.

New third party partnerships have been forged and strengthened with Epicor, MYOB, Netsuite, Accumatica and Kerridge Commercial Systems helping to broaden the Phocas products’ reach and appeal. These arrangements differ in size and agreement but have endured for many years because Phocas people are transparent and easy to work with and always want the best for customers.

Customer retention has always been strong and currently sits at over 95%.

What does the future hold?

Phocas never sits still – the company is headquartered in Australia with operations in New Zealand, America, and England. More than 70 per cent of our revenue is generated overseas and Phocas will accelerate its expansion in Europe and Asia in the coming years.

The business will reach its $100 million targets in revenue by FY23 by continuing to expand its product portfolio into new verticals and product innovation.

Phocas is going through the process of becoming a certified B Corp – businesses that meet verified standards of social and environmental performance to balance profit and purpose.

The Pause Awards are supported by the Victoria Government.

To learn more about what job opportunities are currently available at Phocas visit our careers page.