# Airbase Financial Model

Unified non-payroll spend management platform (corporate cards, AP/bill pay, expense reimbursement, approval workflows) for mid-market companies.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/airbase
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/airbase.xlsx
- Category: Fintech
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series B
- Funding: $60M
- Founded: 2021
- Geography: US-first, with global distribution underway (team across 9 countries as of April 2021) [DECK, slide 10].
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

Airbase is a unified spend-management platform for mid-market businesses, combining corporate cards, AP and bill pay, employee reimbursements, approvals, and accounting integrations. It is designed to replace a bundle of disconnected finance tools and reduce manual close work.

The company targets organisations with roughly 50 to 1,000 employees. Its software-first positioning differentiates it from card-led competitors: customers pay for the platform while Airbase can deepen the relationship as spending moves through its payment rails.

The model should build subscription ARR from customer logos and pricing, alongside financial-services revenue from card spend, FX, and float. Payment volume, net interchange or take rate, gross margin by revenue line, and retention are the crucial sensitivities.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

Airbase replaces 4–5 siloed tools - approval workflows (Procurify, email/Slack), corporate cards (Amex, Brex), expense reimbursement (Expensify), and AP/bill pay (Bill.com) - with a single platform. Core value is real-time spend control, automated GL sync, and elimination of manual monthly-close work for finance and accounting teams. Product development team was 54 people (>50% of headcount) as of the memo date. Target customer: mid-market businesses with 50–1,000 employees.

## Revenue model

Two revenue streams:

1. **Subscription fees**: SaaS fee charged per customer for access to the platform. This is the primary revenue stream at the time of the memo; exact pricing not disclosed (redacted as X/Y in slide 10 image).
2. **Financial services revenue**: Interchange on card spend, FX conversion fees, interest income on float. Expected to grow faster than subscription as payment volume scales.

The memo states the split is currently "X/Y in favor of subscription" (numbers redacted) but that financial services will grow proportionally faster.

Average revenue per customer and per-customer range are redacted (shown as X/Y placeholders in slide 10).

## Traction & metrics

All customer count, ARR, and revenue figures are redacted with X/Y/Z placeholders in the deck image. Hard confirmed numbers from slide 10:

| Metric | Value |
| -- | -- |
| Gross margin (FY2021, ending Jan 31 2021) | 90.12% |
| Expected gross margin (current FY end) | ~84% (then back above 90% in FY2023) |
| Capital raised (cumulative) | ~$30.5M |
| Cash in bank | ~$21.5M |
| Net burn to date | ~$9M |
| Employee headcount | 96 |
| Countries (distributed team) | 9 |
| Churn from product dissatisfaction | 0 (top churn reason: customers acquired) |

Payment volume growth: annualized rate grew from $X/year (March 2020) to $Y/year (March 2021) - both redacted.

NRR (FY2021 renewal cohort): Z% - redacted. Q1 FY2022 NRR target: Y% - redacted.

## Unit economics

- Gross margin: 90.12% (FY2021); expected ~84% near-term due to onboarding/support hiring, recovering above 90% by FY2023.
- Average revenue per customer: redacted.

## Competition / moat

Competitors:
- **Legacy/point solutions** (primary competitive set in practice): Bill.com (AP), Expensify (expense), Amex/bank corporate cards. Most prospects are using this bundle.
- **Emerging players**: Brex, Divvy, Ramp (card-first, interchange-funded, free product), Teampay.

Airbase's differentiation:
- Charges a subscription fee (contrarian vs. Brex/Divvy/Ramp interchange-only model).
- Software-first: value proposition is workflow ownership, not payment rails.
- Plans to partner with incumbent banks (rather than compete on card issuance) - named bank partnerships redacted (XYZ, ABC).
- System-of-record position creates stickiness and future optionality (budgeting, CLM, SaaS management adjacencies).

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

- Total raised to date: ~$30.5M.
- Cash on hand: ~$21.5M.
- Round size / use of funds: Not explicitly stated in this memo. Context implies Series B raise is being sought (memo is the fundraising document).
- Stated use of proceeds (implied): accelerate GTM, continue R&D investment (54-person product dev team), expand globally.

## Recommended financial model

- **Archetype + why**: SaaS ARR + financial services revenue blended model. Airbase has two distinct revenue streams with different growth drivers: (1) subscription ARR scales with logo count and per-seat/per-module pricing; (2) financial services revenue scales with payment volume (cards, ACH, FX). A pure SaaS ARR model undersells the fintech upside; a payments-only model ignores the high-margin SaaS base. The correct structure is a dual-stream model - subscription ARR (logo × ARPU) + financial services (payment volume × take rate), unified into a 3-statement P&L with gross margin by revenue line.

- **Forecast horizon & granularity**: Monthly for Year 1–2, quarterly for Years 3–5. FY ending January 31 (not calendar year - must align fiscal year accordingly).

- **Key drivers & assumptions**:
  - **Subscription revenue**
    - Logo count at start of model: placeholder - exact number redacted in deck
    - New logo adds per month: based on typical Series B SaaS GTM ramp; e.g., 15–30 net new logos/month
    - Monthly churn rate: ~0.5–1% (implied near-zero involuntary churn; confirms no product-driven churn, top reason is M&A)
    - Average ARR per customer: placeholder - redacted in deck; range noted as $X–$Y
    - NRR: target ~110–120% (deck signals target NRR figure redacted; strong expansion implied by product breadth)
  - **Financial services revenue**
    - Payment volume (annualized): starting point redacted; grew meaningfully March 2020→March 2021
    - Take rate on card spend (interchange): ~0.5–1.0% (industry standard for B2B card programs)
    - Take rate on ACH/bill pay: ~0.1–0.3% per transaction
    - FX conversion fee: ~0.5–1.5% of FX-denominated volume
    - Financial services as % of total revenue: minority today; growing - deck says split is X/Y in favor of subscription
  - **Gross margin**
    - Subscription GM: ~90%+ (consistent with 90.12% FY2021 blended)
    - Financial services GM: ~50–60% (lower due to interchange pass-through and card program costs)
    - Blended GM: 90.12% FY2021; ~84% near-term target; recovering to >90% by FY2023
  - **Headcount / OpEx**
    - Current headcount: 96; product dev team 54
    - Hiring plan: aggressive in onboarding/support (causes GM dip) and GTM; R&D continues at >50% of headcount
  - **Capital**
    - Cash on hand: ~$21.5M
    - Net cumulative burn: ~$9M on $30.5M raised
    - Runway: derive from monthly burn rate implied by $9M net burn over company life

- **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear)**:
  - **Base**: Subscription NRR ~115%, net new logos at moderate GTM ramp, payment volume grows with logo base, GM recovers to 90%+ by FY2023
  - **Bull**: NRR >120%, bank partnerships (XYZ/ABC) land and drive significant payment volume uplift, faster upmarket move increases ARPU
  - **Bear**: Competitive pressure from Brex/Ramp (free products) slows logo growth, NRR stays at ~100%, financial services revenue growth lags due to card commoditization

- **Required sheets / outputs**:
  1. Assumptions - all drivers, tagged or
  2. Revenue build - subscription ARR (logo × ARPU waterfall) + financial services (volume × take rate), monthly
  3. P&L - gross profit by revenue stream, OpEx by department (R&D, S&M, G&A), EBITDA
  4. Headcount plan - by function, monthly
  5. Cash flow - burn rate, runway, cash balance; bridge from $21.5M starting cash
  6. KPI dashboard - ARR, logo count, NRR, payment volume, gross margin, CAC/LTV (when data available)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Airbase financial model free?

Yes. The Airbase model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.