Ryan Embree

We just announced our $7M USD seed funding for our TaxPayment API Why? Because tax payments are not payments, but compliance events. Accountants are chasing clients. Clients are logging into government portals or banks. ... and still get hit with over $80B of fees.

In 7 years, we took @bankwithrelay from an idea to a platform that today serves 100,000+ businesses across America. In the coming weeks, I’m sharing the story of how we got there. Before we had the idea for Relay, we knew that to build a business you have to solve a real problem. So every time I saw a challenge faced by business owners, I wrote it down. For example, during my time at Hubdoc, I saw how hard it was to issue credit cards to manage expenses. (At one point, someone tried a "workaround" using consumer Amazon cards tied to someone’s personal credit… which Amazon promptly shut down.) We also saw the constant hoops businesses had to jump through just to set up business banking. Once set up, your banking data—your source of truth—would need constant manual cleanup before you could use it. It seems simple now, but back then it was actually painfully hard to share it with others who needed it, like your accountant, and get insights from it. All of this meant that business owners operated blindly. Not knowing what cash was safe to spend and what should be set aside—because payroll, bills, and incoming payments all lived in a different place. The real problem was cash flow visibility. And to solve it, you would need to go to the source: business banking itself. And that's the idea that eventually became Relay. This is part 1 of 10—stay tuned and hit follow to get the rest of the story. Next week, I’m sharing how my co-founder and I decided to go all in.

🇺🇸 Come say hello in San Diego! Swing by our booth at @Wolters_Kluwer #CCHUC25 from now until October 23 to learn how CCH Axcess™ integration can help you automate proposals, engagement letters, billing, & payments. 🤝✨ Try it here: ignitionapp.com/integrations/c… #TaxTwitter

I won’t be at #IntuitConnect this year but make sure you stop by Precon on Sunday night if you’ll be there!

Can you feel the excitement building? Intuit Connect Las Vegas 2025 is fast approaching, and we can’t wait to kick it off with the highly anticipated #IgnitionPrecon! Get your tickets before it’s too late! 🎟hubs.li/Q03PlGy-0 #IgnitionPrecon #InsightfulAccountant

Can I take a moment to talk about the @AdvisoryAmp speaker lineup? Grateful to bring together industry experts I’ve known most of my career. @vheckman @littlefishcpa @kenjikuramoto @TwylaVerhelst @ian_vacin @ignition_ryan @cbriancpa + more → advisoryamplified.com

Things are off to an incredible start here at #Xerocon! ✅ Another unforgettable #IgnitionPrecon ✅ Jam packed sesh by Ethan Cooney at @Xero XPM User Conference. Visit us at Xerocon Stand E+3 this week! 👋✨

The hot new accounting software trend this year is road shows, and I'm here for it. Mainly because I don't have to travel and get to hang out with cool people. First, there was Jason's tour bus stop in Austin last month. Next, we have the Advisory Amplified Tour (@advisoryamp) on October 2nd, which is also stopping in Austin! I'm planning on making the event, so if you're in Central Texas, it'd be cool if you were too! Two softwares (Ignition & Relay) that are key to running my CPA firm are sponsoring, so this is going to be perfect. Link to more info in the comments.

We've crossed $1 billion in deposits, $1 billion in annualized card spend and $3 billion in monthly processing volume. Excuse my language – this is f'ing huge! 🚀 This milestone is more than numbers. It's a vote of confidence from every single self-made entrepreneur using Relay. These are tenacious people who are forging their future one customer, one solved problem and one dollar at a time; they are why we do what we do! 💪 We are so proud to be part of their journey and to stand with the self-made. This moment is really theirs. A BIG thank you to all of our customers, partners and to the Relay team 💚 Here's to the next billion! 🙌

Big News: Over 110,000 self-made small business owners have entrusted us with more than $1 billion in managed customer deposits.* $1 billion is more than a number. It’s a vote of confidence by our customers because when you run a small business, money is personal. Behind every dollar are late nights and long hours by the electricians, florists, real estate agents, and other business owners on Relay who turn ambition into impact. We’re proud to help them build profitable and long-lasting businesses! *Relay is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank; Member FDIC.

Join @ryanlazanis , @michael_ly_, and The Creatine Accountant™ on Tuesday (8/12) @ 1pm EST as we discuss the results from Ignition's recent pricing benchmark. See how your prices compare to everyone else's and hear what we think about the future of pricing. RSVP using the link in the comment below.

The new Ignition + @_FinancialCents #integration is here to streamline your workflow and boost efficiency. 🚀✨ Register for the 8/20 webinar to see it in action: hubs.li/Q03yVrh-0 #Accounting #TaxTwitter

Great turnout in Chicago for AI Accounting Summit @ignitionapp @karbonhq @Xero @AskAider

Join our live #webinar on July 10 at 4pm (EST) to learn how Ignition + Karbon enhanced integration automates the full client lifecycle. Ft. experts from Dark Horse CPAs, Karbon & Ignition. Register now: bit.ly/3GrMsvA #Automation #TaxTwitter

Check out our latest updates to @karbonhq integration. Join us tomorrow to learn more! @ian_vacin @darkhorsecpa info.ignitionapp.com/transform-your…

🇺🇸 From inspiring roundtable conversations, insightful customer stories, & hosting our Top 50 #WomenInAccounting Alumni meetup, it was a big Day 2 for the Ignition team at #AICPAENGAGE. Still at @AICPA #ENGAGE25? Swing by Booth 511, the team would love to meet you. 🚀✨

Ignition Deals is helping Sarah Lawrance, Founder & Managing Director of Hot Toast, turn prospects into paying clients with ease. Try Ignition Deals: bit.ly/3ZNFKpW #Bookkeeping #TaxTwitter

🎥 Did we just hijack your skyline, Denver? If you looked up at the #BABASUMMIT25 last night, you probably saw us lighting up the side of the Westin. We're back at it again tonight. 📸 Snap a pic, tag Ignition, and swing by our booth tomorrow to score some swag.

A genuine 10-20% boost to the bottom line of most firms: 3-tier proposals (done the right way): Here are 3 different approaches to offering clients a Bronze, Silver or Gold package: 1 Price For All 💰 3 Tier By Scope 💰💰 3 Tier By Delivery 💰💰💰 💰 1 Price For All 💰 Most firms are still here. Every client is offered one flavor of dog food. Not to say everyone pays the same, but the client gets a single price. After all, I know best! Right? 💰💰 3 Tier By Scope 💰💰 The most common thing I hear from firms who do this for the first time: We're surprised how many opted for the silver or gold packages! You're finally capturing Willingness to pay Ability to pay Rather than losing sleep over the few folks who DON'T want to pay. But excitement turns to panic as you now have to figure out how to get all this work done... 💰💰💰 3 Tier By Delivery 💰💰💰 Most of us get this wrong at first. I sure did. If gold is 3x the price of Bronze, it shouldn't be 3x the work. That isn't better. That's just more. Airlines charge 3-5x for first class tickets, but service delivery only costs 1.5x that of economy. We want Gold to be a more premium service delivery, for the folks happy to pay for it. If Bronze is tax prep, Gold is tax prep wearing a fancy hat. And because most accountants are frugal we can't imagine why any client would spring for it. But they will. For the same reason you're driving a Honda Pilot and they're driving a Mercedes. (but you make more money than them) Here's a dump of ideas to make a package feel premium, without adding much work: Invite-Only Events Priority Scheduling Premium Reporting Extended Availability Premium Onboarding Ability To Self-Service A More Experienced Rep Dedicated VIP Phone Line Early Access To Renewals Faster Support Turnaround Dedicated Client Concierge Faster Speed To Completion Client-Specific Email Channel A Slide Deck Explainer on Delivery Access To Firm's Professional Network If you want a tool that does this well, go with @ignitionapp or @say_anchor_

Chasing payments? There are better ways to get cardio. 🏃✨ AutoCollect allows you to manage and collect #payments on unpaid invoices: bit.ly/49ENEUS #TaxTwitter