What Freee does

Freee (フリー株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered public cloud software company (TSE Growth Market, ticker 4478) founded in 2012 by CEO Daisuke Sasaki, operating Japan's leading integrated back-office SaaS platform for small and medium-sized businesses. As of March 2026, the company serves 710,000+ paying user companies spanning individual business owners (sole proprietors and freelancers), SMEs, medical corporations, and successor businesses, with a 5,500+ certified advisor network supporting implementation. Its core platform unifies cloud accounting (freee Accounting), HR/payroll/attendance management (freee HR), sales management (freee Sales Management), and tax filing (freee Tax Filing) into a single workflow, supported by an expanding suite of add-on modules including expense management, invoice management, electronic contracts (freee Sign), fixed assets, IT management, inventory management (via the Logikura subsidiary acquired March 2026), and corporate cards. The platform is differentiated by 343+ public APIs, an open-source Model Context Protocol server (freee-mcp), native AI features across OCR, expense prediction, help desk automation, and AI agent workflows, and integrations with major Japanese banks (GMO Aozora Net Bank, MUFG, SMBC, Chugoku Bank, Sanin Godo Bank) plus government tax and social insurance systems.

Underlying the product suite is a multi-layered technology stack combining daily-transaction data ingestion (bank feeds, receipt OCR, calendar sync), AI-powered categorization and journal entry generation, an open API architecture that enables third-party integrations and AI agent access, and embedded compliance logic for Japanese tax law, social insurance, and the e-invoice system. Freee holds Financial Services Intermediary registration (Kanto Finance Bureau KIN-SA No. 17) and Electronic Payment Services Intermediary registration, enabling it to monetize through transaction-based services including freee Transfer (¥220/transfer), freee Invoice Card Payment (up to 60-day payment float via GMO Payment Gateway), freee Debt Guarantee (via SMBC, Mizuho Factor, Mitsubishi UFJ Factor), freee Card Unlimited, and BPaaS arrangements with regional banks and Persol Business Process Design. The company has executed two notable acquisitions — sweeep (January 2023) ahead of the October 2023 invoice system implementation, and Logikura (March 2026) for inventory management — extending platform breadth into adjacent operational domains.

Freee generates revenue through four primary streams: SaaS subscriptions for the integrated platform (priced per-seat or per-organization with tiered plans ranging from ¥1,980/month for entry modules to higher enterprise tiers), transaction-based financial services (card payments, wire transfers, debt guarantee intermediation), financial service intermediation fees from bank deposit partnerships, and benefit services (meal vouchers and welfare benefits via Edenred Japan and Resort Works). Go-to-market combines self-service digital acquisition (free trial, app stores, freee.co.jp) with a sales-assisted motion through the certified advisor network and bank distribution partnerships. Freee holds 55% cloud accounting market share (Similarweb/Localfolio, October 2019) and historically held 40% cloud payroll share (MM Research Institute, March 2016), though the company states current SME penetration is only approximately 10%, indicating a substantial remaining addressable market. The company is headquartered at Art Village Osaki Central Tower in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, with regional presence in Fukuoka (Kyushu branch) and reported operations in the Philippines, and was founded on July 9, 2012.

Name

Freee

Legal name

フリー株式会社 (Freee K.K.)

Website

https://corp.freee.co.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Freee (フリー株式会社) is a Tokyo-headquartered public SaaS company operating Japan's leading integrated cloud back-office platform for SMBs, serving 710,000+ paying user companies with accounting, HR/payroll, sales, tax filing, and transaction-based financial services, supported by 5,500+ certified advisors and 343+ public APIs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud Accounting and Back-Office SaaS

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Core ERP Suites (Financials, Procurement, Projects) (HDAEAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) & OCR Automation (HDAEAHAC), Retail ERP (Merchandising, POS Back Office) (HDAEAEAD)

Keywords

• Cloud accounting software
• HR payroll platform
• SMB back-office automation
• Electronic tax filing
• Integrated cloud ERP

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription Revenue: Monthly/annual subscription fees for cloud accounting, HR/payroll, attendance management, sales management, expense management, and other integrated modules. Priced per seat or per organization with tiered plans.
2. Transaction-based Financial Services: Revenue from financial services including invoice card payments and wire transfers. Transaction fees for services like freee invoice card payment and freee transfer.
3. Financial Service Intermediation: Freee acts as a financial service intermediary, earning revenue through partnerships with banks (GMO Aozora Net Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, MUFG) for deposit intermediation and other banking services.
4. Benefit Services: Employee benefit services including meal vouchers and lifestyle subsidies through partnerships with Edenred Japan and Resort Works.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Freee sells an integrated cloud ERP platform for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and sole proprietors, combining accounting (freee Accounting), HR/payroll (freee HR), sales management (freee Sales Management), tax filing, attendance tracking, expense management, inventory management, electronic contracts, and corporate cards into a single subscription system. The platform automates bookkeeping via bank/credit-card sync and AI-powered OCR, ships 343+ public APIs plus an open-source MCP server for AI agents, and is sold primarily via monthly SaaS subscriptions supplemented by per-transaction fees on financial services such as freee Transfer and freee Invoice Card Payment.

Product overview

freee operates as an integrated cloud ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) platform — internally branded as an 'Integrated Management Platform' (統合型経営プラットフォーム) — serving small and medium-sized businesses in Japan. The platform consists of a unified core spanning accounting (freee Accounting), HR/payroll (freee HR), and sales management (freee Sales Management), supported by an expanding suite of modular add-ons including expense management, invoice management, electronic contracts (freee Sign), fixed assets, IT management, corporate cards, and industry-specific packages (freee for Medical). AI capabilities are embedded throughout via features such as AI-powered receipt scanning, AI help desk, AI agent automation (freee-mcp, freee Agent Hub), and ChatGPT integration for tax filing. The platform's open strategy includes a public API with 340+ endpoints, a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a certified advisor ecosystem (5,500+ advisors), and an App Store. Recent additions include inventory management (freee Inventory Management, formerly LogiClura), freelancer management, business succession services, and multi-location enterprise management (freee Business Management).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• sweeep: Invoice-related services subsidiary
• ロジクラ (Logikura)
• 透明書店 (Tomei Bookstore)

Products and services

• freee Accounting (freee会計) Cloud-based accounting software for Japanese SMBs and sole proprietors, enabling bookkeeping, financial statement generation, accounts payable/receivable, and bank/credit-card synchronization with automated journal entry creation from daily business activities.
• freee HR (freee人事労務) HR platform covering payroll calculation, labor management, attendance tracking, year-end tax adjustment, onboarding procedures, and employment document workflows, with automation from clock-in to payroll.
• freee Sales Management (freee販売) Cloud-based sales management system handling quote generation, invoice issuance, accounts receivable collection, and the order-to-cash workflow for front-office operations.
• freee Tax Filing (freee申告) Cloud-based tax filing service for corporate tax, income tax, consumption tax, year-end adjustment, and statutory document filing online, integrated with freee Accounting and freee HR.
• freee Inventory Management (freee在庫管理) Cloud-based inventory management system (rebranded from acquired subsidiary Logikura) enabling barcode scanning via smartphone, multi-channel inventory sync with Shopify, Smaregi, CROSS MALL, and NEXT ENGINE, and seamless integration with freee Accounting.
• freee Attendance Management Plus (freee勤怠管理Plus) Advanced attendance tracking system with multiple clock-in methods, real-time attendance management, payroll integration, and AI-powered shift scheduling through Konica Minolta miramos integration for healthcare/nursing industries.
• freee Expense Management (freee経費精算) Expense reimbursement system with mobile app featuring AI-powered auto-completion (Magic Expense Reports) that predicts expense content from receipt photos and historical application data, reducing application time from ~30 minutes to ~2 minutes per person monthly.
• freee Invoice Management (freee請求書) Invoice issuance and management module integrated with freee Accounting, supporting accounts receivable tracking and payment status synchronization.
• freee Invoice Card Payment (freee請求書カード払い) Service enabling businesses to pay received invoices by credit card via GMO Payment Gateway infrastructure, extending payment float by up to 60 days.
• freee Transfer (freee振込) Fund transfer initiation service powered by GMO Aozora Net Bank BaaS enabling transfer requests directly within freee products with 100% automatic reconciliation and ¥220 per-transaction fee (free between GMO Aozora accounts).
• freee Debt Guarantee (freee債権保証) Credit guarantee application service partnering with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Factor, and Mitsubishi UFJ Factor, enabling SMBs to apply for trade credit checks directly within freee.
• freee Sign (freeeサイン) Electronic contract platform enabling online contract creation, signing, and management integrated with freee Accounting workflow and accessible via the freee-mcp Model Context Protocol server.
• freee Business Management (freee経営管理) Multi-location/multi-department enterprise management tool integrating financial data with field-level KPIs, automatic anomaly detection, and real-time consolidated profitability visualization.
• freee IT Management (freee IT管理) SaaS and device management tool providing account provisioning automation, device inventory, and shadow IT detection; expanded in 2026 to support SaaS account and device management controls.
• freee Fixed Assets (freee固定資産) Fixed asset management system providing seamless management of all fixed asset operations from acquisition through depreciation, integrated with the freee platform.
• freee HR Evaluation (freee人事評価) Human resources evaluation system enabling Excel-like evaluation workflow management, automatic reminders for non-submitters, and accumulation of evaluation history, integrated with freee HR.
• freee Business Partner Management (freee業務委託管理) Freelancer/contractor management system handling contracts, purchase orders, invoicing, and payments for SMBs, with a Starter Plan priced at ¥1,980/month.
• freee for Medical (freee for 医療) Medical-industry-specific package providing medical-corporation accounting standards compliance, multi-facility accounting consolidation, and automated medical statutory report generation.
• freee Card Unlimited (freeeカード Unlimited) Corporate credit card with no annual fee, no card issuance fee, and no foreign-currency transaction fee, integrating with freee Accounting for automatic synchronization and featuring Japan-first purchase-request-linked virtual single-use card issuance.
• freee My Number Management (freeeマイナンバー管理) Individual number (My Number) collection, storage, use, and disposal management cloud service for corporate compliance.
• freee Company Registration (freee会社設立) Free company formation document preparation service with dandori coordinator support, including LLC-to-stock-company organizational change registration.
• freee Opening (freee開業) Free sole-proprietor business opening procedure service enabling document preparation by answering guided questions online.
• freee Registration (freee登記) Online company registration document preparation service supporting change of registration, including LLC-to-stock-company organizational change registration.
• freee Legal Compliance Guide (freee法対応ガイド) Legal compliance support product with annual compliance calendar, comment collaboration, and law revision update notifications.
• freee E-Learning (freee Eラーニング) Corporate training platform offering 6,000+ video courses from professional instructors with custom content upload, employee learning progress tracking, and integration with freee HR; pricing starts at ¥5,000/month.
• freee AI Help Desk (freee AIヘルプデスク) AI-powered help desk service where AI agents auto-respond to employee questions by synthesizing answers from integrated internal knowledge sources (PDF, Word, SharePoint, Google Drive), with human escalation for complex issues.
• freee Benefit Services (freee福利厚生 ベネフィットサービス) Employee benefit services platform offering nationwide restaurant, travel, and retail discounts, integrated with the #Third Wage Increase Action initiative to provide tax-exempt welfare benefits as supplementary compensation.
• freee-mcp Model Context Protocol server published as open-source software enabling AI agents to directly operate freee's APIs (~330 APIs across accounting, HR, invoicing, project management, sales, and electronic contracts); available as an npm package.
• freee Agent Hub Integrated AI agent platform for certified freee advisors, enabling AI-powered automation of document collection, bookkeeping, confirmation, and tax filing workflows with a secure multi-tenant architecture.
• AI Financial Statement Scan (AI決算書スキャン) Cloud-accounting-industry-first AI feature that reads prior-year financial statements (photo or PDF) to auto-populate freee Accounting's initial setup workflow.
• freee AI Assistant & freee Custom Order (freee AIアシスタント / freeeカスタムオーダー) AI assistant features embedded within freee's product suite to help users navigate and operate back-office workflows using conversational AI, with custom ordering capabilities announced under the freee AI Strategy.
• freee Tax Filing ChatGPT App Apps-in-ChatGPT application providing access to 10,000+ real tax-accountant Q&A examples for personalized tax filing guidance; first Japanese-company-launched Apps in ChatGPT product.
• freee HR Outsourcing (freee人事労務アウトソース) BPO service for HR operations combining freee's HR system with Persol Business Process Design's BPO expertise for comprehensive HR process management.
• sweeep Invoice-related services operated by the wholly-owned subsidiary sweeep Co., Ltd., supporting SMBs with e-invoice automation and management in response to Japan's October 2023 invoice system implementation.
• Transparent Bookstore (透明書店) Subsidiary-operated bookstore in Kuramae, Tokyo, offering curated books, used books, sharing shelves, and community events for small business owners; subsidiary Transparent Bookstore Co., Ltd. was established November 2022.

Quantifiable outcome

• Payroll processing time reduced from 1 day to 30 minutes (Onozaki case study)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration25 records

AI capability15 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, minor and core.

• Persol Business Process Design Inc.strategicImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 27 May 2026HR/BPO partnership combining freee's HR outsourcing system foundation with Persol's 20+ years of process design expertise. Building next-generation BPaaS for human capital management.
• Sanin Godo BankstrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 May 2026BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) partnership for regional SME DX support. Combines bank's local relationships, freee's cloud platform, and Deloitte Tohmatsu Smooth's implementation expertise. Fully launched May 2026.
• One Year Partnership Association (Individual Store Union)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 April 2026Participated in organization established under Japan Food Service Association to support small-scale restaurant businesses. freee benefit services offered at special pricing to union members. Addresses real-time management visibility and employee retention challenges.
• Hitotsubashi University Startup Support OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Partnership agreement for entrepreneurship support for students and faculty. CEO Sasaki (Hitotsubashi alumnus) participated in dialogue event. Sharing entrepreneurship case studies and procedures support from 起業時代 platform.
• Logikura Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 18 March 2026Acquired as wholly-owned subsidiary to provide inventory management services under 'freee Inventory Management' brand. Enables seamless inventory-to-accounting workflow connecting freee's platform to retail/distribution operations.
• Konica Minolta, Inc.strategicTechnology or Integration · 9 March 2026Integration between 'miramos' shift management and freee Attendance Management Plus for healthcare/nursing industries. AI-generated shift schedules import directly into freee without data transformation. Export attendance data back to miramos for administrative document creation.
• Japan Keiei Group (Tax Accounting Firm)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Co-developed freee for 医療 medical package with Japan Keiei Group supervision. Group provides expertise on medical accounting standards compliance and multi-facility management requirements.
• Nomura Research and Advisory Co., Ltd.strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 February 2026Business succession collaboration for post-succession DX support and entrepreneur training. Freee invested in 'Internal Succession Platform Investment LP' managed by Nomura R&A. Promotes positive view of business succession as corporate transformation timing.
• Edenred Japan Co., Ltd.strategicGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 February 2026Co-initiated '#Third Wage Increase Action 2026' promoting employee benefits as supplementary wage increases. Ticket Restaurant meal assistance service offered free for 3 months in Fukuoka Prefecture. Approximately 180 companies supporting as of January 2026.
• Resort Works Co., Ltd.minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 February 2026Travel-focused employee benefit service provider participating in '#Third Wage Increase Action 2026'. Specializes in resort hotel discounts for employee benefit programs.
• Funai Soken Human Capital Consulting Co., Ltd.strategicTechnology or Integration · 2 February 2026Integration between freee HR and Recruiting Cloud enabling seamless talent management from hiring through retention. When resignation is processed in freee HR, Recruiting Cloud is seamlessly notified for immediate hiring action.
• GMO Payment Gateway Co., Ltd.coreTechnology or Integration · 30 January 2026Partnership to power 'freee Invoice Card Payment' service enabling businesses to pay invoices via credit card. GMO-PG processes over ¥21 trillion annually in payment volume. Service extends payment terms by up to 60 days.
• GMO Aozora Net Bank Co., Ltd.coreTechnology or Integration · 29 January 2026BaaS partnership enabling 'freee Transfer' wire transfer service. Uses 'Freee Branch' account for transfer requests, automatic reconciliation with 100% accuracy. Freee holds Financial Service Intermediation license (Kanto 金サ第17号).
• Chugoku BankstrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 October 2025Regional DX partnership for Okayama Prefecture businesses. Joint 'Regional Legal Compliance Zero Declaration' initiative supporting local SME compliance with legal changes. BPaaS service exploration begun October 2025.
• Deloitte Tohmatsu Smooth Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 7 October 2025SaaS implementation partner supporting BPaaS services with regional banks. Brings process design and consulting expertise for SME back-office transformation initiatives.
• sweeep Co., Ltd.coreTechnology or Integration · 19 January 2023Acquired as wholly-owned subsidiary in January 2023 to accelerate invoice-related services in response to Japan's October 2023 invoice system implementation. sweeep provides invoice automation and management services integrated into freee's platform.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Money Forward: Money Forward is freee's closest direct competitor in Japan, offering a similar cloud-based platform spanning personal finance, SMB accounting (MF Cloud Accounting), and HR/payroll. It targets the same Japanese SMB and freelancer customer base with comparable product breadth and AI-driven automation.
• SmartHR: SmartHR is a leading Japanese cloud HR and labor management platform that directly overlaps with freee HR, including onboarding, employee management, and social insurance workflows. It targets the same Japanese SMB market and increasingly expands into HR-adjacent modules that compete with freee's HR suite.

Broad incumbents

• Yayoi (弥生): Yayoi is Japan's dominant incumbent provider of accounting and tax-filing software for SMBs and tax accountants, with deep penetration among tax advisor firms. It is the primary legacy competitor freee is displacing, and also offers Yayoi Kaikei Online as a cloud alternative in the same category.
• Xero: Xero is a global cloud accounting platform for SMBs, with a product strategy and target customer profile that closely mirrors freee Accounting, including bank feeds, AI-powered categorization, and an app marketplace. While primarily global, it represents freee's most direct international comp on product and GTM.
• Intuit (QuickBooks): Intuit's QuickBooks is the global category leader in cloud accounting for SMBs and freelancers, with deep AI, payroll, and financial services extensions. It is the benchmark freee is measured against for product maturity, ARR scale, and small-business ecosystem depth, even though Intuit does not directly serve Japan.
• Oracle NetSuite: NetSuite is a global cloud ERP suite that competes with freee's upper-end integrated ERP positioning, particularly freee Business Management and freee for Medical, serving multi-entity and multi-location Japanese SMBs. It represents the global "full-suite" incumbent freee is differentiating against in the mid-market.
• Sage Group: Sage is a global provider of cloud accounting, payroll, and ERP software for SMBs, with comparable product breadth (Sage Intacct, Sage Business Cloud Accounting). It serves as an international benchmark for freee's go-to-market and pricing strategy, and competes in markets where Japanese SMBs expand overseas.
• ADP: ADP is a global incumbent in payroll, HR, and tax services, increasingly delivered via cloud platforms, and competes with freee HR and freee Payroll in any Japanese SMB segment where multinational employers or HR BPO buyers operate. It anchors the upper benchmark for HR/payroll scale and compliance depth.

Regional players

• JustSystems (PCA): JustSystems, through its PCA accounting and tax product line, is a long-standing Japanese on-premise and cloud provider of accounting, payroll, and ERP software for SMBs and accounting firms. It competes with freee Accounting in the Japanese tax-accountant channel and is part of the legacy base freee is converting.

Emerging players

• Kingdee International: Kingdee is a major Asia-Pacific cloud ERP and accounting software provider, particularly strong in Greater China and Southeast Asia, with comparable AI-driven SMB cloud accounting and HR offerings. It is a relevant peer for freee's longer-term Asia expansion ambitions beyond Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freee_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7Woz_ltu2J9xxXMbl3zQJQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/freee.co.jp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/freeekk
• Instagraminstagram.com/freee_jp

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors20 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freee