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OpenGov Acquires ClearRec for Government Accounting Software

With the acquisition of bank reconciliation software, the ERP cloud software provider continues its investment in products to help governments automate tasks that are time-consuming to do manually.

OpenGov has added a new bookkeeping tool to its suite of enterprise resource planning software with the acquisition of ClearRec, a Texas-based company with an expertise in bank reconciliation.

According to a news release Oct. 13, ClearRec has been rebranded as OpenGov Bank Reconciliation and integrated with OpenGov’s ERP cloud software as an automated feature. In bookkeeping and accounting, bank reconciliation is the process of making sure the account balance in an entity’s records accurately reflects what that bank reported on its most recent bank statement for that entity. In the case of government agencies, it means making sure the agency’s books match those held by the financial institution for that agency. As a result of the acquisition, OpenGov’s software will now help government staff do this with a step-by-step workflow that’s intelligible to people who don’t have much experience in this area.

The news release said a former government auditor designed ClearRec’s software, and local governments have been using it for more than 10 years.

OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman said in a statement that the acquisition and integration is meant to further promote the public sector’s transition to the cloud by automating one more aspect of it.

“As we continue to expand our technology footprint with local governments and state agencies, I’m excited to bring this added value to our customers by simplifying an often complex and manual process,” he said.

OpenGov counts more than 1,000 government agencies in the U.S. as customers, and acquisitions have been a key part of its expanding footprint lately. This is the company’s fourth in as many years, following its acquisition of the data firm Ontodia in 2016, the civic engagement platform Peak Democracy in October 2017, and the permitting and licensing company ViewPoint in September 2019.

OpenGov also said after a $51 million fundraising haul in September 2019 that cloud software to digitize paper-based processes would be its focus going forward, and that appears to have been the case. Competing with heavy hitters such as Accela and CentralSquare Technologies, the company touted the completion of its ERP Cloud offerings earlier this year with the release of OpenGov Financials.