Cloud-based software provider BQE has received significant investment from Serent Capital, a growth-focused private equity firm that invests in technology and tech-enabled software companies.

Working with professional service firms, BQE was founded by Shafat Qazi in 1995 as a billing and project management software company.

Its flagship product, BQE CORE, is a cloud-based solution that centralises and streamlines the way firms enter and use data for time tracking, billing, project management and accounting.

After acquiring ArchiOffice and EngineerOffice in 2009, BQE solidified its foothold in the architecture and engineering industries, while expanding the company’s offerings to include project accounting and human resource management.

“I am pleased to have found an amazing partner with Serent Capital,” says Qazi.

“It was extremely important that our investment partner share our vision, and have the experience in growing sales, marketing, and customer success teams that will enable us to achieve our goal of being the leading technology provider for professional service firms worldwide.”

With headquarters in San Francisco, Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs.

The private equity firm took an interest in BQE following its shift to a 100 percent SaaS-based enterprise with BQE CORE, a comprehensive, cloud-native, business management platform in 2017.

After five years of development and $25 million of “boot-strapped” investment, the “secure, modern, and highly customisable” platform was a success with small and mid-sized professional service firms.

“We have been watching BQE for years, and have been particularly impressed with their culture of innovation, combined with extraordinary customer satisfaction,” says Serent Capital partner Kevin Frick.

“While BQE is already an exceptionally successful company, we are delighted to be partnering with Shafat and the entire BQE team to amplify that success to further grow the company.”