The Rise of SMB Superapps

How embedding essential financial services like accounting can help software providers survive the great platform consolidation

As economic headwinds persist and budgets tighten, small businesses are cutting software that doesn't pull its weight. Increasingly, they’re ditching platforms that only perform one or two functions in favor of superapps—all-in-one platforms that consolidate what used to require three, four, or five separate tools into a single interface.

Gartner projects that, by 2027, more than 50% of the global population will be daily active users of multiple superapps, with the concept expanding beyond consumer applications to include B2B workflow, collaboration, and financial platforms.

This consolidation wave is redefining what “essential” means for software, as SMBs keep fewer platforms but expect more from each one.

For the platforms that survive the cut, that signals an opportunity to expand their footprint and their value. By embedding the sorts of financial services SMBs are actively looking to consolidate—like accounting—software providers can capture a larger share of customers' wallets, reduce churn, and ultimately help small businesses survive.

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How Did We Get to This Superapp Moment?

Western markets have spent the last decade watching companies like WeChat and Grab dominate in Asia by offering all-in-one platforms. But recent data shows that users in the U.S. also want to consolidate their operational and financial functions. Chase's Digital Banking Attitudes Survey, for example, found that 86% of respondents prefer using one app for all of their banking needs. 

This trend extends beyond banking, as 79% of small business owners would be more likely to select an industry-specific software provider if it integrated all accounting functions like bookkeeping, invoicing, expense management, financial reporting, and tax services into a single platform.

The fragmentation they're trying to escape is real. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2025 SMB Technology Report shows that small businesses currently use at least four different types of technology platforms on average, with 58% using four or more. Each of these platforms requires its own login, its own learning curve, its own billing cycle, and its own integration and maintenance headaches. This can be a lot to handle in the face of rising operational costs, tighter margins, and limited resources to manage complex tech ecosystems. 

As a result, SMBs are asking tougher questions and demanding more from their tech. Does this tool justify its cost? Could another platform handle this function? Where can we consolidate without sacrificing capability?

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What Makes an SMB App a Superapp?

WeChat started as a messaging platform for consumers but has since grown into a true multi-sided SMB ecosystem with service accounts for sales and support, subscription accounts for content distribution, mini programs for in-app services and extensions, WeChat Work for internal management, and WeChat Pay as a financial layer that ties everything together.

If you look at superapps across different markets, you’ll see one pattern: they almost always expand toward financial functionality. Uber, for instance, began as a rideshare app, then layered in food delivery services, freight, and eventually payment products—including embedded lending for restaurant partners. In other words, Uber didn’t set out to become a superapp; it evolved into a superapp by absorbing more and more SMB workflows.

Like payments, accounting is uniquely positioned at the center of this evolution because it’s the one function every small business must do, regardless of its industry, size, or maturity.

Unlike optional workflow tools, accounting isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It's legally required and directly tied to a business’s ability to survive. It’s also the earliest indicator of financial stress and the clearest source of truth during periods of instability. 

When SMBs have real-time visibility into cash flow, outstanding invoices, burn rate, and upcoming tax liabilities, they can make better decisions, avoid costly surprises, and stay afloat during periods of economic volatility. For SaaS platforms, embedding accounting unlocks something no other feature can: a continuous stream of high-fidelity financial data that fuels personalization, forecasting, and smart automation.

That’s why accounting offers an excellent foundation for superapps. It’s the system of record that informs every other operational and financial workflow, so it’s the layer that generates the deepest stickiness with SMB customers.

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The Economics of Platform Consolidation

Here's what makes the superapp trend inevitable: every additional function a platform adds increases customer lifetime value and reduces churn risk. The more deeply embedded a platform becomes in customers’ daily operations, the harder it is to rip out.

Accounting represents one of the stickiest layers. When a platform handles a business's books—tracking expenses, generating financial statements, managing invoices, and preparing taxes—it becomes foundational infrastructure. You don't casually switch away from the system that holds your complete financial history and connects to all your bank accounts.

But there's another factor at play, too: data. Every transaction—every expense logged, sent invoice, and calculated tax—generates insights into how a business operates. This comprehensive dataset enables unprecedented personalization. A platform that understands both its customers’ operational patterns and their financial health can offer more tailored recommendations, predict cash flow issues before they arise, and surface optimizations that actually move the needle.

That’s why we're seeing project management tools add invoicing, HR platforms launch expense tracking, and vertical SaaS companies race to embed complete accounting systems. They recognize that controlling financial workflows means controlling customer retention and unlocking new revenue streams beyond subscription fees. By taking the superapp model and embedding much-needed services like accounting, software platforms can create defensive moats that competitors can't easily cross.

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How Superapps Stick

It takes more than bolting on extra features to become a superapp for small businesses. The platforms that succeed share three key characteristics:

• Seamless integration

Additional services shouldn’t feel like an add-on. They must be woven directly into existing workflows so users never have to context-switch or duplicate data entry.

Square didn't just add business banking features—they made it so restaurants could see yesterday's sales deposits in the same dashboard where they manage tables and inventory. To put it another way, a contractor platform that automatically generates invoices from completed jobs and tracks those invoices against expenses in real-time financial statements isn't offering multiple features; it's offering one coherent experience.

• Real infrastructure, not surface integrations

Surface-level integrations break down under real-world pressure. Superapps are built on robust infrastructure that can handle complexity.

A superapp that offers embedded accounting, for instance, has to consider multi-entity accounting, cash and accrual basis methods, automated reconciliation, and tax compliance across jurisdictions. This requires genuine accounting infrastructure that runs behind the scenes, not just API wrappers that push data out to external tools.

• Strategic focus on the customer's full operational lifecycle

The best superapps don't ask, "What new feature should we add?" They ask, "What operational burden prevents our customers from growing?" and solve from there.

Shopify, for example, added inventory management, shipping logistics, and capital financing because they understood the complete merchant lifecycle. Platforms that embed accounting into their solution recognize that financial visibility is the foundation for continued growth.

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The Risk of Waiting

Today’s platform leaders face an important choice. They can incorporate business-essential features like accounting now, while they still control the customer relationship and can build from a position of strength. Or they can wait and watch nimbler competitors capture SMBs’ financial workflows.

The platforms that move first gain compounding advantages. They collect richer data on customer behavior. They build stronger network effects. And they create switching costs that protect their core business even if new competitors emerge.

The consolidation trend isn't slowing down anytime soon. SMBs are actively pruning their tech stacks right now, and they're making decisions about which platforms deserve to stay. The platforms that offer comprehensive accounting capabilities alongside their core features have a massive advantage.

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Embed Accounting Into Your Platform

The good news? You don't need to become an accounting firm or build infrastructure from scratch to become your small business customers’ superapp of choice. You also don’t have to become an industry giant like Uber or WeChat.

Embedded accounting platforms like Tight allow you to add sophisticated accounting capabilities—like automated bookkeeping, financial statements, expense tracking, tax preparation, and invoice management—without taking on the technical complexity, regulatory burden, or operational overhead.

The right infrastructure partner handles the complex backend—including double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, tax calculations, and compliance—while you control the customer experience. That means your customers see a seamless extension of your platform, while you see expanded revenue streams and improved retention metrics.

At Tight, we've built embedded accounting infrastructure that turns platforms that do one thing really well into superapps that can take on the lion’s share of their SMB customers’ workflows.

We handle the complexity so you can focus on serving your customers and expanding your offering. Whether you're adding your first accounting feature or scaling to support millions of SMBs, we provide the comprehensive accounting backend that makes it possible—from white-labeled invoicing and expense tracking to financial statements and tax filing—all running smoothly and invisibly behind the scenes.

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