Empowering Indian Businesses, One Invoice at a Time
When Viswajith Kurup launched Refrens, it wasn’t meant to be a full accounting platform. In fact, the name “Refrens” came from a simple idea: building a referral network where businesses could grow by sharing clients. But as with many great SaaS journeys, the evolution came from listening closely to users.
“Refrens started with a simple but powerful idea: to build a referral network where businesses could help each other grow by sharing clients. Hence the name Refrens.”
The first version of Refrens was a freelance marketplace, supported by invoicing and quotation tools that helped users transact more easily. What surprised Viswajith and his team, however, was the flood of interest in those tools, from solo founders to larger companies, many of whom weren’t even freelancers.
“These tools began attracting not just freelancers and agencies, but a wide spectrum of businesses, from solo founders to large enterprises.”
This revealed a larger, deeper problem: India’s small businesses were stuck between outdated, complex desktop tools like Tally and overpriced global solutions that didn’t understand Indian tax compliance. So Refrens pivoted, transforming into a full-fledged invoicing and accounting platform, built for Indian SMEs, startups, freelancers, and service professionals.
A Product Built Around Simplicity and India-First Needs
Refrens isn’t just another invoicing app. It’s an end-to-end platform that helps small businesses manage everything from billing and GST to payments, inventory, and workflows. Importantly, it does this in a way that’s actually usable for non-accountants.
“Refrens empowers small teams to operate with the efficiency of a full finance department, while staying affordable and easy to use.”
At its heart is FREYA, Refrens' built-in AI assistant, which offers instant financial insights, turning a slow, CA-dependent process into something that takes seconds. For non-finance founders trying to move fast, this can be transformative.
“With our built-in AI assistant FREYA, users can instantly access CFO-level insights and reports without waiting days for a CA to respond.”
The platform’s unique advantage lies in its ability to serve real Indian business needs: GST billing, e-invoicing, e-way bills, quotations, approvals, and even inventory, all rolled into one interface.
“Most accounting and invoicing tools in the market were either too complex for non-accountants or too basic to handle real business needs.”
Refrens has filled a very specific and underserved gap: modern software that’s simple enough for founders, powerful enough for full finance teams, and compliant with India’s regulatory framework.
What Worked: Give First, Convert Later
One strategy that proved particularly effective for Refrens was giving away genuinely useful tools for free. The company’s invoice and quotation generators were initially built to support their freelance marketplace, but they ended up becoming one of Refrens’ best organic growth channels.
“One approach that gave us surprisingly consistent growth was giving away powerful tools for free, like our invoice and quotation generators.”
These tools were both functional and easy to use, which meant they solved real problems fast, and in turn, they ranked well on Google. But most importantly, they created trust. Users who came for a free tool often stayed for the full platform once they saw how comprehensive and intuitive it was.
“Users who came for a free invoice stayed for the entire platform once they saw how intuitive and comprehensive Refrens really was.”
It’s a strategy that continues to work. By focusing on real utility and letting the product prove its value, Refrens grew to over 10,000 paying customers and 300,000 businesses across 170+ countries, largely through organic channels.
“What’s even more exciting is that this growth has been largely organic.”
The Challenge: Convincing the Old Guard
Despite the product’s strengths, the team at Refrens is facing one of its biggest challenges yet: changing the mindset of traditional Indian business owners. While younger founders and digital-savvy teams are quick to adopt modern SaaS, a significant portion of India’s SME sector is still reliant on legacy tools or even manual spreadsheets.
“Our biggest challenge right now is changing the mindset of traditional business owners who are still stuck on outdated desktop software or manual processes.”
The issue isn’t just comfort, it’s inertia. Many of these businesses know their systems are inefficient or non-compliant, but the fear of switching keeps them from upgrading. Refrens is now heavily focused on educating this segment, building trust, and demonstrating that cloud-based platforms are not just easier, but safer, more scalable, and better aligned with modern compliance requirements.
“There's a deep-rooted comfort in using what they've always used, even if it's inefficient or non-compliant.”
This mindset shift is a long-term battle, but one that Refrens is committed to winning.
Hard Lessons and Smarter Strategies
In their early growth phase, Refrens leaned hard into SEO. It made sense, bringing in consistent, high-intent traffic and supporting their free-tool strategy. But over time, the team learned a crucial truth about SaaS distribution.
“One key lesson we learned the hard way is that SEO is powerful, but it’s a long game, not a silver bullet.”
Even the best SEO strategy can only take a business so far, especially in a competitive space. That realization pushed Refrens to diversify its approach. They began layering SEO with partnerships, product-led growth, community awareness, and targeted performance marketing. The goal now is to reach, not just ranking.
“The hard truth? Even the best product won’t succeed if you rely on just one channel to get it in front of the right audience.”
This shift has helped Refrens grow faster, smarter, and more sustainably.
The Road Ahead
Refrens, founded by Viswajith Kurup, has come a long way from its freelance marketplace roots. Today, it’s a business operating system for India’s modern entrepreneurs, designed for speed, compliance, and ease of use. As more businesses go digital and the demand for clarity and control grows, Refrens is well-positioned to lead the way.
If you're an Indian SME, startup founder, freelancer, or consultant stuck in Excel hell or overwhelmed by traditional accounting software, Refrens might just be what you’ve been waiting for.
Visit www.refrens.com to learn more or reach out directly at [email protected]. You can also follow their updates and tutorials on YouTube via Refrens and Let's Go Digital.