Visma Acquires Majority Stake in pathway solutions: Hamburg-Based Accounting Startup Set for Full Takeover

The European software group Visma is further expanding its presence in the German accounting software market and is acquiring a majority stake in the Hamburg-based company pathway solutions. After Visma initially acquired a 33 percent stake in 2024, the group is now increasing its stake to 78 percent. A full acquisition is planned for 2027. Founders Marco Feelisch and Ludwig Eisenblätter will remain at the helm of the company. pathway solutions now serves more than 4,000 companies and over 1,000 tax firms in Germany and Austria.

Visma Increases Stake to 78 Percent

The Norwegian software group Visma is continuing its acquisition strategy in the German accounting market. By increasing its stake in pathway solutions from 33 to 78 percent, Visma is taking a majority stake in the Hamburg-based company, which was founded in 2018. The group had already become a minority shareholder in 2024. Two years later, it has now secured a majority stake. In 2027, Visma plans to acquire the remaining shares and fully integrate pathway solutions into its corporate group. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. No information is available regarding the purchase price or the company’s valuation. Despite the change in ownership, pathway solutions is expected to remain operationally independent. The two founders, Marco Feelisch and Ludwig Eisenblätter, will continue to lead the company. The Hamburg location will also remain in place. For pathway solutions, the transaction represents the next step in an existing strategic partnership.

Automated Accounting for E-Commerce

pathway solutions develops a software platform to automate accounting for e-commerce and SaaS companies. The solution connects sales channels, payment service providers, and marketplaces with accounting systems such as DATEV. The connected platforms include Shopify, Stripe, Amazon, and TikTok Shop, among others. The software captures relevant sales and payment data, assigns receipts, and transmits the processed information to tax firms. In doing so, the company addresses a particular challenge in online retail: merchants who sell across multiple platforms often generate a large number of individual transactions. Added to this are different payment methods, fee structures, refunds, and billing processes. Manually processing this data involves considerable effort for both businesses and tax firms. pathway solutions aims to simplify this process through automated interfaces and centralized data processing.

More than 1,000 tax firms use the platform

Since Visma’s entry in 2024, pathway solutions has significantly expanded its presence in the tax consulting market. According to co-founder and CEO Marco Feelisch, the number of affiliated tax firms has more than tripled during this period. More than 1,000 firms in Germany and Austria now use the software. In addition, more than 4,000 companies handle their accounting processes through pathway solutions. The Hamburg-based company currently employs 25 people. Expanding the network of tax firms is a key component of the company’s growth strategy. This is because tax advisors play a central role for many online retailers in processing and auditing their business transactions. By automating recurring tasks, tax firms should be able to take on additional clients without having to increase their staffing levels to the same extent.

Skills Shortage Increases Pressure for Automation

The acquisition comes against the backdrop of a tight labor market in the tax consulting industry. According to figures from the ifo Institute cited in the company’s press release, 64.7 percent of firms in the legal, tax consulting, and auditing sectors report difficulties in finding skilled workers. E-commerce clients, in particular, can be resource-intensive for firms because they require the processing of large volumes of transaction data from various sources. Automated solutions are intended to reduce this workload and free up capacity for additional clients. pathway solutions reports that affiliated tax firms have already been able to take on new clients as a result—clients they had previously turned down due to capacity constraints. However, the company does not provide specific figures on the number of work hours saved or the additional clients acquired. The software is thus aimed at a market where the demand for specialized automation solutions is closely linked to the shortage of skilled workers.

More Than Ten New Marketplace Integrations in 2026

In addition to expanding its network of tax firms, pathway solutions has also broadened the technical reach of its platform. According to the company, more than ten additional marketplaces were integrated in 2026 alone. These include Otto, Kaufland, Zalando, About You, and Shopapotheke. This enables retailers who sell across various platforms to consolidate their transaction data more effectively and process it centrally for accounting purposes. This is particularly relevant for companies with multiple sales channels, as each marketplace uses its own billing formats and fee structures. The company aims to consolidate as many relevant e-commerce platforms as possible into a single system. At the same time, it plans to further expand its partner network of tax firms and e-commerce agencies in Germany and Austria.

Visma Expands Software Portfolio in the DACH Region

With pathway solutions, Visma is expanding its existing offering of accounting and tax consulting software to include a specialized solution for online retail. The group’s portfolio already includes several providers with different areas of focus. BuchhaltungsButler focuses on cloud-based accounting for smaller businesses, while Accountable offers solutions for the self-employed. With taxy.io and milia, Visma is also active in the field of firm management. Finmatics complements the offering with automated document processing. pathway solutions now bridges the gap between e-commerce platforms and tax accounting. Visma is thus pursuing a strategy of covering various tasks along the accounting process through specialized software companies. In 2025, the group generated revenue of 2.8 billion euros and, according to its own figures, serves approximately 2.7 million customers in Europe and Latin America.

Founders Remain on Board and Drive Growth

For pathway solutions, becoming part of the Visma Group is expected to open up additional opportunities for growth. Co-founder Marco Feelisch emphasizes that the company has benefited from the partnership since joining in 2024 while simultaneously maintaining its entrepreneurial independence. The founders plan to further develop the platform and, in particular, expand the offerings for tax firms with e-commerce clients. Visma sees the acquisition as an opportunity to tap into further automation potential within its software ecosystem. Chief Commercial Officer Steffen Torp points to the growing importance of digital solutions in light of the shortage of skilled professionals in the tax consulting sector. With the planned full acquisition in 2027, pathway solutions will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Visma Group. This marks the beginning of a new phase of growth for the Hamburg-based company, which will focus primarily on additional marketplace integrations, expanding its partner network, and achieving greater integration with other accounting solutions.