Building investor-ready financials for a leading travel platform’s Series A success
TourHero
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Sector: Travel Industry
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Stage: Series A
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About TourHero
As an AI-native platform, TourHero blends trip creation, real-time pricing, and live operator integrations to make building a journey as effortless as chatting with a friend. From itinerary design to logistics and payments, every layer is powered by AI to transform travel from a transaction into a dynamic experience that connects people in the real world.
Challenge
As the company prepared for a Series A raise, finance leader Barnes Benson joined as the first dedicated finance hire, with a mandate to bring clarity and compliance to a complex multi-entity setup.
The complexity of its marketplace model and consolidation needs made it difficult to find the right expertise.
Barnes recognised that hiring in-house wouldn’t solve the problem and finding a single bookkeeper able to manage Singapore, UK, and US entities would be near impossible. The solution had to be an outsourced finance function with the capability to manage complexity at scale.
Why Rise Accounting?
After exploring multiple firms including US providers, bigger generalists and niche specialists, TourHero chose Rise Accounting based on the cost-effectiveness, marketplace expertise and the willingness to work together to build a bespoke solution built on solid, compliant bookkeeping.
“It was extraordinarily cost-effective in terms of the proposal we were given, and the amount of resource you dedicated was absolutely up to the task.
“Other accountants struggled to understand our model. Rise took the time to grasp that much of this happens on the balance sheet before P&L, which was critical for us.
“There was a lot to digest from complexities with tours departing roughly a year after being launched, discretionary payments, and travellers having travelled hundreds of thousands of days. Rise asked the right questions and managed the complexity with ease.
“They were effective at managing time differences as well. While I was in the States, they sent video updates so I could review questions in my own time and respond clearly. It kept the project moving smoothly across time zones.”
“Integrity, reliability, and communication are what matter most and Rise Accounting has ticked all three boxes. I know if the team goes off to do something, it will be delivered to the standard we agreed on. They’ve proven to be proactive in flagging uncertainties, which gives me real confidence in working together going forward.”
Barnes Benson
Strategic Advisor, TourHero
Solution
Rise Accounting now operates as TourHero’s outsourced finance team by rebuilding strong financial foundations and setting the company up for investor readiness while easing internal workload by:
- Confirming US books (2021–2024) to bring accounts up to standard.
- Managing marketplace complexity from gross booking value vs. revenue recognition to discretionary payments, credits, refunds, and balance sheet movements.
- Supporting international consolidation by preparing accounts for Singapore and US filings.
- Clear, responsive communication, including video updates to bridge time zones and keep progress moving smoothly.
“It’s definitely a weight off our shoulders as a team knowing that we’re getting up to date in terms of our filings, it’s a non-negotiable for raising our Series A. The timing made perfect sense.”
Results
Working with Rise Accounting delivered the investor-ready accounts needed to give confidence to the business.
“But more importantly, the quality and accuracy of the work have been transformative. Complex marketplace flows from gross booking value versus revenue recognition to credits and refunds provisions are now properly reflected in our books.”
“It was clearly a team effort. Subha, Santhosh, and others all played their part, which gave me confidence that the work would get done properly. If you’re going external, you don’t want one person but a team. Rise gave us that.”
“There’s now a shared understanding of our business model, which makes it much easier to step into 2025 from a position of strength.”
What's next?
TourHero will continue working with Rise Accounting to manage 2025 accounts in real time with extended support for UK payroll, ensuring the company enters 2026 set up for success.
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