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Abrigo (software company)

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Abrigo, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded1998
Founders
  • Daniel Cho - Banker’s Toolbox
    Brian Hamilton
  • Sarah Tourville – Sageworks
    Tom Farin – Farin Financial Risk Management
HeadquartersAustin, Texas & Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Key people
Jay Blandford, CEO
Websitewww.abrigo.com

Abrigo, formerly Sageworks, is a private financial-information company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1998 as Sageworks, Abrigo provides software and services for risk management, financial crime prevention, and lending, serving 2,400 financial institutions. The company focuses on helping banks and credit unions manage regulatory requirements and operational risk while supporting growth amid increasing competition, evolving technologies, and changing customer expectations.

Abrigo offers risk management, compliance, and lending solutions through a combination of software and advisory services, allowing US banks and credit unions to address multiple regulatory and operational needs through a single vendor platform. Abrigo is led by an executive team with experience in financial services, banking technology, and regulatory compliance.[1]

History

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As Sageworks

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Abrigo was founded as Sageworks in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1998 by Brian Hamilton and computer programmer Sarah Tourville.[2][3] The two met while Hamilton was teaching Continuing Studies at Duke University in the early 1990s. Tourville, one of Hamilton's students, said she could program a financial-analysis system after Hamilton said that no one has come up with a way to automate certain analyses.[4] In the late 1990s Hamilton and Tourville spent two years developing software for what was to be known as Sageworks' Financial Information into Narrative Data (FIND), the technology behind its ProfitCents product.[3] While the firm first struggled to market its tools in the early 2000s, CitiBank and Intuit were both early adopters.[3]

Sageworks started collecting financial data 2001. By 2014, it included 2001-2011 data from nearly 240,000 private firms, including three or more consecutive years of financial data for each of 99,040.[5]: 8  It provides financial performance data on private companies based on their income statements and balance sheets.[notes 1] The data is provided by large accounting firms that work with private companies, then anonymized by labeling each company with a unique identifier number.[notes 2] Commercial users are given access to aggregated data by industry and region and not the financials of individual companies.[5] Its data tends to comprise figures from large private firms; as of 2014, it contained data on almost 240,000 private companies.[5]: 9  This compares to Sageworks' multi-year data from 2001 to 2011 of 4,360 public U.S. firms.[notes 3]Commercial users are given access to aggregated data by industry and region and not the financials of individual companies.[5] Its data tends to comprise figures from large private firms; as of 2014, it contained data on almost 240,000 private companies.[5]: 9 

In January 2004, the company announced a deal to license to LexisNexis its ProfitCents public product, which turns U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission data from public companies into plain-English text reports.[7][8]

In 2014, Sageworks launched its LoanSage product, a platform for small business owners to get loans of up to $2 million in one day.[9] That same year, the company unveiled Sageworks Bank Information, a cloud-based platform providing data on banks and credit unions with data of 6,000 U.S. banks and 7,000 credit unions.[10] The same year it launched its CFO platform, a suite of financial analysis tools for financial executives with financial analysis, benchmarking, valuation, and industry data,[11] and Sageworks Bank Information, a cloud-based platform with bank and credit union data.[10]

In November 2016, the company launched a platform that helps lenders provide financing for small and medium-sized businesses.[12] In June 2017, it released its CashSage product, for analyzing cash flow.[13]

As Abrigo

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In 2018,[14] Accel-KKR acquired Sageworks for an undisclosed amount and became part of the Banker's Toolbox suite of products.[15] In 2019, Banker's Toolbox sunset the Sageworks brand and re-branded itself as Abrigo.[16][17] In 2019, the company acquired Farin Financial Risk Management.[18] In 2021, Abrigo secured a second investment from funds managed by Carlyle.[19] As of the mid-2020s, Abrigo continues to focus on expanding its integrated software platform to help financial institutions adapt to evolving regulatory requirements and scrutiny of their safety. The company has emphasized cloud-based delivery, AI technology, and data-driven insights as key areas of development.

In 2022, Abrigo acquired Valuant and BankLabs’ Construct and +Pay construction-loan administration and funding solutions.[20] DiCOM Software was added in 2023. In 2024, the comopany acquired TPG Software.[21]

In 2025, Abrigo acquired Integrated Financial Services of Austin, Texas.[22]

Reception

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Abrigo's data has been used by academics to analyze economics using data from private companies, where traditionally only a very small data-set of about 4,000 public companies that publicly reported their data was available.[5]: 8  According to a paper from researchers with New York University and Harvard Business School, Sageworks' data is especially useful, because it is free of survivor bias and other selection biases.[6]: 1 

Abrigo also uses data to create the "Sageworks Private Company Indicator", which shows private-company sales growth and profit margins.[23][24] The firm also occasionally issues aggregate information about average profitability of private firms in various industries.[25][26]

Awards

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  • Company of the Year – 2025 NC Tech Awards
  • Since 2018, Abrigo has been consistently named an Austin American-Statesman Top Workplace and named one of Triangle Business Journal's best places to work[27]
  • Named a 2025 Community Champion by the Triangle Business Journal
  • Chief Executive Officer, Jay Blandford, was recognized in the 2024 Corporate Leadership Awards by the Triangle Business Journal

ThinkBig

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ThinkBIG is an annual conference organized by Abrigo for professionals in the banking and financial services industry. The conference features educational sessions, keynote presentations, and networking opportunities, with programming focused on regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention, lending, portfolio risk management, and financial technology.

Philanthropy

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Abrigo founded a not-for-profit program named Inmates to Entrepreneurs in 2008.[3] The program encourages prison inmates to start their own business.[3] The program is based on Hamilton's small business seminar, focusing on marketing, sales, customer service, accounting, finance and staffing.[3] Participants make informal business plans and are paired with mentors.[3]

The company is also a partner of Texas Advocacy Project's annual “Backpacks for Hope” campaign, which provides backpacks and school supplies to children of domestic abuse survivors displaced from their homes.[28] In addition, several Abrigo employee resource groups organize donation efforts annually for regional food banks, veterans, and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's “Toys for Tots” program. Abrigo also supports a number of its customer bank and credit union events in their communities across the United States each year.

Notes

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  1. ^ Statement of cash flow data, financial statements' footnote data, and CEO ownership and most other ownership data are not available in Sageworks.[6]: 1, 6, 15–17 
  2. ^ The accounting firms participating "input data for all their corporate clients directly into Sageworks’ database in an anonymous fashion."[6]: 1 
  3. ^ As derived by Asker et al. from Compustat and CRSP databases, after certain exclusions including removal of all financial firms and regulated utilities.[5]: 8 

References

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  1. ^ "NC trend: Brian Hamilton has turned his attention back to building a company". Business NC. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  2. ^ Stodghill, Ron (June 14, 2006). "Bolt down those costs". FORTUNE Small Business. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bailey, David (November 2011). "Out on your own". North Carolina Business. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  4. ^ Howie Rhee (13 September 2011). "Interview with Brian Hamilton '90, Co-founder and CEO of Sageworks". DukeGEN. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Asker, John; Farre-Menser, Joan; Ljungqvist, Alexander (October 20, 2014). "Corporate Investment and Stock Market Listing: A Puzzle?" (PDF). Review of Financial Studies (Forthcoming). Retrieved March 19, 2015. (full paper available in pre-publication form)
  6. ^ a b c Asker, John; Farre-Mensa, Joan; Ljungqvist, Alexander (28 March 2011). "What Do Private Firms Look like? Data Appendix". SSRN 1659926. Retrieved 23 July 2023. (a 34-page paper labelled as a "Data Appendix", which supports the authors' other papers using the Sageworks data: Abstract available here at SSRN.com with full paper also freely downloadable)
  7. ^ Lanza, Sheri R. (26 January 2004). "Sageworks licenses its ProfitCents public technology to LexisNexis". Information Today. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  8. ^ Weisbecker, Lee (December 27, 2012). "Scott Ogle named Sageworks CEO". Triangle Biz Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  9. ^ Follari, Gemma (September 25, 2014). "Manhattan fin-tech incubator unveiled". Crain's New York. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Dymi, Amilda (17 July 2014). "Sageworks launches bank performance database". American Banker. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  11. ^ O'Bannon, Isaac (18 November 2014). "Online CFO platform helps businesses manage finances". CPA Practice Advisor. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Sageworks offers lenders a door to SMEs". PYMNTS. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  13. ^ Arrowsmith, Ranica (29 June 2017). "Sageworks releases cash flow analysis tool". Accounting Today. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  14. ^ Gronberg, Ray (19 May 2018). "Private equity firm acquires Sageworks". Business. The Herald-Sun. Vol. 130, no. 83. Raleigh, North Carolina: McClatchy. p. A6. Retrieved 23 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Private equity firm acquires financial software provider". www.americanbanker.com. 21 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Sageworks becomes Abrigo". Accounting Today. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  17. ^ "After A Pair Of Acquisitions in 2018, Banker's Toolbox Becomes Abrigo". Banking Exchange. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Abrigo Acquires Enterprise Risk Management Leader FARIN Financial Risk Management". Banking Exchange. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Texas fintech to expand in Raleigh with fresh backing from Carlyle Group". The Business Journals. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Abrigo Buys Two BankLabs Solutions to Support Construction Lenders". PYMNTS. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Risk management specialist Abrigo snaps up TPG Software for investment accounting tech". Fintech Futures. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  22. ^ "Abrigo Acquires Integrated Financial Solutions". Finovate. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  23. ^ "Sageworks Private Company Data". Fox Business. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  24. ^ "Private companies growing; sales growth slowing". Accountingweb.com. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  25. ^ Yerak, Becky (August 6, 2014). "Accounting is most profitable industry, study shows". Chicago Tribune.
  26. ^ Dougherty, Conor (August 23, 2011). "Private Companies See Record Profits". The Wall St Journal.
  27. ^ "2023 Best Places to Work Awards: Abrigo". The Business Journals. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  28. ^ "Texas Advocacy Project's Backpacks for Hope Campaign starts Tuesday". KVUE. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
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