Tel Aviv-based Sorbet raises $6 million, helps employees cash out on unused paid time off

Tel Aviv-based paid time off cash-out solution Sorbet has raised $6 million in an effort to balance the books; for both employees and CFO’s and accountants.

The round was led by Viola Ventures and saw participation from Global Founders Capital and Meron Capital.

"Sorbet's first of its kind solution is a true breakthrough in managing hundreds of billions of dollars of balance sheet liabilities which employees can’t access or liquidate and employers can’t predict or refinance. Under Veetahl's leadership as CEO we look forward to seeing the company become a Fintech powerhouse in the years to come," comments Viola Ventures co-founder and general partner Avi Zeevi.

The Flow

Founded in 2019 by Veetahl Eilat-Raichel, Eliaz Shapira, and Rami Kasterstein, Sorbet addresses one of the biggest headaches CFO’s and accountants face: unused time off. This unused employee benefit creates a liability on the company’s books, which in the U.S. alone accounts for some $224 billion per year.

The cash flow liability shows up when an employee’s annual salary is calculated based on the number of days worked as well as the number of days off. If employees do not utilise these days off, the employer is then obligated to pay up when said employee leaves the company.

Sorbet in the Mix

The upside for employees is twofold. By plugging into calendars and HR and payroll systems, Sorbet can recognise individual working hours habits and analyse time management patterns.

With these analytics the platform can then proactively suggest HR department pre-approved 3-6 hour micro-breaks, 1-4 day Micro-cations and +1 week holidays.

In doing so, Sorbet is reporting an increase of approximately 15% increase in the average amount spent not working. Woohoo! Likewise, the platform is able to generate a formula predicting the portion of time off that the employee will never end up using, allowing employees to forecast accrued time.

Cold Hard Cash (of sorts)

Alternatively, the company offers a solution that, much like invoice factoring, will buy out the balance of unused paid time off in exchange for cash loaded onto a virtual prepaid card (think Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.).

All in all, a handy service for both sides of the employee/employer relationship, especially at a time when we could all use a little extra cash.

So, Robin .... about those new speakers I've been eyeballing ...