Payments management software company Coupa Software Inc. is riding high today after smashing expectations on its second-quarter earnings.

The company reported earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of 7 cents per share on record revenue of $95 million, up 54% from a year ago. Wall Street had been expecting Coupa to report a loss of 10 cents per share on revenue of $85.4 million for the period.

Even better, Coupa said that its billings, which are generally seen as a sales growth metric, rose 57%, to $107.7 million. Wall Street had estimated billings of just $87.1 million.

“These results demonstrate our continued momentum in delivering measurable and repeatable value to our customers,” Coupa Chief Executive Officer Rob Bernshteyn said in a statement. “By extending our leadership standing in Business Spend Management, we feel well positioned on our path to $1 billion in revenue.”

There was good news regarding Coupa’s guidance for the next quarter too. The company said it’s expecting third-quarter earnings of 6 to 8 cents a share on revenue of $96 million. This was ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of 6 cents on revenue of $87 million.

Coupa’s shareholders quickly showed their appreciation, driving the company’s stock up more than 11% in after-hours trading.

Coupa’s payment management software covers things such as procurement, invoicing, sourcing and business expenses. Its software sits alongside enterprise resource planning software in the larger financial information technology stack. Benefits for customers include faster approvals routing, better invoice and purchase order matching, and centralized electronic payment routing to suppliers.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Ray Wang told SiliconANGLE Coupa was benefiting from what he called “the network effect.”

“The Procure to Pay market is basically the inverse of commerce,” Wang said. “Once you have critical mass of suppliers and procurement teams, you gain mass efficiencies. Coupa has hit that inflection point. The next step will be moving from software and transactions to next best action and data driven business networks.”

Bernshteyn recently appeared on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, to explain Coupa’s role in recent changes in business spend management:

Ravi Thakur, Coupa’s senior vice president of business acceleration, also recently talked with theCUBE in more depth about the benefits of the company’s software:

Photo: Coupa