Cents Acquires Insight Systems to Bring Industry-Leading Data and Reporting to the Entire Laundry Industry

Acquisition expands Cents' reporting and intelligence capabilities and launches a new chapter in dry cleaning, with industry veterans Wash Respess and Joe Patalano joining to drive dry cleaning expansion strategy.

NEW YORK, July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cents, the only fully integrated software, hardware, and payments technology platform built for the laundry industry, today announced the acquisition of Insight Systems, the garment care industry's premier business intelligence, dashboarding, and reporting platform. The acquisition will bring Insight Systems' data and reporting tools directly into the Cents platform, giving all operators, laundromats and dry cleaners alike, a centralized, transparent view of their business. Alongside the product integration, the Insight Systems team will join Cents to continue the rapid development and growth of Cents' software and payment solutions for dry cleaners.

This momentum builds on Cents' $140 million Series C, closed in March 2026, which represents the largest single software investment in the laundry and garment care vertical to date and has accelerated Cents' mission to bring modern technology to one of America's most enduring and underserved small business sectors.

"From the day we started Cents, our mission has been to give independent operators the tools to run every part of their business with confidence," said Alex Jekowsky, Co-founder and CEO of Cents. "We've always believed better decisions start with better data, and Wash, Joe, and the Insight Systems team built the best reporting and intelligence technology our industry has ever seen. Bringing Insight Systems into Cents means our laundromat customers get even more powerful tools to understand and grow their business, and it gives us the foundation to build something the dry cleaning industry has never had. This is an investment in the customers we serve today and the operators we will serve tomorrow."

For existing laundromat customers, the acquisition adds a new layer of visibility across the tools operators already rely on every day. Insight Systems' ability to integrate data from third-party point-of-sale systems means operators can finally see their whole business in one place, with metrics built specifically for garment care. There is no one-size-fits-all in laundry, and this technology was built to surface the metrics that matter most to operators specifically.

The acquisition also marks a major milestone in Cents' commitment to the laundry industry. Cents has supported dry cleaners for years, and this acquisition is a decisive step toward building the best system in the market for how they actually operate. Leading that effort is Wash Respess, who joins Cents as General Manager of Dry Cleaning, building on the foundation he and Insight Systems co-founder Joe Patalano spent years developing together. Both are industry veterans: Patalano with more than 30 years building software for dry cleaners, and Respess with decades of experience as an operator, a product builder inside major industry software platforms, and a founder dedicated to helping business owners.

"I've seen dry cleaning from every angle: as an operator, as a product builder inside the software serving this industry, and as someone who set out to build what was missing. What we built at Insight Systems is the foundation, and now, as part of Cents, we get to take it further. The industry has been waiting for this," said Wash Respess, GM of Dry Cleaning, Cents.

Joe Patalano, who helped build Insight Systems from the ground up, added: "I've spent nearly 30 years building software for this industry. When I met Alex and saw what Cents had built, the decision was clear. They're not carrying legacy constraints, they have the team and capital to execute, and now we get to add the features advanced dry cleaning operations actually need, right into a platform that's already proven with laundromats. Pair that with what Wash knows about running these businesses, and dry cleaners finally get a partner built for how they actually work."

This investment in dry cleaning does not come at the expense of Cents' continued commitment to laundromats or to its self-service and route operators. Cents raised capital to build best-in-class, dedicated products for each industry it serves, so that the experience of a laundromat owner and the experience of a dry cleaner are each bespoke, personal, and built for the way they actually run their business.

Existing Insight Systems customers will see no interruption to their service or support as this transition unfolds. Garment care operators who want to follow what is being built, share feedback, or be among the first to know what is coming can visit www.trycents.com/solutions/dry-cleaning to join the waitlist.

About Cents

Cents is the leading all-in-one platform for laundry operators, providing everything owners and operators need to grow, manage, and understand their business. Trusted by over 5,000 garment care locations that process over $1 billion in payments annually, Cents offers comprehensive tools for point of sale, on-machine payments, marketing automation, AI customer service, pickup and delivery, and more. Designed for laundromats, dry cleaners, and multi-family operations, Cents is committed to driving industry success through innovative technology and strong community support. Learn more at trycents.com.

About Insight Systems

Insight Systems is a business intelligence, dashboarding, and marketing platform built specifically for the garment care industry. Founded by Wash Respess and Joe Patalano, two operators and product builders with a combined four decades of experience in dry cleaning, Insight Systems gives operators advanced reporting, data visualization, automated customer tagging, and marketing tools designed around the realities of running a garment care business. The platform has recorded 21 million+ transactions across hundreds of locations nationwide.

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SOURCE Cents