Most $4M-$20M companies don't struggle because they lack data.
They struggle because the business has outgrown the informal systems that once held everything together.
As complexity increases, familiar gaps appear:
Sales and pipeline don't match delivery
Delivery doesn't match billing
Billing doesn't match accounting
Reports lag behind decisions
Each team has numbers, but none align
This isn't unusual. It's the point where clarity depends on the structure underneath it.
1. Connect the core systems before thinking about ERP
After spending 16 years at SAP, one pattern became very clear: ERP creates leverage only when processes and data are already disciplined. Many companies first need clean flow across a few core tools:
Sales Delivery Billing Accounting Cash Reporting
When this flow is broken, leaders o f ten believe they "need ERP."
In reality, ERP only works when the business can sustain the discipline it requires.
2. Establish a finance coordination function
Not a new hire, but a de fined function.
Every company has people touching pieces of the flow, but no one is accountable for ensuring that what is sold, delivered, billed, and reported all aligns.
Without this function, every team assumes someone else is keeping the numbers consistent, but no one is.
When accountability is clear, the entire system strengthens.
3. Use automation to remove manual variation
Automation creates stability when the underlying process is clean. It ampli fies whatever exists.
High-value areas include:
Invoicing tied to CRM
Expense categorisation
Renewal reminders
Anomaly or missing-data flags
Cash-flow snapshots
Used thought fully, Al supports these routines without adding more admin work.
4. Shift from reporting to insight
Reporting reflects the systems underneath it.
When the flow is fragmented, reporting becomes fragmented.
Leaders don't need more dashboards.
They need decision-ready information: Unit economics, margin by service line, capacity vs demand, renewal health, cash runway scenarios.
These insights appear naturally when the system is coordinated.
The in flection point:
Growth doesn't create chaos. Weak systems do.
When information flows cleanly across the business and teams trust the numbers, finance stops explaining the past and starts supporting the next move.
That's when finance becomes the operating system for the business, and when the real scaling work begins.
