Trends in Private Capital ERP Software Development

I've talked to dozens of founders & VCs operating in the CFO Tech space to build a POV on what a high-performing back-office will look like in 2027. Some key themes that keep popping up: 💸 The next wave of ERP is finally here We’ve seen lots of improvements in the startup tech stack over the last 10 years, but general ledger software has been dominated by two legacy solutions: QBO & Netsuite. Rillet, Campfire, Puzzle 🧩🚀, DualEntry and others have seen massive traction over the past year because finance teams are demanding better technology & actual product innovation. 📰 Tech stack reconsolidation around systems of record A few years ago, a startup's tech stack often consisted of 8+ point-solutions. Now, oCFO tech startups are racing to become the ‘system of record’ for revenue (Stripe, Tabs, Sequence), expenses (Ramp, Mercury, Brex), and headcount (Rippling, Gusto). By 2027, startups will be able to scale to 9 figures of revenue on a combination of these three tools + an AI-native ERP to tie them all together. 🤖 Agents are being onboarded System of Record startups are launching agentic ‘teammates’ who manage specific, recurring, tedious tasks. Ramp now has an agent for managing spend policies; Tabs agents manage the entire invoice-to-collect cycle. Agents’ capabilities will rapidly expand, saving finance professionals time & unlocking new workflows that would’ve been too operationally burdensome with humans alone. Examples include a continuous month-end close, fully bespoke pricing/invoicing structures, and real-time budget vs. actuals intelligence. 🔜 Back-office roles are evolving These new tech platforms + AI agents are going to cause a rethinking of the role that back-office professionals serve. I wrote a piece about the areas that humans will need to excel at in 2027 and gave the role a fancy new title: Business Performance Architect. ___ It’s nearly a full-time job keeping up with these developments, and the airCFO team is working hard to make sure our clients’ tech stacks stay on the cutting edge. What other trends are folks seeing in the space?

A founder friend building in finance/accounting tech asked me what we're seeing at Taxwire.com regarding finance teams shifting from legacy to modern ERPs. Have been getting asked about this a lot by investors, customers, and CPA firms recently. Decided to open source my observations / notes because I love the internet (and apparently I'm supposed to be a LinkedInfluencer).👇 1. Dynamism. The ERP category is dynamic right now. ERP isn’t a new category per se but it has been stagnant for years. Year in year out, same players dominate. That’s changing with the noise and education from new players. QBO, Netsuite, etc. You know the drill. Finance / accounting teams are more inclined to consider new solutions vs the traditional default of clinging to QBO until the pain is so unrelenting you have to accept your fate of implementing Netsuite (sighs in duck taped workflows and desperately praying for reports reconcile). 2. Rising tides lift all boats. There's more venture capital and entrepreneurial talent attacking the finance, accounting, tax, etc. spaces than ever before. The early traction/momentum of modern ERP platforms and other new products is helping everyone succeed to an extent. Success and capital begets more competition but these markets are so big most of us are taking more from the incumbents than we are from each other. 3. QBO to modern ERP is a thing. But legacy ERP (Netsuite) to modern ERP is also a thing. There’s been a noticeable uptick in customers not just shifting from QBO to a modern ERP but also from folks who already implemented Netsuite considering a shift to a new platform. We saw a lot less of that even 6 months ago. 4. CPA firms are curious about new ERP platforms for their clients. Some adoption here but more curiosity still. An increasing number of the CPA firms (big and small) that we work with are interested in new tools for their clients accounting GL. Be that a more SMB focused product like Digits or Puzzle 🧩🚀 or more lower-mid-market focused ERPs like Rillet and Campfire for slightly later-stage companies. This space is early still. But you can see the underlying trend in what accountants and finance leaders are talking about. And AI only accelerates the interest in all the above. --- (screenshot below from reddit thread of like a year ago). fwiw, building an ERP is not for the faint of heart. respect to those in the arena.

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐀𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐄𝐑𝐏 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. The transformation ahead will be monumental for ERP software providers, developers, consultants, and users. With AI advancing rapidly, traditional ERP systems, which rely on rigid, predefined processes, will evolve into adaptive, real-time decision engines. Instead of static workflows, ERP platforms of the future will make the next best decision dynamically for every order, resource, and demand scenario. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧? - No more fixed processes. AI will determine the optimal next step for an order by analyzing material availability and production capacity in real time. - No more waiting for batch jobs or manual inputs. AI-powered ERP systems will continuously learn and respond instantly to changing conditions. - A shift from process management to outcome management, transforming how we manage supply chains, production, and financial planning. This won’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual evolution starting with today’s composable, cloud-based ERP systems, which already enable centralized updates and innovations. Over time, these platforms will progress into AI-centric frameworks where the traditional ERP core becomes a repository for orders, while execution is driven by outcome-focused AI. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 10–20 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬? Of course, there will still be those who claim that SAP ECC or early on-premises S/4HANA releases “get the job done.” But they will be much fewer since many will be out of business because of missing abilities to adapt to changing circumstances and paradigms. For consultants, the landscape will also shift: - Fewer roles for traditional SAP Basis or technical application specialists. - More opportunities for visionary consultants who can align a customer’s strategy with cutting-edge technology and guide them toward value-driven adoption of AI-powered ERP systems. This is my personal vision for the "Future of ERP". Probably it will happen even sooner. Prove me wrong.

ERP systems often take a back seat in private equity priorities. Yet, the reality is that an ERP transformation can deliver significant value, including measurable ROI, like increasing revenue by 2-4% and reducing inventory costs by up to 20% within just 2-4 years. With SAP ECC sunsetting by 2030 and GenAI reshaping ERP capabilities, now is the time for portfolio companies to act. Staying ahead requires: ✅ Implementing modern, scalable ERP platforms like SAP S/4HANA. ✅ Enabling seamless integration, real-time insights, and improved decision-making. ✅ Transforming supply chains, inventory management, and customer experiences. However, success depends on thoughtful planning: defining clear business goals, crafting a future-proof data strategy, and ensuring robust change management. More insights here: https://lnkd.in/g97s_Pa4 #ERP #Transformation #PrivateEquity