When to build, and when to truly leap

When to build, and when to truly leap: Scaling your finance systems right

Konstantin Bredyuk
Konstantin Bredyuk
5 min read
Table of Contents
Spend control with ApprovalMax for Xero
Spend control with ApprovalMax for Xero
Learn how structured approvals, clear audit trails, and a modern app stack reduce manual work and give your team full visibility over every expense.
Download the guide
Spend control with ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online
Spend control with ApprovalMax for QuickBooks Online
A simple framework for controlling spend in QBO, improving accuracy, and maintaining confidence in every financial decision.
Download the guide

Every growing business hits a stage where the tools that once worked start to hold things back. The processes that made sense early on begin to strain under the weight of more transactions, more people, and more moving parts.What used to be fast and flexible slowly becomes manual and fragile.

It usually starts small. Teams build quick fixes, connect spreadsheets to email threads, and make do with what they have. For a while, it works. But then someone asks about cash flow in a meeting, and the answer isn’t clear. The finance manager is busy reconciling five different Xero or QuickBooks files instead of analysing performance. Duplicate payments happen. Approvals get stuck. Confidence in the numbers fades. And when people stop trusting the numbers, decisions slow down with it.

When visibility drops, so does the ability to plan. You can’t look ahead when you’re spending your nights catching up. That’s when most businesses realise it’s time for a new system—or at least, a smarter way of working.

Key Takeaways

• You don’t always need a massive ERP project to keep control of your finances.

• Modern finance stacks let you extend platforms like Xero or QuickBooks Online with just the right tools.

• The smarter way to scale is to start small, build strong processes, and let your systems evolve alongside your business.

• Systems should grow with you, not get implemented years ahead of you.

The crossroad: stay, leap, or build a bridge

At this point, most businesses see two common options:

  • Stay with Xero or QuickBooks Online. It’s familiar, but missing capabilities like advanced reporting, scheduling, or multi-entity workflows. Over time, manual work grows, visibility drops, and risks increase.

  • Move to an ERP. You gain extra functionality, but at higher cost and complexity. Implementation takes months, and teams still rely on old tools during the transition.

There is also a third, often smarter option: building a bridge in between.

The middle ground that works

Modern app ecosystems let you extend your existing accounting system instead of replacing it. This keeps Xero or QuickBooks Online as your core ledger while adding only the extra pieces you actually need.

Advisory firms like Iridium, based in South Africa, specialise in this approach. They help growing businesses design connected finance stacks that add structure without forcing a full platform change.

quote icon | approvalmax
“We have an innate love and passion for building a solid tech stack for our clients. Over time we’ve built this by finding the best software solutions for various business needs that plug into the Xero ecosystem.”
Iridium Client
Peter Sean Magner
Sales & Marketing Director at Iridium

This approach works because you only add structure as the business demands it. You can add layers as the business evolves, not all at once.

Scaling systems in real life: Yoco’s story

A good example is Yoco, a leading payments company and one of Iridium’s clients.

In 2016, Yoco managed approvals through Jira tickets. It needed a faster, integrated way to manage spend, so Iridium introduced ApprovalMax, connected directly to Xero. That gave the team real-time visibility into approvals and spend control.

As Yoco expanded across multiple regions with hundreds of employees, it eventually moved to NetSuite for deeper functionality. But its approval workflows came along unchanged. ApprovalMax handled the same complex approval rules, covering 32 approvers, vendor limits, and cost centres, now integrated into NetSuite instead of Xero.

The transition worked because the foundation was already solid.The real lesson is that strong processes scale even when the platform changes.

Start small to reduce risk

Scaling doesn’t mean rebuilding everything. Sometimes the best move is to add the next layer, not replace the base.

Starting with integrated apps brings new functionality quickly and with less risk. It’s faster to implement and easier for teams to adopt.

Research from Xero shows that SMBs using ecosystem apps grow revenue 30% faster than those that don’t. That’s because they build efficiency and visibility one piece at a time.

When the leap finally makes sense

Eventually, some companies still move to ERP systems, but by that point, they have already built good habits: approval structures, forecasting discipline, and data flow that make the transition smoother.

The key is timing. Systems should grow with your business, not ahead of it. Moving too early can slow progress, while waiting too long can limit it.

In a more uncertain economy, flexibility matters. The World Economic Forum calls uncertainty the defining theme of global growth. A flexible stack helps businesses respond to change without losing control.

The takeaway

Scaling your finance systems doesn’t always mean a big leap. Most of the time, you get there by strengthening what already works and adding structure piece by piece.

Modern finance stacks let you stay on Xero or QuickBooks Online for longer, add the tools you need, and then move to ERP only when the timing makes sense.

Growing this way gives you control, confidence, and far fewer surprises.

Konstantin Bredyuk

Konstantin Bredyuk, co-founder of ApprovalMax, began his entrepreneurial journey in 2016 to help SMBs scale faster. Driven by a mission to help businesses build strong financial controls, he leads by example, proudly propelling ApprovalMax’s growth with dedication and hands-on leadership.