Ready to Scale? Your Systems Should Be Too

 A Conversation with Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA of TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

Growth is exciting—until your systems can’t keep up. Manual processes slow down momentum. Disconnected tools create chaos. And finance teams end up fixing problems instead of driving strategy.

Jeff Ryan, Managing Director of TydeCo™, has seen it all. From ERP implementations that empower scale to dashboards that actually forecast, he knows what it takes to grow without the rework.

In this interview, Jeff unpacks how finance leaders can stay ahead of risk, support smarter decisions, and build a back office that grows with the business.

The Cost of Disconnected Systems

How do integrated ERP and finance systems enable smarter business expansion—and what are the hidden costs of staying disconnected?

One of the worst comments I hear from customers when we’re talking about new systems is, “We don’t think it’s broken, so why fix it?” Unfortunately, with the growth of technology and the speed at which it’s changing, that’s actually an incorrect statement. Every business is pretty much working with a broken system—because someone out there is developing something better that would make their competitors operate more effectively.

The new way of thinking is: how do we constantly improve our infrastructure, systems, and how we can be better?

Where the movement in ERP is going is toward having best-in-class systems for each of the different areas of the business. So, it’s no longer a one-size-fits-all ERP. People are buying the best finance system, the best CRM, the best e-commerce platform, the best payroll system—and then integrating them all.

The problem with that is these are disconnected systems. They weren’t built as a single ERP with seamless integration or a single database. There are a lot of hidden costs associated with having best-in-class tools that aren’t connected properly.

The most obvious one is manual processes. Moving from one system to another, even with exports and imports—which are usually the cheapest and most cost-effective integrations—there’s typically manipulation in Excel. You’re formatting data to get it into the right shape. That comes with a few risks.

One: errors, as data is re-entered or restructured.

Two: fraud, because now information that should be secure in systems is floating around freely in Excel.

Three: the person doing this work usually has to be fairly skilled. So now you have high-value employees doing manual, tedious work. You’re paying quite a lot for this “integration,” and that cost isn’t usually taken into account when people talk about automation.

Disconnected systems also mean you can’t scale. If you’re relying on a smart employee to move data around manually, they’re not using their expertise to look forward or help the business compete—they’re stuck doing data entry. The technology also can’t handle increased volume. A spike in sales makes their manual task ten times bigger.

With scalable integration and automation in place, you can use your staff more effectively, reduce errors, and keep your systems in sync. That gives you better visibility across the organization and enables smarter decision-making.

What we’re finding in the finance space is that more companies are chasing best-in-class, but they can’t scale or operate efficiently unless they integrate. And after integration comes automation. But this is another pitfall. Everyone wants to jump to automation and AI first—but the first step is always integration.

Make sure your data moves from one system to another accurately and seamlessly. Then look to automate.

“You never want to automate a manual process because it has probably got bugs or inefficiencies within that process.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

Chasing the Data You Already Have

Why are finance teams still chasing basic data in growing companies—and how can the right tools help leaders delegate, automate, and focus?

The world of finance over the last ten to fifteen years has fundamentally shifted.

In the old days, it was really about accounting time—understanding what had happened in the past. And it could be quite far in the past, sometimes a month or two after year-end. What happened was that business leaders would sometimes get a nice surprise—or a nasty one—around how the business was actually performing.

That created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in the finance area.

The next evolution was trying to get data as close to real-time as possible. In most cases now, the data in your system should be as up to date as possible. But that’s still not always the case. Many businesses are still chasing basic data. The root of that problem is actually the structure of the data that’s being input into the system.

There’s a saying: “rubbish in, rubbish out.” That’s the difference between a good system and a bad one. Data architecture is now extremely important in terms of what you want to get out of the system and how you want to drive your business forward.

The third evolution in finance is no longer just about where you are now. It’s about understanding trends, performing analysis, and knowing where you want to be—relative to competitors and the market. To do that, you need systems that can flex and configure data in real time.

Sage Intacct, for example, has dimensional reporting. That’s a fundamental change from traditional accounting systems. It lets you tag the data as it’s being input. So instead of having 40 cost centers and 40 GL accounts, you now have a simplified expense account. When a transaction occurs, you tag it—whether it’s tied to a project, revenue stream, department, warehouse, or something else. You’re essentially building a massive dataset that’s already structured and ready to pivot, analyze, and manipulate in real time.

The result? You can start with a high-level CFO dashboard showing revenue across multiple entities. But then you can drill down—right through a pie chart, into a report, down to the journal entry. That’s the level of insight we’re talking about.

Another shift is around collaboration. You can now have real-time chats around specific transactions inside the system. That eliminates all the back-and-forth emails and phone calls, and it creates an audit trail too. So your audit period becomes smaller, and you get more efficiency.

The problem is, a lot of businesses haven’t embraced this new world. They’re still chasing data—because it’s sitting in Excel. Excel is powerful, but they haven’t been exposed to tools like Sage Intacct or new AI-enabled technologies.

We’re seeing things like Copilot in Microsoft, coming into Intacct, and ChatGPT being embedded in systems. These tools help you understand your data better and communicate around it faster.

That frees up your finance staff to actually focus on what matters. And it gives CFOs the space to forecast, plan, and lead—without being buried in data prep.

“The world has changed fundamentally—but I don’t think the people in the finance space have always understood what’s available.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

Why ERP Projects Derail

What causes ERP rollouts to fall short of growth goals in mid-size firms—and what must every CFO sign off on to stay on track?

We find that ERP implementations fail quite a lot because the buy-in from the finance side or the business leaders is not there. By that, I don’t mean they weren’t involved in the demo or seeing the potential of the system and what it could do for the business. But in a lot of cases, they’re not operationally involved in the implementation.

They kind of believe that once they’ve made the purchase decision, the system is going to be implemented and will do exactly what they want. Unfortunately, with a system like an ERP, it usually needs to be tailored to your business.

There are good systems off the shelf that give most businesses what they need. However, there’s still some sort of configuration or tailoring that needs to happen. If you’re not involved in that process, two things happen: one, the system doesn’t quite match the business requirements; and two, the users can’t get the full potential out of the system.

We see this often. Businesses that are adamant about not sending staff for training? That’s a red flag. We make it mandatory in our implementation process. One of the checklists is that the users must go through a certain number of training courses to become competent in the system.

Another part of our implementation is making sure the stakeholder understands the scope. They must know what is going to be implemented, by when, and they must be involved in signing off on the design documents. That way, they truly understand what is and isn’t going to be delivered.

The hands-off approach from the old days is why so many ERP implementations used to fail—and why there’s still resistance to consultants. The systems would get implemented as black boxes.

New systems like Sage Intacct are configured from the front end. If there’s been investment in training and real participation in the implementation process, there’s far less need for consultants post go-live.

Instead, it becomes about empowering the business to own their systems in their own space—and move forward without needing to rely on external consultants every step of the way. Of course, we’re there in the background for heavy lifting, technical work, or new modules. But the system itself is self-sustaining.

Sage Intacct, for instance, has four releases a year that happen automatically overnight. That means no more scheduling time for major annual upgrades. It changes how the business interacts with its system—and removes a lot of the complexity.

Ultimately, business leaders need to be heavily involved throughout the process, ensure their teams are empowered, and work with business partners who truly understand how to implement—especially around managing scope and budget to avoid nasty surprises.

“They kind of believe that once they’ve made the purchase decision, the system is going to be implemented and will do exactly what they want.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

What CFOs Should Demand from Their ERP Partner

As businesses grow, what should CFOs look for in an ERP partner—and why does continuity matter more than deep customisation?

CFOs should be more demanding of the business partners that implement the system. ERPs are a fundamental part of your business, especially in the finance and accounting space. So you really need to understand what’s being implemented, what’s going to change, and how it’s going to work within your organisation.

I’ve found it’s much better when a CFO or financial leader is working closely with the project team—questioning, querying, and staying involved. That gives me confidence that the business truly understands what’s being delivered and how it will be used in their environment.

What concerns me is when the business leader signs off on the project but isn’t involved at all after that. That disconnect often leads to poor outcomes.

From a partner perspective, experience is everything. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to systems. Even if the software caters to most businesses, you still need tailoring for your specific industry or environment. You want a partner who has a broad set of experience—and ideally, experience in your sector.

Beyond implementation, I’d put a strong focus on enablement. A good partner doesn’t just get the system live—they train your team, support onboarding, and make sure new staff can get up to speed as they come in. This isn’t just about launch; it’s about long-term success.

Responsiveness matters, too. Mid-market software providers typically work through partners—Sage is a good example. At TydeCo™, we see ourselves as an extension of Sage’s service. You don’t need to log tickets or wait for call centres. You get fast, expert help when you need it. That’s a big part of continuity—knowing someone has your back.

Finally, the best ERP partners don’t just stop at one piece of the puzzle. We offer ERP, payroll, and HCM, plus automation and integration services. That means we’re looking at your whole infrastructure—not just one system. A holistic view helps us add more value across your business, not just in isolated departments.

“CFOs should be more demanding of the business partners that implement the system.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

What a Future-Ready Back Office Looks Like

What does a back office built for expansion look like—and is hybrid infrastructure ever the right fit in a growing business?

Back office infrastructure nowadays is very much about outsourcing. Having massive IT departments is probably ineffectual in most mid-market businesses, to be honest.

The scale of what AWS and Azure environments offer in terms of protection, cybersecurity, backups, disaster recovery—peace of mind for business leaders—is something worth paying for on a subscription-based model. That would be my suggestion in terms of backend infrastructure for businesses as they grow.

Don’t look at investing in a hugely costly IT department with multiple staff trying to keep up with legislation and compliance. Rather, look to providers that have the scale—and at a price point that is cost-affordable for your business—and have all your infrastructure and systems in that environment.

“Having massive IT departments is probably ineffectual in most mid-market businesses.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)

Forecasting That Actually Works

What role do ERP dashboards and integration play in building more accurate, forward-looking forecasts that can support business growth?

Dashboards and reports are great—as long as they’re in real time. And by that, I mean that as a transaction is occurring on the system, the dashboard is automatically updated by refreshing the browser or just by scrolling down into the transaction.

If your system is not offering that, you don’t get a true insight on exactly what’s happening within your business. Sage Intacct talks about a continuous close. So no longer sort of looking at a month-end close to understand where your business is at, but a continuous close to understand where you’re sitting at. If your system doesn’t offer that, then you’re not getting the true value of where you are in the business and how you’re competing with the rest of your competitors.

Everyone used to do month-on-month or quarter-on-quarter trends and understand how they’re competing versus peers. But what happens if there’s weekly trends? Have you understood exactly how seasonality works within a month? That may be a differentiator for your business that you’re unaware of. And if you don’t have that information or the ability to do that sort of reporting at that level, you’re missing a trick in terms of competing with your competitors.

The same thing in terms of slicing and dicing information into different dimensions or categories—can your system do that really easily with the click of a button? Does it allow for that? Or is it an export to Excel into a tool that makes it available for that? Is that costly? Are you making errors? Are there errors in the formula? Is there a potential for fraud?

Those are the things that need to be considered when you’re looking at your dashboard and reporting tool for your financial and ERP system. Those are the things that are going to give you that availability at a touch and exactly what is happening in your business so you can make better decisions going forward.

“Sage Intacct talks about a continuous close… not just month-end, but a real-time view of where your business is sitting at.“

Jeff Ryan, Senior Director of Growth, ERP – UKIA, TydeCo™ (formerly AWCape)