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Why 83% of Forbes Cloud 100 companies trust this tech to sustain growth

Why 83% of Forbes Cloud 100 companies trust this tech to sustain growth
Published on 23rd January 2025

When it comes to expanding a business, it’s not the growth that breaks you – rather it’s the systems. For finance leaders in high-growth companies, like in AFR’s Fast100 list or Deloitte’s Fast50 list, rapid expansion is both exhilarating and exhausting. Revenue is climbing, new markets are opening, and the team is hitting milestones.

But behind the scenes, the cracks will start to show. Spreadsheets multiply like rabbits. Accounting software that once served you well is now struggling to manage the increasing complexity. Meanwhile, manual processes and endless workarounds stretch your team thin.

At some point, every fast-growing business hits the same wall – the existing systems simply were not built to scale or handle complexity.

The hidden costs of sticking with what worked yesterday

Smaller accounting systems like Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, or even the all-too-common collection of spreadsheets might feel comfortable – after all, they got you this far. But comfort comes at a cost. With so many fragmented systems, compiling reports takes time, delaying insights and forcing decisions to be made with yesterday’s numbers. Consolidating financials takes days, even weeks, with errors and inefficiencies dragging productivity. Without real-time visibility, your team is forced to be reactive not proactive. And if you have plans to expand into new geographies, it’s going to be an uphill battle to handle multi-currency transactions, or meet compliance demands.

In short, your old systems can’t keep up with your new reality – and they’re holding you back when they should be driving you forward.

Cloud ERP is the next natural step

Though many persevere through this stage, patching up old systems with more add-ons and band-aids. What’s really needed is a new foundation – one that’s built to flex with you, no matter how fast you grow.

Enter NetSuite cloud ERP, the ideal business suite for growing businesses.

In fact, 83% of companies in the Forbes Cloud 100 list are NetSuite customers.

And for good reason. NetSuite doesn’t just fix all those growth-inhibiting inefficiencies, it transforms operations into a scalable, unified ecosystem that lets you:

  • Replace disconnected tools with a single source of truth across financials, inventory, and operations.
  • Make confident decisions with live dashboards and accurate, up-to-date reporting.
  • Free up your team by making use of embedded AI, automating workflows, reconciliations and reporting processes.
  • Manage multi-entity structures, currencies, and compliance across borders on the one single instance.

But a laundry list of capabilities really doesn’t do NetSuite justice. Let’s dive into some of the major growth challenges and how upgrading to NetSuite will see you through.

Early-stage success demands precision in financial reporting

Investors love to see growth, but they want precision. Early on, founders often piece together financials manually or use basic tools. While this might satisfy angel investors or small VC funds, the stakes rise significantly at Series A and beyond.

Investors expect detailed and consistent reporting that accurately reflects performance metrics like customer acquisition costs, revenue growth trends, cash flow and capital allocation, and marketing ROI.

Discrepancies in financial reports or errors in tracking will quickly erode investor confidence. NetSuite solves this by automating data consolidation, ensuring accuracy and delivering real-time insights across all financial metrics. With live dashboards and customised reporting, startups and fast-growing businesses can focus on strategy instead of firefighting inaccuracies.

Scaling growth amplifies inefficiencies

As businesses expand into new markets or increase transaction volumes, smaller accounting systems will start to falter due to a lack of advanced features for managing multi-currency transactions, tax compliance and intercompany processes.

For example, if you are trying to manage global inventory and reconciling financials across separate instance of Xero, your month-end closes can take weeks. With NetSuite, the monthly close can be done in days.

This is because NetSuite provides integrated multi-entity financial management, real-time inventory tracking across geographies and built-in compliance tools to handle tax regulations globally.

Manual processes waste time and resources

It’s 2025, you should be well on your way to eradicating manual processes.  In fast-growth environments, manual processes are inefficient and risky. And spreadsheets introduce errors and delays that can disrupt decision-making. For example, high-growth companies relying on manual reconciliations or outdated batch processing often struggle to produce timely reports for leadership or investors. NetSuite eliminates these bottlenecks with embedded AI and automation, streamlining workflows for financial close and reconciliations, revenue recognition for complex pricing models and real-time transaction processing.

Growing globally requires a unified platform

Expanding into international markets adds layers of complexity. And smaller systems can’t handle multi-currency transactions, regulatory compliance, or global reporting without extensive customisation and costly add-ons. NetSuite’s built-in global capabilities give businesses the ability to manage subsidiaries in different currencies and tax jurisdictions, consolidate financial reports instantly for a global view and automate compliance with local regulations.

Migration gets harder as you grow

The longer businesses rely on patchwork solutions, the harder – and more expensive – it becomes to migrate to an ERP. Every delay increases the amount of data to be transferred, the number of processes to reconfigure and the risk of business disruption.

Companies that adopt NetSuite early can scale without these costly transitions. Plus, NetSuite’s modular functionality means businesses can start with core financials and add capabilities like CRM, inventory management and advanced analytics as they grow.

Strong financial systems build investor confidence

Investors value companies with robust financial processes. During due diligence, clear and accurate financial records signal discipline and readiness to scale. Sure, a powerful financial platform like NetSuite makes reporting easier but it also helps companies tell a compelling growth story.

Investors want to know:

  • How funds are being allocated
  • The ROI of key initiatives
  • Forecasts for sustainable growth

And with NetSuite, finance leaders can provide these answers instantly, positioning their business as a high-value investment opportunity.

Build your financial foundation with NetSuite

Fast-growth companies need more than spreadsheets and basic accounting software to scale effectively. NetSuite ERP offers the tools to manage complexity, reduce inefficiencies, and unlock real-time insights.

By adopting NetSuite early, businesses can avoid costly bottlenecks, improve investor confidence, and focus on what matters – sustaining momentum and achieving their vision.

Fast growth stories from Annexa customers

Explore case studies of fast-growth companies that have transitioned from underperforming platforms – like Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks – to NetSuite and get inspired for a similar upgrade at your company.

Splitit – from QuickBooks to NetSuite

Splitit relied on QuickBooks and in-house systems, which lacked the functionality to handle multi-currency transactions, tax compliance and global reporting. Financial processes were manual, with limited visibility into real-time data. NetSuite transformed Splitit’s financial operations, consolidating its global footprint across six geographies. The platform automated financial processes, improved compliance and provided real-time insights to support international growth.

SplitIt’s growth story >

Life Cykel – from Xero to NetSuite

Life Cykel, a rapidly expanding producer of mushroom-based products, faced challenges with inventory management and financial consolidation across multiple countries. By adopting NetSuite, they replaced Xero and numerous spreadsheets with a unified, global-ready cloud ERP system. This transition provided real-time financial clarity, streamlined operations, and supported their global growth ambitions.

Life Cykel’s growth story >

YWCA – consolidating multiple systems into NetSuite

YWCA, a non-profit organisation, previously managed their operations using a combination of MYOB, Xero, Excel spreadsheets, and SAP. This fragmented approach led to inefficiencies and data silos. Transitioning to NetSuite allowed YWCA to unify their systems into a single, high-performing platform, enhancing visibility and operational efficiency.

YWCA’s growth story >

Cargo Crew – from MYOB to NetSuite

Cargo Crew, a modern uniform supplier, operated with a patchwork of systems, including MYOB, leading to operational inefficiencies. By migrating to NetSuite, they unified their financials, inventory, and operations, resulting in improved process efficiency and scalability to support their growth.

Cargo Crew’s growth story >

Want to learn more?

If your company is ready to take the next step, it’s time to explore how NetSuite can transform your growth trajectory.
Speak to a cloud expert at Annexa.

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