US & UK Accounting Tech Stack 2025: What Mid-Market Finance Teams Actually Use

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A practical view of how mid-market finance teams in the US and UK assemble their accounting stack in 2025. It details core systems (GL, AP/AR, payroll, FP&A, close, and tax), common integrations, selection criteria, and pitfalls to avoid. It also flags what to document if you plan to work with an offshore team.

Start with the operating model, not the tool

Your stack should match how the business runs.

Decide upfront

• Entity model: single vs multi-entity, consolidations, minority interests.
• Currency mix: USD, GBP, EUR, and revaluation rules.
• Revenue pattern: subscriptions, usage, milestones, project-based.
• Industry rules: VAT vs sales tax, HMRC MTD, audit requirements, sector controls.
• Team setup: in-house only vs in-house plus offshore, reviewer ratios, hand-offs.

Selection criteria

• Native multi-entity and multi-currency if you consolidate monthly.
• Strong approvals and audit trails for AP, AR, and GL journals.
• Open APIs or prebuilt connectors for banks, payroll, and BI.
• Role-based access with SSO and MFA for distributed teams.

Core stack patterns that show up most

1) General Ledger and Sub-ledgers

Mid-market teams usually standardize on a cloud GL that supports approvals, dimensions, and multi-entity.

Typical choices you’ll see

• US and UK mid-market: NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
• Upper SMB or divisional: QuickBooks Online Advanced, Xero (common in the UK).

Signals you chose right

• Dimensions for department, location, project, and item.
• Consolidation that does not require manual Excel merges.
• Close tasks tracked inside the GL or via a close tool.

2) AP, procurement, and expenses

AP needs clear ownership, invoice capture, vendor onboarding, and payment controls.

Common builds

• AP automation: BILL, Tipalti, Airbase, Ramp, Pleo (UK/EU), Spendesk.
• Procure-to-pay: Coupa, Precoro, Zip for intake and approvals.
• Expenses and cards: Ramp, Brex, Pleo, Divvy.

Look for

• Three-way match, duplicate detection, and vendor risk checks.
• Payment rails that support USD, GBP, and EUR with clear fees.
• Sync that posts cleanly to GL with line-level dimensions.

3) AR, invoicing, and collections

You need invoice accuracy, revenue rules, and collection workflows.

Common builds

• Native GL invoicing for simple use cases.
• Stripe, Chargebee, or Recurly for subscriptions and usage.
• Chaser or native reminders for collections, especially in the UK.

Look for

• Deferred revenue schedules and ASC 606 logic where needed.
• Customer portal with self-serve payments.
• Notes and dunning history that sync back to the GL.

4) Payroll and HRIS

Keep payroll stable, auditable, and integrated with GL and benefits.

US patterns

• ADP, Paychex, Paylocity, Gusto, Rippling.

UK patterns

• Sage Payroll, BrightPay, Xero Payroll, Moorepay.

Look for

• Journal exports by department and cost center.
• Benefits and pensions auto-enrolment (UK).
• Self-service portals and secure document delivery.

5) FP&A and reporting

Move plans and variance analysis out of fragile spreadsheets.

Common builds

• Workday Adaptive Planning, Anaplan for larger teams.
• Cube, Datarails, Pigment for finance-owned models.
• Power BI, Looker, or Tableau on a warehouse like Snowflake or BigQuery.

Look for

• Live GL connections, driver-based models, rolling forecasts.
• Version control and scenario management.
• Row-level security for budget owners.

6) Close and controls

Shorten the close and keep evidence.

Common builds

• FloQast or BlackLine for close checklists, reconciliations, and tie-outs.
• Close calendars inside the GL for lighter teams.

Look for

• Task ownership, attachments, and sign-offs.
• Reconciliation templates and certification workflow.
• SLA tracking across in-house and offshore teams.

7) Indirect tax and corporate tax

Automate where risk and volume justify it.

Indirect tax

• Avalara or Vertex for US sales tax and global VAT.
• HMRC MTD-compliant submissions in the UK.

Corporate tax and workpapers

• Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE or Wolters Kluwer CCH for provision and filings.
• Workpaper systems that link to trial balance and support tickmarks and PBC lists.

Integration map that keeps data moving

Banking and payments

• US: direct bank feeds or aggregators.
• UK: Open Banking feeds for statements and reconciliation.

Data movement

• Native GL connectors where possible.
• iPaaS such as Workato or Zapier for edge cases.
• Warehouse sync for BI and advanced FP&A.

Event flow to document

• Vendor onboarding → AP approval → payment release.
• Order to cash → revenue recognition → collections.
• Payroll run → GL journal → department reports.

Pitfalls that cause rework and audit issues

• Chart of accounts sprawl: no naming rules and unused codes.
• Duplicate masters: vendors and customers created in multiple systems.
• Spreadsheet shadow systems: manual models that diverge from the GL.
• Weak approvals: missing segregation between creator, approver, and payer.
• API gaps: connectors that only sync headers, not line-level data.
• Tax mismatches: VAT vs sales tax logic handled outside the ledger.
• No close calendar: tasks drift, hand-offs fail, and sign-offs are late.

Implementation checklist for a clean rollout

Phase 0: Design

• Target COA with dimensions and naming rules.
• RACI across in-house and offshore teams.
• Data retention and access policies with SSO and MFA.

Phase 1: Build

• Configure entities, currencies, approvals, and roles.
• Map integrations and test journals with sample data.
• Set close calendar and SLA targets.

Phase 2: Migrate

• Clean masters and balances.
• Parallel run for one close cycle.
• Sign-off on reconciliations and reports.

Phase 3: Operate

• Monthly KPI pack: first-pass yield, rework, on-time close, incident MTTR.
• Quarterly access review and API health check.
• Annual review of COA, dimensions, and dashboards.

Working with offshore teams on this stack

Document what “good” looks like and make it visible.

Do

• Give vendor-specific SOPs with screenshots and acceptance criteria.
• Enforce role-based access, time-boxed credentials, and activity logs.
• Share the close calendar with time zone and due times.
• Use ticketing with SLAs and weekly KPI packs.

Don’t

• Allow local downloads of client data.
• Rely on email as the system of record.
• Skip reviewer sign-offs for reconciliations and journals.

Takeaway

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Use this guide as your map for US & UK Accounting Tech Stack 2025: What Mid-Market Finance Teams Actually Use. If you want a stack blueprint, clean COA design, and a two-week pilot that proves hand-offs with an offshore team, Madras Accountancy can design, implement, and govern the rollout with measurable SLAs.

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