The AI Revolution in the Mid-Market: A New Breed of ERP Takes Center Stage
- The CFO Office
- Jul 16
- 6 min read
For too long, mid-market companies have faced a stark choice in their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions: either contend with the limitations of basic accounting software or attempt to shoehorn their complex needs into cumbersome, enterprise-grade systems built for a prior era.
However, a new wave of ERP vendors is emerging, fundamentally reshaping this landscape. Companies like Rillet, Digits, and Campfire are leading the charge with highly specialized, AI-native financial platforms, while more comprehensive, yet equally modern, players like Acumatica, Odoo, Unit4, Certinia, Rootstock, Versa Cloud ERP, and MRPeasy are catering to broader mid-market operational needs.
The traditional ERP market, while vast, has struggled to keep pace with the accelerating complexities of digital-first operations, particularly for SaaS and tech companies, as well as dynamic service, manufacturing, and public sector organizations.
Legacy systems, often designed decades ago, rely on manual data entry, fragmented processes, and a lack of real-time insights, forcing finance teams into endless cycles of spreadsheets and reconciliation. This "great unbundling" of ERP functionality, driven by cloud-native architectures and pervasive AI, is creating an immense opportunity for innovators.
AI at the Core: The Rise of Intelligent Financial Platforms
What distinguishes many of the newest entrants in the mid-market ERP space is their AI-native design. Artificial intelligence isn't merely a bolt-on feature; it's woven into the very fabric of their platforms, powering core functionalities and enabling unprecedented levels of automation and insight. This means:
Autonomous Workflows: AI agents can automate routine tasks like bank reconciliation, invoice processing, and accruals, drastically reducing manual effort and human error.
Real-Time Intelligence: By continuously learning from transactional data, these systems provide immediate financial insights, burn rates, runway projections, and key performance indicators (KPIs), empowering faster, data-driven decision-making.
Natural Language Interaction: Conversational AI interfaces allow finance professionals to query data and generate reports using plain English, democratizing access to critical information.
Proactive Problem Solving: AI can flag anomalies, identify potential fraud, and even predict future trends, enabling finance teams to move from reactive problem-solving to proactive strategic guidance.
Key Players Leading the Charge in AI-Native Financial Cores:
Rillet: Specializing in AI-native ERP for high-growth tech and SaaS companies, Rillet is gaining traction due to its ability to manage complex revenue recognition (ASC 606) and multi-entity, multi-currency consolidations. Their "headless ERP" philosophy emphasizes seamless, native integrations with best-of-breed CRM, payment, and HR tools, creating a unified source of truth without the bloat of monolithic systems.
Rillet has seen impressive traction, securing a $25 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital in May 2025, and reportedly rapidly growing market share in the general ledger category within two years of launch, demonstrating its rapid adoption as companies graduate from QuickBooks or Xero.
Digits: Positioned as an AI-powered end-to-end accounting software for startups and small businesses, Digits focuses on autonomous bookkeeping and real-time financial transparency. Their Autonomous General Ledger (AGL) aims to automate core accounting functions, providing founders and finance leads with immediate, accurate financial pictures. Digits is particularly appealing to earlier-stage companies seeking a highly automated and intuitive solution to scale their financial operations.
Campfire: Billing itself as "the modern accounting platform for startups and mid-size tech companies," Campfire is a direct challenger to established mid-market ERPs like NetSuite. They offer a comprehensive AI-native ERP, including a core general ledger, robust revenue automation, and close management, all on a unified platform. Campfire recently secured a significant $35 million Series A funding round in June 2025, led by Accel, with investors noting its potential to "reshape the ERP market." Its emphasis on an API-first approach and a conversational AI, Ember AI (powered by Anthropic's Claude), aims to simplify complex finance workflows and accelerate the monthly close.
Expanding the Horizon: Modern, Comprehensive, and Specialized ERP Suites
Beyond the hyper-focused AI-native accounting platforms, other emerging and evolving players are making significant inroads by offering more comprehensive, yet still highly modern and often specialized, ERP functionality for the mid-market:
Acumatica: Consistently lauded as a leader in the mid-market, Acumatica is a cloud-native ERP known for its flexible licensing model (not per-user) and robust industry-specific editions (manufacturing, distribution, construction, retail-commerce, and services). Their open architecture allows for rapid integrations and extensive customization, making it a highly adaptable solution for diverse business needs. Acumatica's recent acquisition by Vista Equity Partners for $2 billion in May 2025 signifies strong investor confidence in its potential to capture a larger share of the mid-market.
Odoo: A highly popular open-source ERP, Odoo offers an extensive modular suite covering everything from CRM, sales, and accounting to manufacturing, inventory, HR, and project management. Its open-source nature provides unparalleled customization options and a strong community. Odoo's affordability, flexibility, and vast array of applications make it a compelling choice for businesses ranging from small startups to larger enterprises. What is remarkable is that Odoo secured a $163 million Series E funding round in June 2023, which will go down in the history of the time that is labeled as the middle of the "funding winter" in tech, bringing its total funding to $483 million.
Unit4: This cloud ERP solution specifically targets "people-centric" organizations, primarily in the professional services, public sector, education, and non-profit industries. Unit4 ERPx, their next-generation platform, integrates ERP, HCM (Human Capital Management), and FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) on a unified architecture. Their unique selling proposition lies in understanding the complex project accounting, resource management, and compliance needs of service-driven businesses, automating workflows like time-sheeting and expense management, and providing tailored "last mile" capabilities.
Certinia ERP Cloud (formerly FinancialForce): Built natively on the Salesforce platform, Certinia focuses on service-centric businesses, offering a unified suite for financial management, professional services automation (PSA), and customer success. This direct integration with Salesforce CRM provides unparalleled visibility from lead to revenue, making it ideal for consulting firms, agencies, and other project-based organizations that rely heavily on Salesforce for their front-office operations. Certinia was named an "Accelerator" in the 2025 Nucleus Research SMB ERP Technology Value Matrix, highlighting its strong functionality and usability.
Rootstock Cloud ERP: Also built natively on the Salesforce platform, Rootstock specializes in manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain industries. It provides deep functionality for material requirements planning (MRP), shop floor control, inventory management, and cost accounting. For businesses already using Salesforce CRM, Rootstock offers a seamless, integrated solution across sales, service, and operations, leveraging the familiar Salesforce ecosystem. Rootstock received a majority investment from Gryphon Investors in August 2022 to accelerate its growth.
Versa Cloud ERP: Targeting small businesses with advanced resource planning needs, particularly those that are inventory-heavy or have e-commerce operations, Versa Cloud ERP offers a robust, cloud-native platform. It provides comprehensive modules for inventory and warehouse management, multi-level BOMs for manufacturing, sales automation (including B2B portals), and full financial capabilities with multi-currency and multi-entity support. Its focus on scalability with unlimited transactions and warehouses makes it suitable for growing product-based businesses.
MRPeasy: As its name suggests, MRPeasy is a cloud-based manufacturing resource planning (MRP) software designed specifically for small to medium-sized manufacturers. It streamlines production processes, inventory, and overall operations with features like automated production scheduling, real-time inventory tracking, and procurement management. MRPeasy aims to be an affordable and user-friendly solution, providing essential manufacturing functionalities without the complexity of larger ERP systems. MRPeasy raised an undisclosed seed funding round in 2015.
The Mid-Market Advantage for All:
These emerging players, whether ultra-specialized in AI-accounting or offering more comprehensive suites, are thriving in the mid-market because they directly address critical pain points:
Beyond Basic Accounting: Mid-market companies have outgrown simple tools but find enterprise ERPs too complex, costly, and resource-intensive to implement and maintain.
Complexities of Modern Business: SaaS models, global expansion, multi-entity structures, intricate revenue recognition, unique service delivery models, and complex manufacturing processes are poorly served by older systems.
Agility and Speed: Modern businesses demand real-time data and the ability to adapt quickly. Cloud-native and AI-powered ERPs offer faster implementation times and continuous innovation.
Resource Optimization: By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining complex workflows, these systems free up finance and operational professionals to focus on strategic analysis and value-added activities.
Industry-Specific Fit: Many of these solutions provide out-of-the-box functionalities tailored to specific industries, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming customizations.
Challenges and the Road Ahead:
While the future looks bright, these emerging players still face the challenge of building long-term trust and competing with the vast marketing and sales machines of incumbents like NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and SAP Business One. Data migration from existing systems and the need for seamless integration with a company's broader tech stack remain critical considerations for adoption.
However, the rapid funding rounds and increasing market traction of Rillet, Digits, Campfire, Acumatica, Odoo, Unit4, Certinia, Rootstock, Versa Cloud ERP, and MRPeasy underscore a fundamental shift. The era of manual, spreadsheet-driven finance and rigid, one-size-fits-all ERP is rapidly drawing to a close. As AI continues to mature, these innovative solutions are not just making accounting and operations easier; they are fundamentally redefining what's possible for finance and business teams in the mid-market, empowering them to become true strategic partners in their organizations' growth. Lastly, the founders of many of the younger companies, such as Rillet, Campfire, and Digits, have established a strong social media presence on LinkedIn and other platforms, and this marks a shift in software founders who now "build in public" vs the more private founders from the recent past. This presence has helped the companies to get their word out in the market and drive awareness. Welcome to the era of the new founder in the AI age.
The race to equip the modern enterprise with intelligent, AI-native financial and operational systems has truly begun.
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