Key takeaways:

  • Operating from outgrown spreadsheets is a tax on time, cash, and confidence.
  • A modern accounting tech stack improves accuracy, visibility, and decision speed.
  • Start with Accounts Payable (AP) automation for quick, compounding ROI.
  • Build the rest deliberately: integrate, standardize, and keep it simple.
  • Burkland + BILL makes implementation and integration easy.

You’ve built a growing business, but your spreadsheets haven’t kept up.

Manual copy-paste, endless email approvals, and “version-final-FINAL.xlsx” files slow everything down. As transactions multiply and decisions get more complex and more time-sensitive, the old tools start holding you back. A well-designed, modern accounting tech stack replaces that friction with automation, accuracy, and real-time numbers you can run the business on.

What is an accounting tech stack?

An accounting tech stack is the connected set of accounting software and finance tools—anchored by your general ledger (GL)—that runs your financial operations. It can handle everything from paying bills and collecting cash to payroll, expense management, sales tax, equity, planning, and reporting.

If your systems don’t talk to each other, you’re constantly chasing data, rekeying invoices, reconciling errors, and wondering which number is right, it may be time to update your tech stack and integration to solve that. When your tools share data automatically, transactions flow once, accurately, and in real time. The result is an efficient and reliable single source of truth that gives you clear visibility into cash, profit, and performance without the manual grind.

How to think about building your accounting tech stack

Start with desired outcomes, not apps. What would make next quarter easier?

Faster close? Fewer approval bottlenecks? Clear cash runway?

Then, assemble the most streamlined set of accounting tools that reliably delivers those wins.

Four guiding ideas:

  1. Fewer systems, tighter links. The best setups minimize the number of tools you need and ensure each one integrates cleanly with your GL to keep data flowing smoothly while holding down both cost and complexity.
  2. Automate the mundane. Software should route, match, and post. Humans should approve and interpret.
  3. Keep your data clean and consistent. Standardize vendors, chart of accounts, and naming conventions so your accounting software runs efficiently and delivers crisp, comparable reports.
  4. Document the flow. Map invoices → approvals → payment → GL. Do the same for cash coming in. Simple flowcharts prevent chaos as you scale.

Foundations of a modern accounting tech stack

Next, let’s turn principles into parts of a well-functioning tech stack. With the flow mapped, you can assemble the best stack for your business’s size and complexity. The table below outlines the essential components that handle your day-to-day accounting work, what each one delivers, and how they connect to the flow.

Core components of an accounting tech stack

Component What it does
Accounting & reporting (GL)
  • Serves as the financial hub of your accounting stack.
  • Records every transaction, reconciles accounts, and produces core financial statements like the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow.
  • Provides the foundation for all reporting and decision-making.
Payments / AP automation
  • Automates invoice handling from receipt through payment and keeps approvals moving.
  • Syncs instantly with the GL.
  • Builds a transparent audit trail.
Accounts receivable (AR) & collections
  • Creates and sends invoices, accepts digital payments, auto-matches receipts, and manages credit/collections.
  • Syncs to the GL, so cash application is clean, and average payment collection times are visible.
Payroll & benefits
  • Manages employee and contractor pay runs, handles tax withholdings and filings, and syncs benefit deductions automatically.
  • Ensures accurate labor cost allocation by department or project and keeps your team paid on time, every time.
Spend & expense management
  • Tracks company card usage, collects receipts, enforces policy limits, and automates expense coding.
  • Gives leadership real-time visibility into discretionary spending and simplifies reimbursement and month-end close.
Equity & financing
  • Manages ownership records, option grants, and investor reporting.
  • Keeps cap tables accurate, models dilution scenarios, and helps ensure compliance with 409A and financing events.
Sales tax
  • Monitors where you have tax obligations, calculates rates on transactions, and manages filings and payments.
  • Reduces compliance risk by ensuring accurate, on-time remittance across multiple states or jurisdictions.
Financial planning & analysis (FP&A)
  • Builds budgets, forecasts, and scenario models that tie directly to your actuals.
  • Turns your accounting data into forward-looking insights for cash runway, profitability, and growth planning.

How smart SMBs are working now

  • Invoices arrive in any format (PDF, email, portal) and AP automation captures them instantly, reads key fields, and suggests GL coding.
  • Approvals happen in-app or mobile with guardrails (amount limits, departments, projects).
  • Payments batch weekly via ACH or virtual cards for rebates and fraud control; everything posts back to the GL.
  • Tight AR workflow. Standard terms, digital invoices, multiple payment options, automated reminders, and daily cash application keep payments coming in on time.
  • Real-time dashboards show cash today, cash next 13 weeks, and budget vs. actual.
  • Audit trails are automatic—no more email archaeology before a financing or diligence request.

Key Considerations for Building Your Stack

Once you’ve mapped the core components of your accounting tech stack, the next step is building it with intention. The goal is to create a connected system that saves time, scales easily, and gives you clean, decision-ready data. The following considerations will help you choose tools, design workflows, and set up controls that grow with your business rather than against it.

1. Start with the GL you’ll grow into

Your general ledger is the backbone of your accounting stack, and every other system depends on it. If your business has outgrown a single-entity QuickBooks file or is adding subsidiaries, locations, or revenue streams, it’s time to evaluate multi-entity functionality, dimension tracking, and integration capabilities. Moving to a more capable GL now (before growth or M&A activity) saves you the pain of re-platforming later. Think in 2–3 year horizons: the right GL should still fit when your revenue doubles.

👉 Tip: Pick the general ledger and accounting software ecosystem that fits your next 24–36 months, not the last 24.

2. Prioritize integration over “best tool in a vacuum”

You don’t always need the flashiest tools. You need tools that talk to each other. An 8/10 app that syncs cleanly with your GL is almost always better than a “best-in-class” system that breaks integrations and forces manual workarounds. When evaluating vendors, test real data syncs, not just marketing demos. Look for two-way integration of vendors, the chart of accounts, and department codes so your reporting remains reliable without daily maintenance.

3. Standardize data from day one

Clean data is what makes your accounting system powerful. Establish naming conventions for vendors, departments, and classes, and enforce them across every system. The same goes for invoice categories, payment terms, and employee records. It’s easier to build a habit of data hygiene early than to unwind years of inconsistencies later. A standardized setup keeps your reports accurate, your audits painless, and your team aligned.

4. Build clear approval workflows

Every business has a rhythm to how spending decisions get made. Your software should mirror yours. Map out who approves what, at what dollar levels, and under what conditions. Then build those rules into your accounting software to automate routing and keep things moving. Well-designed workflows accelerate payments, maintain internal controls, and prevent “Where did this charge come from?” conversations.

5. Make security and controls automatic

Financial data is sensitive, and every new app adds exposure. Choose tools with role-based access, audit logs, and SOC 2 compliance. Avoid shared credentials, use multifactor authentication, and separate duties. For example, one person enters bills while another approves or releases payments. Strong controls protect your cash, your vendors, and your reputation.

6. Evaluate total cost of ownership, not just sticker price

Subscription costs are only one part of the equation. Add up implementation time, integration effort, ongoing maintenance, and the internal hours saved (or spent) on manual work. A tool that costs more per month may deliver a stronger return if it cuts your close time in half or prevents errors that require rework. Think of ROI in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and peace of mind, not just license or subscription fees.

7. Build reporting that drives real decisions

A good accounting tech stack should make it easy to answer your most important financial questions: Are we profitable by service line? Can we afford that new hire? What’s our cash runway? Set up dashboards and recurring reports that surface the right KPIs, such as P&L by department, cash forecasts, vendor spend, and budget vs. actuals. If your reports aren’t shaping business decisions, the stack needs adjustment.

Why AP is a great starting point

Big returns, simple implementation

If you’re wondering where to start after you have established your GL accounting software, begin with Accounts Payable. AP automation is often the fastest, most visible way to save time, tighten cash control, and prove ROI early.

It centralizes every invoice, enforces clear approvals, and lets you schedule payments on your terms so there’s less “surprise” cash burn. Automated coding and 3-way matching speed up the close, while digital payments and built-in permissions reduce the risk of errors or fraud. Vendors appreciate it too: payments go out on time with cleaner remittance data.

BILL also recently introduced a new generation of AI-powered Agents that take intelligent financial operations even further. These intelligent agents can collect and validate W-9 forms, reconcile transactions with suggested GL coding, and guide new users through setup—all with minimal manual input. By automating these routine tasks, teams can reduce friction, protect data integrity, and focus more energy on strategic finance work.

You don’t have to do it all at once. Roll it out in phases—invoice intake, approvals, payments, then cards and expenses. Each step adds efficiency, visibility, and control without disrupting daily operations. After implementing AP automation, you may consider the build order below as an initial guide, and then customize based on your organization’s specific needs.

A simple build order

Phase Focus What you’ll have in 30–60 days
1 AP automation
  • All invoices flow to one inbox, approvals happen in-app, and payments batch on a set schedule.
  • Vendor info is verified, ACH/virtual card is enabled, and bills sync to the GL the same day so you can see upcoming cash needs at a glance.
2 Cards & expenses
  • Company cards issued with limits and rules.
  • Receipts are auto-captured, reimbursements run inside the system, and you get a real-time view of team spend.
  • Month-end closes faster because coding happens as you swipe.
3 Payroll & benefits
  • Payroll runs cleanly with automated tax filings.
  • Employees and contractors are set up correctly, benefits are synced.
  • Labor costs post to the right departments/projects without manual rework.
4 Sales tax
  • Nexus is assessed, registrations (as needed) are in motion, and rates calculate automatically on invoices.
  • A filing calendar is in place with reminders, reducing notices, penalties, and late fees.
5 FP&A
  • A live 13-week cash forecast and a 12-month budget are in place.
  • You get a simple monthly variance review and a one-page dashboard for revenue, margin, burn, and runway—plus basic “what-if” scenarios you can toggle.

Once you’ve mapped your priorities and rollout plan, the right partners can help you implement quickly and get lasting results.

How Burkland + BILL can help

BILL is the intelligent finance platform trusted by nearly half a million businesses and their accountants to manage, move, and maximize their money. BILL uses AI to deliver strategic finance capabilities in one integrated platform that includes AP, AR, expenses, forecasting, procurement and more. That includes a growing set of AI-powered Agents that help automate tasks like W-9 collection, transaction reconciliation, and new user onboarding—reducing manual effort and improving consistency across workflows. With a member network of more than 8 million, BILL’s platform processes ~1% of US GDP annually.

Burkland helps you put that power to work for your business. We design your chart of accounts, approval matrix, and data flow. We configure BILL and connect it to your GL, bank, and expense tools to ensure you are optimizing the use of this powerful tool. Once everything is live, we train your team, document workflows, and deliver reporting that gives leadership clear, actionable insights to drive better decisions.

Upgrade without the overwhelm

Burkland and BILL make accounting modernization seamless. Burkland manages data migration, vendor setup, and change management, while BILL simplifies daily AP tasks and integrates smoothly with your existing systems. The result is a streamlined, scalable accounting environment that shortens your close, strengthens controls, and improves financial visibility without adding complexity.

Contact us to get started.