Helen Wilson-Town has experienced both sides of the “ERP vs Xero” debate.
At Mind Candy in 2011, she implemented NetSuite at the height of the ERP boom. This involved a 3-month implementation, daily configuration calls and escalating licence costs.
Twelve years later, as Finance Director at Balena, Helen faced the same conversation again: a growing tech company, a finance function running on Xero, and a board asking whether it was time for an ERP.
This time, though, Helen knew better.
Rather than repeating history, she built a modern, lightweight stack around Xero.
Her survivor story proves that scaling a business doesn’t have to require an ERP.
Mind Candy
When Helen joined Mind Candy in 2010, the business was in growth mode.
Revenue was doubling year-on-year, they had a fresh Series A in the bank, and business was brimming with all the energy of a startup on the rise.
The finance team running on Xero started to feel the strain.
At the time, Xero was early in its evolution: excellent for small companies, but limited for scaling businesses.
“At Mind Candy, when I joined, they were using Xero. The CFO said we needed an ERP.”
Back then, the app ecosystem around Xero barely existed.
“This was 2010, there weren’t loads of apps you could hold on to.”
With growth in full swing and a need for consolidation tools, the team made the leap to NetSuite, chosen largely because it was a cloud-based ERP.
It seemed like the sensible, future-proof choice…
The ERP reality check
Implementation quickly revealed what ERPs really demand: time, patience and money.
“Tens of thousands of pounds, and this was 10–15 years ago!”
What followed were months of configuration and consultancy.
“It was definitely a three-month implementation, with at least a month of two-hour calls every day.”
The system was so expensive that only one person could attend official training.
“It was such an expensive course that we could only send one person (me), and then I had to take the time to train everyone else.”
Compared to Xero’s plug-and-play simplicity, it was a shock.
“You can turn up and sit down in front of Xero and figure it out within a day. With NetSuite, you have to spend a long time configuring it for your business.”
Eventually, it went live.
Some features worked well, such as the custom reporting and detailed exception rules.
Other things were broken from day one.
“We very quickly realised the bank reconciliation function didn’t work as expected […] This was a step backwards!”
And frustrating quirks in the ERP kept appearing.
“If you edited an invoice linked to a PO, the PO reopened. You’d be manually going through re-closing.”
The cost trap
Once NetSuite was embedded, the real trap of ongoing cost and dependency emerged.
“Every year the renewal would come. ‘This module is this much, this module is that much.’ Somehow, every year, it’s still a 10% increase!”
Over time, the bill crept from manageable to monstrous.
“If you’re starting at £30,000, 5 years later you’re up to £50,000. It’s huge.”
But switching away wasn’t easy. By now, too many processes depended on it.
“I was kind of trapped with the way it all worked.”
Fast forward: new company, new brief
In 2023, Helen joined Balena, a growing tech company running on Xero.
This was new leadership and a new board, but the same conversation.
The company’s reporting needed work, and the board had a suggestion: “Maybe it’s time for an ERP.”
Helen wasn’t so sure.
“I quickly realised times have changed. Xero has loads of apps now.”
Rather than rushing into another ERP project, she mapped the real problems: consolidation, intercompany balances and month-end drag.
It turned out that the solutions were already out there in the Xero tech stack.
“There must be an app to consolidate by now… Oh! Hello, Syft Analytics."
When Helen laid out the business case, the choice was obvious.
“You can have an ERP, but it’ll cost this much and take this long, and the finance team won’t know what’s going on for the first year.”
“We're currently paying a couple of hundred pounds a month for Xero and can quickly implement add-ons to solve our problems for minimal extra cost or disruption. Let's stick with Xero.”
The decision was easy. The board agreed.
The modern Xero stack
Today, Balena’s finance stack is lean and efficient, built around Xero at its core.
For consolidation and reporting, Helen uses Syft Analytics, replacing brittle spreadsheets with automated reports.
“When I joined, it was all on spreadsheets and not sustainable. Now I can just refresh data and download a spreadsheet.”
To close month end, Mayday automates intercompany reconciliations and prepayments.
“The last thing I’m always doing is intercompany; it’s such a drag on your brain. Then I found Mayday: Oh my god. One button to deal with prepayments. It removes that drag factor at month end.”
And, would ERP ever make sense again?
Helen still gives credit where it’s due.
NetSuite’s configurable reporting and exception logic were powerful. In a much larger or more complex environment, she admits, those features might still have a place.
However, in today’s ecosystem, there’s rarely a reason to jump straight to ERP.
“If I did need that again, I’d think: what app does it? Rather than ‘I must go to NetSuite.’ I’d be surprised if there wasn’t something out there doing that… or will be soon.”
Lessons from the front line
Helen’s journey is a lesson in choosing fit over fashion.
Don’t move to ERP by default! Start with the problems, not the platform.
Implementation is real work: months, not days.
Beware of feature regressions - new doesn’t always mean better.
Watch the total cost of ownership; renewals creep up faster than you think.
Leverage the ecosystem. Xero + apps like Syft and Mayday now cover most mid-market needs.
Above all, back your conviction:
“Let’s not spend the money, let me show you what I can do with Xero.”
👉 If you’re an ERP Survivor, we’d love to hear your story.
Reach out to emily.lockyer@getmayday.com
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