In January, we released State of the Stack 2026: a definitive guide to scaling without an ERP, and the report quickly surpassed 1,300 downloads!
That’s 1,300+ finance leaders actively rethinking how to scale: not through rigid, monolithic ERP systems, but with Xero + best-in-class apps.
So, on 11th March, we brought the report to life in the State of the Stack 2026 Live Webinar, with a panel made up of David Tuck, Angad Soin (Managing Director ANZ & Global Chief Strategy Officer at Xero), Tyler Caskey (Partner at TheBeanCounters), and Katrina Bignasca (CFO at Asseti).
With over 200 registrants, the demand was unmistakable.
The webinar highlighted why the old ERP playbook is starting to lose its grip and what modern finance teams are actually building in 2026.
Now, we're recapping key moments from the webinar for the opening article of our new series, The Word is Spreading: a look at the moments, events, and stories that show how things are changing…
The old ERP story
For a long time, finance teams have been told the same thing: Xero is great for smaller businesses, but once you hit real complexity, such as managing multiple entities, new reporting requirements or consolidations, you need to move on.
That belief has shaped buying decisions across the market, with businesses simply accepting that growth inevitably means leaving flexibility behind and moving to an ERP.
But one of the clearest themes from the State of the Stack 2026 Live Webinar was that this assumption is no longer holding, and it proved that it is entirely possible to scale without defaulting to ERP, by building a best-in-class stack around Xero.
Firstly, Xero’s role was framed clearly by Angad Soin:
“A strong core foundation with an open ecosystem around it.”
Then Tyler Caskey shared what he sees as a systems consultant:
“I’ve seen $100m+ businesses running on Xero really effectively, because they’ve kept things simple and used the right tools where needed.
Ultimately, the discussion highlighted a shift in mindset.
It's no longer a conversation about which system to choose, it’s about identifying which problems need solving and how best to solve them.
The panellists all agreed that Xero allows finance teams the flexibility to extend intelligently, adding on the right apps for the right jobs when required.
That is a fundamentally different approach to ERP: one that prioritises clarity, efficiency and flexibility over standardisation.
The stack is maturing
Another telling part of the webinar came from Tyler Caskey, who reflected on how sparse the ecosystem used to feel - even just a few years ago:
"Back in 2018, the options were far more limited. Today, that’s changed dramatically. The number and quality of tools available to mid-market finance teams has exploded, making it increasingly realistic to build a modular stack that fits the business, rather than forcing the business into the system."
There are more purpose-built tools than ever for finance teams, spanning everything from AR/AP and payroll to reporting, FP&A and inventory. This breadth of functionality means teams can assemble a stack that genuinely reflects how their business operates, making it increasingly viable to scale with Xero + best-in-class apps rather than outgrowing it.
And, word spreads when the tools get better, the integrations get stronger, the case studies get clearer, the community gets louder, and more finance leaders can see people like them doing it successfully.
That is exactly what the State of the Stack Live Webinar represented, bringing all of this together in one place.
The case study
If there was a moment that grounded the entire discussion, it was the example shared by Katrina Bignasca, CFO at Asseti.
Asseti has grown rapidly from a smaller business into a multi-entity, multi-geography operation with double-digit growth year on year. And yet, the answer has not been to jump straight into an ERP.
Instead, Katrina described how Asseti has built a stack around Xero, adding apps when required:
“As the business grew: new entities, new geographies, new requirements, we added the apps we needed to solve those problems. That flexibility has been key.”
This is the modular model in practice. No overbuying, implementing for hypothetical future complexity or paying for features no one uses - just solving the next real problem properly.
A broader shift
Another key theme from the webinar was that the value of this model goes beyond cost.
ERP alternatives, like Xero, are often more cost-effective, easier to implement and reduce ongoing consulting overheads. But the more meaningful advantage is operational.
As Angad highlighted:
“With the right stack, your business can actually run better.”
This is where the traditional ERP conversation often falls short, focusing solely on system breadth.
The reality is, for many businesses, not only can they survive on Xero... they can thrive on Xero. With the right add-ons in place, a Xero-based stack can give finance teams more power than an ERP.
What else is spreading?
At its core, what’s spreading is confidence. Confidence that businesses in the mid-market can scale on Xero, that flexibility and control are not trade-offs, and that complexity can be managed without overhauling the entire system.
With CFO Techstack’s State of the Stack 2026 report and the Live Webinar, there is a community, a body of examples, and a playbook emerging around this way of building.
For many teams, the biggest blocker is not technical, it’s social or organisational. It is the fear of going against the grain and choosing a path that feels less conventional.
The webinar chipped away at that fear. When we have:
- Xero backing the conversation
- Mayday solving real month-end challenges
- Partners like Tyler implementing these stacks at scale
- CFOs like Katrina operating globally on them
…it becomes clear that this is a viable, and increasingly proven, way to scale.
"The Word is Spreading" Series
As the first article in The Word is Spreading series, the State of the Stack Live Webinar represents something bigger than a single event.
It’s a snapshot of a shift in motion:
- A report reaching 1,300+ downloads
- A webinar engaging 200+ finance leaders
- A panel spanning platform, partner and practitioner perspectives
- And a growing body of proof that businesses can scale Xero + apps
This is what momentum looks like.
ERP used to be the default answer. Now, more finance teams are starting with a different question: What is the simplest, smartest stack that will solve our problems today and scale with us tomorrow? That is the question behind the community, and the question behind this series.
Because the word is spreading, through reports, through webinars, through partner ecosystems, through customer stories, through events, and through every finance leader who realises they do not have to follow the old script.
And, at the State of the Stack Live Webinar with Xero, this was impossible to miss.
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