Over the past decade, a wave of accounting and ERP tools like NetSuite, FloQast, and BlackLine have transformed core finance operations at a range of organizations.
But for all their strengths, these platforms weren’t built for today’s finance reality: fragmented payment stacks, soaring transaction volumes, and cross-system workflows spanning reconciliation, posting, cash application, and real-time cash visibility. What’s needed, particularly in high transaction volumes, is a platform to automate the full operational lifecycle…which is what we’ve built at Ledge.
If your team is still:
- Matching transactions in Excel
- Posting journal entries manually
- Chasing exceptions over email or Slack
- Rebuilding Payment Processor reconciliation logic every month
- Reformatting CSVs to get data into your ERP
…you’re not alone. These are the exact gaps Ledge was built to solve.
This guide gives you a quick, practical look at how Ledge complements the systems you already use by automating the parts they weren’t designed to handle.
Where today’s tools experience limitations…and how Ledge plugs those gaps
Tools like NetSuite, FloQast, and BlackLine were designed to improve ERP workflows, close coordination, and streamline compliance at scale. But they were never built to automate the transaction-level operations that teams manage today, especially when workflows that run across multiple data sources like banks, Payment Processors, an ERP, and internal data sources.
Ledge was built to fill the operational gaps that these tools weren’t designed to cover:
- Transaction reconciliation at scale. Reconciling high volumes of transactions across disconnected sources to reduce close delays, surface variances earlier, and give controllers and CFOs a more reliable view of financial performance
- Automated journal entries. Reducing manual journal entry work and ensuring accurate, timely posting tied to reconciled transactions
- Flexible cash application. Applying cash flexibly, even when data doesn’t align perfectly
- Exception handling with context. Automatically route exceptions to the right owners with full context, audit history, and AI-powered suggestions for how to resolve them
- Finance-led configuration. Enabling finance teams to adapt reconciliation and posting logic quickly as business needs evolve, without relying on IT
Ledge is designed to handle the operational workflows that most platforms overlook. These are the parts that still live in spreadsheets, internal Slack threads, emails with customers, or brittle scripts. From reconciliation to journal entries and cash application, Ledge gives finance teams the control and automation they need to close faster, reduce errors, and stay audit-ready.
What these tools focus on…and what they leave behind
One trend we’ve observed at Ledge, in working with a range of organizations, is that it’s common for finance teams to rely on a patchwork of systems to manage reconciliations, journal entries, and cash application. These fixes are band-aids for the fact that most finance tools on the market were built for static reporting, not real-time transaction complexity.
Let’s take a look at the tools finance teams rely on today: what they’re built for, where they hit their limits, and how Ledge fits into the overall equation to accelerate efficiencies in finance, overall.
1. ERP systems like NetSuite
Primary role: System of record, GL management, reporting, billing
Operational gaps:
- Matching transactions across systems is manual or rule-limited
- Journal entries tied to reconciliation require scripting or manual work
- Cash application only works for exact matches
- Bank feeds and Payment Processor connections are often unreliable or disconnected
2. Close management tools like FloQast
Primary role: Checklist tracking, month-end coordination, team accountability
Operational gaps:
- Reconciliation tasks are tracked, but the actual matching and adjustments still happen in Excel
- Payment Processor reconciliation and bank statements must be uploaded manually
- No journal entry automation or cash application automation
3. Compliance platforms like BlackLine
Primary role: Balance sheet controls, audit trails, SOX compliance
Operational gaps:
- Built for static account reconciliations, not fast-moving transaction flows
- Rigid rule engines managed by admins or IT
- High implementation effort and slow to adapt
4. Ledge
Primary role: Automates high-volume reconciliation, journal entry creation, and cash application (all managed by finance)
Built to automate the most manual parts of accounting:
- Multi-way, real-time transaction matching across sources
- Auto-posting of journal entries tied to reconciliation logic
- Cash application logic that handles partials, mismatches, and bundling
- Exception resolution built into the platform
- Finance-owned, no-code rule management
How the workflows compare
Real pain points our team at Ledge hears every day
“We’re still reconciling payouts in Excel, matching transactions line by line.”
“I have to pull data from 3+ systems just to figure out what’s missing.”
“Our Payment Processor and bank formats don’t match the ERP, so we normalize everything manually.”
Is this your team?You’re not alone.
These are real quotes we hear from finance teams every week...smart, capable people spending hours on tasks that should take minutes. If any of these sound familiar, it’s not a reflection of your team’s skills.
It’s a sign your tools haven’t caught up.
Here are some more pain point signals that may come up on your team:
“We don’t have a clear view of cash until after the month-end close.”
- “Cash application breaks when customers change how they pay or forget invoice references.”
- We’re still manually posting journal entries to resolve exceptions or complete the reconciliation”
- “If exchange rates or payment dates change, I have to go back and update posted entries.”
- “Intercompany transfers are still booked manually between subsidiaries.”
- “We have to go through IT just to update a rule or tweak our matching logic.”
- “Audit prep means digging through old spreadsheets, Slack threads, and email approvals.”
Where today’s tools fall short—and what Ledge makes possible
What if your finance tools actually kept up with the workflows you need for your finance team?
Imagine a close process where reconciliation doesn’t drag, exceptions don’t stall progress, and audit prep doesn’t mean piecing together a paper trail. That’s what Ledge makes possible. We equip finance teams with the automation, visibility, and control they’ve always needed but never had.
What Ledge helps you do better
Faster reconciliation. Match high volumes of transactions across multiple sources and formats in real time—no more manual line-by-line work.
Continuous close. Your GL stays current with auto-posted journal entries and applied cash, without waiting on manual steps or downstream dependencies.
Finance-owned control. Manage rules, exceptions, and posting logic without relying on IT, so your team stays agile as the business evolves.
Built-in audit readiness. Every action is tracked, time-stamped, and accessible, making audit prep faster, easier, and more transparent.
Ledge delivers value across your finance stack
Ledge fits right into the systems you already use and functions as connective tissue where point solutions just aren’t cutting it anymore.
Whether your team is growing fast, handling more transactions, or juggling more complexity, Ledge helps you keep up without burning out or scaling headcount.
Ready-to-deploy in weeks. Owned by finance. Built for scale.
Learn more: Schedule a demo with us.
