Closing the missing middle with ERP system integration

The missing middle of payments series: why mid-market CFOs are left without the right fit

The recent Missing Middle report survey of 400 UK mid-market CFOs and Finance Directors found that 54% say their current finance software isn’t the perfect fit for their needs. Many feel stuck between systems designed either for small firms or for large enterprises. The result is familiar: fragmented tools, slow reporting, and incomplete data.

When your ERP and your payment processes aren’t aligned, it doesn’t just create admin headaches; it affects cash flow, forecasting, and the very agility of the business.

The Goldilocks problem of payments

For many mid-market businesses, payments infrastructure has evolved reactively. A Direct Debit provider here, a card processor there, maybe a third-party system for online payments. Each one solves a specific pain point, but none are built for the CFO’s world of consolidated visibility and real-time data.

SME payment tools are simple and inexpensive, but lack the automation, analytics, and controls finance leaders expect. Enterprise platforms offer sophistication but come with enterprise complexity - long integration projects, high fees, and functionality that far exceed what a 200-person organisation needs.

Just like ERP, payments in the mid-market often fall into a “missing middle”: too big or too small, never quite right.

Integration is the new battleground

In the Missing Middle study, 72% of finance leaders said the ability to integrate with third-party systems is critical when choosing financial software. That number jumps even higher in sectors handling high transaction volumes, like hospitality and non-profit.

And yet, many CFOs still must reconcile payments manually, importing CSVs or waiting for monthly settlement reports. Finance teams spend, on average, 20 hours per month consolidating data from different sources, the equivalent of six working weeks per year. That’s time lost not to strategy or forecasting, but to basic visibility.

The real cost of the gap

When payment data isn’t connected to the ERP software, finance teams lose more than time; they lose control. Cash flow forecasts lag behind reality. CFOs can’t see which invoices have been paid, so working capital decisions are delayed. Reporting accuracy suffers. Without automated reconciliation, the “single source of truth” promised by the ERP starts to fragment. Growth slows down. Launching a new payment channel or billing model becomes a systems project instead of a business decision.

What the mid-market CFO needs next

The report calls integration “the new battleground.” For payments, this means providing finance leaders with a connected ecosystem. One where data flows automatically between systems, and payments become a strategic enabler rather than a back-office chore. Modern CFO tools must go beyond reporting. They need integrated payments and ERP connectivity.

CFOs need payment solutions that are:

• Flexible: Able to support multiple payment types (Direct Debit, cards, online) all without adding new providers or manual steps.
• Automated: Handling recurring billing, settlements, and reconciliations behind the scenes.
• Delivering live insights on cash flow and collections directly into ERP dashboards.
• Scalable: Ready for expansion, without enterprise-level cost or deployment times.
• Supported: Backed by dedicated service, not faceless ticketing, because mid-market finance teams rarely have large internal IT support.

Closing the missing middle

The Missing Middle research found that 84% of mid-market CFOs plan to switch software in search of a better fit and functionality. As finance teams modernise their ERP environments, there’s an opportunity, and a responsibility, to fix the payments gap at the same time. Because until payments are integrated, finance will never have a truly unified view of performance.

The future of mid-market finance won’t be built on enterprise compromises or small-business shortcuts. It will be built on systems designed for CFOs who expect both speed and sophistication, and that’s exactly where ERP integration and integrated payments need to catch up.

Ready to close the payments gap? Explore how Access PaySuite helps mid-market finance teams integrate payments seamlessly into their ERP systems. Book a demo today to see how ERP system integration and integrated payments can transform your operations.