One of the most common questions we get from prospects and customers these days is: “Can I go through an acquisition with Rillet as my ERP?”

The short answer: absolutely. 

With many SaaS startups having raised at high valuations—only to face tough economic conditions and limited runway—an IPO may not be a viable option for many companies.. As a result, acquisitions have emerged as the most viable path forward.

To help you understand what the acquisition process might look like with Rillet, we sat down with David Ally, former Vice President of Finance at Allovue. In early 2024, when Allovue was acquired by publicly listed PowerSchool Holdings (later acquired by Bain Capital for $5.6B), David utilized Rillet extensively to support the acquisition process from start to finish. 

How Rillet supports the acquisition process

When Allovue was acquired by PowerSchool, Rillet played a critical role in the process. “We were able to provide the auditors with everything they could have asked for,” David says. “There were zero issues.”

Here’s a closer look at how Rillet helped Allovue navigate their acquisition:

1. Audit-ready reporting

Auditors demand a thorough examination of every financial entry during an acquisition. They want to see detailed reconciliations that tie historical balances together seamlessly.

For startups without strong systems in place, preparing these reports can take weeks, delaying the process and adding an immense amount of stress.

How Rillet addresses this

After hearing about Rillet from an investor, David decided to pivot. At Allovue, having Rillet’s audit-ready reconciliation tools was a game-changer. “The reconciliation workbook helped produce adjusting entries, which auditors heavily relied on,” David explained.

By automating these processes, Rillet ensures startups can quickly provide the documentation needed to satisfy even the most rigorous audits. This automation gave David’s team the confidence to meet every demand without scrambling, while also building credibility with PowerSchool’s auditing team.

2. ERP and CRM integration

For many startups, one of the biggest operational hurdles is a lack of integration between their CRM and ERP systems. These tools often operate in silos, creating inefficiencies that ripple through the business—from delays in invoicing to data entry errors.

While finance teams manage to find workarounds for these roadblocks, these become glaring issues during an acquisition audit.

Before adopting Rillet, David faced a similar problem with his accounting tech stack. “There was no integration between our CRM and ERP, and that delay in communication between sales and finance caused extensive revenue recognition issues.”

How Rillet addresses this

Unlike most ERPs, Rillet natively integrates with common CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce—ensuring  real-time alignment between sales and finance data.

To illustrate the difference: to connect an ERP like NetSuite with Salesforce, you need to pay external consultants thousands of dollars to wire everything together. With Rillet, all you need to do is log in to your Salesforce account and all the critical data—from the name of the contract to the start and end dates—will automatically populate. David points out some of the other benefits he noticed as well. 

“One of the most helpful features of Rillet was the integration with our CRM, which allowed us to invoice directly from the system. Between this and the automated dunning functionality, which let us set up follow-up cadences to remind customers to pay their invoice, we could avoid manual interventions from the team, which reduced errors and saved time for our team.”

3. Complex revenue management

Revenue reporting is one of the most scrutinized aspects of any acquisition. Unfortunately for SaaS businesses, this is rarely a straightforward process. Deferred revenue, usage-based contracts, prepaid plans, and midstream contract changes add layers of complexity.

This was a challenge David and his team at Allovue faced as well. “We had a number of oddball contracts that didn’t fit the standard mold.” With their former ERP, these use cases had to be managed manually and would have required extensive separate reporting for auditors. 

How Rillet addresses this

Once they made the shift to Rillet, David and his team were able to automate revenue recognition and deferred revenue management—providing clear, accurate reporting that auditors could rely on. 

“The deferred revenue waterfall proved out the earning patterns for existing customers and renewals.” This gave auditors confidence in the accuracy and reliability of their financials.

David also explains that having the ERP vendor’s support in navigating unusual use cases is invaluable. “Having someone from the Rillet team available via Slack to help us navigate how we should be billing saved us countless hours.”

4. Hands-on customer support

One of the biggest pain points for startups using traditional ERPs is the lack of accessible, responsive support. Larger ERPs often require expensive service contracts or long waits to get the help you need. For startups facing tight acquisition timelines, this lack of support can be a dealbreaker.

How Rillet addresses this

According to David, Rillet’s fast, personalized customer support throughout the acquisition process made a significant difference. “Having the Rillet team’s support was great,” David says. “They were available when we needed them and helpful without having to be intimately involved in the diligence process.”

This level of hands-on support is rare in the ERP space, where most companies are left to navigate challenges on their own or pay a premium for assistance. 

Is your startup acquisition ready?

Acquisitions are complex, but Rillet simplifies the process by integrating seamlessly with your existing systems, automating key processes, and providing hands-on support when you need it most.

Whether you’re planning an acquisition now or preparing for the future, Rillet can help position your company for success. Schedule a call with our sales and product team here to learn more. 

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