Webinar: What CFOs can learn from Kieser outgrowing Xero
For CFOs leading high-growth businesses, the shift from day-to-day bookkeeping to driving the financial strategy is often the point when finance systems start to reveal their limits.
That was the challenge facing Kieser - a clinical strength training and physiotherapy organisation operating multiple clinics across Australia - as it scaled nationally.
When growth starts to strain the system
Kieser was founded in Australia in 2006, blending Swiss-engineered strength equipment with exercise physiology to deliver long-term health outcomes. Growth was strong, even accelerating through the pandemic as demand for health and wellness services surged.
Growth revealed just how tangled the processes had become. The finance function was running 27 separate Xero instances - one per entity - alongside more than 80 budget spreadsheets. Reporting was slow, reconciling accounts meant duplication of effort, budget cycles stretched out to three months and intercompany transactions required time-intensive manual workarounds.
CFO Dianna Butterworth could see the impact on her team: "We were drowning in manual labour with data entry. We had bookkeepers to clinics at a one-to-five ratio, and the systems just weren't talking to each other."
Building a finance function for scale
To lay the foundations for future growth, Kieser needed to consolidate finance, unify data and remove the manual processing burden. Working with Annexa, they implemented a cloud ERP designed for multi-entity operations, real-time reporting and advanced planning.
All 27 Xero instances were replaced with NetSuite's single ledger. A middleware integration connected NetSuite with Kieser's custom clinic management system, ensuring clean data flow from the front desk to finance. Spreadsheet-based budgeting was retired in favour of NetSuite Planning and Budgeting (NSPB). And NetSuite Account Reconciliation (NSAR) automated reconciliations, allowing the team to dig into insight instead of input.
The impact was dramatic. Month-end close timelines dropped from 25 days to just three. Regional and clinic leaders gained access to real-time performance data, enabling faster, better-informed decisions. Finance went from reconciling the past to directing the future.
"My team went from being data entry checkers to real analysts," said Butterworth. "We've just got complete visibility over what's happening in the business at the push of a button."
Lessons for CFOs from Kieser's systems transformation
Kieser's story is a textbook example of spotting system strain early and acting before it hardens into strategic debt. It also proves that transformation is as much about giving people the time and tools to operate at their best as it is about technology.
With the manual workload stripped away, the finance team now channels its energy into forward-looking work – from strategic planning and accurate forecasting to stronger collaboration between finance, operations and marketing.
For CFOs considering a move beyond Xero or other entry level accounting platforms, Kieser's experience shows that the sooner you address the cracks in your finance foundation – whether that's fragmented systems, sluggish closes or budget cycles that drag for months – the faster you unlock scale.
Critical takeaways from Kieser's cloud ERP journey:
- Cut the close - Faster closes free up weeks of strategic bandwidth.
- One source of truth wins - A single ledger eliminates the reconciliation churn.
- Visibility is a growth tool - Real-time insights speed up decision-making beyond finance.
- People are the payoff - Reducing admin gives teams the space to think, not just transact.
Go behind the scenes of Kieser's move to a single source of truth
If any of these challenges sound familiar, this webinar is worth your time.
Join Kieser CFO Dianna Butterworth and technology partner Annexa on September 4 at 11am AEST for a candid look at Kieser's move from Xero to a unified cloud ERP. You'll hear:
- What triggered the change and how the platform was selected
- How 27 Xero instances became one unified finance system
- What measurable improvements followed - from three-day closes to faster budgeting
- Practical advice for CFOs planning their own transition
Reserve your place for the live webinar and see how Kieser redefined its finance function for scale, and how you can too.
