When companies transition out of the startup phase, they often carry forward habits that worked early on but no longer scale: spreadsheets held together with formulas no one fully understands, manual journal entries, inconsistent categorizations, and undocumented processes. As the volume of transactions grows, so do the risks and inefficiencies.

This “messy middle” leads to a range of downstream problems that include:

a. Teams find themselves spending hours researching old entries to answer basic questions from leadership.

b. The monthly close slows down.

c. Reporting lacks consistency.

d. Leadership begins to lose confidence in the accuracy of the numbers—and in the accounting function itself.

If your company is experiencing any of these issues, take steps to try to simplify and standardize your processes. This may seem like more work at first, but should pay dividends in the long run!

Standardization brings order to chaos by creating a set of repeatable rules that everyone follows. This is about designing processes that are simple, consistent, and well-documented.

In accounting, this starts with a well-defined chart of accounts that matches how the business operates. Revenue should be categorized consistently. Recurring transactions such as revenue recognition, amortization of prepaid expenses, or monthly accruals should follow clearly documented procedures.

Templates are another essential component of standardization. From journal entries to account reconciliations, having a standard format saves time and reduces errors. A documented close process helps ensure that every balance sheet account is reviewed each month, not just the high-profile ones. And layering on monthly analytics such as flux analysis or ratio tracking helps uncover issues early, while they’re still easy to fix.

Checklists are also a very powerful tool in your toolbox of standardization. As Atul Gawande argues in The Checklist Manifesto, checklists reduce error, bring order to complexity, and support expert performance by ensuring even the most seasoned professionals don’t miss crucial steps. In accounting, they serve a similar role—making sure critical items don’t get overlooked during repeatable processes like the month-end close or reconciliations. A good checklist transforms tribal knowledge into an accessible, repeatable standard. For example, a close checklist might include deadlines for each account, reconciliation steps, tie-outs, review milestones, and final approvals. These checklists help onboard new staff, cross-train team members, and maintain consistency as your team grows.

Standardization doesn’t mean rigidity. It means clarity—so that the team can execute repeatable tasks confidently and spend their time on higher-value activities.

Too often, companies rush into automation without first fixing the underlying process. But automation only magnifies what already exists. If your workflow is disorganized, automation won’t fix it—it will just make the chaos move faster.

That’s why it’s essential to take a step back and build discipline into your processes first by following the below steps:

When discipline precedes automation, the result is a streamlined, scalable system that supports growth—not one that constantly needs cleaning up.

Once standardization is in place, automation becomes a force multiplier. It allows your team to focus less on data entry and more on analysis and decision-making.

Start simple. Bank feeds and auto-reconciliations reduce manual work and speed up the close. Recurring journal entries for depreciation, amortization, or revenue schedules can be scheduled automatically. Dashboards and reporting tools can pull from accounting data to generate real-time financial snapshots.

For many small to mid-sized companies, automating just 10–20% of recurring tasks can result in substantial time savings. It can also dramatically reduce the risk of missed entries, duplicate work, or last-minute surprises.

Solving simple problems isn’t flashy, but it’s powerful. When your team no longer wastes time hunting for answers, reworking journal entries, or explaining inconsistent numbers, they’re free to focus on strategy. The monthly close becomes faster. Financials become more accurate. Leadership gains trust in the numbers, and most importantly, the accounting team shifts from being a bottleneck to a true partner in the company’s growth.