Real-time ERP sync: A game-changer for controllers

The month-end crunch shouldn’t define your finance team

For most finance controllers, “month-end close” means long nights, endless CSV exports, and hours lost to reconciling transactions from disconnected systems. Controllers can spend up to 10 hours a week tracking down mismatched entries, manually reclassifying expenses, or waiting for spend data to flow from one tool to another.

That lag doesn’t just slow you down, it impacts decision-making, creates reporting blind spots, and erodes confidence in your numbers. In today’s always-on finance environment, waiting until the end of the month to know where your money went just isn’t viable anymore.

That’s why real-time ERP sync isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s fast becoming the new standard for modern finance operations.

The “before” picture: disconnected systems and manual reconciliation

If you’ve ever juggled multiple browser tabs across your expense tool, card platform, and ERP, you know how easily errors creep in.

A team member uploads a receipt late. An expense category doesn’t match the GL code. Payments sit unreconciled for days (or weeks) because data doesn’t sync until someone manually pushes it through. By the time your ERP finally reflects reality, the data is already outdated.

Controllers can easily lose a full day every week to these low-value tasks: reconciling line items, cross-checking entries, or chasing down missing invoices.

This is what Airwallex set out to change.

The “after” picture: automated reconciliation, instant visibility

With Airwallex’s real-time ERP sync, every transaction, expense, and payment is automatically reflected in your accounting system — without manual intervention. For NetSuite users, purchase orders also sync in real time between Airwallex and NetSuite, keeping both systems fully updated. Because the sync is two-way, purchase orders can be created or updated in either NetSuite or Airwallex and remain synchronized automatically.

Your Airwallex wallet, cards, expenses, and bills sync directly with Xero, NetSuite, and other major accounting systems, creating a single, accurate view of spend across entities. For NetSuite users, purchase orders sync two-way between Airwallex and NetSuite, so you can create or update POs in either system and keep them perfectly in lockstep

• With Xero, transactions sync hourly — no more manual uploads or end-of-day batch imports.

• With NetSuite, Airwallex syncs your POs and multi-currency spend data directly to your ERP ledger, so controllers can reconcile global activity with confidence.

• Bills and reimbursements automatically push to your accounting system, and payments flow back for instant reconciliation.

Controllers no longer wait for data, they act on it. You get a real-time view of spend commitments, actuals, variances, and purchase orders across every department or entity, enabling a continuous close process rather than a reactive one.

Why this matters now

Finance operations are shifting from static to real-time. As companies expand globally and financial data multiplies across tools, latency has become a hidden cost. Controllers can’t afford to wait until month-end to understand cash flow or cost center performance; they need continuous visibility to drive smarter decisions.

The modern finance leader is moving toward what’s often called a “continuous close” model where reconciliation, reporting, and analysis happen in near real time. It’s not about doing more work; it’s about doing the same work with better systems.

That’s where Airwallex bridges the gap: helping finance teams automate the tedious, eliminate reconciliation delays, and gain clarity across every entity, every transaction, every hour.

What real-time sync unlocks for your finance team

1. Faster, more accurate closes Eliminate the lag between spend and visibility. With real-time ERP sync, transactions, bills, and purchase order data flow automatically into your accounting system to reduce manual checks, rework, and audit risk. As seen in the Igloo Insure case study, finance teams can move from spending hours manually approving, paying, and reconciling invoices to completing approvals in minutes and reconciling directly within their ERP.

2. Confidence in every number When your ERP is the single source of truth, month-end surprises disappear. For teams using NetSuite, real-time sync ensures payments, approvals, and supporting documentation are reflected accurately without relying on spreadsheets or delayed uploads. Igloo Insure eliminated fragmented workflows by syncing Airwallex directly with NetSuite, giving controllers full visibility and confidence in their numbers at all times.

3. More time for strategy By removing low-value manual work, controllers can shift from transaction processing to business partnership. Real-time data enables finance leaders to analyze spend trends, monitor cash flow, and optimize FX and cross-border costs continuously (not after the fact). Igloo Insure, for example, saves approximately S$100 per cross-border transaction, a benefit they can track and act on immediately thanks to integrated finance and ERP workflows.

4. Scalability across global entities Real-time sync supports complex, multi-entity environments without adding operational overhead. Whether managing multiple subsidiaries, currencies, or approval structures, finance teams gain a consistent, up-to-date view across the business. This was critical for Igloo Insure as they scaled operations across eight countries while maintaining centralized control and visibility through their ERP.

Real-time reconciliation isn’t just a feature

Finance leaders are embracing automation to replace hours of manual data wrangling with instantaneous accuracy. With Airwallex’s real-time ERP sync, reconciliation happens as business happens, freeing controllers to spend less time chasing transactions and more time driving financial performance.

Ready to see it in action? Connect Airwallex to your ERP in minutes and experience what real-time finance really looks like.