Flow ERP Demo

A Flow ERP demo centers on three things: multi-entity consolidation, AI-native GL automation, and a 10-minute migration claim — and it is built to run without a consultant in the room. If you have seen Flow ERP surface in a comparison article or heard about it from a peer, this guide will tell you what the demo actually covers before you commit time to a sales call.

This is a pre-demo preparation guide, not a product pitch. It is written for CFOs, Controllers, and accounting leaders who want to walk into that call with the right questions already formed — not discover the product's limitations after a second or third meeting.

What follows covers where the demo is genuinely strong, what to pressure-test, five verification questions to bring into the call, and an honest comparison against NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Campfire, and Rillet. Flow ERP is an affiliated product of Consolidate.io and is evaluated here by the same neutral standard applied to every other tool on this site.

Key takeaways

• Flow ERP claims to migrate transaction-level historical data — individual line items, not just a trial balance — from QuickBooks or NetSuite in approximately 10 minutes; this is the most attention-grabbing claim in the demo and the one most worth pressure-testing with a live demonstration.
• For multi-entity businesses, Flow ERP's intercompany eliminations happen at the time a transaction is posted, not as a period-end batch adjustment — a meaningful workflow difference that reduces close complexity when managing five or more entities.
• Flow ERP is designed for in-house implementation teams; the vendor does not require or recommend external consultants for deployment, which affects both timeline and total cost of ownership compared to NetSuite or Sage Intacct.
• Revenue recognition is currently in prototype stage — not production-ready — meaning businesses with ASC 606 or IFRS 15 compliance requirements should ask the sales team directly what is live before evaluating Flow ERP against Rillet or Sage Intacct.
• Flow ERP is an accounting and finance platform, not a full operational ERP; it has no inventory, manufacturing, or warehouse management modules, which disqualifies it as a standalone system for businesses that need finance and operations in a single platform.
• Annual pricing ranges from approximately $20,000 to $200,000 depending on entity count and user mix, and the demo does not always surface the full pricing model without direct questioning.

What does a Flow ERP demo actually show you?

A Flow ERP demo leads with three things: multi-entity consolidation, AI-native GL automation, and a migration story that claims to move transaction-level historical data from QuickBooks or NetSuite in approximately 10 minutes. Unlike most ERP demos, it is not structured around a consultant-led implementation narrative — the central pitch is that your in-house finance team runs the deployment without external help.

The demo's core thesis is straightforward: Flow ERP is positioning itself as a purpose-built accounting and finance platform for multi-entity businesses that have outgrown QuickBooks but find NetSuite over-engineered or too consultant-dependent. Every major segment of the demo reflects that positioning directly. You will see a chart of accounts migration tool, a live intercompany approval workflow, an AI-assisted GL with proactive transaction categorization, and an FP&A layer where intercompany is treated as a reporting dimension alongside entity, department, and cost center.

What the demo emphasizes is not always the same as what is fully production-ready. Revenue recognition, for example, appears in the demo context but is currently in prototype stage — a distinction the demo does not always surface without direct questioning. Buyers who have read about how AI-native ERPs compare on real-time reporting will recognize a familiar pattern: the architectural claims are meaningful, but the verification work belongs to the buyer, not the vendor.

Use this section as your calibration layer. The sections that follow cover what the demo communicates well, where the product's current state may not match the demo's presentation, and the five questions that turn a prepared walkthrough into a genuine verification exercise. The goal is to help you arrive at the demo knowing what you are actually evaluating — and what to push on when the prepared script runs out.

Not ideal for: organizations that need a single system spanning finance and operations, or businesses where revenue recognition compliance is a current requirement rather than a roadmap item. For those situations, the best ERP systems for medium-sized businesses guide provides a structured comparison of alternatives with different operational profiles.

What Flow ERP covers well in a demo

The areas where a Flow ERP demo communicates most clearly are multi-entity consolidation, intercompany automation, data migration, the AI-native GL, and the FP&A layer. "Covers well in a demo" means the product's differentiation is visible and the demo team can demonstrate these capabilities live — not that they are universally superior to every alternative. Use this section to calibrate what you are actually evaluating, then pressure-test the claims in the next section.

Multi-entity consolidation

The demo typically opens with chart of accounts design, showing a flexible CoA mapping approach that does not force a rigid parent-child hierarchy. A one-click CoA migration tool is usually demonstrated live, which is a meaningful contrast to the multi-week CoA standardization projects that precede most NetSuite or Sage Intacct implementations.

Flow ERP also surfaces partial ownership recognition during the demo — the ability to configure a consolidation percentage below 100% for entities where the parent holds a minority stake. For holding companies or PE-backed businesses with minority interests, this is a genuine workflow differentiator versus QuickBooks-based consolidation workarounds. Buyers should still compare this directly against Sage Intacct's multi-entity module before concluding it is more capable for their specific ownership structure.

Not ideal for: organizations requiring GAAP-compliant consolidation with auditor-reviewed workflows at a public-company level.

Intercompany automation

The demo introduces what Flow ERP calls an intercompany approval inbox: cross-entity transactions are routed through a centralized queue with access segregated by entity. An accountant for Entity A cannot approve a transaction on behalf of Entity B — a segregation-of-duties control that matters for multi-entity teams where one person manages several books.

The more distinctive feature is transaction-level elimination. Rather than running a batch elimination at period-end, Flow ERP triggers the elimination when the intercompany transaction is posted. Concretely: if Entity A bills Entity B $50,000 for shared services, the elimination entry fires at the time of posting — not at month-end close.

This compresses the close cycle by removing a discrete reconciliation step that most multi-entity teams treat as a separate workstream.

Buyers should ask directly how the system behaves when a transaction is amended or reversed after posting. The demo may not surface this edge case without prompting.

Data migration story

Flow ERP's 10-minute migration claim is the most frequently cited differentiator in peer conversations about the platform. The LiveFlow announcement of Flow ERP provides additional context on the product's positioning and launch.

The claim covers transaction-level historical data — individual line items, not summarized period balances — migrated from QuickBooks or NetSuite in approximately 10 minutes using a proprietary migration tool. Preserving line-item detail matters because it maintains drill-down capability in the new system; a trial balance import does not.

This claim is worth verifying live during the demo. Ask the team to run a migration using a sanitized version of your actual data, not a pre-prepared clean dataset. The verification questions section below covers exactly how to structure that request.

Not ideal for: businesses with highly customized legacy data structures or multi-system source environments where a single-tool migration may not be sufficient.

AI-native GL

Flow ERP's AI layer operates inside the core GL workflow — not as a reporting add-on or a separate module. The demo shows three specific capabilities: proactive transaction categorization (the system suggests GL coding before a human reviews), outlier flagging for transactions that deviate from historical patterns, and instant bank feed sync. For a deeper look at how AI functions within ERP finance workflows, see AI in ERP systems: how it works in finance.

The demo often uses NetSuite's transaction screen load time as a UX comparison point. Treat that as a user experience claim, not a functional accounting claim — the meaningful distinction is whether the AI is embedded in the workflow or bolted on after the fact. For a broader comparison of how AI-native architecture differs from AI-enhanced legacy platforms, the comparison of AI-native ERP solutions for real-time reporting on Consolidate.io provides a useful framework.

FP&A layer

The demo presents an unlimited dimensions feature: buyers can slice reporting by any combination of entity, department, project, cost center, or custom dimension without hitting a hard limit. Intercompany is treated as a dimension in the FP&A layer, which means consolidated and entity-level reporting coexist in the same model rather than requiring separate report builds.

Flow ERP also demonstrates AI-powered variance analysis — the system flags budget-to-actual variances and generates a natural-language explanation of the drivers. For teams that spend hours each month writing variance commentary for board packages, this is a concrete time reduction.

LiveFlow, Flow ERP's parent company, holds a 4.9/5 stars on G2, with customers citing automated, real-time data sync as the most impactful feature. You can explore Flow ERP's official product page for a full feature overview.

Buyers evaluating the FP&A layer against standalone tools should confirm which AI features are production-ready versus in development before drawing conclusions.

What to pressure-test in a Flow ERP demo

The demo is well-constructed, and the areas it covers — intercompany automation, migration speed, AI-native GL — are genuinely strong. But every demo is a curated experience. The due-diligence layer is the set of questions that move beyond the prepared walkthrough into areas where the current product state may not match the demo's confidence level.

These are not disqualifiers. They are the questions every serious buyer should ask before signing.

Revenue recognition

As of the most recent available information, revenue recognition in Flow ERP is in prototype stage — not production-ready. Buyers evaluating Flow ERP for SaaS, subscription, or contract-based revenue businesses need to ask the sales team directly: what is live versus on the roadmap, and when is general availability expected?

This matters because revenue recognition under ASC 606 or IFRS 15 is non-negotiable for most mid-market businesses. A prototype-stage module cannot be relied upon for audit or compliance purposes. Ask for a written product roadmap with expected GA dates — a verbal commitment during the demo is not a substitute.

If revenue recognition is a current requirement rather than a 12-month roadmap item, compare Flow ERP directly against Rillet or Sage Intacct, both of which have production-ready rev rec today.

Operational modules

Flow ERP is an accounting and finance platform, not a full operational ERP. It does not include inventory management, manufacturing, warehouse management, or supply chain modules.

For businesses that do need manufacturing ERP capabilities, Global Shop Solutions' overview of manufacturing flows and ERP explains what those modules typically cover. This is not a gap in the demo — it is a fundamental scope boundary that the demo may not make explicit.

If your business requires purchase orders tied to inventory, bill of materials processing, or lot tracking, Flow ERP will need to integrate with a separate operational system. Ask the demo team which integrations are pre-built and which require custom API work.

Not ideal for: manufacturing, distribution, or retail businesses that need a single system spanning operations and finance. This is the most important contraindicator for Flow ERP, and it should be evaluated plainly before the shortlist is finalized.

Enterprise-scale controls

Flow ERP's intercompany approval workflow is genuinely strong — transaction-level eliminations and segregated access by entity represent a meaningful step up from period-end journal adjustments. The harder question is how the audit trail holds up under SOX-level scrutiny.

NetSuite carries a multi-decade track record with auditors and a well-documented control framework. Flow ERP is newer, and buyers preparing for an external audit should ask for reference customers who have completed one on the platform. Specifically, ask about immutable audit logs, role-based access controls with segregation of duties documentation, and whether the system produces the standard evidence packages auditors expect.

Migration claim verification

The 10-minute migration claim is the most attention-grabbing element of the Flow ERP demo — and the one most worth verifying under realistic conditions. The claim states that transaction-level historical data can be migrated from QuickBooks or NetSuite in approximately 10 minutes. What the demo may not surface upfront are the conditions under which this holds: data cleanliness, source system structure, entity count, and transaction volume all affect the outcome.

Two verification steps are worth building into your evaluation. First, ask the demo team to run a live migration using a sanitized version of your actual data — not a pre-prepared clean dataset. Second, ask for a reference customer with a similar entity count and data complexity who can speak to the actual migration experience.

A migration demo run on clean, pre-built data is a different exercise than migrating a real business's historical books, and the distinction matters before you commit to a go-live timeline.

The five questions to ask in a Flow ERP demo

Call this the Five Flow ERP Demo Verification Questions framework. The purpose is not to be adversarial — it is to shift the session from a prepared walkthrough into a live verification exercise.

A credible vendor will welcome these questions. A vendor who deflects them is telling you something important about the product.

This framework applies to any ERP demo evaluation, not just Flow ERP. For a broader version of this checklist, the how-to-evaluate-an-ERP-demo guide on Consolidate.io provides a structured comparison framework you can use across every vendor on your shortlist.

Question 1: Show me a live transaction-level migration from QuickBooks or NetSuite, not a slide

The 10-minute migration claim is the centerpiece of Flow ERP's positioning, and it deserves live validation. A pre-recorded video or a slide deck is not a migration demo — it is a marketing asset.

A strong answer looks like this: the demo team runs a live migration using a sanitized dataset of comparable size and complexity to your business, and the result is a fully navigable transaction history in the new system. For context on what strong ERP demos look like across vendors, The CFO Club's ERP demo guide is a useful external reference. A red flag answer is any version of "we'll show you that in a follow-up session" without a concrete commitment to run it live before you sign.

Question 2: Walk me through an intercompany elimination across five entities end to end

Two-entity examples are easy. What you need to see is the complete workflow at a realistic entity count — transaction posted in Entity A, routed through the approval inbox, eliminated at the transaction level, and visible in the consolidated P&L — without the demo team switching to a pre-built environment.

If the elimination appears as a period-end journal entry rather than a transaction-level event, that is a meaningful workflow difference from what the demo narrative describes. Note it, and ask directly how the system handles amendments or reversals after an elimination has been posted.

Question 3: What does the close workflow look like for a team managing 10 entities?

The complexity of a 10-entity close is not simply 5x a 2-entity close. It involves parallel workstreams, dependency management between entities, and a consolidated view that must reconcile simultaneously across all entities.

A strong answer includes a live demonstration of a close checklist or workflow tool that assigns tasks by entity, tracks completion status, and surfaces blockers in the consolidated close. A red flag is a verbal description of the close process without showing the multi-entity coordination layer in the product.

Question 4: What is and isn't production-ready today — specifically revenue recognition and budgeting?

This is the honesty question. Revenue recognition (ASC 606 / IFRS 15) is a non-negotiable for most mid-market businesses, and a prototype-stage module cannot be relied upon for audit or compliance purposes. A credible vendor will distinguish clearly between what is generally available, what is in beta, and what is on the roadmap — and will be willing to put roadmap commitments in writing.

A red flag answer treats all features as "available" without that distinction, or responds to the question with a general statement about the product vision rather than specific GA dates.

Question 5: Show me the full pricing for my entity count and user mix

Flow ERP pricing ranges from approximately $20,000 to $200,000 annually, and the demo does not always surface the full model without direct questioning. You cannot compare Flow ERP against NetSuite, Sage Intacct, or Rillet without a specific quote based on your actual entity count, user roles, and module requirements.

A strong answer is a clear pricing model — or a specific quote — with no significant undisclosed add-ons. A red flag is "custom pricing, we'll follow up after the demo" with no indication of the range or the variables that drive it.

If you leave the demo unable to make a cost comparison, you are not ready to make a decision. For context on how AI-native ERP platforms compare on real-time reporting and implementation timelines, that comparison is worth reviewing before your pricing conversation.

How Flow ERP compares to the alternatives

The table below is a decision-support tool, not a ranking. Each platform has a distinct best-fit profile, and the goal is to help you identify which profile matches your situation — not to declare a winner. Flow ERP is an affiliated product of Consolidate.io and is evaluated here by the same standard applied to every other tool on the site.

For most multi-entity accounting teams that do not need operational ERP modules, the practical shortlist is Flow ERP, Sage Intacct, and Rillet — with the choice driven primarily by revenue recognition requirements and audit maturity. A structured side-by-side view is available in the best multi-entity ERP software comparison.

If ASC 606 compliance is a current, non-negotiable requirement, Rillet has a production-ready advantage over Flow ERP at this stage. If dimensional reporting depth and an established auditor track record matter more than implementation speed, Sage Intacct remains a credible choice — as the best integrated accounting systems comparison for mid-market makes clear.

NetSuite remains the default for businesses that need a single system spanning finance and operations — inventory, manufacturing, CRM, and multi-entity accounting in one platform. The trade-off is well-documented: implementation timelines of 3–9 months, a consultant dependency that persists well past go-live, and a total cost of ownership that routinely surprises buyers.

For teams where the bottleneck is finance — not operations — that trade-off is difficult to justify. The best ERP systems guide for medium-sized businesses covers this distinction in detail if you are still deciding whether a full operational ERP is warranted.

Before you book the demo: a decision checklist

The right question to ask before scheduling a Flow ERP demo is not "does this product look impressive?" — it is "does my situation match what this product is actually built for?" Three self-assessment questions will tell you more than any demo walkthrough.

Does your business need operational ERP modules? If your finance team's primary frustration is manual consolidation, intercompany reconciliation, and a close cycle that drags into double-digit business days, Flow ERP's architecture addresses that directly.

If your business also requires inventory management, bill of materials processing, lot tracking, or warehouse management in the same system, Flow ERP is not the right primary platform — and committing to a demo without acknowledging that gap will cost you time on both sides. In that scenario, NetSuite or a hybrid approach pairing an operational ERP with a dedicated finance layer is the more honest starting point.

You can find a structured comparison of those options in the best ERP systems guide for medium-sized businesses.

Is revenue recognition a current requirement, or a 12-month roadmap item? As of the most recent available information, revenue recognition in Flow ERP is in prototype stage — not production-ready. If your business runs SaaS, subscription, or contract-based revenue and needs ASC 606 or IFRS 15 compliance today, ask the sales team explicitly what is live before you evaluate it against Rillet or Sage Intacct.

A prototype-stage module cannot substitute for an auditable rev rec workflow, regardless of how compelling the rest of the platform looks in a demo.

Is your team prepared to own implementation in-house? Flow ERP's positioning assumes you are. The demo will not be structured around a consultant-led deployment narrative — the pitch is that your Controller and accounting team run it, with implementation measured in weeks rather than months.

That is a genuine advantage if your team has the capacity and appetite for it. It is a mismatch if your organization expects a partner-led rollout with external project management and change management support.

If you want a broader framework for evaluating any ERP demo — not just Flow ERP — the guide on how AI-native ERPs compare for real-time reporting on Consolidate.io covers the architectural questions worth asking before any first call. The goal of this checklist is not to steer you toward or away from a specific platform — it is to help you arrive at the right decision for your situation, whatever that turns out to be.

Your next step after the Flow ERP demo

A Flow ERP demo is most useful when you arrive knowing what to verify — specifically, whether the 10-minute migration holds under your data conditions, which modules are production-ready today, and whether the intercompany workflow scales to your actual entity count. Community discussions on Reddit's r/sysadmin thread about Flow ERP offer candid peer perspectives on the platform.

For multi-entity accounting teams outgrowing QuickBooks that do not need operational ERP modules, Flow ERP deserves a serious evaluation alongside Sage Intacct and Rillet. For businesses that need inventory, manufacturing, or a SOX-audited control environment from day one, NetSuite remains the more appropriate starting point.

The five verification questions in this guide exist to protect your evaluation timeline. Use them to turn the demo from a presentation into a proof session. When you are ready to apply the same framework to any ERP on your shortlist, the how-to-evaluate-an-erp-demo guide on Consolidate.io is the logical next resource.

Frequently asked questions

Is Flow ERP the same as LiveFlow FP&A?

No, Flow ERP and LiveFlow FP&A are separate products that serve distinct functions. LiveFlow FP&A is a Google Sheets-based financial planning and analysis tool that connects to existing accounting systems — such as QuickBooks or NetSuite — to deliver live financial data inside Sheets.

Flow ERP is a full general ledger and multi-entity accounting platform, not a reporting layer. Both products share the same parent company, but a buyer does not need one to use the other, and they address different problems in the finance stack.

Who is Flow ERP designed for?

Flow ERP is designed for mid-market businesses managing between 3 and 50+ legal entities that have outgrown QuickBooks consolidation workarounds and want to avoid the consultant dependency and total cost of ownership associated with NetSuite. Its implementation model assumes an in-house finance team will own deployment without external partner support. Flow ERP is not the right fit for businesses that require operational ERP modules — inventory management, manufacturing, or supply chain — or for organizations that need a fully audited, SOX-compliant control environment supported by a platform with a multi-decade auditor track record.

How does Flow ERP's AI work, and what does it automate?

Flow ERP's AI operates across three layers embedded directly in the core GL workflow: proactive transaction categorization, where the system suggests GL coding before a human reviews; outlier flagging, where transactions that deviate from historical patterns are surfaced automatically; and AI-powered variance analysis in the FP&A layer, which generates natural-language explanations of budget-to-actual variances.

Because the AI is part of the base product rather than a separate add-on module, it applies across the GL without requiring additional configuration or licensing. Buyers should ask during the demo which of these AI features are currently production-ready versus still in development.

Which AI-powered ERP systems offer the most seamless integration with Google Sheets for budgeting?

LiveFlow FP&A is purpose-built for Google Sheets integration, connecting directly to accounting systems including QuickBooks and NetSuite to surface live financial data inside Sheets without manual exports. Flow ERP includes its own FP&A and budgeting interface, but it is not primarily a Sheets-based tool.

Teams that want to keep Google Sheets as their budgeting environment will find LiveFlow FP&A a more natural fit alongside their existing GL. For finance teams weighing a full ERP replacement against a Sheets-native FP&A layer, a LiveFlow FP&A plus existing GL combination may be more practical and less disruptive than migrating the entire accounting stack.

What should I look for in an AI-native ERP to ensure efficient multi-entity financial management?

Evaluate vendors against what can be called the four signals of a genuinely AI-native multi-entity ERP: first, AI is embedded in the GL workflow itself, not bolted on as a reporting add-on; second, intercompany eliminations are automated at the transaction level rather than applied as period-end batch adjustments; third, the system handles partial ownership and minority interest recognition without requiring manual journal entry workarounds; and fourth, AI-powered variance analysis is available at both the individual entity level and the consolidated level simultaneously.

Each of these signals should be demonstrated live in the demo environment — not described verbally or shown in a pre-recorded walkthrough. A vendor that cannot demonstrate all four in a live session is signaling that at least some capabilities are not yet fully production-ready.