- Safwan AMM
- 15 September, 2025
How Automation Helped Signifyd Transform Finance – And What Sri Lankan Entrepreneurs Can Learn
In Sri Lanka, most of us know the struggle of running a business with spreadsheets. Whether it’s lease payments, invoices, or tracking sales, Excel becomes our best friend — but also our biggest headache.
That’s exactly what happened to Signifyd, a global e-commerce fraud protection company. Their finance team was buried in manual lease accounting under the ASC 842 standard (that’s just a fancy way of saying companies must record lease expenses properly on their balance sheet).
When one of their managers left, things got worse. They were spending 8 hours every month on complicated lease spreadsheets. Errors, confusion, and wasted time were slowing down growth. Sounds familiar, right?
The Shift From Spreadsheets to Automation
Instead of continuing the “Excel struggle,” Signifyd switched to NetLease by Netgain, an automated lease accounting solution.
- Result? They cut their lease accounting time by 50%.
- A new lease entry that took hours now takes 15 minutes.
- Accuracy improved, freeing up the team to focus on strategy, not data entry.
For Sri Lankan startups and SMEs, this is a big lesson. Imagine how much more you could do if you weren’t chasing numbers in Excel every month.
Why Manual Processes Hold You Back
Chris Miller, SVP at Netgain, explained it well:
- Manual data entry = more mistakes.
- Slow processes = delayed decisions.
- No real-time data = flying blind.
Think about your own business. How often do you realize too late that cash flow is tight, or invoices are delayed? That’s the risk of sticking with manual methods.
How Automation Helps Fight Fraud Too
Here’s the interesting part: finance automation isn’t just about speed — it also helps catch fraud. Automated systems can flag unusual transactions, keep audit trails, and reduce loopholes. For e-commerce players in Sri Lanka (from small online shops to growing platforms), this is gold.
Real-Life Takeaway for Entrepreneurs
Signifyd’s story teaches us:
- Don’t fear change – Yes, new systems feel scary at first, but once adopted, efficiency and team morale go up.
- Start small, scale fast – Automate one process first (like invoicing or lease accounting) and expand step by step.
- Focus on strategy, not admin – Your time is better spent on sales, marketing, and growth than fixing spreadsheet errors.
In Sri Lanka, we often hold back from investing in automation because of cost or fear of complexity. But the truth is, the longer you stay stuck in manual processes, the more money and opportunities you lose.
Final Thought
Just like Signifyd, if you free your finance team (or even just yourself if you’re a one-person army) from the Excel trap, you can put energy back into growth and innovation.
As entrepreneurs, our goal should be clear: less admin, more strategy, more growth.
