Why Orbit sits on top of your ledger instead of replacing it
Switching accounting systems is a migration project with an auditor problem. The case for AI that posts into the ledger you already have — Zoho, Xero, QuickBooks, Odoo, Wafeq or ERPNext.
The switching tax
Every 'switch to our platform' pitch hides the same bill: re-keying or migrating history, retraining the team, re-teaching your accountant and auditor a system they don't know, and a cutover month where two systems disagree. For a working SME the migration usually costs more than the software.
What sitting on top means, concretely
- Your chart of accounts is discovered and mapped — with your review — not replaced
- Approved journals post into the ledger two ways; anything touching an unmapped account is held with the reason stated, never half-pushed
- The ledger stays the system of record your auditor already trusts; Orbit carries the evidence trail behind every number
- Payables can land as proper bills where the ledger requires it — ledgers reserve their control accounts for their own documents, and Orbit respects that
- One connected ledger at a time, so there is always a single source of truth
- Disconnect any time, from either side — your books remain yours, in your ledger
When replacing is right anyway
If you run no accounting system at all, there is nothing to preserve: Orbit keeps the books itself from day one — chart of accounts, journals and evidence included. The point isn't that ledgers are sacred; it's that a business already invested in one shouldn't have to abandon it to get an AI finance team.