3.33 million companies make up the German economy. Of these, only around 5,800 have more than 500 employees. The rest can be defined as ‘medium-sized’ and are characterised by having fewer than 500 employees and annual sales totalling under € 50 million. According to new research, however, the number of business start-ups is declining year after year and worse still for the German economy, which relies heavily upon successful and stable medium-sized businesses, the number of small companies that reach consolidated, mediumsized status is also diminishing. After analysing the reasons for such negative trends, this research paper describes the process of developing and testing an integrated management tool to support small businesses in the period after startup and  before consolidation; the transition phase.