NetSuite ERP vs Zuora

• Integration. From Accounting to ERP to CRM, I don't imagine there is much NetSuite can't handle. For a small to medium sized business, and ever for many large organizations, I believe it is entirely possible to put all of the corporate system 'eggs' into one basket - that is on the NetSuite platform.
• Architecture. The back-end database and inner workings of the NetSuite platform, I would describe as 'different.' Not necessarily better and definitely not worse. However, working in the data is different and maybe not as traditional as when working with a traditional relational database. Because of this, it does take a little bit of getting used to. However, once you are 'used to' it - the ease and simplicity of the back end is a beautiful thing and makes extracting and working with data, again once you cross the learning curve, something to be desired. Took me a few months to get the hang of things, but now, I couldn't imagine a more productive system.
• Performance. While not lighting fast compared to some on-premise tools, the performance of the NetSuite platform is better that adequate and is quite useable on a day-to-day basis.
• Consultants. We have had great success working with implementation specialists and consultants directly at Oracle. They are highly knowledgeable and easy to work with. I would highly recommend the native teams for implementation success.

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• The implementation of Zuora is very helpful. Their interactive training guides are one of the best I've used. It is very thorough and any salesperson can learn how to use it very quickly.
• Their subscription management offers many ways to sell a subscription. These subscriptions can be evergreen (renewing every month) or termed subscriptions. The subscriptions can be amended to add/remove products very easily.
• The ability to quickly pass through large amounts of usage data for our clients is allowing us to perform billing in a time-effective manner. Once usage data is loaded, a few clicks and all of the invoices for our client base can be generated. Invoices are clean and detailed which help us maintain a good customer experience even with our somewhat complex billing model. The reporting is extremely helpful in calculating the end of month commissions, recognizing and deferring revenue, and overall bookkeeping.

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• NetSuite does have great customization capabilities, however, this can also make it difficult to track and maintain custom workflows and scripts as business needs change, especially with different subsidiaries having different process requirements. Essentially, the more you customize the system, the more you need to maintain documentation for reference.
• NetSuite has a fantastic reporting tool called a "Saved Search." For financial and other similar reports, you must use the NetSuite "Report" feature. This reporting feature is not as flexible as the Saved Search and I have found that certain reports cannot be customized as required using the "Report" feature.
• The Project Management module still has some work to go before it is flexible enough for companies to use NetSuite for their own customized processes. The module is fairly inflexible, and at a previous company we had around 10-15 enhancement requests alone relating to this module.

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• User Interface - Zuora's UI is still a weak point, however, this is negated through the use of its API's. Zuora has done a lot of work in releasing new products to limit its UI experience and the addition of Orders allows for more functionality to reduce the UI issue.
• Complex system - This is both a pro and a con, but in this instance, it is a con because we may not have taken the time to truly understand the implications of all the options that were available. the Flexibility is great however if you do not take the time to understand the product and what problem you are trying to solve, you can make life difficult for yourself later down the track. Take the time to map out your approach end to end and ensure your assumptions at the start are robust.
• Reporting - reporting is weak as such we have moved away to our own reporting data warehouse.

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• Stress levels WAY down since dumping our previous Billing system and installing SuiteBilling. The ease of navigating, viewing data in sensible places, reporting and having more data in one place has made many of my users use words like "amazing" and "what a relief." Don't underestimate worker stress and enjoyment of their tool.
• Fewer vendors and products to manage and to integrate. I oversee 10+ financially-related applications and their vendors. Dealing with the nuances of the contracts, the products and the people with whom I must deal (sales, support, product management) adds a lot of time and complexity. It also reduces the challenge of my SOX-related efforts.
• Auditors and those of us supporting SOX-related efforts LOVE NetSuite, especially compared to other systems. The controls and auditing available are indispensable, whether it's to keep us accountable to ourselves or to the auditors.

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• It is automated to an extent that very less manual intervention is required. Which itself is an FTE saver. If on a traditional tool we were employing 5 members, now 1 for half a day for day to billing and subscriptions task suffices. This is just one team. Imagine what impact on the organization it would have brought.
• If integrations are part of the project where Zuora is connecting the dots with other systems, I will recommend verifying the available tangibility with integrations. Batch runs could be effective in a slow-paced (<10-50 transactions per day) but in voluminous sides (>200-1000 transactions per day) I would encourage going for real-time solutions.
• Billing's most integral part today is to be able to make swift updates, be it Contact updates, Date changes, Credit/Debit memo creation, and other accounting task. Zuora handles them very effectively and is really quick which is the edge in the fast-paced nature of business today where everything is required to be completed instantly.

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