The sky is the limit, but some challenges along the way
June 27, 2018
The sky is the limit, but some challenges along the way
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
NetSuite Mid-Market edition
Modules Used
- AdvancedFinancials
- Fixed Asset Module
- ODBC
- Recurring Billing
- Revenue Recognition
- SuiteBilling
- Advanced Revenue Management
Overall Satisfaction with NetSuite
Primarily used by our Finance and Accounting group, but there is a blurred line for employees who need to submit or request financially-related information. It's our General Ledger, AR, AP, and Fixed Assets Management system, so we bill, are billed, and communicate with relevant parties through the system. Further, we have customized it to connect with our data warehouse, Salesforce, WorkDay and various other systems to pass data out and in; some of the "out" is for reporting or connecting to "point solution" systems while some of the "in" is to support the FinAcct work (e.g. bookings, projects, expenses).
- Connecting various sets of information (tables) and displaying them in a logical manner in the interface is one of the best things about NetSuite. Customers and their transactions, Contacts (people), addresses, messages and support cases can be easily viewed in many ways, including from the customer record, the customer "dashboard" or queries (saved searches). This is typically in a "list view," wherein columns/fields can be added or removed and shuffled.
- Customization! Some people are afraid of this, but there is so much power in shaping the system to your needs. Tweaking just the layout of a customer or transaction form can improve efficiency and reduce stress. Add a field to a Contact record to better distinguish certain people. Recently, I created a custom record/object type that serves as an integration "middle-ware" of sorts to allow Boomi to connect to the system which then connects to an area of the system not yet accessible via web services or ODBC.
- While it isn't great at everything it does, it does a lot well. Just the fact it can do so many things at least okay is a huge plus. I think companies underestimate the value in having a large chunk of their back office sitting in one system essentially integrated automatically.
- Consolidated invoicing. Generally, I think it's not a problem for NetSuite customers, and the potential, infrequent multiple invoicing to a given customer is likely okay. However, there may be instances producing 3 or more invoices per month for a given customer. The only consolidation solution offered is their homegrown "SuiteSolution" called Consolidated Invoicing. I don't use it but have had demos and discussions. Really need something slicker.
- Fixed Assets Management. I use their SuiteSolution, Fixed Assets Management. It's not part of core NetSuite so there are inconsistencies with the rest of the system, some performance annoyances, and weaker reporting capabilities. It's a better product than other fixed asset solutions I've tried!
- A very recent frustration of mine is that it is not possible without customization to display tax amounts per line in a transaction. This should be native. The per-line tax amount is available in a saved search; the per-line tax rate is available to display on the transaction; the tax amount can be displayed in the PDF generated. Why not show the amount in the system? Fortunately, it's easy to create a custom field/column that multiplies tax rate with an amount to give you tax amount. Pretty minor in the scheme of things, but fresh in my mind.
- 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.
- Not a member of any user groups
I don't consider myself an active member of any user groups at this time.
Zuora - does one thing and not that well. The best thing about it is consolidated invoicing. It's a point solution that thinks it's a platform. It's difficult to navigate, the navigation doesn't make much sense, and any customization is really just a deceptive crutch. NetSuite is a stark contrast in those areas. Still, I would be remiss not to mention there are a number of minor nuances in Zuora we prefer over NetSuite's SuiteBilling module; some of them add up to noteworthy, but, in the scheme of things, NetSuite is a much better tool and SuiteBilling is maturing.
Salesforce - it's a self-perpetuating marketing machine. It's not a bad product, but the praise and popularity are, in my opinion, grossly disproportionate to reality. It's like any other hot brand, and there are products as good or better. NetSuite doesn't beat it in a lot of areas but it is a contender in most, and better in a number of areas. Salesforce's reporting capabilities are weaker (I say clumsy) compared to NetSuite; neither are reporting tools, but NetSuite goes a long way. Perhaps it's because NetSuite is Oracle SQL based and Salesforce kinda made their own flavor. NetSuite chose a better path with their API being Javascript based, where Salesforce is an overly complicated path. Relating records (as mentioned earlier in my review) and then actually viewing them is a strange thing in Salesforce that I think NetSuite makes very easy.
Salesforce - it's a self-perpetuating marketing machine. It's not a bad product, but the praise and popularity are, in my opinion, grossly disproportionate to reality. It's like any other hot brand, and there are products as good or better. NetSuite doesn't beat it in a lot of areas but it is a contender in most, and better in a number of areas. Salesforce's reporting capabilities are weaker (I say clumsy) compared to NetSuite; neither are reporting tools, but NetSuite goes a long way. Perhaps it's because NetSuite is Oracle SQL based and Salesforce kinda made their own flavor. NetSuite chose a better path with their API being Javascript based, where Salesforce is an overly complicated path. Relating records (as mentioned earlier in my review) and then actually viewing them is a strange thing in Salesforce that I think NetSuite makes very easy.