NetSuite is a Cloud-based accounting and ecommerce solution that offers partner collaboration and multilevel support for mid-sized companies. Unlike other solutions, which can require multiple records and database support for each process, NetSuite increases business efficiency by offering sales, accounting, shipping and billing functionality from the same base records. Some functionality offered in the NetSuite solution includes revenue recognition, sales team tracking, shipping and fulfillment, sales force automation, financial reporting, eCommerce management and budgeting.

NetSuite ERP Costs

Depending on your enterprise-wide needs and scope, NetSuite subscription costs vary. Monthly subscriptions start at $40, making this an affordable option for companies of any size. Bigger companies may choose solutions that bring subscription costs up to $100 or $500 per month.

Accounting Benefits of NetSuite

Many small businesses switch to ERP solutions like NetSuite accounting software once they outgrow software like Quickbooks. NetSuite offers real-time access to a plethora of financial figures and reduces paperwork by pulling from a single source of data. This
allows one-click sales ordering and streamlines processes between order and payment. Data entry costs and errors are reduced substantially because information can be correlated and shared.

In addition to time and monetary savings, NetSuite also offers strong web-based accounting and management tools that allow for any-time, any-where decision making. Cloud-based storage options help protect company data against theft or damage, particularly in the case of natural disaster, and can drastically reduce recovery times.

Planning and strategy becomes an enterprise-wide project because the multiple modules available from NetSuite tie data from sales, shipping, customer service, marketing and other departments to quantifiable numbers. This allows accounting and business planning to accurately label processes and products with time and monetary costs. A more complete and accurate data pool also allows experts to trend future performance, lending credibility to decision making.

Disadvantages of NetSuite

Originally launched in 1998 and marketed in the early 2000s as a small-business accounting and ERP solution, NetSuite has made moves in recent years toward the mid-sized business market. NetSuite’s business model seems to favor the company that can go-it-alone on most day-to-day accounting issues, and they have struggled in the past to provide adequate levels of support to non-accounting staff who are trying to make the most out of the solution. This has resulted in a disadvantage for the very small business, although a mid-sized company with a technically capable accounting department and in-house IT experts should not experience such problems.

Another disadvantage of NetSuite that has been cited by users throughout the past few years is that the solution is not as broad and flexible as software offered by other industry leaders. Reviews seem to indicate that NetSuite offers an appealing accounting solution, but the additional enterprise functionality offered by the company may not fit every niche.

Ultimately, the choice is an individual one. NetSuite has many advantages to offer the mid-sized company and the ERP solutions are affordable when compared to other options. Efficiency increases due to available data and more accurate accounting may even pay for the subscription, but companies should be prepared to research the solution to ensure it meets the needs associated with their niche.