6 Considerations for smooth implementation and use of NetSuite ERP (2023)

Committing to new accounting software or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is no small undertaking. If you are taking on a new role or want to move to a higher levelthe maturity of your finance function, implementing and using new financial or accounting software can be a watershed moment for financial managers.

You want to make a little noise without causing a tidal wave and see a return on your investment that will benefit the business and allow you to succeed in the long term. When making the decision to move forward with a vendor, you should carefully consider the implementation plan and sequence of events, define what your goals are, and detail the specific use cases you are seeking from the new system.

39% of CFOs said they are in the process of implementing more digital solutions in their finance function. - EY Digital Disruption in Finance Research

When a software vendor claims to be a panacea and offers a magic pill to solve all your problems with its array of ERP modules, it's too good to be true and backed by financial leaders who take on multiple implementations at once.

Benefits of NetSuite General Ledger

To understand the benefits and costs of NetSuite and implementation, you need to ask yourself: "Why am I even making this decision?”

In this post, we'll cover the pros and cons of implementation, but if your only pain point is that your currentaccounting software does not have a report creation solutionYour business demands, a new ERP is not the solution.

Instead of committing almost a year of your time and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a new ERP - that won't solve your reporting problems, your best bet is to stay in your current ledger (ie QuickBooks Online) and enjoy an FP&A tool that's capable of automation reporting, planning and forecasting at a fraction of the cost.

If you plan to implement an ERP-like NetSuite, understand its strengths and weaknesses and where the gaps can be filled with third-party options.

Dealing with complex accounting

Of all the modules in the NetSuite ERP system, the most valuable component for finance and accounting is the general ledger. Influential finance functions use these tools to control transactions and enable the books to be closed in a timely and accurate manner. However, not all ledgers are created equal.
If you have a unique chart of accounts structure, high transaction volumes, and hundreds or more accounts, NetSuite is an excellent and infinitely scalable solution to handle your complex accounting needs.

It also helps with audit control and preparation so you can be sure your metrics are compliant, reliable and readily available in the event of an audit or review.

27% of CFOs say that improving existing ERP capabilities is their top technology priority. - EY Digital Disruption in Finance Research

Consolidation of entities and companies

NetSuite is a great tool if you need to consolidate multiple companies or cross-company transactions. An accounting system like QuickBooks Online is great for single-entity businesses, but if you have multiple entities that you want to consolidate for reporting and planning, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage without additional resources.

However, NetSuite's additional features come at a price. The basic package you can find will be exponentially more expensive, potentially twice as much per year for the consolidation features.

If your primary need is business consolidation for reporting purposes, you can continue to use a system like QuickBooks Online and enjoy a cost-effective and robust solution.and white-glove financial solutions to surpass the way you report and analyze business.

Manage multiple currencies

A unique use case for NetSuite is if you handle multiple currencies and foreign exchanges. Exchange rate fluctuations can be almost impossible to predict even for companies operating in several countries

If you sell to customers who pay in multiple currencies using QuickBooks Online, you will need to manually convert those currencies to US dollars, which can be automated in NetSuite.

Challenges of implementing NetSuite and ERP

1. Consider the structure of your chart of accounts

How you classify and structure your accounts will have a lasting impact on your ability to report, plan and forecast. Your chart of accounts used for accounting must also be used for FP&A purposes. This consistency is essential for the financial industry to provide the necessary actionable insights that drive strategic business decisions.

Complex accounting can be difficult to maintain even with advanced systems. Make sure your chart of accounts is structured to reflect how your company classifies and allocates transactions.

This structure is needed not only for accounting purposes, but also for reporting, forecasting and planning at the departmental and business unit level.

2. Budgets and implementation plans are rarely respected

How long will it take to implement NetSuite?

After he dedicated himself to aa major revision of the ERP or accounting system, most will go through a painful process that often exceeds the budget and time to implement one or all of the planned modules. Set expectations, becausemost NetSuite implementations will take six months or more to go live.

The process requires strong internal involvement from you and your team, so be prepared to spend a significant amount of time working with implementers who may disrupt internal workflow capability.

That's the nature of many systems, where you try to plan for every scenario, but inevitably something unforeseen complicates things, sometimes completely out of your control. Make sure you plan accordingly so that all stakeholders are aligned, launch expectations are defined, and roles and responsibilities are clearly defined.

It is imperative to work with an experienced implementer who understands the technical and financial needs of your role. Regardless, the activation deadline you set is likely to be delayed or only possible with a partially completed planned migration.

3. The migration process is not comprehensive

To plan for the future, you must first analyze the past. Collecting historical operational and financial data and developing a clear analytical framework for monitoring and measuring performance are essential to making informed decisions.

You'd think that integrating your historical metrics from your old ledger would be gambling - unfortunately, it's not that simple.

Factors such as the structure of your accounts, the skill of your implementer, and the availability of data from your legacy systems add to the complexity of migrating yourhistorical data for your new ERP.

However, mapping and grouping your data is essential for accounting and FP&A purposes, so if you can't do this without disrupting your teams' workflows, it's worth deciding what data you need and evaluating alternative planning and forecasting solutions.

72% of CFOs say that choosing the right implementation partner is the biggest challenge to successfully implementing digital solutions. - EY Digital Disruption in Finance Survey

4. Don't forget to add SuiteAnalytics Connect

Using NetSuite SuiteAnalytics Connect allows data storage and access to your data, which is required for any third-party application. ERP systems offer numerous advantages, but they are not a panacea and it will be necessary to link data with other systems.

Even if you do not initially expect to connect other systems or include new tools during implementation, flexibility from day one will not marry you to any solution.

Reps don't always offer it directly, but it's available and it's best to include it in the initial implementation negotiations. You can expect to pay several hundred dollars per month for the Analytics Suite, although there are packages where it can be included in the expected subscription.

5. The reporting modules leave a little to be desired

NetSuite is capable of generating a P&L and your basic financial statements, although it still needs to be builtmanually not excel.

Custom reports are limited and NetSuite strongly advocates using Microsoft Office for their reports, revealing that they prefer you spend your time in Excel creating custom reports. This tedious, error-prone process brings the whole circle back to the beginning.

When demoing the tool, an IT team or non-finance executive may feel like the financial reporting features will get them out of Excel hell. Netsuite is not intended for advanced or consolidated reporting and leaves a lot to be desired. Creating monthly management reports or dashboard packages becomes a manual process requiring hours of Excel work.

6. Not all ERP modules are best in class

By design, ERP systems consolidate your business systems in one place. This was a necessary solution for finance and IT before the advent of integrations and open APIs. It is now much easier to connect multiple systems and import data from third-party sources. Having all your business systems in one place might seem like a convenient solution, but the reality is that modules outside of the general ledger don't have the necessary functionality.

Ask your CRO or Head of Sales if they want to move away from Salesforce or Zoho in favor of a NetSuite CRM module - so protect yourself and prepare for their reaction.

Be careful in evaluating your tool and consider alternatives before committing to such a large item as a new ERP. While it may seem beneficial to consolidate systems, the reality is that the capabilities of these systems lack the capabilities of their market equivalents, and the sum of the parts is actually greater than the whole - and at a more cost-effective rate.

Your operations, sales, and marketing business units will regret switching from their beloved Salesforce to NetSuite CRM, and finance won't be able to produce the detailed reporting and forecasting needs of the business without an additional dedicated FP&A system.

consider your options

Committing to a new ERP is a significant strategic decision that requires proper planning and alignment across the organization. Total cost of ownership and implementation timelines often exceed initial expectations, but being strategic about the modules you include, creating a cohesive plan to align your team, and leveraging the best systems will allow you the greatest success.

If you want to maximize the reporting, budgeting and forecasting capabilities of your accounting software, our tools and our team of proven financial executives can help. We also offer a variety of finance solutions to improve the performance of your finance function. Contact us today to learn more about our FP&A solutions.

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