NetSuite

Vorteile

User friendly software!!! Great for custom reporting and searches, able to import payroll in a few minutes, drill down feature, web-based you can use anywhere and open multiple windows at the same time. The ability to scan in AP backup which saves space and time on billing and audits, recent activity allows you to find what you did last quickly, dashboard can be customized to specific users - shows key performance indicators such as bank balances, sales & expense versus other periods. There are workflows to automate task such as vendor approvals, customer service and all NetSuite employees are very friendly and extremely helpful. Also being a non-profit, NetSuite employees volunteer their time with through Pro Bono projects - we have used this three times with great results.

Nachteile

Any hurdles or issues that i have had were solved by reaching out to NetSuite. One year I was having difficulty printing 1099's but customer service helped get me on track.

Vorteile

- The software allows for some visual customization of the home page based on each role that is easy to do without the help of a programmer. For example, customize the views for each roles, set up alerts, etc.
- The search bar within the software works extremely well, which makes it easier to navigate;
- The use of the software is intuitive and easy to follow/ learn;
- The SuiteAnswers articles are very helpful in answering questions/ showing how to do anything one may need in the system.

Nachteile

Before selecting this software, I read several reviews saying the biggest issue was the how difficult it was to customize the software. Here are some actual examples:

1. If you want a new field (which they call segment) to be tracked for reporting purposes, you need to create a costume segment, which wont be part of the basic product the sales team sells to you. Also, just found out that it can not created as a mandatory field.

2. All NetSuite modules are standard/ out of the box. Even though we emphasized that Procure to Pay was the absolutely most important module to us, the sales team pushed the basic procure to pay module, which did not include Blanket POs or 3-way match. The thing is the sales team pushes the basic solutions to close the sale, but then later you are stuck having to process change orders, which although are not very expensive, each take about 2 weeks to process, delaying the project.

3. After delaying our project to include 3-way match and blanket POs (2-week delay), the implementation issues begun. It turns out that the 3-way match that they sold to us does NOT work. What the system was able to do is a 2-way match. Also, the system does not allow for an approval flow for releases of blanked POs. Lastly, the costume segment can not be a mandatory field as it doesn't work on blanket PO releases.

In Summary - The sales team will push their most simple out of the box version, upgrades result in delays.

Vorteile

I like that everything is in one location. We aren't having to export all of our inventory to a separate system, in order to have a website. It makes it so much easier for all of our employees, rather that having to log into multiple systems, to get real time information about inventory, orders, etc.

Nachteile

The product that we use for our website, SiteBuilder, is really in need of updates. My understanding, is that a lot of customers are still using this, but it is considered "deprecated", so it no longer gets updates. The problem is, that the other website platforms that you can upgrade to within Netsuite, are very difficult to customize. We have been told that the new "midrange product", really can't be customized at all. Suite Commerce Advanced, the top level product, would solve some of the issues we have with SiteBuilder, however, it is EXTREMELY expensive. Just the implementation costs are huge, but everyone we talked to when considering switching to the product, said that there isn't a real upgrade path. As new versions come out, you really have to re-implement your website. Since it is supposedly difficult to modify on your own, that means more implementation costs as new versions come out. Because of this, we have opted to stay with SiteBuilder, and work with 3rd party vendors, to try to get us some of the features that SiteBuilder is lacking. Although we do run into issues, overall, this has been working for us, and allowing us to keep everything in one system, which is very important to us.

Vorteile

The ability to customize just about anything your organization wants is rewarding. And if you are willing to spend, you can have your system fit your business processes like a glove. Integration apps, along with native functionality of workflows can put your business in a “semi-autopilot mode.” Practically limitless reporting capabilities. You can manage almost every aspect of the your organization while enforcing internal controls and monitoring employees with full visibility. I would recommend for enterprises with no less than 8M in sales and with at least 8 or more users to leverage the full functionality of this role-based system. Netsuite is built to fit the needs of each role within your organization, from the sales rep and warehouse manager to the A/R clerk and controller.

Nachteile

Nasty corporate culture. No accountability for system issues, error, or outages. Sneaky contracts that will hook you with discounts and raise fees exorbitantly after your are stuck with your data and huge conversion costs. Nightmarish implementation that Netsuite outsources to foreign “professional” services that know pretty much the same as you would do from the get go. They barely speak English—incorrect setup caused us much lost revenues and frustrated, burned-out employees. Never believe Netsuite reps who say implementation can be done in 3 months. Be prepared to spend a hundreds of hours to understand the software - it is not always intuitive. Plan comprehensive employee training. You will most likelly need a full time administrator to support users due to the high learning curve. As a retail and distribution company that grew out of Quick Books Desktop, Netsuite was apparently the the next solution. Although I still believe the software has much to offer, user interface is about 10 years behind time. My dream is that super user-friendly QuickBooks Online launches an Enterprise version one day.

Vorteile

- great reporting and searching tools
- combines all company needs - customer records, transactions, accounting, inventory
- easy to integrate with most major programs
- highly customize-able
- easy to assign "roles" to employees to only access what they need in their positions
- mostly easy to use and informative help section

Nachteile

- searching and reporting can be tricky with label names differing
- expensive to start, maintain and update
- quirks that shouldn't be an issue - like applying credit memos to sales orders