How Do You Know if a NetSuite Customization is Needed?

• Return on investment. This is usually the go to check to see if the customization will help generate new revenue or reduce costs.  Return on investment, or ROI, is simply a calculation that tells you how much financial payback you will receive by investing in this customization.  

• • • • The easiest example is cost savings. If there is a repetitive task that can be automated in NetSuite and save the user time, that is immediate cost savings.  

• • • • NetSuite is not usually the place to generated new revenue directly but can support new revenue generating initiatives. For instance, integrating new ecommerce marketplaces to NetSuite to help facilitate order entry supports administrating a new revenue stream.

• User experience/adoption. Improving a NetSuite user’s experience in NetSuite is an intangible benefit. For instance, Simply adding an extra button to easily trigger an action signals ease of use. When a user feels a system is easy to use then adoption rate increases.

• Minimize errors.  Will the customization help minimize and prevent errors? Similar to the ROI check, errors can cause financial losses or  There are 2 ways NetSuite can help minimize errors 

• • • • Reduce manual input. With human intervention, there’s always a chance of mistakes, especially if it is data entry related.  If we are able to copy data from other NetSuite forms or automatically create transactions in NetSuite, then the chances of error is greatly reduced. 
      • Add approval workflows or validation checks.  NetSuite has prebuilt approval workflows or you can custom build workflows to make sure transactions have proper validation and approval rules.  This reduces the potential for mistakes or fraud.

As a last tip, if the situation allows, allow the manual process to run initially and do not jump into immediate customization mode.  This will help test any new processes for errors before you automate it and will give evidence to the magnitude of the need for the specific customization to help prioritize. 

Each company will have their own process for evaluating projects and investments.  These are some commonly used metrics to help assess whether a customization is needed.   If you would like to speak specifically about your needs, please feel free to reach out to Concentrus for a consultation.  

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Concentrus is a complete NetSuite solutions provider that guides organizations through how to use NetSuite to reach highly focused business goals and objectives. We provide NetSuite implementation, developer, integration, and customization services to ensure that you have a long-term solution that is tailored to fit your systems, people, and processes.

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