Project Management Best Practice – Adding A New Subsidiary to NetSuite

As you grow in your business, acquisition is a common path for growth.  Acquiring a new subsidiary is exciting and chaotic at the same time.  Do not feel rushed to get the new entity on boarded with NetSuite. Both primary and new entity need time to assimilate to the new structure.   

Here are some planning and tips to help make the transition smoother.

• • • You have time. The new entity can operate as it is while you work out legal and operational processes.  For consolidated reporting in NetSuite, you can use a trial balance upload each month. 

• • • Is Oneworld needed?  This requires an additional cost for this feature.  Oneworld allows you to manage subsidiaries with different currencies and tax structures, which is the main decision factor when deciding if Oneworld is needed.   
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    • Review operational process. The goal of this review is to identify any gaps or differences in processes that need to be either solved for or retrained.  The best approach is if the new entity can absorb the process and structure of the primary subsidiary. If this can not happen in all cases then an addendum to the process needs to be created to bridge this gap. 
      • • The earlier you can have these review sessions and identify gaps the better, in case customization or integrations are needed. 
        • Warning: be careful of team members wanting to recreate their legacy system in NetSuite.  Evaluate if their legacy process is still valid with the functions NetSuite brings to the table now. 
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    • Training strategy. This is the most critical part of the transition.  
      • • Subject Matter Experts.  Choose process owners to be champions for the new system.  These SMEs could be from the primary or new entity.  They will most likely be the actual trainers too. 
        • Onsite.  The best is to have trainers onsite right before and during go live.  The engagement is higher when there is a person on site walking the new employees through and can physically go to for support.  This helps eliminate a lot of anxiety that goes with changing to a comprehensive system like NetSuite. 
        • Sandbox Practice. The more the new team members can touch and practice in NetSuite the more comfortable they will be with the system.  Having them in sandbox takes the pressure of having to figure it out in production under a time crunch or having to clean up mistakes in production. 

• • • Data
      • • Open Balance Tips: 
          • • Intercompany Balances: Open balances are not a simple trial balance upload if there are intercompany balances involved.  There is an extra step to create intercompany invoices and bills to reflect those transactions correctly.   
        • Multi Subsidiary Vendors and Customers. These are features you can turn on in NetSuite.  
          • • Multi Subsidiary Customers Limitation: There are some limitations for customers.  Below are some limitations and you can refer to SuiteAnswers for additional information (https://suiteanswers.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/70186) 
              1. 1. Unsupported Functionality
                    • • Bank Account (supports data related to the primary subsidiary only) 
                      • Credit Limit per Subsidiary 
                      • Customer Center (supports data related to the primary subsidiary only) 
                      • My Account connected to SuiteCommerce 
                 2. Limited Functionality
                    • • Communication subtab on the customer record 
                      • Messages, Activities, Files, and User Notes added to the customer record are available only for the primary subsidiary. 
                 3. Tax Limitations

Implementing new subsidiary is equivalent to a mini implementation.  Though many of the process have been tested and established, there are still many change management areas to consider.  If you need help with solutions or project management for integrating your new entity, let us know; we are happy to help. 

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