Here is the complete and thorough guide on how much is the cost of NetSuite implementation for any business; small, medium, or large scale.
NetSuite is one of the most popular and reliable platforms that take care of all the ERP (Enterprise resource planning) needs of different businesses. Any type of business, related to any industry, any scale of operations, or any other discrepancy, all businesses trust NetSuite to provide them with smart services that will make it better to manage different aspects of business, monitor changes, and make long and short-term crucial and not so important decisions accurately.
When any business sees substantial growth or an increase in regular operations, one of the first things that come into mind is to automate them as much as possible. For this, the go-to solution is NetSuite. However, just deciding whether your business needs NetSuite or not is not enough. There are a lot of other factors that come into play while making the decision of employing the solution in your business. The most critical one of these is the cost of NetSuite.
What is Cost of NetSuite?
There is no easy or straight answer to “How much does NetSuite cost?” The cost generally comes somewhere between $21,000 to $60,000 per year. However, this figure is not even a ballpark but a tentative number. The cost can be way less if the operations and requirements of the business are limited and may even go as high as $100,000 per year.
To arrive at the exact cost of NetSuite implementation, you need to take care of certain factors that affect its price. Once you straighten out the factors, you can easily determine the total cost of installing the platform within your business. After the factors, the next step is to indulge in certain steps.
We are going to discuss both in this article; the factors affecting the cost as well as the steps determining the cost.
What Factors Affect the Cost of NetSuite for Any Business?
Below are certain factors that will help you to judge the cost of the platform quite easily. So, go through the description of each factor and then proceed accordingly.
Number and Types of Modules
The first thing that you need to figure out before purchasing a subscription to NetSuite is what and how many modules you need. NetSuite contains a variety of different modules that allow you to get accurate and precise information from business operations.
There are multiple modules including the CRM one, SuitePeople, Warehouse Management (WMS), Resource Allocation, Budgeting & Planning, Advanced Financials, Work Orders & Assemblies, and many more. Different modules cater to different requirements of the business. The more modules you purchase, the more will be the cost of NetSuite. For example, the NetSuite Oneworld pricing is comparatively lesser than the customized pack with multiple modules.
So, the first thing you need to know is the areas you want to manage using NetSuite and get the same accordingly. For different businesses, the problem-affecting areas vary. Some businesses may face problems in managing the finance while another one may need assistance with warehousing. Hence, determine the most critical areas of your business first and then opt for the required modules accordingly.
Size of the Business
How much does NetSuite cost? The size of the business is the answer. It’s an obvious solution. The bigger the business, the more the cost. If the scale of operations is huge, the business would need to include more modules and this will increase the cost substantially. When it comes to the implementation of the platform, you need to ascertain the scale of operations, recruited staff, income, and various other aspects.
Migrating the Data (Costs Around $3,500)
NetSuite is a viable tool that can replace other solutions for a business and provide streamlined and centralized software for easy monitoring and management. So, if you decide to go for the platform, then another factor that can easily affect the cost of NetSuite is the cost associated with the migration of data and information from other platforms and solutions to NetSuite.
Migration of the data is very important and necessary as it allows NetSuite to learn more about your business and provide insights related to the future accordingly. It’s not an easy task to migrate and you may need to take the help of third-party NetSuite ERP service providers like The Ledger Labs and/or migration applications.
Even if you decide to assign an in-house source to migrate the data, then as well you would be consuming the time and effort of such help. If the business is large-scale, then it may cost you months of time to migrate the entire data.
NetSuite Training (Costs Around $3,500)
The cost of training for the platform also adds up while determining the cost of NetSuite. Although NetSuite makes it very easy for a business to manage operations and take future-oriented decisions, it’s not as easy to use the tool. Yes, any beginner can easily take the help of NetSuite to get the job done, but as the operations increase and growth appears, you will need to take advantage of every aspect of NetSuite in the best way possible. Otherwise, you would just be running the resources of the business by employing NetSuite. What’s the sense of using the platform, when you or your staff do not know how to use it in the best possible way?
If you have already determined who from the staff and how the same will use the NetSuite, then you need to set aside some funds for their training as well. Additionally, you can not rely on one individual for helping you with NetSuite. What if he/she leaves the organization? If this happens, then you will have to make a fresh start and get someone else trained. So, it’s better that you train a couple of trusted individuals. It’s better and more economical to train some today than to train future ones.
When a group of trained individuals uses the platform, they can get the best and most accurate results and data with ease, irrespective of the cost of NetSuite. Additionally, training is not a one-time thing but a repetitive task to keep such employees up to date with the new updates and modifications to the platform.
Connector for Integrated Platforms (Costs Around $3,500 Each)
Before NetSuite, you may be using some other platform to control the business. If you want, you can integrate such platforms into the new one. Whether it is the marketplace profile or the point of sales (POS) systems, you can integrate anything and everything into the platform. Doing this allows you to get an even more centralized system that provides all the required data in one palace. So, rather than roaming around looking for data in multiple ones, you can just get all the information on NetSuite alone. However, doing this would require you to fork some bucks and, in turn, increases the cost of NetSuite.
For ease of integration, you will also find that some of these platforms already contain the required connector(s) to connect any platform as and when required. As for other platforms, you need to purchase the required connector(s) for ease.
Modification (Costs Around $20/hour)
The requirements of all businesses are different and varied. Hence, the cost of NetSuite implementation also becomes varied. To satisfy the requirements of different businesses, NetSuite offers a library of apps and options that can easily allow you to use the platform perfectly. There is a tonne of modification or optimization options available for all. Any business can use these modifications to get the required performance out of the system. Additionally, these modifications make it easy for the business to do everything quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
NetSuite does everything for your business to the best extent possible. But for the remaining sears, it’s advised that you take the help of these modifications. Just like with any other factor, determining the required modification and then getting the same requires some money and hence may increase the cost of NetSuite implementation.
For the best modification, you may need to consult some NetSuite ERP specialists. You can easily explain your business requirements and expectations from the platform, then, the experts will ascertain the same and suggest accurate modifications and optimization tools accordingly.
Now that all the factors affecting the cost of NetSuite are laid out, let’s have a look at the steps that allow you to figure out the actual cost, accurately.
NetSuite: An Affordable And Advanced Management Solution
Steps to Figure Out How Much Does NetSuite Cost
Even if you take into consideration the above factors, you still need to follow a series of steps to determine the total cost of implementation accurately. Generally, the cost-determining steps can be divided into two parts. Below you will find these steps with respective descriptions explaining what you need to do in individual steps:
Step 1: Analyze and Decide
The first step is to analyze the requirements of the business. The procedure to get NetSuite and implement it in any business is a sensitive and long one. You need to take into consideration so many factors, requirements, future goals, etc. that it can’t be instant. This step requires you to send some money to either conduct the research yourself or hire experts for the same, in turn, adding to the cost of NetSuite. You need to do some extensive thinking and research before you go with any NetSuite plan. This step is related to asserting the areas where the business is lacking and then working and deciding toward the betterment of the same.
Step 2: Devise and Deploy
Once you lay out the shortcomings of your business, then you need to act accordingly. In this step, you need to figure out which modification, integration, tool for data migration, the degree of training, etc. is involved in the process. Then, you can add up the costs involved in every aspect and ascertain the total cost of NetSuite implementation.
Ascertained the Total Cost of NetSuite: The Sum Up
The process to figure out the cost of getting and implementing NetSuite in any organization is quite tough and complicated. Generally, businesses that are a beginner in the stream or want to save time and effort spent on analysis, try to hire a team of third-party consultants or service providers for assistance. This is a safe and smart way to approach as the consultants will explain everything to you in terms that you understand. Then, you can make an informed decision about how much to invest in the platform, what would be the total cost of NetSuite implementation, and the benefits you can avail of afterward.
