Most small and medium-sized businesses look for a system to centralize their operations to make them more effective and efficient.
During this search, they usually stumble upon Odoo and NetSuite.
While both ERPs offer great features, the real confusion arises when they have to choose between one.
The only way to do it is by evaluating the functionality of each system and determining whether it fits your business or not.
Let’s find out.
Key Takeaways
- Odoo is an open-source software with 5,000,000 users all over the world.
- NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP with features to help small to medium-sized businesses.
- Both Odoo and NetSuite give businesses one platform to manage different operations.
- Odoo is more affordable but it does have a higher implementation cost.
What makes Odoo special?
Odoo is an open-source business management solution offering various built-in applications that are regularly upgraded.
It allows you to add and remove applications to meet the changing needs of your business.
Let’s say you start your operations with one module, like accounting, but gradually add inventory and CRM to improve functionality. This ability makes it ideal for startups and small businesses as they don’t feel limited by investing in this system.
Odoo has 30 applications with over 5,000,000 users worldwide. It is used in different industries, such as healthcare, education, and e-commerce.
Let’s look at some of the ways you can use Odoo.
- Odoo offers businesses a centralized database so whatever information is stored here becomes available to all relevant departments. It helps businesses share accurate information across channels. So, an order detail will be stored in the CRM and it will be available to the salesperson when managing customer interactions.
- You can use Odoo to make demand forecasts. It means you can get all the information you need to predict product demand and then use it to purchase raw materials. For this, Odoo uses historical data, like past sales and seasonal shifts. For example, it can highlight if the product demand was high during the holiday season. You will use this information to manage your stock levels and avoid stockout situations.
- The best way to ensure you address all customer problems is to open a ticket and keep it open until the problem is solved. Odoo helps you manage these tickets easily. It helps in improving customer satisfaction.
- You can use Odoo to plan and schedule production requirements. You can monitor production from start to finish, ensuring it is compliant with the law.
- Finally, Odoo can also help you manage different accounting tasks. You can use it to track and record all business transactions. It also helps businesses pay bills and get paid on time.
What makes Netsuite special?
NetSuite is a popular ERP system that gives businesses a single platform to manage tasks like accounting, customer relationship management, and sales.
It is a cloud-based software with more than 41,000 users across the world.
Whenever you sell a product, you will see immediate changes in your inventory and accounting records. You don’t have to do it all manually. This automation reduces human error and also saves you time.
NetSuite has a centralized database that makes data accessible to all relevant departments. This way, a lot of time is saved as none is wasted waiting for reviews and permissions.
- You can use NetSuite to track how much time an employee spends on tasks. This is great if you want to see how much time your salesperson spends interacting with customers and leads.
- You can use NetSuite to improve your email marketing strategies. It can help you create campaigns that directly target customer needs. This can greatly increase open rates.
- NetSuite allows you to handle account payables and receivables closely. It helps businesses with cash flow management, ensuring they don’t run out of money and halt operations.
- NetSuite offers real-time dashboards. This is a huge advantage as you have all the information you need to make business decisions right in front of you. This includes inventory levels, monthly sales data, the number of open leads, and more.
- When you have real-time data available, preparing financial reports becomes easy. You can use NetSuite to create personalized reports, making sure it covers all KPIs relevant to your business.
Odoo Vs NetSuite – comparing their top functionalities
Both Odoo and NetSuite have features that improve your business operations. But here’s a head-on-head comparison of these applications.
1. CRM capabilities
Customer relationship management (CRM) is an important part of running a business.
Odoo handles it efficiently by giving users a kanban view to manage all tasks in the pipeline. You can use it to track and nurture your leads.
Odoo has features that help you schedule daily tasks, like follow-ups and meetings. You can also use it to automate email reminders and make real-time pipeline updates to help you save time.
NetSuite helps you record both inbound and outbound customer interactions. So you can keep track of communication with your customers, ensuring their problems are resolved effectively.
NetSuite can also help you create multiple email marketing campaigns. Let’s say you are running two different campaigns at the same time, one for a new product launch and another for the upcoming holiday season.
So, NetSuite will give you real-time visibility into how each campaign is performing so that you can adjust your promotional material.
2. Sales management
Odoo and NetSuite offer a solid sales management system.
You can use Odoo for its point-of-sales (POS) functionality to process payments, especially if you belong to the restaurant industry. Odoo also has features that allow you to sign electronically and customize quotation templates to match your branding.
NetSuite, on the other hand, uses AI for e-commerce and other types of businesses to provide personalized product recommendations. You can use this feature to recommend personalized products to your customers. These recommendations are based on customer information, such as their purchasing history and the products they click on as it helps identify their preferences.
You can also simplify the quote and order process with NetSuite. It does so by automating quotation conversion into approved sales orders. It helps massively in reducing administrative burden.
3. Efficient accounting
You can quickly run out of cash if you don’t manage your finances well.
Odoo has several features that can help you manage your finances correctly. You can use it to create and send customized invoices.
Delayed payments are one way to add to your stress. You can avoid it by using Odoo to set automated payment reminders. This way, you’ll also avoid having to reach out to every client individually.
You can also track account payables and receivables to ensure you have enough cash in your account to run daily operations.
If you look at NetSuite, it gives you features to manage payroll. This is especially great for growing businesses as you can automate payroll calculations considering factors like commissions, multiple pay scales, benefits, and overtime.
You can also use it to calculate and hand out W-2 forms to freelancers or contractual employees.
Another feature that larger enterprises would benefit from is NetSuite’s fixed asset management. You can use it to track your investments, such as machinery and real estate. You can also track short-term assets, like your inventory.
This information is important when calculating your taxes or when you are looking for investors.
Factors to consider when choosing between Odoo and NetSuite
Businesses add new software into their operations to create a flexible work environment. Here’s how NetSuite and Odoo are different.
1. Flexibility
Odoo is more flexible as it is an open-source technology. It means you can access and change the source code easily. This is not possible with other ERP solutions, like NetSuite.
Also, Odoo gives you access to several applications that you can add to its core ERP system. What it means is that you can keep adding more applications as you grow.
But if you are specifically looking for a solution that makes your operations more efficient, NetSuite is a better option for you.
Firstly, NetSuite is a software-as-a-service (SAAS) solution. This means you can’t change the software. While it can be looked at as a disadvantage, this is ideal for businesses with repeated processes.
2.Total cost
NetSuite can be more expensive than Odoo because it is not an open-source model.
NetSuite has many terms and conditions that add to its cost over time. These clauses include transaction volume, the number of users, and additional integrations.
While Odoo has a lower subscription fee, it can also become expensive with time and customization.
Also, its implementation cost is higher as you need proper technical support. It’s ideal if you can find IT and technical support within your organization, but costly if you have to hire an Odoo expert.
3. Complexity
An important factor to consider when choosing between Odoo and NetSuite is the level of complexity each offers.
NetSuite is a SaaS solution and is pretty straightforward. It is already integrated with applications so you don’t have much scope to change it.
Odoo, on the other hand, is a modular structure. While it is a benefit for businesses as you can connect and remove applications as you grow, it does require technical expertise.
So Odoo is great only if you have strong in-house IT capabilities. And in case you don’t, it can be a costly problem
4. Value
At the end of the day, you want to add software that adds value to your business. So you will look at all of the things that we discussed above.
You’ll consider the cost, flexibility, and level of customization each software offers. You will see how it meets your business needs. Do they simply get the job done or do they make your workflow more efficient?
When you make an investment like this, it is natural to get as many benefits out of it as possible.
Pros and cons of Odoo
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It uses a double-entry accounting system to record business transactions. So all transactions are recorded in two accounts, one as debit and one as credit. It helps in keeping financial data consistent and accurate. | While customization is one of its strengths, it can be a problem if you don’t have the expertise to handle it. |
| It is highly scalable as you get to add applications to meet the changing needs of your business. You can start off with simply one application and continue to add more as you grow. | Odoo gets upgraded every now and then to improve security and its performance. While this is a good thing, the addition of new features often leads to compatibility problems with the existing applications. |
Pros and cons of NetSuite
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 66% of businesses have achieved operational efficiency with NetSuite implementation. This became possible thanks to its automation as you can avoid manual input that risks human error. | NetSuite is costly for smaller businesses if you consider its growing price with add-on features and user accessibility. |
| NetSuite is available in different countries and in their native languages. So you can use NetSuite in French, German, Chinese, and more. | 24/7 customer support is only available to premium and advanced plans. The support is limited for users with basic plans. |
The bottom line
Both NetSuite and Odoo have their advantages and disadvantages, so it all comes down to what you want from a business management system.
Are you looking for software that is affordable even if it is difficult to implement or are you okay with the cost as long as it gives you scalable features?
You have to consider if you have the right resources, both in terms of money and professionals working with you.
In that case, Ledger Labs is one of the best services to implement Odoo accounting services into your business.
We have 12+ years of experience providing businesses with accounting and bookkeeping solutions. We can help you whether you need simple financial solutions, like QuickBooks Online, or more comprehensive systems, like NetSuite and Odoo.
Let’s book an appointment to find out more.
