Oracle NetSuite Cloud Accounting Review 2024

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. NetSuite Plans & Pricing
2. NetSuite Cloud Accounting Overview
3. Features
4. Integrations
5. NetSuite Cloud Accounting Customer Reviews
6. What is NetSuite Cloud Accounting Good For?
7. NetSuite vs Top Competitors
8. How We Test Accounting Software
9. How To Choose the Best Accounting Software
10. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. NetSuite Plans & Pricing
2. NetSuite Cloud Accounting Overview
3. Features
Show Full Guide
4. Integrations
5. NetSuite Cloud Accounting Customer Reviews
6. What is NetSuite Cloud Accounting Good For?
7. NetSuite vs Top Competitors
8. How We Test Accounting Software
9. How To Choose the Best Accounting Software
10. FAQs

NetSuite Plans & Pricing

As NetSuite covers virtually every functionality you could need to manage a business of any size, from accounting and CRM to human capital management, professional service automation, and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), the price will vary drastically.

To get started you’ll need to schedule a free product tour and discuss your business needs with the company’s sales department to receive a custom quote for the platform.

One thing to keep in mind is that, in addition to a monthly subscription cost (which is calculated per user), you also have to pay a monthly licensing fee as well as an initial set-up cost.

So, what does that total to?

• Subscription – Starts at $99/month/user
• Licensing fee – Around $999/month
• Set up fee – $10,000 – $300,000 (one-time fee, cost depending on size)

As you can see, it’s rather difficult to estimate the cost of Oracle NetSuite, but one thing is for certain — it’s one of the most expensive business management platforms on the market, so it’s not really a cost-effective option if you only plan on using it for its accounting functionality.

NetSuite Cloud Accounting Overview

Here’s a quick overview of the Oracle NetSuite Cloud Accounting module so you can have a rough idea about what you can expect from it.

Features

NetSuite Cloud Accounting software offers all the functionalities you need to transform your general ledger, optimize accounts receivables, streamline accounts payables, efficiently manage taxes, and automate account reconciliation.

Here’s a breakdown of the platform’s key features, so you have a better understanding of just how powerful of an accounting platform NetSuite truly is:

General Ledger

NetSuite’s general ledger gives you much-needed visibility into the financial health of your company by giving you quick and easy access to all the key information in your chart of accounts. We found the level of customization great for managing account types and transactions, as well as generating detailed reports to meet unique business requirements.

By not having to do manual data entry, the data stays accurate which removes the risk of making costly mistakes, and allows you to track revenue and expenses in real time.

One thing we found to be a big time-saver is the import of bank and credit data directly into NetSuite to automatically reconcile bank statements with general ledger accounts.

Cash Management

The cash management functionality works effortlessly and is another time-saver. You get visibility into bank and credit card data which allows you to accurately forecast cash requirements, and simply, be able to efficiently manage your company’s cash flow.

As mentioned, NetSuite supports bank integration so it’s easy to streamline and automate income and expense flows. We found the charts and graphs detailing your total balance, payables, receivables, and cash forecast on a single dashboard to be an excellent ‘quick glance’ at your financial information. This saves a ton of valuable time and allows you to make accurate projections and make data-driven strategic financial decisions.

Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable

With the accounts receivable functionality, you’ll fully streamline every aspect of invoicing, payment processing, and collection. This shortens the credit-to-cash cycle, ensures you’re paid the correct amount on time for your work, and improves your liquidity so you can continue to grow and expand your business.

Accounts payable, on the other hand, helps ensure that you pay your vendors and suppliers on time, take advantage of early payment discounts, and avoid late payment fees. It also helps streamline budget forecasting and planning, lets you easily create and track purchase orders, eliminates the risk of invoice fraud, and even automates recurring invoices.

Tax Management

NetSuite also helps you effectively manage domestic and global taxes, ensuring that you stay compliant and helping you prepare everything for tax season, from GST and VAT to consumption and sales taxes.

All the tax calculations are automated, which meant that, during our testing, we found fewer inaccuracies, as well as the process being faster. All tax calculations by line item are also shown on the related invoices, making sure you pass annual audits with flying colors.

Fixed Asset Management

One of the biggest advantages of NetSuite over similar platforms is the fact that it offers fixed asset management. The Cloud Accounting platform gives you complete control over depreciating and non-depreciating assets, all the way from creation to disposal.

You can develop detailed lists with real-time asset tracking, so you’ll know where every asset is at all times and will be able to track them by facility, type, region, department, and other parameters.

Depreciation is automatically calculated using either standard or custom methods and schedules, so your finance team will know exactly when and how to apply depreciation.

If you’re leasing assets, NetSuite will also help you capture and keep track of key lease details, monitor total cost and discount rates, and amortize lease expenses.

Integrations

Oracle NetSuite relies on the proprietary NetSuite connector to integrate with a variety of third-party apps and platforms. Some of the most popular integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, ADP, WordPress, and Magento.

The connection is a must-have for e-commerce businesses since it allows you to easily connect to a marketplace like Shopify, Big Commerce, Amazon, WooCommerce, eBay, and Walmart. It also integrates with the Shopify POS system to sync product, pricing, shipping, inventory, and order data.

As you can see, NetSuite doesn’t integrate with project management platforms, time-tracking software, payroll software, or similar apps and tools. This is because the platform itself covers all of these functionalities with its add-ons, so it acts as a one-stop shop for virtually every aspect of your business, provided you can afford the premium price.

NetSuite Cloud Accounting Customer Reviews

The vast majority of user reviews of NetSuite are very positive, with the platform averaging about 4.1/5 stars on major software review sites.

The most commonly praised aspects of NetSuite are its reporting capabilities, level of customization, ease of use, and automation of financial processes.

When it comes to cons, users often mention the price (especially the upfront implementation cost), the learning curve, and limited integration capabilities.

What is NetSuite Cloud Accounting Good For?

NetSuite Cloud Accounting is excellent for managing all financial aspects of your business, from invoicing and expenses to taxes, vendor relationships, and fixed assets. It automates the bulk of financial processes and gives your accounting department the much-needed visibility into your company’s financial position and cash flow, so you can make accurate budget forecasts and data-driven financial decisions.

NetSuite also simplifies transaction recording, automates bank reconciliation, facilitates the management of payables and receivables, gives you complete control over your financial assets, helps you manage your inventory, and ensures compliance.

That said, NetSuite is only a viable choice for larger companies with bigger budgets that work with dozens of clients and vendors and are looking for a single, robust platform to manage various aspects of their business. If you’re considering NetSuite solely for its accounting functionalities, there are plenty of other apps and platforms on the market that can get the job done at a fraction of the cost.

NetSuite vs Top Competitors

NetSuite vs QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a great accounting tool for SMBs that can help you track income and expenses, automate invoicing, effectively manage your inventory, and prepare for tax season. It’s also relatively affordable, especially since you get to try it for the first three months at just $1/month.

NetSuite does all, just on a much larger scale. It’s much better suited for large enterprises with dozens of clients and vendors, a dedicated accounting department, and a good amount of fixed assets they need to manage.

Overall, QuickBooks is a better option for smaller businesses. QuickBooks comes with over 200 banking and app integrations, so it’s easy to connect with the tools you’re already using, whereas NetSuite acts more like a one-stop shop for all your needs, thanks to dozens of modules that help you handle virtually every aspect of your business.

Find out more in our QuickBooks review.

NetSuite vs Sage

Sage is another accounting software for small businesses, with features and functionalities that facilitate invoicing, cash flow forecasting, bank reconciliation, and tax filing. It also offers inventory management and purchase order tracking, but only on the more expensive pricing plans.

What Sage is lacking that NetSuite offers is fixed asset management and close management. Additionally, NetSuite Cloud Accounting boasts much more robust reporting capabilities and is overall better suited for handling large amounts of financial data, especially across multiple locations.

NetSuite vs Xero

Xero is similar to NetSuite in that you can pay bills, claim expenses, send invoices and accept payments, run payroll, manage your contacts, and track and manage your inventory. In addition, you can track your projects with Xero.

Another reason to opt for Xero is the price. In addition to the pricing being readily available on the official website, there is no implementation cost associated with the platform.

NetSuite, on the other hand, offers more advanced functionalities, is a lot more customizable, comes with preconfigured KPIs, process workflows, and reminders, and helps you effectively manage all your business locations.

All in all, Xero is a more cost-effective option for small and medium brick-and-mortar businesses with a single location, while NetSuite is a better fit for large enterprises with multiple locations across the country.

How We Test Accounting Software

Accounting tools can greatly differ in terms of functionality, price, and integration capabilities. When reviewing and comparing the best accounting software on the market, we look at the following parameters:

• Features — The core features of the platform and the paid add-ons.
• Pricing — The available pricing tiers and the value for money of each.
• Integrations — The number and types of apps the accounting software platform integrates with.
• Automation — The complexity and customizability of automations of various financial processes.
• Ease of use — The complexity of the platform, the UI, and the level of technical knowledge required to fully utilize all of its capabilities.
• Third-Party Reviews — The general sentiment of the platform’s users, based on their feedback on reputable software review sites.

How To Choose the Best Accounting Software

Here are the key factors you should consider when selecting accounting software:

• Price — Check the various pricing tiers and the features and functionalities available on each. If the pricing isn’t publicly available, as is the case with NetSuite, make sure you understand exactly what you need and request a personalized quote on the product tour call.
• Features — Discuss with your financial/accounting department and your executives what features you’d need out of the accounting software. Jot them down and compare the requirements with the features the platform offers.
• Scalability — Try and discern from the platform’s description on the official website how easy it would be to scale it as you grow your business. While most accounting software solutions are cloud-based and easily scalable, keep in mind that those with per-user pricing plans tend to get super expensive as you keep adding new team members to the platform.
• Ease of use — During the demo or the product tour, try to get a sense of how easy or difficult it would be for your accounting department to fully utilize all of the platform’s capabilities. If the platform is fairly complex, you’ll likely need to invest both time and money into training workshops.
• Integrations — Check which third-party apps and platforms the accounting software integrates with. This is crucial if you’re already utilizing multiple apps for other areas of your business since you ideally want to have all the data in one place and avoid wasting time on duplicate data entry.
• Customer support — Note the available options for contacting customer support, their working hours, and the overall user experience with the platform’s support agents.

FAQs