What Goes Into NetSuite Pricing

If you’re considering transitioning to NetSuite, it’s important to set expectations and understand what the overall cost will be to your organization. You need to know how each aspect of the software is priced and what goes into the bottom line.

Let’s explore how NetSuite is priced and what factors contribute to the overall cost.

What Exactly Is NetSuite and How Does It Support My Business?

NetSuite is cloud-based financial and operational software that helps a management team run their organization end-to-end, including managing finances, operations and customer relations in one unified, completely integrated system.

Every organization needs software to manage the process of recording and reporting transactions. NetSuite can be that one-stop cloud software solution to help you record and report on all your business-related activities.

What Factors Go Into NetSuite Pricing?

NetSuite is priced based on several factors, user count being one of them. Some of those factors include:

• The edition of NetSuite based on your industry

There are numerous editions of NetSuite. For example, there’s a nonprofit edition (also known as the social impact edition), a manufacturing and wholesale distribution (MWD) edition, a professional services edition, a financials first edition for those that need strong core financials and a host of others. Each edition has unique pricing based on the components you need.

The beauty of the different NetSuite editions is that each edition includes custom roles, dashboards and leading practice flows tailored to that industry or business type. These prebuilt assets quickly translate to a more efficient, streamlined implementation since common terminology, roles, dashboards and KPIs are already in place, making adoption more intuitive for the user.

• Number of users needing access and the type of access required

NetSuite is priced based on the number of full access users. Note that there are also limited users to consider. For example, users who might only need access to time and expense entry or requisition entry would not require a full user license.

• Direct support from NetSuite

All NetSuite users have support with respect to the uptime of the product. But for usability questions, you also have the option of purchasing support directly from NetSuite to supplement the support you receive from your implementation partner.

• Using a test area or “sandbox”

A sandbox is essentially a “play area” you can use to assess test transaction entry impact and train your users without affecting your production data. A sandbox is especially helpful during the initial migration to NetSuite to allow a mock migration and implementation.

More importantly, with this mock implementation in the sandbox you can provide users with a familiar place to perform testing on data. After going live, a sandbox is always preferred to test out new functionality or test scenarios without jeopardizing the integrity of your production data.

You can request one or more sandboxes when you purchase NetSuite. After going live, you can refresh your sandbox as often as needed from your live data to keep it current.

Will I Need to Purchase Third-Party Add-Ins? What Will This Cost?

The beauty of NetSuite is that it offers an end-to-end solution for financials, operations and customer relations, so in many instances a third-party add-in is not needed. However, to extend the base functionality of NetSuite, there are a slew of third-party “SuiteApps” available for purchase. These SuiteApps are tested to ensure they function properly with NetSuite and provide the end user with the same look and feel as the base product, so the user is unaware they’re using a separate product.

In addition, NetSuite has extensive customization capabilities, so if a field or screen is not present, you can simply add it. This is not possible with many legacy on-premise system customizations. You may not need a third-party add-in if you can make the customization you need right in NetSuite.

How Much Do Implementation Fees Cost? What Is Included In This Process?

Implementation fees really depend on the edition and features being implemented, but a good placeholder for your budget is to allot for 1 to 1.5 times the cost of your annual software agreement for the implementation. So if your annual NetSuite fee is $25,000, budget in a one-time fee of $25,000 to $37,500 for the NetSuite migration and implementation.

The more conversion necessary from the legacy system, including the amount of history brought over, can also affect this fee. A deeper discussion can help nail this budget down further but 1 to 1.5 times your annual software outlay is a good starting point.

The implementation of NetSuite typically includes project management services, migration services from your legacy system, assistance with the implementation and training services for NetSuite to get your organization up and running.

How Much Do Software Customizations Cost?

The overall cost depends on the magnitude of your customization. Adding a field takes about five minutes in NetSuite, whereas building an entire module for custom billing might take months and a couple hundred to a thousand plus hours.

Will There be Upgrade Costs Down the Line? Are They Expensive?

Another benefit of NetSuite being a cloud solution is that updates are applied automatically. Therefore, all users run the latest edition of the software.

NetSuite lets customers know well in advance when an update is due to release. In fact, customers are given a chance to test the upgrade in a special environment prior to their production database being affected. This allows users to evaluate any customizations they may have in place prior to the final upgrade launching in their production environment.

What Is More Cost Effective? Cloud or On-Premise Solutions?

When trying to determine whether a cloud or on-premise solution is more cost effective, there are three things you need to consider. Cloud-based solutions such as NetSuite are typically priced annually and can be paid for quarterly or annually. While you might find the annual price higher than what you expected to pay upfront, keep a few factors in mind to be sure you are comparing apples to apples.

1. The annual price includes upgrades to the product (and support, if included). With an on-premise product, there’s typically an expensive initial outlay with an annual software upgrade fee, along with a separate fee for support. With on-premise solutions, upgrades are typically not included and must be performed at an additional cost, but there are other operational and capital costs to consider.
2. With a cloud-based product like NetSuite, you don’t have the capital outlay for multiple servers, backup methods, etc., as you do with on-premise solutions. The NetSuite software and hardware runs in the cloud on Oracle’s servers, so you only need a workstation (desktop, tablet or mobile device) and internet access to use a browser of your choice to run NetSuite. That’s right - this means NetSuite is accessible anywhere, anytime, without setting up the remote access methods needed for an on-premise solution.
3. With cloud-based solutions, you also don’t have the operating costs associated with an on-premise solution. There is no IT staff needed to maintain servers or users, or ensure the data is backed up with a cloud-based solution. Remember: users only need a browser and a device to access their data, which is backed up and maintained by Oracle. Keep in mind these savings in operational and capital outlays when comparing your options.

Need Help?

If you’d like to learn whether NetSuite could be a fit for your organization — and how much it would cost — contact us online or give us a call at 410.685.5512.