Our Cloud CFO team gets a lot of face time with high-growth companies that are experiencing the frustrations of outgrowing QuickBooks. They begin wondering whether it’s time to switch to NetSuite. One of the most common questions clients have is how to streamline their operations with a new solution. While it’s an, “it depends” sort of answer, rapidly growing companies seem to face a few common struggles before upgrading to an ERP. Here’s a recap of the signs you’ve outgrown QuickBooks and you’re ready to make a switch to an ERP.
How to know if you’ve outgrown your accounting software.
Your reconciliations are becoming unmanageable.
Are you concerned your current solution is unable to scale with your company’s growth? If everything from bill payments, to expense reporting and data entry is eating up your time– or your accounting team’s time– that’s a red flag it’s time to make the switch to an ERP.
You need better forecasting to scale but are relying on reports from Excel.
If you’re a rapidly growing company, often your accounting solution can’t seem to generate the reports that are essential to your business. It’s common to see companies relying on Excel. This becomes more complicated as you grow. After a while, it requires the skills of something close to an Excel guru– see the above point about your accounting team’s precious time. Working only with backward-looking financials is a tell-tale sign you should switch to a more robust system like an ERP.
You’re your own manufacturer, have a ton of inventory and/or have increasing sales channels to manage.
I can’t stress this enough: if you’re in the manufacturing business or have large amounts of inventory from multiple sources, QuickBooks just doesn’t cut it. An ERP like NetSuite can optimize your processes in so many ways. Same goes for an ecommerce business with increasing sales channels and revenue streams.
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, it might be time to switch to NetSuite. Here are a few reasons why NetSuite might be the right ERP for you.
The top 3 reasons to switch to NetSuite:
1). The more you grow, the more you need your systems to play nicely together.
NetSuite is designed to grow with you. Once you make the switch to NetSuite you shouldn’t ever have to worry about outgrowing it the way you might have outgrown QuickBooks. If you’re using 3 or more systems to operate, for example:
- Accounting system (QBO, Xero, etc.)
- CRM system
- Inventory management system
- PO system
It’s inevitable that more of your time will be spent syncing these systems. Entering redundant data, performing reconciliations and fixing sync errors can mean falling behind on reporting. And let’s be clear, you’re not doing your company any favors by working with stale financials.
Solution: From simple to complex, NetSuite solves these problems with its numerous integrations and seamless syncing. For example, switching to NetSuite allows you to sync third-party applications like e-commerce integrations, EDI, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and cloud-based payables.
2).You get real-time insight into your numbers priming you for growth.
Speaking of stale, it’s the classic accounting pitfall: concentrating your attention on backward-looking financials. Think of your growing company like a race car; if you don’t have real-time insight, then you’re essentially trying to race a car while looking in your rear-view mirror.
Solution: NetSuite was the first ERP system built entirely in the cloud*. From its beginnings, it was designed to offer users customized dashboards with live data updated by the second to meet their needs. This gives you the opportunity to make informed business decisions without waiting on your controller to get you financial reports.
*An added bonus of the cloud-based system: curbing the time your IT team spends on patching servers and installing and troubleshooting software.
For example, when we recommended one of our clients switch to NetSuite, we implemented the ERP in under 3 months, reduced monthly close time by 67%, streamlining warehouse operations. Their revenue increased by 120%.
3). You’re a product-based business and/or you manage your own warehouse.
Finally, if you run an inventory-heavy company or have ecommerce accounting needs and manage your own warehouse, your business has the most to gain from making the switch to NetSuite. NetSuite streamlines your inventory management and order fulfillment like no other ERP on the market; it’s designed to be tailored to your industry needs.
Related Read: Young Nails NetSuite Case Study
Solution: We’ve seen how NetSuite can help manufacturing businesses firsthand. In our Young Nails and NetSuite case study we dig into how the cloud ERP not only provides the professional nail manufacturing business with the real-time financials they require; but how, thanks to NetSuite’s omnichannel ecommerce solutions, Young Nails is better able to manage their inventory, forecast manufacturing demand and access the data they need to drive growth.
Find an accounting team that partners with NetSuite to get the most out of your ERP.
NetSuite can seem like a hefty investment but outsourced netsuite bookkeeping services which can offer multiple benefits. Plus, we boast a smooth transition and go-live process to get you set up on NetSuite.
Learn more about how we can help our accounting for NetSuite clients.
