In a Nutshell
Oracle NetSuite is a cloud-based business management platform used by more than 26,000 businesses around the globe. The platform consists of a suite of applications including enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting software, e-commerce, customer relationship management (CRM), and project management. This review will focus mainly on NetSuite’s project management capabilities.
Pros
- Helps manage all parts of your business
- Complete integration between project management and accounting
- Has stood the test of time (28 years and counting)
Cons
NetSuite at a Glance
| Best for | Comprehensive solution for all your business management needs |
| Price range | $999 per license + $99 per user per month |
| Free Trial | None |
| Integrations | Hundreds |
| Apps | Web-based, iOS, Android |
Top Features
NetSuite Project Management seamlessly integrates with the NetSuite accounting module. The project management tool is designed to help you improve oversight of your operations, maintain tighter control over project accounting, and get an accurate picture of your costs and profitability.
Key capabilities include:
Automate job creation.Identify service items that require a job; then, sales orders for those items go into a queue where you can assign an ID and project manager and bulk-create multiple jobs with one click.
Organize tasks and activities.NetSuite links tasks, calls, and events to specific projects.
Create project tasks.Create tasks with multiple predecessors and finish-to-start (FS), start-to-start (SS), finish-to-finish (FF), and start-to-finish (SF) relationships.
Project-based milestones.Milestones highlight important interim events, such as the completion of a phase, delivery of materials, and payment for work performed.
Project P&L tab.Track the progress and costs of each project.
Estimate labor and revenue.NetSuite estimates labor cost and revenue for jobs based on the number of hours entered, the loaded cost rate for each employee, and anticipated billing amounts from the sales order linked to the job.
Timesheets.Enter and submit weekly timesheets and customize your timesheet approval processes to suit your business needs.
Visualization
The Project Dashboard gives project managers a visual, graphical analysis of the status of specific projects. Project managers can view KPIs at a glance to see which projects are on time/running late or under/over budget. If a project is behind schedule, you can use the dashboard to deep dive and find the root cause. The dashboard updates in real-time whenever information comes in, allowing you an overview of the current health of your projects.
Gantt charts provide visibility into project schedules. These are useful tools for planning and scheduling projects, monitoring a project’s progress, and illustrating start and finish dates.
Integrations
SuiteApp.com, NetSuite’s app store, offers direct integration with hundreds of third-party apps. To search for apps, select your business needs (e.g. analytics, CRM, productivity tools), verticals (e.g. advertising, IT services, professional services), languages, and countries. You’ll then see a list of top apps, new apps, and staff picks.
Plans & Pricing
Oracle NetSuite is sold as a complete package; tools are not sold separately. The price is determined by the type of business, the number of full access users in your organization (people who assign roles and give user permissions) and regular users (people who can access NetSuite tools but can’t make changes to the system.
NetSuite doesn’t advertise prices on its website, all plans are customized. Depending on the size of your business, it starts from $999 for a license and around $99 per month per user.
NetSuite doesn’t offer a free trial, but you can request a demo.
Ease of Use
NetSuite has powerful capabilities, and it can take time to train your employees to use the platform to its fullest potential. According to NetSuite, companies that use certified professionals see more effective deployments and a greater return on their investment.
Privacy & Security
NetSuite is owned by Oracle Corporation, one of the world’s largest computer technology companies. As you would expect, it has powerful security capabilities. These include:
- Role-level access and idle disconnect
- Bank-grade 256-bit TLS encryption for all use login
- Application-only access (i.e. users can only access the application, not the underlying database)
- IP address restrictions
- Strong password policies
Customer support
NetSuite has an extensive support portal and knowledge base with answers to virtually any question you can think of. It also has a user group forum where you can source answers from the NetSuite community. Customer service can be reached by phone 877-638-7848 or support@netsuite.com.
User Testimonials
“The executives are able to understand the complete business picture quickly and easily through NetSuite.”
-Gary Hornbeek, VP, Finance, Quicken Inc.
“We’ve had exponential growth without having to increase headcount, and we’ve been able to handle that with a system like NetSuite.”
-David Quinn, CFO, The Second City
“The responsiveness of the NetSuite team has been awesome. We know they can bring scale to the party as we continue to grow Hello, and we know everyone will be smiling along the way.”
-Craig Dubitsky, Founder, Hello Products
Bottom Line
NetSuite is more than just a project management platform. In fact, its capabilities extend to all areas of your business operations. The sheer size of this platform makes it suitable for medium and larger-sized businesses looking to use technology to improve the productivity and efficiency of their operations.
