NetSuite Price Breakdown: Licenses, Add-Ons & Cost Factors

NetSuite Support and Post-Launch Considerations

Customer support is an important consideration when estimating the total NetSuite price as it affects the post-launch cost.

NetSuite offers three tiers of support services:

• Basic Support: This is included with all subscriptions and covers 24/7 assistance in critical situations as well as online support for defects and issues via the SuiteAnswers knowledge center and the NetSuite Support Community.
• Premium Support: This provides additional help such as toll-free assistance for critical and non-critical issues, priority case queuing, weekend support, early notifications of upcoming releases, and commerce response services.
• Advanced Customer Support (ACS): This comes with a prescriptive approach that helps optimize and sustain the entire NetSuite solution.
  ‍

More advanced support options cost about 10-20% of recurring annual fees.

When budgeting, you need to consider long-term costs such as upgrade cycles, training, and change management. NetSuite offers Education Services, where customers can access role-based training courses, live webinars, certifications, and other resources that help get started on the right footing and periodically upgrade your team’s expertise to derive the maximum benefits of NetSuite.

Depending on whether you get NetSuite directly or through a partner, you might qualify for third-party partner-led support models that come with pros and cons.

The pros of partner-led support include:

• Dedicated consultants who are familiar with your industry and system
• Hands-on support during setup, configuration, customization, integrations, and data migration
• Tailored post-launch support in line with your team needs
• Cost-effective packages compared to NetSuite’s premium support rates
  ‍

At the same time, some cons of third-party support models to consider are:

• Varied quality of services across partners (vetting is crucial)
• Potential lack of access to NetSuite’s internal escalation processes
• Possible delays during upgrade cycles
  ‍

Ultimately, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of NetSuite is affected by all these factors. Higher-tier customer support costs more but can lead to less time down and faster addressing of critical issues. Handling upgrades incurs costs, but unmanaged upgrades affect the value your team derives from the ERP system. Ongoing training helps keep your team up to date though it demands financing. When considering the post-launch factors, aim for the best value for cost.

NetSuite Renewal & Subscription Terms

Understanding the NetSuite renewal and subscription terms and conditions is key for managing long-term costs and avoiding surprise charges along the way.

To begin with, most NetSuite contracts are structured as annual or multi-year agreements of 3-5 years. Pricing and terms of use are locked in for the duration of the contract and might change upon renewal.

Renewals are usually automatic unless you explicitly cancel the agreement within a specified notice window, typically 60-90 days before renewal. In case you miss this deadline, you are likely to be locked in for another contract cycle unless you are ready to pay a hefty cancellation fee. Once the agreement gets renewed, the subscription and license NetSuite price might be different from the initial.

It’s important to note that initial contracts often come with discounted pricing, especially when bundled with implementation and training services and/or multi-year contracts. Upon renewal, you can expect the annual cost to be about 5-10% higher. Moreover, it might be difficult to opt out of initially selected modules and/or decrease the number of users. That’s why you should carefully plan for the future when setting up NetSuite in the first place.

To strike the best possible terms and to avoid unpleasant, costly surprises, here are a few contract negotiation tips to try:

• Insist on incorporating multi-year discount guarantees and price increase caps in the initial agreement
• Negotiate a longer initial period with discounted rates (if you are convinced that you want to stay with NetSuite in the long term)
• Get the cancellation notice window in writing
• Have downgrade and downscale options included in the contract
• Bring competitive benchmarks to negotiate pricing comparable to the market standards
  ‍

By starting to plan for renewal before implementation, your business can lower the total cost of ownership of what is one of the most widely recommended ERP systems for different size companies across various industries.

Tips for Reducing Your NetSuite Investment

While the NetSuite price can add up to a hefty amount in the long term, there are certain things that your team can do to limit the overall spend without compromising the potential of the ERP system.

Here are some practical tips and recommendations on how to save money when using NetSuite:

• Choose the Most Appropriate Edition and Service Tier: Start with the NetSuite Starter Edition (unless you run a large enterprise) and let the ERP platform grow with your team. Don’t dive in the deep with the NetSuite Mid-Market or Enterprise Edition until you really need to. Getting a more complex system than needed will not only inflate the budget but also bring along operational complications.
• Phase Module Implementation: Based on your accounting needs, get started with the must-have modules and features. Then, plan to add nice-to-have modules later on, during renewals, once your team has gotten used to NetSuite, you are certain that you want to stick to it for the long haul, and you have the extra cash.
• Assign Licenses Strategically: Get full user licenses only to employees that need access to all features. For the rest, get employee self-service licenses as they are significantly cheaper, and you can save a lot of money each and every year.
• Purchase from Partners That Offer the Best Conditions: Before making a decision, research well the terms and conditions of all available options, including getting the software directly from NetSuite and BPO partners or Solution Provider partners. Opt for the provider that offers the best implementation and recurring price and the most potent post-launch support.
• Negotiate a Smart Contract: Don’t shy away from trying to negotiate better terms. In most cases, the NetSuite price is not set in stone, regardless of whether you get it directly from the company or through a partner. Try to negotiate a longer initial period with a discounted rate, set up a ceiling on the maximum price increase upon renewal, and ask for a more advanced support level.
  ‍

In order to be able to follow the tips listed above, the first step is to conduct an internal analysis of your current processes, workflows, data, and team. This will help you identify the main pain points that you aim to address with the introduction of NetSuite so that you can configure the optimal setup in terms of an edition, modules, add-ons, integrations, user licenses, training, support, and everything else.

How Numeric Complements NetSuite

While NetSuite is a potent ERP system, it doesn’t natively handle month-end close. That’s where Numeric comes into play as purpose-driven financial close management software designed specifically for accounting teams. Integrating Numeric with NetSuite helps you organize and automate one of the most challenging segments of the financial process.

The specific areas where Numeric provides value to NetSuite users include:

• Real-Time Monitoring of Transactions: With Transaction Monitors, you can establish flexible alerts to catch errors and relate them to specific customers before reconciliation.
• Performing First-Pass Flux Analysis: The AI-powered Flux Analysis feature takes the first pass at providing variance explanations by going through transaction details and finding out the key drivers of change. With auto-generated flux reporting, you can efficiently conduct MoM and QoQ account comparisons to identify anomalies.
• Conducting Advanced Search and Pivoting: With the help of various filters, you can perform a high-power search for each transaction in the GL to access real-time data and pivot it directly in the tool.
• Automating High-Level Reporting: Numeric takes transaction-line details from NetSuite for robust reporting. Custom management reports can be automated to save time and effort.
• Automating Reconciliations: With Numeric, you can handle all month-end balance sheet reconciliations in the same place. The platform pulls account totals from workpapers and the GL trial balance automatically. In case of out-of-balance accounts, Numeric surfaces the exact transactions resulting in discrepancies.
• Getting Access to Comprehensive Close Visibility: The software empowers you to remain up to date on close tasks via dedicated notifications, comments, and Slack updates for enhanced team communication. You can easily create dependencies for stronger team productivity and accountability.
• Supporting Close Organization and Audit Readiness: Numeric assists in the assignment of tasks to preparers and reviewers while tracking changes, comments, and submissions in a structured month-end close checklist. At time of audit, auditors can log into the platform to access a detailed activity trail, eradicating the need for your team to chase down documentation.
  ‍

With these capabilities, Numeric has the potential to help all teams that are willing to move faster, close cleaner, and maintain accounting control without added ERP complexity. Still, the types of companies that find particularly high value in the platform include:

• High-growth organizations scaling business and financial operations
• Enterprises with complex accounting workflows and processes
• Companies working in industries with complex controls and frequent audits, such as SaaS, FinTech, and eCommerce

Final Thoughts: Know What You’re Signing Up For

Our NetSuite price breakdown shows the complexity of estimating the cost that you can expect to incur when switching to this ERP system. Implementation can cost anything between $35,000 for small companies with simple needs and $150,000+ for large enterprises with complicated requirements. Meanwhile, the annual price starts at $25,000 and can exceed $250,000. This wide range of price options is attributed to the many factors that affect the total cost.

To decide if NetSuite is worth it for your team, you should start with a cost-benefit analysis that looks at both quantitative and qualitative gains as well as all costs. If you decide to move forward with implementation, conduct detailed internal evaluation and needs assessment to determine the edition, modules, customizations, integrations, and number of users that cover the minimum requirements without inflating the total cost unnecessarily. Optimal results are achieved when your ERP is fully aligned with your accounting tool strategy.

To maximize the value of NetSuite, check out how Numeric can help you manage complexity, close efficiently, and be always audit-ready. Schedule a personalized demo to learn more.

FAQs: NetSuite ERP Pricing Questions Answered

What Is the NetSuite Price per User?

NetSuite runs a user-based pricing model with two types of user licenses:

• Full User License: The price per user is $99-$199/month, or $1,200-$2,400/year for full access.
• Employee Self-Service License: The price per user is $10-$25, or $120-$300/year for limited access.

What’s Included in the Base NetSuite License?

NetSuite offers four editions, with NetSuite Starter being the most basic one. The NetSuite Started Edition license includes access to the core ERP platform, covering GL, accounts payable and receivable, basic inventory, order management, and simple reporting tools. It supports a single entity and comes with five full-access user licenses.

How Much Does It Cost to Implement NetSuite?

The implementation cost of NetSuite ranges from $35,000 for small teams with basic requirements to $150,000+ for large-scale organizations with complex accounting needs. The price includes multiple components such as discovery and planning, licensing and subscription, setup (including customization, integrations, and data migration), training, testing, and deployment.

When Should a Company Invest in Add-On Modules?

A company should invest in add-on NetSuite modules when the core ERP functions no longer meet its financial management needs. Such modules become a must as businesses grow in operations, transactions, and markets which leads to more complicated workflows and more strict compliances. Adding optional modules help organizations scale without hitting bottlenecks.

Are There Hidden Fees in NetSuite Contracts?

Before signing an agreement, you should watch out for a few items that can unexpectedly inflate the total price, including:

• Implementation: Before you are able to start using NetSuite, you need to go through an implementation process that entails a total cost starting at $35,000 for small companies.
• Training Cost: Sometimes the price of training is not explicitly mentioned, so you have to get a quote before agreeing to it.
• Customization and Integrations: Customizing NetSuite to fit your organization’s needs costs more during implementation and afterwards than sticking to the out-of-the-box features.
• Renewal Terms: Get a clear understanding of the renewal process and the potential cost raises afterwards.
• Price Increases: The NetSuite price is likely to go up after the initial contract period, so you should be aware of the maximum raise to avoid unpleasant surprises.
• Downgrade Restrictions: Some contracts might include clauses that prevent you from removing unneeded modules or decreasing the number of users during renewal.
• Post-Implementation Support: While basic support is available for free, premium support is charged separately and can add up to 10-20% of the annual cost.
  ‍

It’s crucial to get a detailed proposal from a few possible providers and review them diligently before choosing the most beneficial option. Make sure all possible scenarios and costs are outlined clearly to avoid additional costs down the road.

Can Smaller Companies Afford NetSuite?

Yes, smaller companies can afford NetSuite, especially with the Starter Edition, which is specifically designed for single-entity businesses with up to ten users. To control the NetSuite price, small teams can opt for built-in modules, avoid unnecessary customization, implement only must-have integrations, and strategically assign licenses by need for access. Still, NetSuite tends to cost more than entry-level systems like QuickBooks.

Where Does Numeric Fit in If We’re Already Using NetSuite?

Despite its powerful capabilities, NetSuite has limited functionalities when it comes to month-end close. Numeric can complement NetSuite by streamlining task management, reconciliation, and financial close that usually remain manual after the implementation of the ERP platform.

Numeric allows accounting teams to communicate and collaborate more efficiently, track progress towards close, and identify and reduce bottlenecks, while eliminating the need to purchase additional NetSuite modules. Numeric’s integration with NetSuite helps you gain control and visibility without inflating the TCO.