For businesses outgrowing spreadsheets or basic accounting programs such as QuickBooks, or for businesses using outdated on-premises systems that no longer serve them, the choices for financial software have grown.
There are many software providers in the market, and most of the systems put into practice today are cloud-based ERP solutions. This article will compare and contrast the two cloud-based ERP systems that are currently on the market, Acumatica vs NetSuite.
What is NetSuite?
NetSuite is a Cloud-based software that can organize nearly anything in a business. From bookkeeping and accounts payable to marketing automation and human resource management, this system can manage it.
NetSuite was founded in 1998 as a suite of software to run an entire business by Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and Evan Goldberg, an early employee of the company, who later became an entrepreneur. NetSuite became the very first cloud-based ERP system available.
Acquired by Oracle back in 2016 for a rumored $9.3 billion, NetSuite remains as an independent business unit within Oracle to this day. The top ERP capabilities include marketing automation, opportunity management, end-to-end payroll processing, and strong supply chain management.
What is Acumatica?
As one of the leading ERPs, Acumatica has grown rapidly since founding in 2008. This company provides on-premise and cloud-based solutions to fit the needs of small and mid-sized companies operating within particular industries.
Unique both for its flexible pricing model, Acumatica also is committed to providing a platform that grows with you.
Acumatica is a fully customized ERP system highly suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Acumatica team would attribute their fast growth to the partners, who work in tandem with them in making their product as successful as possible. Partnerships are offered through OEMs, ISVs, and VARs in managing software implementation and support.
Pros & Cons of NetSuite
Pros
- NetSuite offers real-time reporting.
- NetSuite is best for fast-growing businesses.
- NetSuite provides implementation and support services themselves and via certified third-party providers.
- NetSuite is a full-service solution for all types of businesses.
- NetSuite offers special packages for specific industries.
Cons
- You need training to utilize all of its features.
- There needs to be other features than the out-of-the-box features.
- It might not be the best option for small-scale businesses.
Pros & Cons of Acumatica
Pros
- You can customize everything.
- You have the option to choose between an on-premise solution or a cloud solution.
- It has unlimited users.
Cons
- Acumatica does not have pre-configured instances.
- It uses batch processing instead of real-time.
- It is not very scalable for enterprise businesses.
- Its pricing model is very complicated.
NetSuite vs Acumatica: The Comparison
Financial Management
The general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash management, currency management, tax management, deferred revenue accounting, intercompany accounting and intercompany reconciliation, recurring revenue management, billing, fixed assets, and payroll management are among the essential financial management features that both Acumatica vs NetSuite offer as part of ERP.
While Acumatica lacks several essential accounting features, NetSuite customers can maintain multiple books, a feature known as multi-book accounting. Companies can use NetSuite to comply with regulations when applying different accounting treatments to the same business event due to industry-specific, national, or regional accounting rules or a mix of these.
Maintaining numerous sets of books concurrently simplifies compliance reporting. Acumatica GL changes usually involve altering the application’s fundamental code, which may be expensive and risky and necessitate hiring a third-party IT consulting team.
International Management
For companies that operate abroad or intend to expand, NetSuite has crucial key features that Acumatica does not. NetSuite allows for transacting in over 190 currencies and 27 languages. More than 200 nations and dependent territories have adopted NetSuite. Users of Acumatica must manually revalue currencies within the system.
Although basic localization and translation tools are included, users must rely on local partners to provide the required functionality. Additionally, Acumatica cannot handle foreign enterprises that must adhere to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) due to its absence of multibook accounting, as previously discussed.
CRM
CRM features from both Acumatica vs NetSuite include integrated marketing, a self-service portal for customers, service and support automation, and sales force automation.
Human Resources Management
While Acumatica’s core system has payroll capability, partners provide all additional human resources management functionalities.
On the other hand, NetSuite, based on the main ERP platform, provides comprehensive payroll processing and essential HR functions. Through SuitePeople HR, HR managers may access features including workforce management, employee self-service, HR reporting, and performance management.
Reporting and Analytics
Prebuilt reports, business intelligence, analytics, and dashboards are provided by both Acumatica vs NetSuite.
Both Acumatica vs NetSuite provide self-service reporting; however, Acumatica has less options for workflow and modification that don’t require users to know how to write code.
Project Accounting
Project management, sophisticated billing, time and expense management, and project cost tracking are all provided by Acumatica vs NetSuite.
Resource management is included in NetSuite’s professional services automation (PSA) module.
Deployment Options and Infrastructure Considerations
Both NetSuite and Acumatica are cloud-based ERP programs. While NetSuite employs a more conventional multitenant cloud deployment of software as a service (SaaS), Acumatica provides cloud, on-premises, and hybrid alternatives.
Although some clients might value the control that comes with managing software in-house, most analysts concur that reputable SaaS providers offer more security, uptime, and performance than a single company can offer independently. Customers also gain from the economies of scale and continuous upgrades that preserve customizations.
Integration
SuiteCloud from NetSuite is a multi-tenant cloud computing platform. Based on the JavaScript programming language, it offers an application programming interface (API) and integrated development environment (IDE) to create platform apps. SuiteTalk, NetSuite’s SOAP-based web services platform, allows cloud or on-premises apps to interact with NetSuite seamlessly. Integrations are carried out using SuiteTalk or APIs.
Acumatica operates REST and SOAP-based web services on its xRP Cloud Platform, which also supports Microsoft’s Visual Studio, C#, ASP.net, and the .NET framework.
Partner Ecosystem
Partners are essential to both Acumatica and NetSuite. However, NetSuite also sells and, more importantly, implements; Acumatica conducts all of its business through its partners. Moreover, because of its maturity, NetSuite has a far stronger partner ecosystem.
Pricing
While Acumatica sells its product based on the computing resources needed and with “unlimited users,” NetSuite offers a pricing per-user model. In actuality, though, user counts affect both models since, as one might anticipate, an organization needs more computer resources the more users it has. The per-user model is typically preferred by rapidly expanding businesses because fewer employees require access to the ERP system than there are transactions.
Licensing
Smaller businesses just starting with ERP and those looking to grant a lot of staff access to the financial system find Acumatica’s approach appealing. For smaller businesses, NetSuite provides a comparable benefit, but its methodology is more dependable, and there is less ambiguity about tier transitions.
Implementation and Support Services
Through its professional services and support teams, respectively, and its partners—who are typically local or industry experts—NetSuite provides implementation and support services. In either scenario, clients receive global NetSuite support services around the clock.
This is a rather uncommon strategy in business software whereby Acumatica channels all its deployment and support efforts through its partners. Although clients do not interact directly with the vendor under this approach, Acumatica saves money by not having to hire an internal professional services team and gains benefits for its channel partners.
Salient Points in NetSuite vs Acumatica Debate
Technical Support
Users can always get help from NetSuite with its round-the-clock, toll-free phone support available anywhere in the world.
As an alternative, Acumatica offers technical help that may be more limited in scope because it focuses primarily on developers and application performance.
End-user Training
To meet the demands of a wide range of users, NetSuite offers a plethora of training choices, including live and online courses provided by their training department and through partners.
Since Acumatica’s partners provide the training, the availability and caliber of the program may vary.
Online Support
All users have access to NetSuite’s vast SuiteAnswers knowledge library, which is bolstered by a vibrant online user group providing community-driven support.
Similar to NetSuite, Acumatica encourages user participation and support through a number of user groups around the United States and maintains an online knowledge base in Russia.
User Groups
Both NetSuite and Acumatica support establishing local user groups across the country, offering forums where users may exchange ideas, work together to solve issues, and deepen their comprehension of the ERP systems.
Deciding Between NetSuite and Acumatica
Business Needs
Check your day-to-day activities and identify deeper areas that could be better. Does Acumatica’s flexibility between cloud and on-premise alternatives seem more enticing, or does NetSuite’s worldwide capacity better suit your vision? Select an ERP that bridges current gaps and meets the needs of your industry.
Budget
Setup and ongoing expenses are important. Although NetSuite has a large feature set and may cost more, ensure it fits your budget before committing. Smaller organizations may initially find Acumatica’s usage-based pricing more affordable. Consider the long-term value against the short-term costs.
Future Growth
The ERP you choose should support both present demands and future expansion. Determine which pricing model, Acumatica’s flexible pricing or NetSuite’s scalability, best fits your company’s future trajectory.
Consultation
Consulting with certified partners can help you gain a deeper understanding of how well each ERP suits your unique requirements. They can also describe how you can modify each system to make it work better for your company.
Request Demos
A practical demonstration can tell you a lot about how each system might function in your setting. Take note of the system’s primary features, usability, and how it manages your most important tasks.
The Final Decision
The truth is that we are unable to pinpoint the precise ERP system between Acumatica vs NetSuite, that will work best for your company, even though we think NetSuite offers greater features, clear pricing, and support resources.
You must determine exactly what you want from an ERP system, whether additional features (including PSA, eCommerce, and CRM) are necessary, and how you anticipate your company’s growth over the next ten or so years in order to select the ideal ERP system for your needs.
If you are looking for a NetSuite ERP implementation for your business, our team of certified NetSuite consultants can guide you throughout from project initiation till the go-live. Reach out to us to get a price quote according to your business requirements.
