Some of the most common questions that those who are researching and comparing ERP solutions have, has to do with prices. 

If you are one of those people, surely it must be something that you have also been weighing on. 

There are so many options with NetSuite licensing, that a simple comparative chart would not be enough. It’s necessary to dig deeper into all the aspects that NetSuite covers and where it may vary.

That’s why we decided to create a definitive guide to provide you with the most complete information, to get you out of doubts and, eventually, ensure you the best purchase -which could save you and your business thousands of dollars-.

So, without further ado, here is NetSuite’s pricing and licensing guide for 2020. If you want to make sure that you will make a good deal, you better take note!

NetSuite Pricing: Licences & Editions

NetSuite is designed to support a multitude of industries and business models. The breadth of the NetSuite platform creates a lot of pricing options, making the software affordable for both startups as well as enterprise- sized organizations. 

If you are still not sure what NetSuite is and how it can help your business, don’t miss this article to get full detailed information!

But since NetSuite is different from the rest of the ERP offerings out there, licensing NetSuite can be a bit confusing at first.

NetSuite is unlike most software ecosystems where you can only get a license directly from the software vendor, or you can only work with a partner for both licensing software and providing services.

For example, you can choose to work with NetSuite’s direct sales and services team; or you could choose to work with a NetSuite partner, known as a NetSuite Solution Provider.

If you prefer, you can also work with an accounting agency that is affiliated with NetSuite’s BPO program. It’s up to you.

Also, the type of license and model you choose will depend on the size and particular needs of your company; hence the concept of ‘a suite’.

These suites are referred to as NetSuite Limited Edition, NetSuite Mid-Market Edition, and NetSuite Enterprise Edition.

Specifically, these types of editions refer to:

1. NetSuite Limited Edition

This one is ideal for small companies that don’t require more than 10 user licenses, have less than 50 employees, and have a single legal entity.

2. NetSuite Mid-Market Edition

This is an adequate option for companies that require more than 10 users, and/or have two or more legal entities that need to perform financial reports across different currencies.

3. NetSuite Enterprise Edition

The Enterprise edition is designed for big companies, with more than 1,000 named users, who require the most complex tools to carry their business. It provides support for two or more legal entities and includes both CRM and ERP.

Basically, each edition depends on the number of users and employees in your organization.

However, they all share the same code base and implementation model, and are deployed in NetSuite’s multi-tenant public cloud within Oracle data centers.

This means you can modify the type of license you have as your company grows without major complications, simply adjusting your NetSuite subscription type. 

The investments you make in NetSuite today will stay with you.

Besides, you only need a few user licenses to get started with NetSuite. You can add new users at any time throughout your license agreement, and you can also scale back the number of required users during your renewal period.

NetSuite Pricing: Add Ons – Modules

Every business is different, so it’s only natural that every company will have needs beyond the standard features of any edition of NetSuite.

That’s the reason why NetSuite offers several add-on advanced modules that you can choose to license according to your particular business requirements. 

Common NetSuite add on modules include:

• Advanced Financials

• Fixed Assets

• Budgeting & Planning

• Revenue Recognition

• Manufacturing

• WIP & Routing

• Work Orders & Assemblies

• Warehouse Management (WMS)

• Demand Planning

• Project Management

• Resource Allocation

• Job Costing

• Payroll

• SuitePeople (HCM)

• SuiteCommerce (Ecommerce)

These modules can be chosen separately, depending on your preferences, or they can be bundled together in pre-packaged sets that reunite the most used in certain industries (an “Industry Suite”). 

Besides, most NetSuite modules can be subscribed or unsubscribed at any time during the length of your NetSuite subscription term; you can add and remove modules as your business demands it, thanks to this modular license approach. 

Having the flexibility to add and remove modules as your business needs is a huge advantage of this type of software.

The cost of NetSuite advanced modules and industry suites varies depending upon the edition type (NetSuite Limited Edition, NetSuite Mid-Market Edition, and NetSuite Enterprise Edition).

What about NetSuite e-commerce?

NetSuite offers three different natively integrated solutions when it comes to e-commerce software. Briefly, these solutions are the followings:

1. Site Builder

SuiteCommerce Site Builder is the oldest and most widely deployed NetSuite e-commerce product; it has been around for over 10 years. 

Site Builder is technically available for licensing but it is uncommon that it gets implemented today because it is not really responsive or friendly to mobile devices and shopping, which makes it a not so preferred e-commerce solution nowadays.

2. SuiteCommerce Standard

SuiteCommerce Standard is a templated, SaaS- based, e-commerce solution that is natively integrated with NetSuite ERP & CRM. 

This solution is a very good option for companies with a simple product catalog and an easy checkout process since it offers customers a user experience similar to Shopify, limited when it comes to adding unique features and customizations but with the possibility of seamless updates.

3. SuiteCommerce Advanced

SC Advanced is the option to go for big companies, or those who have some complexity within their product catalog, have high transaction volumes, and/or require customizations to their shopping/checkout experience. 

SuiteCommerce Advanced is designed to sell via multiple channels, brands, languages, and currencies within a single platform, allowing your business to perform any activity it needs in what respects to e-commerce.

NetSuite OpenAir pricing

OpenAir is NetSuite’s cloud-based Professional Service Automation (PSA) offering, which provides project accounting, project and resource management, and time and expense management capabilities.

It has been part of NetSuite’s product portfolio since 2008 through acquisition.

The OpenAir offering is highly customizable, so in this case, it is preferable to get in touch with an OpenAir licensing specialist to determine what your requirements are, and so be able to calculate what the cost of your specific OpenAir service might be.

NetSuite SRP Pricing 

Just like NetSuite OpenAir, NetSuite SRP is also a cloud-based Project Management Software.

NetSuite Service Resource Planning (SRP) product consists of the following modules: Project Management (with more features/functionality than the basic offering that comes with the suite), Resource Allocation, and Job Costing. 

All three modules may be independently subscribed to, but when combined they are referred to as NetSuite SRP.

The main difference between NetSuite SRP and NetSuite OpenAir is that NetSuite SRP is 100% native NetSuite built on the NetSuite SuiteCloud platform.

On the other hand, NetSuite OpenAir was part of an acquisition, which means that it’s not native and therefore has a different look.

Besides, OpenAir does require a connector to integrate with NetSuite, while NetSuite SRP doesn’t. 

Both of them are great options depending on the business; NetSuite SRP is ideal for companies that want to run the entire business off a single platform, while NetSuite OpenAir is optimal for larger professional services organizations.

NetSuite Pricing: Implementation and Integration Costs

The implementation of NetSuite will in most cases begin with a discovery and analysis phase of your company, to allow the implementation team to become familiar with your business model and current business processes, to finally be able to identify your needs and define concrete solutions.

There is also the relatively new SuiteSuccess, a package of hours and a fixed time to implement your account in a basic way to be ‘up and running’ in a few weeks.

This phase is really important to make sure that your ERP project will be successful, just as much for the present as for the future.

NetSuite costs are license, implementation, customization, and support

Usually, between 50 to 150 hours are dedicated to gathering and documenting requirements for your NetSuite ERP implementation; and most NetSuite Partners will bill between $150 – $250 per hour for NetSuite consulting. 

This may seem a little pricey, but an investigation well done will maximize your investment and save you from having problems (and spending more money) later!

After that, the configuration and deployment stage will begin.

If the discovery and analysis phase is one-third of the implementation, the configuration and deployment account for two-thirds, which means that the amount of time and money will be equivalent to that fraction. 

Once NetSuite is implemented, it will be necessary to do some customizations to automate processes and/or address gaps with native NetSuite functionality.

You can take two roads to do this: 

1- SuiteScripting, which can be used to automate business processes or write entirely new applications, allowing developers to create flexible business logic.

2- SuiteFlow, which enables users to set up workflows with a point-and-click, drag-and-drop interface, no codes involved.

It is recommended, in any case, to set aside an additional $10-25k budget for customizations. 

Then we have the integration phase. There are also different options for connecting NetSuite with other applications:

1. SuiteTalk

An integration tool that allows NetSuite to be integrated with other legacy applications and Web 2.0 tools. SuiteTalk is available with your NetSuite subscription; the only cost associated with it is the hours required to build and maintain the integration.

2. NetSuite Connectors

Connectors is an application that allows you to connect NetSuite with another application with no need for coding. Connectors are available through several vendors and Celigo and FarApp are the most commonly used connectors in the NetSuite ecosystem today.  

Connectors generally start in a couple of hundred bucks per month and go up from there depending on integration needs. 

3. Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

IPaaS solutions in the NetSuite space include Dell Boomi, Celigo, and Jitterbit. 

Each of these solutions generally starts approximately in several hundred per month to a couple of thousands per month, depending upon the integration needed. 

This kind of solution will generally cost the most, but it tends to be the best option.

So, taking all of this into account (analysis, configuration, deployment, data migration, integration, customization, and training, etc) we could generalize that most companies will spend between $25-75k on their NetSuite implementation, but this always varies according to each company and its peculiarities.

NetSuite Pricing: Support cost

NetSuite technical support is included for free with your NetSuite license subscription. 

However, if your business requires 24/7 access to NetSuite Support, you will need to upgrade to NetSuite Premium Support, which is based on your software contract value. In that case what we recommend is to partner up with a solution provider that can help you grow your business without any delays. Maybe BrokenRubik is the right partner for you? 🙂

An alternative to this is to rely on a NetSuite Solution Provider for on-going NetSuite support & optimization needs; a partner that will have the best information about your business needs and its continuity, which is really helpful.

All of these costs really vary depending on the option you choose and the needs you have, and the kind of subscription you choose.

NetSuite is completely subscription-based.

The subscription can be as short as 12 months, but a longer subscription term allows companies to have certain price predictability.

For maximum price protection & predictability, a 5-year contract term is the best, with a corresponding period that puts limits on price increases at the time of your contract renewal.

So, the truth is, NetSuite costs will vary a lot depending on your business and your needs. 

But that is actually a good thing, because it means that NetSuite is flexible enough to adapt to a lot of different companies and requirements.

To determine your actual cost per use, you’d need to add up the entire cost of the suite, your advanced modules and user licenses, and divide the total by the number of users in your environment.

To determine your cost per month you would need to determine your suite type, necessary advanced modules, support package, and user types and quantity.

If you’re still debating whether NetSuite is right for you, we advise you to get in touch with a NetSuite Solution Provider (like us), who will help you evaluate and negotiate a NetSuite license contract that meets your needs at the best cost. We know this can be tedious and stressful for your business so we’re here to help you make the best decision to achieve your goals.