How Much Does NetSuite Cost?

I am often asked – how much does NetSuite Cost? When looking for inspiration for my blogs recently, I was advised to consider creating content with real value.  “Answer the questions you most often get asked”, I was told.

If I go back through all the customer query forms which have been completed via our site, in almost every occasion it has distilled down to this single question:

How much will it cost me?

Is it up your street?

Let me make an analogy.  Imagine you walked into an Estate Agent and said, “I need to buy a house.  How much will it cost me?” What kind of response might that illicit?  We all know that house prices vary greatly depending upon things such as square footage, number of rooms, condition of property and,of course, location.  My house might be small but expensive and driven by my need to be near a good school for example.  Or perhaps I want a bigger house in a different area because square footage is more important to me.  No two houses will cost the same or be fit for purpose for any two buyers.

How much does it cost you to NOT have NetSuite?

Really the first question you should be asking is “How will NetSuite help me?”  The cost can become insignificant in any case when you start to weigh up the justification against things such as: time spent on manual processing, duplication of effort, inaccurate information, poor business intelligence and so on.

Before you consider a solution like NetSuite, or any ERP, talk to a partner about the following:

• What software is it replacing (if any)
• What must it ABSOLUTELY do  (as opposed to nice-to-have functionality)
• How many people will be using the software and what are their roles?

The price of NetSuite – or any software for that matter- will typically depend upon answering the above as a bare minimum.  It’s the software equivalent of “how many rooms” and “location of property”

So…how much DOES NetSuite cost

Well, NetSuite’s price depends on a handful of factors including the selected product configuration, add-on modules required, total user count and contract duration. It is a modular and verticalised software – which means that you can buy different versions of the software depending upon your business sector and then bolt on extra functionality. In addition to licensing costs, you will want to budget for services such as implementation. Typically, these costs are anywhere from 80-200% of year one software licensing costs, based on complexity of the project.

And NetSuite offers incentives.

So the answer is…it depends.

BUT, a single user CRM will cost somewhere in the region of £1k per annum and a full SRP (Services Resource Planninng) with Project Planning, Resource Allocation and Job Costing for 35 people will retail at about £65k per annum (before negotiation).

Modules such as Advanced Financials, Advanced Inventory, Fixed Assets or Incentive Compensation typically add about £5.5k to your annual bill (again prior to discounts).  But, if your FD is spending one day a week wrestling with spreadsheets to work out basic business intelligence…perhaps a module which automates the process is worth it.

My advice would always be to see the software in action before qualifying it in or out of your shortlist. That way you will know with relative certainty whether the software will be an expense or a cost saving.  Talk to your partner about helping you build a cost benefit analysis.

The key is to get the correct configuration of the software and then use whatever bargaining power you have to negotiate the best deal with your software provider.  You can get advice and help directly from NetSuite or from a NetSuite reseller and Partner like us.

I hope this blog gives you the answer to how much NetSuite cost?

P.S.  Don’t forget to factor in your implementation costs as well!

Written by Alison Auld Marketing Manager at Cofficient (VAR Partners of NetSuite and SAP ByD)

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