NetSuite health check is a phrase that can bring about mixed emotions because NetSuite implementations require considerable investments from a financial, time, and/or resource perspective. These can reveal anything from minor scripting inefficiencies to serious implementation errors and data loss. You might not know until a NetSuite Solution Provider takes a look under the hood.
In this blog, we plan to answer a few common questions about NetSuite health checks. If any questions pop up in your mind as you are reading/skimming, please feel free to contact our NetSuite consultants.
Why should we get a NetSuite health check?
Every NetSuite implementation is unique, leaving room for mistakes or inefficiencies that were ignored or not revealed until after you go live. Maybe you weren’t satisfied with your implementation partner, but your company couldn’t afford to delay or pause, so you went live with a partially working NetSuite instance.
There are thousands of reasons for a NetSuite health check, but several common scenarios include:
- Poor implementation and need NetSuite support services
- Improperly formatted integration with third-party systems
- You went live with only financials, and now you need to bring other modules online
- Customizations are not working as expected and need to be re-configured
- Workflows are broken or need to be more efficient
- SuiteCommerce Advanced upgrade
- Maybe NetSuite out of the box is too rigid, and you now need customizations
- Exploring new NetSuite modules and pricing
Luckily, as a NetSuite customer, you already receive bi-annual upgrades from NetSuite to ensure the latest functionalities and security features are enabled. This potentially rules out many challenges of managing your NetSuite instance, but it is still a best practice to get a second opinion from an impartial party.
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How often should we plan to do a NetSuite health check?
A NetSuite health check comes with the territory of being a NetSuite customer and should be a regular part of maintenance schedules. These can be executed by your internal team based on previous experiences and industry best practices. Or, you can seek an outside opinion and review from a NetSuite Solution Provider with relevant industry experience.
Since NetSuite has bi-annual upgrades, it might be prudent to leverage your internal team for smaller health checks before or around this time. These can be done in your sandbox account or during slower hours before the upgrades and often include:
- Inventory or audit of custom scripts and workflows
- Reviewing modules, add-ons, or add-on bundles
- Examining integrations to third-party systems
- Inspecting child/parent relationships and mapping
- Double-checking custom reports, save searches, and dashboard configurations
- And much more.
Your internal team can also conduct more in-depth health checks annually or if your business is seasonal before peak season.
You should consider conducting more in-depth health checks annually or before peak season. Another common practice is to get a health check before a sizable upgrade or new integration.
If your company has the budget, it could be beneficial to work with a third-party NetSuite Solution Provider every once in a while. Especially if that Solution Provider has an award-winning pedigree.
Should we hire a NetSuite Solution Provider to execute these?
Well, it depends. Working with a NetSuite Solution Provider is a wise investment for many reasons, but you might not have the budget, or your internal team could be more than capable. It also depends on the type of NetSuite health check you are looking to perform.
Is it routine or a full-scale health check?
Is it a quick check on customizations and workflows after an upgrade, or are you trying to resolve an integration issue that is puzzling your team?
One guarantee when you work with a NetSuite Solution Provider is that you will have a fresh set of eyes to examine your implementation or issue. Regardless of who you choose, this company should take the time to fully understand your business, your implementation, customizations, requirements, and performance expectations.
This NetSuite Solution Provider should also recommend solutions that work best for your company, not their bottom line.
At SuiteCentric, we take this approach to every NetSuite health check, implementation, and project. Our goal is to help your company get the most out of NetSuite, so it can support your goals and long-term growth.
Let us know if you are interested in a health check from our award-winning team with more than 70 years of combined ERP consulting and user experience.