NetSuite vs QuickBooks: Features, Pricing Scalability and Comparison for US Businesses

Stop Outgrowing 
Your Own Software 

There are many different reasons why growing is too hard, but there is one reason that can hurt an organization progressively over time, and that is financial failure. This type of failure happens when many things (even things recorded) have already taken on a completely different meaning than the one that you created for them; therefore, they will ultimately have a negative effect on your organization. They are hidden with your finance team late at night/month-end closing periods that take you three to four days yet somehow take you three to four weeks. 
 

Two Very Distinct Tools for Two Very Distinct Purposes 
 

QuickBooks is designed to do an amazing job earning QuickBooks users' respect. For the single founder who wants to record their expenses through QuickBooks, the mom-and-pop shop that manages payroll through QuickBooks, or the professional service firm that wants the right accounting records from QuickBooks without the need for a dedicated financial professional, they will all agree that QuickBooks does an incredible job. QuickBooks was built to make it easier for people to manage their financials, and QuickBooks does this exceptionally well. 
 
NetSuite was built to solve an entirely different type of problem (financial data integrity). It is a cloud-native ERP, which not only allows for the recording of transactions that have already occurred within your company, but also provides your leadership team with real-time insights into what your company is doing at any given time.  
 
It connects all the different entities (e.g., financials, inventory, fulfillment, customer relationship management (CRM), and human resources) through a single data environment so that nothing gets lost from one department to another. 
 

"Most businesses mistakenly compare QuickBooks and NetSuite, but it is a mistake to do so. One is a launch pad. The other is a launch point from which serious scaling occurs." 
 

• NetSuite ERP 

Successful (given all of the types of businesses/sales processes) in providing operational complexity in a unified platform; therefore, all entities, currencies, departments, and regulatory compliance requirements can scale from this one platform. 
 

• QuickBooks 

Successful (given for its lack of resources) in providing clarity at an entry level for bookkeeping and tax return processing, as well as for billing, invoicing, payroll, and filing/claiming income tax returns. 

The Quiet Moment QuickBooks Stops Working for You 

Growth is never an obvious thing. It happens gradually, like the accumulation of friction. 

What begins as a simple workaround or manual export can eventually lead to having two separate QuickBooks accounts for each of your companies after you open a new subsidiary and having to reconcile them by hand every month.  
 
Then you have another chance. The addition of SaaS revenue, and compliance with ASC 606 obligations, turns into a full-time job that is far too burdensome for QuickBooks to adapt to. 
 
QuickBooks has not failed; it remains exactly like it was intended to. The issue is that the business has continually outgrown the physical architecture on which QuickBooks was built. Every quarter that you remain using QuickBooks only takes up your operational realities and increases your distance from the necessary data required to operate your business. 

• As an indication of this growing problem, the finance department experiences monthly time frames of greater than 5 days required to close the books. 

• It is common practice to run multiple legal entities to facilitate mergers or acquisitions, or even just expand a current type of operation. 

• Each of these entities that currently operate independently from each other typically have different practices for recognizing revenue based on specific criteria under ASC 606 regulations. 

• The CFO of the organization spends more time trying to obtain ready-to-use data from 3 different department managers to prepare the final board report each month. 

• Data relating to inventory and fulfillment is often housed in a completely different system from the QuickBooks application, which leads to additional manual work and effort to provide accurate data for decision-making processes. 
   

If there are three or more instances of the above reference data points currently active in your organization, it should be noted that it is your QuickBooks software application that is creating obstacles or bottlenecks, rather than those individuals who utilize the application. 

What NetSuite ERP Implementation Actually Changes 

When people start talking about NetSuite, they share module lists and dashboard screenshots. They are missing the smarter conversation, which starts with understanding how every function interacting with all other functions on a single system change everything from an operations perspective. 
 

An example of this would be your Sales Team closing a deal. The fulfillment department can see that the sale has been closed immediately. Finance recognizes that the revenue is generated correctly per ASC 606 in real time based on whatever currency and entity is applicable to that sale. The CFO can pull out a consolidated view of the company's performance before a board meeting and not chase anyone for a single number. This is not just an upgrade in technology. This is a structural change in how quickly your company can operate. 
 

Implementing NetSuite ERP solutions for growing businesses usually takes 3-6 months, depending on how complex their operations are. Most companies partner with a certified implementation partner to expedite the process and configure workflows to their specific industry. The initial investment being made should be thought of as replacing manual reconciliations, slowing down decision-making processes, and eliminating the errors that typically appear only during audits. 

An Honest Look at What Each Platform Actually Costs 

If you only look at the monthly costs of a solution, you won’t know how much time your team spends on them or what they do to offset increased velocity by all teams of the business.  

• QuickBooks Online  

$35 - $235/month (low entry cost) - tiered pricing with clearly noted costs, low implementation cost due to no deviation from "standard" or "manual" processing. However, due to the complexity of processes, manual processing tends to increase volume/accumulation rate as more processes are added. Therefore, as volume increases (user, module, 'fixed cost'), the slope or rate of change for the variable cost/fixed cost to create a new fixed cost diverges rapidly.  

• NetSuite ERP
  
$999+ (high entry cost) - license-based but grows with you (user and module scalability). Also provides elimination of the accumulated fixed cost associated with QuickBooks' variable costs. At some point (typically at $5M-$10M), the average 'CEO/CFO' of QuickBooks gives up on their 'business the float' of variable costs for all and implements a strategy of 'growing' the average 'CEO/CFO' of the accounting system they previously relied on.   

The Call You Are Actually Making 

This isn't a technology choice; this is a gamble on where the future of your company will be heading. 
 

If your business has a low operating expense rate, a simple corporate structure, and small business growth aspirations, QuickBooks is likely the right answer for you. There is nothing shameful about saying that. It is inexpensive, well-supported, and delivers more than you need. 
 

When your company's growth rate is outpacing $5 million in revenue, and your CFO has already sacrificed too many weekends because of manual processing, and your board wants to see real-time results, the limitation in your organization is your current software solution. You will find that NetSuite is here specifically for you to use as you continue to grow and succeed. 
 

The businesses that achieve sustained growth and profitability do not wait for their systems to fail before they invest in updating their technology; instead, they will invest before they have problems with their technology.