Who is ZERONORTH?

ZeroNorth is a technology company that develops digital solutions designed to help the global shipping industry cut emissions and reduce its impact on the climate, whilst improving commercial performance and maximizing earnings.

The company was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Today, ZeroNorth has more than 200 employees in 5 more locations besides HQ, namely India, Bulgaria, Singapore, Greece and the USA.

 

The reason for change

From its vision to optimise the global shipping industry and fueled by a $50 million Series B investment in 2022, ZeroNorth needed to scale fast while maintaining control over its growth and continue to operate in an agile way. The strategic decision was taken mid 2022 to insource all accounting operations to regain full control, where this had been managed previously by an external service provider. ZeroNorth selected NetSuite as the central hub for all information on projects and products, employees, customers as well as vendors. All invoicing processes including advanced revenue recognition scenarios needed to be automated. Other domains included in this digital transformation project were intercompany management, fixed assets with lease accounting, and multi-GAAP and multi-tax accounting for 5 companies in 4 countries.

Why choosing NetSuite, and why Novutech as a partner?

The main reasons why ZeroNorth selected NetSuite as their ERP solution, were:

• A cloud-based ERP system implemented fast and deployed globally across all entities.
• A full suite of financial and accounting modules including multi-tax, multi-GAAP and multi-currency
• Fully automated intercompany management and financial consolidation
• Unlimited scalability to support the projected exponential growth of the business and its needs
• NetSuite has a rich set of business processes built-in, removing the need to “build from scratch” and allows for extremely rapid implementation
• Third-party systems integration capabilities based on standard APIs and web technology

The ZeroNorth team spent a few months researching and talking to Finance leaders within the fast growing SaaS network in Copenhagen. From this analysis, Novutech was identified as a strong candidate to become ZeroNorth’s NetSuite implementation partner, and soon after meeting in person with the Novutech team, the decision became final. From the first encounter throughout the entire project, it felt to ZeroNorth as if the Novutech consultants were an extension of their own team. The Novutech team acted as sparring partners, challenging initial requirements and design options, to ensure the right decisions were taken for ZeroNorth’s context and company.

About the NetSuite implementation

Based on their extensive technical NetSuite knowledge and expertise on how to run an ERP operationally day to day, the Novutech team guided ZeroNorth’s project team towards an ERP configuration exactly fit for purpose. Included in the primary implementation were a few third-party-built SuiteApps, like Zone & Co’s Bank Reconciliation and AP Automation, a.o., where Novutech acted as intermediary to the supplier and supported ZeroNorth during the implementation.  

With the first phase of the ERP project now live, phase 2 is to be kicked off after the summer of 2023 and will include enhancements like a Salesforce CPQ integration, advanced billing, planning and budgeting and additional localizations as the company expands internationally.

“Throughout the entire project, from scoping through to go-live, the Novutech team have been professional, diligent, incredibly communicative and very flexible, leading us through to live operations exactly as scheduled in the original project plan, despite the company changing and growing constantly in the same period.”

Kelly Marie Møllgaard, VP of Accounting & Control

“We chose NetSuite to be our new inhouse ERP system, mainly because of the need for ZeroNorth to scale fast globally as well as continue to work agile and flexible.”

Marinela Draganova, Accounting Manager

Do you want to know more about our expertise and how we run NetSuite implementations? Contact us!

Background

After a long, cold and dark winter, spring is finally here. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and most importantly : NetSuite has released its first yearly update. From accounting to user interface and authentication enhancements, this brand new release will for sure meet or exceed our expectations. And if you ever feel lost in this rampant forest of updates and new features : don’t worry, Novutech has picked up some of these finest spring flowers and made a delicate NetSuite bouquet for you to enjoy.

Advanced Revenue Management Period Close Checklist Tasks Enhancements

Starting with the accounting features, NetSuite has introduced two additional tasks for the Period Close checklist. The first task, "Recognize Revenue," allows you to generate revenue recognition journal entries. The second task, "Reclassify Revenue," enables you to create revenue reclassification journal entries. These processes can be run at any time, and you can mark them as complete if you somehow don’t want to run them.

Enhancements to Carve In/Carve Out Adjustment Journal Entries

NetSuite has moreover made improvements to its revenue arrangement management, specifically when it comes to the carve in/carve out adjustment for reclassification processes that have over 1,000 lines. Instead of dividing a single revenue arrangement across multiple carve in/carve out adjustment journals, NetSuite does not split any revenue arrangement across multiple carve in/carve out adjustment journals, which do improve readability.  However, the line limits for reclassification journal entries remain unchanged. If a reclassification journal entry goes beyond 1,000 lines, the system will still generate multiple entries.

Expense Commitments and Budget Validation Enhancements

The Expense Commitments and Budget Validation SuiteApp version 1.1.2 has been updated to include the following enhancements: Roll Over Budget: Users can now carry forward any unused budget from the previous budget period to the current period by selecting the "Roll Over Budget" option in the Primary Information section of the expense record. Support for Different Budget Methods: The SuiteApp has expanded its budget methods beyond just Monthly. The updated version supports Quarterly, Yearly, and Custom budget methods. However, for the Custom method, users must manually enter the start and end dates.

Personal Information Removal Enhancements for Addresses

Looking at account setup and maintenance, the new release also comes with a bunch of exciting features. First, NetSuite has made the process of anonymizing personal information faster and easier for users who are concerned about their personal data. Here are some key updates that have been made to the system: Shipping/Billing Address:  Instead of selecting individual fields to remove personal information, users can now select the Shipping Address and Billing Address fields to anonymize all corresponding fields. This change applies to all address fields, including Shipping Address Country, Override, Shipping Address State, Shipping Address Zip Code, Shipping Address is Residential, Billing Address is Residential, Ship To, Shipping Address, Vendor, and Billing Address. Fields for Tax & Shipping Calculations: Fields used for tax and shipping calculations, such as Country, Subdivision, Postal Code, and City, can no longer be removed with PI (personal information) removal requests. While these fields do not contain any personal information, they might still be necessary for future financial audits. Transactions in Closed Periods: Users can now create PI removal requests for addresses used in transactions from closed accounting periods. In recent privacy laws, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the right to be forgotten has become a crucial requirement. To enhance compliance with privacy regulations, NetSuite offers the Personal Information Removal feature, which allows the removal of Personal Information data from record field values, notes logs, and workflow history. A user can use this feature without having to contact NetSuite Customer Support. The feature also replaces the Audit Trail History field value with a user-defined message, but does not remove the Audit Trail History logs.

Subscribe to a Specific Data Center from the NetSuite Status Page

To stay informed about updates or issues related to specific data centers, you can subscribe to the NetSuite Service Status Page updates via email or phone. Simply select the data center for which you want to receive incident reports and click on the "Subscribe to Updates" button. This will enable you to receive newsletters that will keep you updated on any developments regarding your chosen data center(s).

Scheduled Scripts No Longer Run Automatically in Sandbox After a Refresh

After a refresh, scheduled scripts that were originally set up in production will no longer run automatically in a sandbox account as they are account-specific. It is therefore necessary to configure them separately in the sandbox account.

End of Support for HMAC-SHA1 Signature Method for TBA

Looking at authentication processes, it’s worth mentioning that the HMAC-SHA1 signature method for Token-based Authentication (TBA) will no longer be supported. This means that integrations using the TBA feature with HMAC-SHA1 will stop working, including third-party integrations. The recommended signature method is now HMAC-SHA256 and you must update the authorization header to use it.

End of Support for New SMS/Voice Call Setup for 2FA

After March 1, 2023, the SMS/Voice Call option for Two-factor authentication (2FA) setup will no longer be available as well. Users who need to set up 2FA after this date will only be able to use an authenticator app. This change will not affect existing 2FA setups or backup codes. This is because SMS/Voice Call is susceptible to interception and breaches, and is also affected by service provider and signal problems.

Improved CSV Bank Statement File Parsing

Version 23.1.0 of Bank Statement Parsers SuiteApp has automated the removal of time, time zone, and footer from CSV bank statement files before importing. This reduces the errors typically caused by manual editing. Additionally, users can configure the parser to automatically remove footer lines and specify the number of lines to remove under the Parser Configuration subtab.

Invoice Groups Feature Updates

Looking at the order management features, invoice grouping is from now on only allowed for invoices using the same A/R account. A new read-only Account field has been added to the Invoice Group record, Invoice Groups list page, and Group Invoices page to indicate the A/R account used in an invoice group. The Account field can also be used as a search criterion in the Invoice Group Search page and a criterion in the invoice group dataset in SuiteAnalytics.

Menu Search Feature Updates

User interface will also be slightly improved. The Menu Search feature in global search now includes search results from the Navigation Menu. The search results appear in a Current Page Results section, and searches include all fields, tabs, and subtabs on the current NetSuite form. To view Current Page Results without using the global search, press Alt+Shift+G.

New Preference to Display Inline Editor Sublist Tooltip 

While editing an inline sublist, tooltips displaying the column name will pop up when hovering over a cell. It is now possible to control whether these tooltips appear or not by selecting or deselecting the "Sublist Column Name Tooltip" option in the Appearance subtab of the Home > Set Preferences menu.

Conclusion

NetSuite 2023.1 release has truly set the bar high for cloud-based business software. With an array of exciting new features and improvements, users can expect a smoother, more streamlined experience than ever before. And for those complaining about the minor updates, Vincent Van Gogh once said : “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together…”  For a complete review of this new release, please report to the release notes documentation which can be found on Oracle’s website. 

Did you know that…  

Each NetSuite Release actually occurs in four phases from Mid-January until Mid-April for the first release. You typically would also get an email notification sent to the address(es) configured in your administrative notification settings

• Your Release Preview environment is typically made available about one month before your scheduled upgrade. However, from our experience, you can get it earlier in the release cycle by simply requesting (via Setup >> Company >> Release Preview).
• In addition to requesting a Release Preview (RP) account for your Production account, it is also possible to request a separate Release Preview account for each of your Sandbox accounts.
• Similar to the Sandbox refresh, you can request for a fresh snapshot of your Production data to be pushed to your Release Preview environment. 
• The Sandbox environment also gets upgraded but typically not on the same day as Production.

Background

In its day-to-day operations, a company must offer different prices for its products depending on the customer and the product itself. For example, separate price levels can be set for retail and wholesale customers or a standard price with discounts for students and seniors can be established. NetSuite's item pricing feature allows for the creation of specific pricing levels, pricing groups, and quantity pricing. This article provides an overview of these features and guides on how to utilize them, as well as an example of customization beyond the standard pricing features.

Functionalities

Price level

The first solution offered by NetSuite is the use of price levels. This feature allows for different prices to be set for the same item. These price levels can be applied on sales orders or invoices and can be used to make adjustments to the base price in real-time.  The price levels can be created in the accounting list and are determined by a base price, which can then be adjusted with a discount or markup.   The price level created can be found on the item record within the Sales/Pricing tab. The base price is the standard price for an item, and once a base price is entered for the item, the various price levels will be automatically calculated based on the previously established discounts. Once the setting has been made on the item, the price level can be selected and applied to the transactions.

Assigning a Price Level to a Customer

NetSuite also allows for the default assignment of a specific price level to a customer for a specific item. This means that when a transaction is created for that customer, the designated price level will automatically be applied, as long as it has been set on the item. To assign a price level to a customer, go to the Financial tab of the customer record, select the item and the desired price level, and then save the changes.

Pricing Group

Background

The second solution offered by NetSuite is the use of pricing groups. This feature allows for more specific pricing for customers by grouping related products together. Pricing groups can be set up in the accounting lists by giving them a name. Once defined, the pricing group will appear on the item records under the Sales and Pricing tab. An item can be assigned to a pricing group to create additional granularity in the price structure. On the customer record, NetSuite also allows for the assignment of a "price level" to a pricing group. When the customer orders items from that group, the designated price level will automatically be applied to the orders and invoices, independent of the price level assigned to the customer. To add a pricing group to a customer record, navigate to the Finance tab, scroll to the bottom of the page, then click on the Price Group sub-tab. Select a pricing group and assign a price level to it, this will override the price level assigned to the customer record for items within that group.

Quantity Pricing

Background

Another solution offered by NetSuite is "quantity pricing". This feature allows for the automatic application of varying prices for items based on the quantity sold. This enables the offering of discounts to customers who purchase in bulk. The Price/Quantity matrix can be set directly on the item record. When using price levels, the quantity discounts for each level will be automatically displayed when setting the base price. A pricing schedule quantity can also be created in the accounting list.  NetSuite allows you to enter different discounts depending on the quantity and the price level. The pricing schedule by quantity created can be established on the item record in the Sales and Pricing tab. By entering the pricing schedule, the matrix will be automatically filled in. The marginal rates box can also be checked to apply the quantity discounts to each price tier separately. For example, if 15 items are ordered, items 1-9 will be sold at full price, and items 10-15 will be sold at a discounted price. The marginal rates box can be unchecked to apply the discount to all items in the order when 10 or more items are sold. NetSuite also offers the option to choose the Quantity Discounts option to determine how items are taken into account for the quantity discount. The options available include: 

• Quantity by Line
• Overall Item Quantity
• By Parent Item Overall Quantity
• By Schedule Aggregate Quantity

Custom Sales Pricing

For some of our customers, a custom solution is required to meet their needs. This is the case with one of our long time customers, Solar Screen. The standard group pricing needs to be extended with a Discount percentage to allow a fixed discount percentage on top of a custom Price Level. By means of a custom script, this percentage will be shown on the sales order and the correct price will be calculated.

Background

NetSuite's item pricing feature allows for creation of price levels, pricing groups and quantity pricing. Price levels can be applied on sales orders or invoices, and can be set for different customers. Pricing groups allow for more specific pricing by grouping related products together. Quantity pricing enables automatic application of varying prices based on quantity sold, allowing for bulk discounts. These features can be set up and managed in the Sales/Pricing and Financial tabs of the customer and item records. And if the standard item pricing features of NetSuite do not meet the unique needs of a customer’s business, then a custom solution can be created using scripting or any of the other SuiteCloud extensibility options.

In short

• Price levels: different prices for same item, can be applied on sales orders or invoices, adjustments to the base price in real-time
• Pricing groups: more specific pricing for customers by grouping related products together
• Quantity pricing: automatic application of varying prices based on quantity sold, allowing for bulk discounts

Founded in 2019, the Belgian start-up Novutech – a partner NetSuite  for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the cloud – is growing fast. The specialist in ERP implementations and optimizations will have generated €2.7 million in 2022, an increase of no less than 68% compared  with 2021. With the acquisition of the NetSuite business of Fast Four in the Benelux, Novutech is reinforcing its ambitions, positioning itself as a true NetSuite expert, and moving up into the top 3 NetSuite partners in Europe.

A deal in line with Novutech’s ambitions

The acquisition of Fast Four's NetSuite business is an important step for Novutech. It enables the company to double in size in terms of customers and consultants as well as to expand its NetSuite service offering in the Dutch market.¹ This acquisition brings many benefits, including an acceleration of the international development and use of NetSuite as Cloud EPR solution, new partnerships and a boost in terms of skills and experience in the company. These significant winning assets will ensure not only rapid innovation and continuous product improvement, but also optimal customer service and an attractive working environment for consultants. "We are delighted to have eighteen additional NetSuite experts on our team, which previously boasted 30 consultants. We have become the largest team of NetSuite consultants in Europe in one fell swoop. Some sixty Fast Four clients have been added to our portfolio. Our staff already help more than one hundred and twenty NetSuite customers every day," says  Maxime Lothe, co-founder of Novutech. Jan Snyers, responsible for the NetSuite business at Fast Four and now working at Novutech: "We are really delighted to be part of this great family of ambitious entrepreneurs. I am looking forward to working with them and contributing to this development." From now on Novutech not only provides NetSuite services, but has become a reseller of the software licences in the Benelux. The advantage for customers is that they have only one point of contact, irrespective of their needs in terms of licences, installation, development or training.

A bright future lies ahead

Novutech intends to build on this momentum in the coming years. The main goal for 2023, however is make sure that the new business activities are successful. "Our priority is to consolidate all our business activities and to harmonize the operation of all our entities so as to provide bespoke service. Customer satisfaction is paramount," says Frédéric Szikora, co-founder of Novutech. It is crucial for Novutech, a company that is both ambitious and pragmatic, first to take the time needed for a successful integration, and only then move on to new phases of development. This is particularly true for a growing market like Cloud ERP.   About Novutech Founded in 2019 by specialists from the sector, Novutech has quickly grown into a leading cloud partner in Europe. The company provides high-quality cloud ERP services. With a team of specialized consultants and broad experience in training and skills, Novutech supports companies in their digital transformation using the NetSuite ERP solution. For more information: Jan Poté WMH Project Brussels j.pote@vmhproject.be +32 475 92 55 82

If you’re just beginning to consider adopting an ERP system, one of your first questions is likely how this software can help your business. An ERP system serves as a central database for your entire company, offering valuable reporting potential and numerous ways to increase productivity and lower costs across your organization. Those are a few of the key reasons to invest in ERP, but we’re here to help you understand what this technology can do for a business like yours. What capabilities will this system give your business that it doesn’t currently have? How will the technology lower costs and facilitate growth? We’re here to help by breaking down 15 advantages ERP can provide for your business in detail.

15 Benefits and Advantages of ERP

While the concept behind an ERP system is straightforward — unifying all departments and their information on a single system — the benefits are vast. Here are 15 of the most notable advantages an ERP system offers:

1. Data Security

   Data has become a prized possession for businesses because it’s so critical to making the best possible decisions, and ERP software can help protect that asset. The fact that all this data is in one place, rather than spread across multiple systems with varying levels of security, increases the level of protection. It replaces spreadsheets and other documents sitting on employees’ desktops and being passed around via email. With a cloud ERP system, your information is typically distributed across multiple remote servers to establish redundancies and protect against a single point of failure, adding another layer of security. This is especially important if your company handles a lot of sensitive customer data. In another sense, an ERP system can increase data security by limiting who can view and edit data. Most systems have permissions that are easy to control, ensuring employees only see the information they need to and reducing opportunities for fraud or other nefarious activities.

2. Standardized/Centralized Data

   Much of the value of ERP can be traced back to the fact that all information from different departments is stored in one place. Without such a system, data is often spread far and wide across an organization in various applications and spreadsheets, making it harder for staff to track down whatever it is they need. Additionally, this approach often results in duplicate data in inconsistent formats, posing more challenges. An ERP system can help with that, too, by standardizing all your critical data. Since it’s all in one system, everything will be in the same format so you don’t run into issues when running reports or analytics. Standardized information allows you to get all the insights you need to make more informed decisions that help the business save as much time and money as possible.

3. Compliance

   Having accurate, up-to-date records that are easy to find and searchable can really reduce the work required to comply with any regulations your company must adhere to. Customizable reporting tools within the software also make it far easier to track compliance and adjust as necessary. This makes you much more auditable, as well, because all the information an auditor might need to review is easily accessible. Certain ERP systems can even support specific financial standards like GAAP or regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The best solutions will also update to reflect any changes to these regulations so you remain compliant. Staying compliant can quickly become difficult, especially if you’re in a highly regulated industry, but ERP makes it much more feasible.

4. Increased Productivity

   There are countless ways an ERP system can give a major boost to productivity. One way is that it automates many basic, repetitive tasks, freeing up employees to work on other projects that bring more value to the organization. It can also allow them to complete a variety of tasks faster by making processes more straightforward and reducing the time spent searching for the information they need. Since employees have visibility into the entire company, they don’t have to ask around for a specific set of data or details on how certain processes work. Greater productivity also means you don’t have to add to headcount as much as would be necessary without an ERP platform. By removing a significant amount of work from the plates of employees, they can then take on new tasks and focus on projects that use their true skills and expertise.

5. Visibility

   Visibility is another one of the broad, fundamental benefits of ERP — everyone having visibility into various aspects of the business is a powerful thing. It enables faster and better decisions because managers have all relevant context that can assist them. For example, if the purchasing team can see the status of in-transit purchase orders that have not yet reached the warehouse, they can factor that into the orders they’re about to submit to avoid excess or insufficient stock. Visibility into the status of processes and data managed by other teams ultimately helps all teams and individual contributors do their jobs better. It also eliminates the time and effort spent trying to simply find this information.

6. Scalability

   The beauty of leading ERP systems is that you can use the functionality you need now while leaving the door open to add more capabilities down the road. In that sense, the system can scale with your business as it grows and evolves. You can also add new users as your teams grow. There’s no need to get a new ERP solution just because your business has changed — even in big ways — since you implemented the existing system. If your business has rapid growth plans, a cloud ERP system will provide the most scalability. Since cloud systems run on remote servers, it’s a cinch to add the extra resources needed to keep the solution running smoothly — far easier than handling that yourself. That reduces the work put on IT and can eliminate the need to hire a team of technical experts.

7. Mobility

   Employees have become very comfortable using smartphones and tablets instead of computers to complete many tasks, and in light of that trend, today’s ERP systems are mobile-friendly. Since users access cloud systems through the web, they can pull up all the dashboards, reports and other information they need to see in a mobile browser. Many vendors now have mobile apps, as well, that can provide a better user experience on smaller screens. For some companies, mobility is not just a nice-to-have but a need-to-have. They may have workers in the field or employees who travel frequently and must be able to see an up-to-date view of their business from devices other than a computer. These employees can also take care of critical tasks like approvals and monitoring cash flow (AR and AP) when they have a mobile-friendly ERP solution.

8. Cost Savings

   For business owners and leaders, the most convincing reason to buy an ERP system is that it lowers overall costs, often in a big way. The automation we’ve already discussed can reduce or even wipe out many administrative and operational costs. Manual data entry or processes that require long paper trails, for instance, are often eliminated with this software. All the insights this software can provide mean ample opportunity for other cost savings. The ability to monitor the pulse of your organization in one place means you can quickly identify the source of higher expenses, which makes it much easier to reduce costs. Additionally, the improvements to planning that an ERP system enables should prevent rush orders, over-production or over-ordering, all of which can drive up costs. There are countless ways an ERP system can reduce your costs, which is why these solutions often have a fast ROI.

9. Organized Workflows

   As you go through an ERP implementation, it’s a good idea to work with an expert on your system to evaluate processes and determine if there’s a better way to complete that task in the new system. Often, work is done a certain way because that’s how it’s been done for years, not because it’s the best option. So an ERP can help in that way, cutting out steps and making other improvements to make it faster and easier to get things done. Much like an ERP standardizes data, it also standardize workflows. The way one department handles a certain process may differ from that of another department. Even two employees within the AP department may not follow the same steps to make payments, for example. An ERP system should eradicate those discrepancies, ensuring everyone is following the same best practices.

10. Real-time Reporting

    Reporting is without question one of the biggest and most immediate benefits of using an ERP system. The possibilities are endless with the ability to customize reporting across all functions — finance, inventory, orders, procurement, sales and marketing, HR and anything else you can dream up. Whatever you want to measure, or whatever KPIs matter most to your company, an ERP solution can calculate it. You can not only track the performance of different components of the business, but also compare departments to understand what’s driving the business forward and what’s holding it back. It’s essential that your report reflects the latest data, and that’s why real time is so important. If it takes two weeks to receive revenue numbers from the last quarter, that’s not very useful because the information is already outdated and may not be relevant. But if revenue totals update in real time, as each sale happens, you can immediately use it to inform decision-making. This has become critical in today’s fast-paced, hyper-competitive environment.

11. Operational Efficiency

    An ERP solution increases efficiency across your organization since it touches every piece of the business. Everyone from recruiters to warehouse managers to C-level executives should see improvements that help them thanks to greater automation and availability of information. Processes become less time-intensive, which often benefits not just the company, but customers as well. That can reduce operating costs in a big way and generate higher profits. Consider a manufacturer that makes 10 products and has an average profit margin of 20%. With an ERP system, it can easily spot its least profitable products, then work through the data to find that labor costs are much higher for the two items with the lowest margins. After talking to staff, the company discovers that most of the work that goes into making those items is manual and time-consuming. So the manufacturer decides to purchase a piece of machinery that can automate the production of those goods and sees its average profit margin climb to 25%. Just like that, the ERP software has saved the business hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

12. Better Customer Service

    Just about every business is competing with other businesses for the same customers. That’s why the customer experience is so crucial, and much of that is shaped by the level of customer service a company can provide. An ERP helps companies step up their service because it puts all customer information, from contact details to order history to support cases, in one place. That facilitates faster solutions and a more personalized experience when customers do need assistance. And an ERP system can improve your level of service in another way: more accurate inventory and order information mean customers will almost always receive the right items and orders arrive on time. Limiting those issues will keep your customers happy and increase the chances they turn into repeat buyers.

13. Collaboration

    So many of the benefits we’ve already covered here facilitate collaboration. Visibility into the way other teams work and what information they’re looking at makes it far easier to work hand-in-hand and for staff to reach out proactively when they see an opportunity to help colleagues. No longer are teams operating on an island and using applications that only they have access to and that aren’t integrated with other back-end systems. When employees communicate more frequently and work together, the entire business benefits. Together, they may uncover duplicate work that can be eliminated or brainstorm better ways to take care of daily processes. Lapses in communication or unawareness of what others are working on only leads to problems, but an ERP solution helps prevent those.

14. Flexibility

    ERP platforms are designed to work for companies of all shapes and sizes, which is why the top providers have built deep flexibility into their systems. That flexibility allows users to tailor the system to meet their specific requirements, like unique processes or uncommon metrics. This ability to satisfy your exact requirements is the same reason ERP systems can be complex, but one is not really possible without the other. This flexibility is especially important as your business evolves over time. The most efficient workflows and KPIs may change over time, and this flexibility means the system can still work for your business — there’s no need to replace it.

15. Accurate Forecasting

    Your business can only be prepared for what’s coming if it knows what to expect. That’s where forecasting comes in: it uses a wide range of historical data and sometimes other inputs to predict future demand, revenue, expenses and other numbers. Forecasts are much more accurate once you’re running an ERP system because they’re based on more accurate and comprehensive information, since all that data is now in one place. More accurate forecasts mean you can make the appropriate preparations for what is likely to happen. If sales are expected to climb 30%, you can strategically purchase more inventory or, if you’re a services business, hire more employees with the skills where you expect increased demand. If costs are expected to climb at a higher rate than sales, you can start looking for ways to cut back expenses. Ultimately, better forecasts can help organizations both make more money (by having all the necessary resources available) and lower costs (by not overspending in the wrong places).

Choosing an ERP System

The right ERP system for your business should at least offer the potential to realize all of the benefits we’ve listed here. As you evaluate solutions from different providers, put in the research and ask questions to find out what type of advantages it would offer your company specifically. The best ERP platform for your business will of course vary depending on the specifics of your company, including its size, industry, business model and future goals. What ERP modules would be the biggest difference-makers now, and which might make sense to add down the road? Ensure the system can not only address your needs today, but has the scalability and flexibility to support your organization’s growth and shifting priorities. With that in mind, cloud ERP systems are the best option for a lot of companies. More than half of companies chose cloud ERP software over an on-premises system, and adoption is only going up. Cloud systems greatly reduce the workload put on a company because it doesn’t have to purchase or maintain the hardware the system runs on. SaaS ERP presents even more advantages, as the vendor takes care of all system maintenance and upgrades in addition to hosting the solution. NetSuite is one of the leading vendors of SaaS ERP, with more than 28,000 customers around the globe. With NetSuite ERP, companies can manage their entire business on a single platform. NetSuite has solutions for accounting, inventory management, order management, production, supply chain, commerce and HR to help your entire organization leverage best practices. NetSuite ERP unifies data and processes from all core business functions to offer all of the benefits outlined here, including company-wide visibility, major efficiency gains, scalability, mobility, data security and compliance. And since it’s a system born on the cloud, users can access critical information from any connected device, regardless of where they are in the world. Furthermore, NetSuite is designed to grow with your business, easily scaling up and allowing you to add new functionality as needed. Moving to an ERP system for the first time or upgrading your existing system is a large project, but the advantages this system presents make it well worth the effort. This technology can help your business take the next step by keeping everyone on the same page and providing powerful insights while reducing costs and obstacles. Not using an ERP solution could also leave you at a competitive disadvantage as more companies of all sizes and across verticals recognize the value of having a real-time, complete picture of their business. It’s time to start looking at ERP systems and planning for an implementation, because the sooner you can see these tremendous benefits, the better. Posted by Ian McCue  Source: https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/erp/erp-benefits.shtml?cid=Online_NPSoc_Champions_SEOBenefitsofERPCrossword

Exciting news! After working closely together for years, helping our customers benefit from the Fast Four SuiteApps, Novutech now acquires the Solution Provider team of Fast Four, the very first NetSuite Partner in the Benelux ever. After the acquisition in 2022 of Fast Four by Zone & Co, who focuses solely on developing and marketing SuiteApps, the Solution Provider team of Fast Four was looking for a new home and Novutech proved to be the perfect match. We couldn't be happier! Founded in 2012, Fast Four had over the years established a strong reputation around the world as a leading provider of NetSuite services, combining solid experience with smart implementation services and support. In those 10 years, they have helped dozens of companies in the Benelux to maximize the use of NetSuite as their cloud ERP solution.   The acquisition of the Fast Four Solution Provider business marks a major step forward for Novutech. Not only do we almost double in size, both in customer base as well as the number of NetSuite consultants, but we also extend our NetSuite services offering into the Netherlands, on top of our existing offices in Belgium, France and Denmark. Besides increased market presence, this acquisition also brings many other advantages, including the acceleration of global NetSuite development and adoption, deepened customer partnerships, and an increase in our team’s expertise and experience, leading to faster innovation and product improvement. All of this will result in a greatly increased capability to serve our customers with a stronger, more knowledgeable team and to offer a more attractive working place for our consultants. We are thrilled to welcome 18 NetSuite professionals to our existing team of 30 dynamic Novutech consultants, becoming the largest NetSuite consulting team in continental Europe. Adding the 60+ customer base of Fast Four means that we will be serving 120+ NetSuite customers on a daily basis. Novutech offers premium consulting, implementation and support services around NetSuite ERP and provides own developed smart enhancements on the NetSuite platform, such as localisation bundles for France and Belgium, our bank connecting app Connectobank, a dunning bundle and extensions for Intercompany automation. Because of our ongoing preferred partnership with Zone & Co, Novutech will continue to act as Value Added Reseller for all current and future ZoneApps like ZoneBilling, ZoneCapture, ZonePayments, ZoneApprovals, etc. Through this acquisition, Novutech is more than ever committed to its mission to becoming a leading NetSuite Solution Provider, 100% dedicated to NetSuite implementation, optimisation and acceleration, helping European SMEs to leverage their business processes and realize their growth potential.  We would like to thank all our customers, employees and partners for their trust. We are looking to continue our journey with you. Frédéric Szikora and Maxime Lothe, cofounders. Further details can be found in our press release (french version,  dutch version, english version).

Background

I started my studies in Accounting at EPHEC in 2011. During my bachelor degree, I did an internship of 15 weeks at WinBooks which is a leading accounting software company. I chose the software way because I had a keen interest in IT and it allowed me to have a different approach to accounting. After my graduation in 2014, I worked there for almost 7 years. I first started as Support & Quality Control for the Web Application. I had to test the new releases and help customers when they faced an issue with the software. After a few years, I had the opportunity to work on the new Digitalization Tools. It was really interesting to be able to work on these projects which were designed to relieve accountants of manual booking so that they could concentrate on advice and optimization. I even had the opportunity to lead a small team which was very rewarding. Besides that, I have also been administrator and treasurer of a non-profit organization (a sports club) for almost 10 years now. I am in charge of the accounting booking and everything related to the treasury.

Why Novutech?

Despite all the good things that this experience brought me, I felt the need to discover something else, to live a new adventure. My profile is quite atypical as I have an accounting background but I have never worked as an accountant. So the first question was where I could turn. Did I want to stay in softwares or go back to accounting? I looked at the opportunities in both areas and I found an advert for an IT company looking for a similar profile to mine. At first I didn't know it was Novutech, a company focused on NetSuite. After some research and thanks to the various interviews I had during my recruitment process, I was able to get a fairly accurate idea of NetSuite and especially of Novutech. I was looking for a new challenge and wanted to learn new things. NetSuite could offer me this thanks to the wide range of features that the software offers. It was no longer just about accounting but also about all the flows of a company. For me, having a pleasant workplace and friendly colleagues is important. I found this in Novutech. The values promoted and the various contacts I had with some people confirmed that Novutech was a company that would suit me. That is why I joined Novutech in June 2022.

Novutech’s Journey

As Business Consultant, I assist the different customers on the functional part of Netsuite. This can be small training sessions, installing and configuring new features or helping them to solve problems they may encounter. At the beginning, this was not an easy task due to the wide possibilities the software offers. Nevertheless, thanks to my colleagues who are always available, thanks to the knowledge base and documentation that Novutech has set up but also thanks to the documentation provided by NetSuite, I was able to learn and become autonomous very quickly. At the end of 2022, I started my first implementation project and I'm really looking forward to following the different steps and discovering the Novutech methodology. As an accountant, I also have a special role in all subjects that are closely related to accounting and finance. Together with my more experienced colleague, we provide recommendations to users on good accounting practices. This covers the management of the chart of accounts, VAT, country-specific requirements and much more. Thanks to him and the different subjects, I learn something new every day. In my previous experience, only Belgian accounting was covered, whereas here we have clients in different countries. Apart from that, Novutech offers the possibility to spend time on training. I can take language courses and training on the features offered by Netsuite but I was also able to take a training course on Prince 2. This is something really appreciated. I am really excited about all that I still have to learn and discover at Novutech !

Background

SuiteTax is a tax management engine within NetSuite that helps businesses to determine and calculate tax, taking into account the country and jurisdiction (nexus) of the transactions. It offers a range of features to improve NetSuite's tax capabilities, including support for multiple tax codes and rates, the ability to handle tax exemptions and exclusions, and integration with tax reporting and compliance requirements. SuiteTax is not included as a default feature in NetSuite and must be purchased as a separate app from the NetSuite SuiteApp Marketplace.

Functionalities

Novutech, is taking advantage of the various SuiteApps available on the NetSuite SuiteApp Marketplace to enhance the capabilities of SuiteTax and provide a more customized solution for your clients. Using France localization and country-specific reports can be particularly useful for companies operating in France, as it allows them to access targeted reports and options that are specific to the French market. Mixing SuiteApps can be a powerful way to optimize the functionality of NetSuite for specific business needs. By combining different apps and features, it's possible to create a tailored solution that meets the unique requirements of your clients and helps them to manage their operations more effectively.

• Nexus 

SuiteTax introduces the concept of tax transaction type to NetSuite, which allows you to configure the tax codes that will be applied to transactions based on their type. This can be a useful feature for businesses that need to track and manage tax on different types of transactions, such as sales, purchases, or services. By configuring tax codes based on transaction type, it's possible to ensure that the correct tax is applied to each transaction, which can help to improve accuracy and compliance. SuiteTax also provides a range of other features to support tax management and compliance, such as support for multiple tax codes and rates, the ability to handle tax exemptions and exclusions, and integration with tax reporting and compliance requirements Thus, with Suite Tax, we see the following appear

• Domestic sales: sales transactions within the same territory
• Domestic purchases: purchase transactions within the same territory
• Exports: sales transactions with a foreign entity outside the economic area/common trade 
• Imports: purchase transactions with a foreign entity outside the economic area/common trade 
• Intra-community sales: sales transactions with an entity belonging to a common trade area e.g. Schengen area 
• Intra-community purchases: purchase transactions with an entity belonging to a common trade area e.g. Schengen area

SuiteTax determines the type of transaction based on the information entered for the entity and proposes the appropriate tax code for the transaction. A nexus is a tax jurisdiction or geographic area where a business operates and is subject to its own tax regulations. It can be defined at the country, municipality, city, state, or economic zone level. With SuiteTax enabled, you can create a hierarchy of nexuses, with a national-level nexus at the top and multiple subnexuses below it. A nexus must be assigned to a subsidiary after it is created, in order to allow the system to create default tax codes and tax types associated with that nexus. This helps to ensure that the correct tax is applied to transactions based on the location of the business and the tax regulations in effect for that jurisdiction

• Tax type 

In SuiteTax, a tax type is used to specify the accounts that will be impacted by a transaction. A tax type must be linked to a nexus, which defines the tax jurisdiction or geographic area where the tax type will be used. By setting up tax types and linking them to nexuses, it's possible to control which accounts are impacted by transactions based on the location of the business and the tax regulations in effect for that jurisdiction. This helps to ensure that the correct tax is applied to transactions and that the appropriate accounts are used to record the tax.

• Tax codes

In SuiteTax, a tax code is used to specify the type of tax rate that will be applied during a transaction. A tax code is linked to a nexus through a tax type, which defines the accounts that will be impacted by the transaction. SuiteTax can also be configured to automatically update tax rates with the correct effective date, which can help to ensure that the correct tax is applied to transactions and that the business is compliant with current tax regulations

• Tax schedule 

In SuiteTax, a tax schedule is used to link an item to a set of tax codes based on the type of transaction. This can be useful for applying the appropriate tax to specific items or for grouping items that are subject to similar tax regulations. You can create a saved search and link different items to it, which can be helpful when you want to apply a specific tax schedule to a group of items. Using tax schedules can help to streamline tax management and ensure that the correct tax is applied to transactions. By linking items to tax schedules based on transaction type and location, it's possible to automate the process of applying tax and improve compliance with tax regulations.

• Tax lookup logic

When performing transactions via Suite Tax there is a priority order for the selection of the tax code. Firstly, the Suite Tax engine will look to see if the vendor has a default tax code, which represents the highest level. If the vendor does not have a default tax code then the engine will look to see if the item is linked to a tax code via a tax schedule and if there is no tax code on the item then it will use the ones set by default on the nexus. In order for the system to recognize the correct type of transaction, it is necessary that the address of the entity is correctly filled in as well as the country / nexus in the tax registration tab. Moreover, it is necessary to fill in a tax reg number and to put it by default in the field default tax reg so that the engine will be able to identify the country of the entity and propose the correct transaction type and the tax code which goes with it. Suite Tax allows its users to enter a fake tax registration number, but this feature can be disabled if needed by the users. For EU tax reg numbers the tax suite offers the possibility to perform a VIES check to validate the VAT number. With Suite Tax comes a new subtab on transaction forms called tax details that makes it possible to manually change the default tax code of a transaction if the user wants to apply a different rate to his transaction. To do so the user must click on preview tax button then check the tax details override box. Important: By default, with Suite Tax, the tax point date determines when a transaction is taxed, rather than the transaction date. In most cases, the tax point date is the same as the transaction date. However, the user has the option to manually change the tax point date on the tax details tab or by checking the "Use fulfillment to modify tax point date" box on the nexus page.