Background

Knowledge sharing is a vital component for the success of any IT company, particularly for those specializing in ERP integration, such as Novutech. Sharing knowledge allows employees to enhance their productivity, expertise, and understanding of customer needs. In this article, we'll delve into the significance of knowledge sharing at Novutech and the strategies we’ve implemented for effective knowledge sharing practices.

Encouraging knowledge sharing

Encouraging knowledge sharing can spur innovation and creativity among employees. By sharing their knowledge, employees can identify new solutions, streamline processes, thus enhancing overall company performance. Another benefit of knowledge sharing is that it enables employees to gain a better understanding of customer requirements, leading to increased customer satisfaction.

Tools and resources for knowledge sharing

At Novutech, we've established an environment that fosters open communication and collaboration to encourage effective knowledge sharing practices. We provide employees with resources and training, such as online collaboration tools and team-building meetings. Additionally, we've implemented an information sharing space using the Confluence by Atlassian tool. This common space allows employees to write articles on interesting topics and share them easily. It also serves as a repository of solutions developed for our customers, which employees can access and leverage to find concrete solutions for various situations. The sharing space is a valuable asset for Novutech. We've even set a threshold for a minimum number of knowledge articles to be written, as a driver for the annual bonus paid to employees. The benefits of this knowledge sharing hub are numerous, including easy access to relevant information, learning and development opportunities, increased productivity, standardization of processes and procedures, collaboration and feedback. Furthermore, we hold a Lunch & Learn session every two weeks attended by all employees. In these sessions, employees are invited to present topics of their choice, which other employees may find interesting. Each session is documented in Confluence, ensuring that a record of the discussion is kept. These meetings allow employees to learn from one another, enhance their skills and knowledge, and stay up-to-date on current projects and issues.

Conclusion

Knowledge sharing is vital and can take many forms, such as informal conversations, team meetings, training sessions, and documentation. At Novutech, we've created a culture that encourages knowledge sharing across the whole company. We want employees to feel comfortable and confident in sharing their ideas, insights, and experiences with their colleagues, as it's a crucial element of our corporate strategy and vision.

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

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

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. 

Background

When implementing an ERP, it is crucial to make sure that the users are familiar with the processes and the tool they will be using daily after go-live. Not only that, but the processes have to meet their business needs. To address these matters, every implementation project goes through a phase of user testing, called User Acceptance Testing. During this phase, users will test different processes of interest according to their job and validate them. In this article, we will review how User Acceptance Testing works at Novutech and why it is an important part of every NetSuite implementation project.

How it works

During the Enable part of a project, future NetSuite users are asked to test the processes that have been designed, implemented and tested by our team in NetSuite to meet their requirements. It can go from the creation of a vendor to the closing of accounting periods, and each user will be asked to test the processes corresponding to his/her daily tasks. This phase takes place in a Sandbox environment, which is intended for testing purposes only. Actions undertaken in this environment have no effect on the company’s business, which allows users to test as much as they want. Concretely, a list of scenarios to realize in NetSuite is sent to the appropriate users depending on their future NetSuite. A detailed list of instructions is provided with each scenario in order to make sure that all the steps are clearly understood. At the end of a step, a check is realized to confirm that the user is on the correct path and can therefore go on with the scenario(s). Users can validate a scenario if it meets their expectations, but they can also come back to us if they feel that it should work differently. In that case, we work with them to redefine and rebuild the process in NetSuite if needed.

What are the benefits of User Acceptance Testing?

The User Acceptance Testing phase is important because it provides two main benefits:

• Users start using NetSuite and can therefore get acclimated to the ERP system before go-live.
• Users can provide feedback on NetSuite processes. This avoids unpleasant surprises after going live, as all major processes are validated during the User Acceptance Testing phase.

These two points show why this phase is really centered around the user. It can be time consuming to test all the scenarios but it is beneficial in the long term for future NetSuite users. Indeed, by performing the scenarios in a serious manner, they have the chance to be well-prepared for go-live. From the integrator's point of view, User Acceptance Testing is also the phase which allows to know whether the ERP system is ready to be deployed or not. As stated earlier, during this critical phase, the integrator makes sure that the customer validates the work that has been done.

Conclusion

To summarize, during the User Acceptance Testing phase, future NetSuite users are asked to perform and validate scenarios in a testing environment. It allows them to get familiar with NetSuite and provide feedback on the scenarios they are testing. This phase is therefore a key moment in a project, when users can validate processes and when the integrator can make sure the ERP system is ready to be implemented.

In short

• Testing Processes in NetSuite
• Validate scenarios based on testing
• User Acceptance Testing is beneficial to future NetSuite users

Background

Transactions layouts of any type are necessary for a company. Every company has their own, customized layout. Recently, NetSuite released a bundle named Advanced Localization Features (ALF), which offers the opportunity to have top notch Invoice/Credit-Note’s layouts by default which is a game changer. 

Prerequisites

The Advanced Localization Features bundle has for id : 359132 and can quickly be installed on NetSuite, once it has been provided. ALF is installed, a new dashboard is created in setup > accounting > Customize Invoice Template. On every Invoices and Subsidiaries a new subtab is created called Invoice Configuration.

Functional specifications

The ALF bundle offers a lot of features that are easy to handle and customizable, like the following:

• The logo fits to the invoice, colors of the headers can be chosen and create a unique file.

• All the payment information, legal information that have to be displayed on the invoices can be personalized and displayed in some specific cases only by checking a box. 

The different subtabs

• Labels & text

All the texts that are displayed in the transaction’s form have their default translations ready to be used in 28 different languages. Each customer can have their own specific language. In this subtab you can customize each of the translations of each language if some translations have to be different.

• Subsidiary-specific setup

Depending on the subsidiary, choose if you want to print the layout in the base currency, if the address has to be displayed on the right of the form to send it by post, specify if this invoice is a duplicate or not, print the note related to discounts or also hide the VAT total column if the transaction is not subject to VAT. You’ll also be able to decide the language in which the transaction has to be printed, which legal note you want to display, which bank details should be there and many other useful features.

• Tax Compliance Text

Here you can create the legal texts that need to be on the transaction. 

• Method of payment

The different methods of payment can easily be created in this subtab .

• Bank Details

The bank details that have to be displayed on the transaction can be created in this subtab. Here’s what an invoice looks like by default at the initialization of the bundle.

Conclusion

Companies need more and more customizable invoices templates. This bundle gives the opportunity to have a layout which is complete by default. VAT summary table, footer, header personalized colors, legal information and many more. A bundle which can make the difference thanks to how easy it is to use, install and personalize.

In short

• Building a customizable and unique layout has never been that easy
• Novutech is adapting and using the latest invoice layout features
• 28 languages covered and no code needed
• Easy to maintain, even if it still requires time and knowledge to be fully set up

Background

NetSuite is a great product and has a lot of native solutions to both common and advanced business needs. With some things though, the native solution is just not the right fit. Therefore, we developed a dunning solution with capabilities fit for the specialized needs of our customers. We already have a great bundle with improvements over the standard dunning solution, however, we are also developing an even more versatile and user-friendly version, which we will tease in this article. Let us get to it then, what have we improved upon the standard dunning solution?

Feature Overview

Better overview of the dunning status on the customer record – we think the default dunning subtab could benefit from some additional relevant information, like the overdue balance and the dates of former letters sent. Below in orange is the standard dunning subtab. Below in blue is our dunning subtab with additional information. Choose which dunning letter to send to a customer with higher dunning level – At the time of go-live of the dunning solution, a customer might find themselves directly in level two or three. With the standard dunning solution, they would get a letter worded for someone who already got the previous letters and warnings. This can be extremely detrimental to customer relations, say if they go about their merry ways, and out of the blue get a letter warning of lawyers and whatnot. We do not want that. Our bundle makes it possible to ease into this, by sending lower level letters first. Considering unapplied credit memos at the customer level - The NetSuite Standard Dunning does not consider unapplied credit memos when evaluating the customer’s overdue balance, and by extension also their dunning status. This can lead to major errors, such as the dunning of customers with a credit balance, that has yet to be applied to specific invoices. Novutech Dunning, on the other hand, takes them into account to precisely compute the overdue balance. Dashboard View – We provide dashboard shortcuts to easily get an overview of all customers in the dunning cycle, and shortcuts to initiate overdue balance calculations, the sending of letters, etc. This is not the case for the Standard dunning solution. Custom customer statement - A custom customer statement is provided with the Novutech Dunning bundle. The Standard Dunning solution can only draw upon the account’s default statement template. However, this is often tailored to other needs, and is not specifically designed for dunning. Novutech’s Dunning bundle utilizes a custom statement template, which as a communication tool to customers, should be clear and concise on overdue balances and invoices. No need to create contacts to define dunning recipients - In NetSuite, if you want to define more than one email address to receive dunning letters, you need to create contacts and then set them as dunning recipients. Novutech Dunning allows you to just use email addresses in a string, separated by semicolon, just like on your email client. Consolidated statement in case of customers with parent-child relationship - The Novutech Dunning allows to send a unique Dunning Letter to a customer for the parent company and its children. However, the Consolidated Payments feature must be enabled. Attach the parent's and children's invoices and credit memos to the Dunning Letter - The Novutech Dunning allows to attach the parent's and children’s invoices and credit memos to the Dunning Letter. However, the Consolidated Payments feature must be enabled. Easy reporting of customer status - NetSuite Standard Dunning doesn’t provide a Dunning Overview page to track the dunning status of all customers in one place. We provide such a list, with filters to select relevant subsets of the dataset, based on primary subsidiary, dunning level, date of letter sent, and much more. All there, available on the dashboard.

What’s coming?

We are continuously working on further developing the Novutech Dunning bundle. Currently we are working on exciting new features, like: The ability to exclude a specific invoice from the dunning process. This will exclude the invoice from  both the calculation of the days overdue and the overdue amount for the customer.  Continuous updates. As we are developing the package and adding new features and usability in the future, our customers should of course receive updates and release notes to go with it. Configuration is done at the subsidiary level – How neat would it be, to be able to set all relevant settings on the subsidiary form directly?  This feature grew from the fact that many of our customers are multi-national and have different needs for different countries where they naturally have different subsidiaries in place. We therefore utilize the natural company structure, to segment customers into their primary subsidiary. Our goal is to make it so easy that everyone would be able to set this up themselves. Providing top notch user guides, tips and tricks, and moving complexity from something the user will have to comprehend, to something the code handles intelligently and will dynamically import settings in all the relevant places like saved searches, mass updates, workflows, and scripts. All configurations will be set on the subsidiary form. This allows for a one-stop-shop for all configurations, which include:

• Date ranges for dunning levels (three levels per subsidiary by default).
• Languages (up to five per subsidiary by default).
• Selecting the appropriate email template.
• Printer email address, so for the few customers you want to send an actual snail mail to, you can do so easily.
• Enable/disable different features, e.g. to use a fallback language or enabling inserting the email letter text in the statement, or attaching the overdue invoices in the email alongside the statement.

To sum up, our pack already offers:

• Better overview of the dunning status on the customer record
• The ability to choose which dunning letter to send to a customer with higher dunning level
• Overdue amount is considering unapplied credit memos at the customer level
• An easy to use dashboard View
• Custom customer statement
• To easily add more recipient emails on the customer record. No need to create contacts to define dunning recipients
• A consolidated statement in case of customers with parent-child relationship
• The ability to attach the parent's and children's invoices and credit memos to the Dunning Letter
• Easy reporting of customer status

In Q1 of 2023 we are releasing version 3.0 with features such as:

• The ability to exclude a specific invoice from the dunning process.
• Continuous updates
• All settings are done on the page for the primary subsidiary of the customer
• The ability to have unique dunning thresholds, languages and email templates per subsidiary.

So all in all, we have a great product that already offers a lot over the standard and competitor’s dunning solutions,  and  we are committed to continuously listening to market demands and improving the feature list. Get in touch if this is something you could see leveraged in your company and let us have a talk about the possibilities.