7 NetSuite Features You Probably Aren't Using But Definitely Should Be

Henry Sack • July 29, 2023

In this article, we're going to explore 7 amazing features that you might not be taking advantage of, but definitely should be. NetSuite is a powerful cloud-based business management solution that offers a wide range of capabilities. Whether you're new to NetSuite or have been using it for a while, there are bound to be some hidden gems that you haven't discovered yet.


So, why should you bother exploring these features? Well, NetSuite is designed to help businesses streamline their operations and drive growth. By leveraging these features, you can improve efficiency, gain better visibility into your business, and ultimately, increase your bottom line. Let’s get stuck into these 7 incredible NetSuite features and unlock the full potential of your business management software.


1. Advanced Reporting and Analytics

NetSuite offers a host of powerful features that can greatly enhance your business operations. One such feature is advanced reporting and analytics. SuiteAnalytics has been around for about 4 years now, however most users are not taking full advantage of this feature, which can provide valuable insights and help drive informed decision-making. 


Gain Deeper Insights

With NetSuite's advanced reporting and analytics, you can generate detailed reports that drill down, and pivot your data, giving you a more detailed way to analyse information and track your business performance. Whether you need to analyse sales trends, track expenses, or measure the success of marketing campaigns, NetSuite's reporting capabilities allow you to do it all.



Make Data-Driven Decisions

Making data-driven decisions is crucial for success. NetSuite's advanced reporting and analytics enable you to harness the power of data to drive your decision-making process. By accessing real-time data, you can quickly identify patterns, trends, and opportunities, helping you make informed decisions that will positively impact your business.


Gain Deeper Insights

With NetSuite's advanced reporting and analytics, you can generate detailed reports that drill down, and pivot your data, giving you a more detailed way to analyse information and track your business performance. Whether you need to analyse sales trends, track expenses, or measure the success of marketing campaigns, NetSuite's reporting capabilities allow you to do it all.

Make Data-Driven Decisions

Making data-driven decisions is crucial for success. NetSuite's advanced reporting and analytics enable you to harness the power of data to drive your decision-making process. By accessing real-time data, you can quickly identify patterns, trends, and opportunities, helping you make informed decisions that will positively impact your business.

Customise Reports to Fit Your Needs

One of the greatest advantages of NetSuite's advanced reporting and analytics is the ability to tailor reports to your specific needs. You can choose from a wide range of pre-built report templates or create custom reports from scratch. This flexibility allows you to focus on the metrics that matter most to your business and present them in a format that is easy to understand.


2. NetSuite Dashboard Customisation

If you're using NetSuite, you may already be familiar with its powerful dashboard feature. But did you know that you can customise multiple dashboards to suit different processes, roles or business areas. NetSuite’s dashboards allow you to have a personalised and streamlined view of your data, making it easier for you to access the information that's most important to you. 


Tailored to your needs

With customisable dashboards, you have the freedom to choose what information you want to see at a glance. Whether it's sales data, financial metrics, or inventory levels, you can create a dashboard that focuses on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to your role and tasks. This level of customisation allows you to create work centres to gain deeper insights, make better decisions and complete tasks as quickly as possible. 


Increased productivity

By having all the relevant data in one scrollable screen, NetSuite users can save themselves time and improve their productivity. Customisable dashboards eliminate the need to navigate through different menus and reports to access the information you need. Instead, you can simply log in to your NetSuite account and have a comprehensive view of your business metrics, cross sectioned into groups of relevant and related information.


Visual representation

Humans are visual creatures, and customisable dashboards take advantage of this fact. With the ability to choose how your data is presented, you can create visualisations that are easy to understand and visually appealing. Whether it's through charts, graphs, or tables, you can present your data in a way that makes sense to you and your team.


3. Workflow Automation & Approval Routing

One of the key features within NetSuite that many users may not be utilising to its fullest potential is workflow automation. With workflow automation, you have the ability to streamline and automate your business processes, saving you valuable time and resources. While workflow automation is one of the areas of NetSuite that is more technical, most users with some basic training will be able to learn how to create simple workflows to automate repetitive tasks. 


Workflow Automations Give Your Team an Efficiency Boost

Manually completing repetitive tasks can be tedious and time-consuming. Workflow automation allows you to automate these tasks, freeing up your time to focus on more important strategic tasks. Whether it's generating reports, sending emails, or updating records, you can set up workflows to handle it all automatically.


Workflow Automations Reduce Data Entry Errors and Mistakes

Human error is inevitable, especially when it comes to data entry and manual processes. Workflow automation helps eliminate these errors by following predefined rules and executing tasks consistently. This reduces the risk of mistakes and ensures accurate and reliable results.


Workflow Automations Ensure Consistency

With workflow automation, you can create standardised processes that are followed consistently across your organisation. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and promotes consistency in the way tasks are handled.

NetSuite Features

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7 NetSuite Features You Probably Aren't Using But Definitely Should Be

NetSuite Features

Short on time? Download this article to read later or share with a colleague.

7 NetSuite Features You Probably Aren't Using But Definitely Should Be

4. Advanced Inventory Features

If you're using NetSuite as your business management solution, you may already be familiar with its robust inventory management capabilities. But did you know that there are some advanced features within NetSuite that can take your inventory management to the next level?


Real-time Tracking of Inventory Across Multiple Locations

NetSuite offers real-time inventory tracking, so you always have an up-to-date view of your inventory levels across various locations. These locations would represent areas in your warehouse, like cold storage vs main warehouse, or even 3rd party locations like containers in transit or 3rd party warehouses.  This feature gives you the ability to see exactly how much stock you have on hand at any given moment, eliminating the need for manual counts and reducing the risk of stockouts or overstocking.


Serialised Inventory

If you deal with serialised products, NetSuite's serialised inventory management feature can be a game-changer. It allows you to track each individual item by its unique serial number, making it easy to trace products for warranty claims, recalls, or repair purposes. This level of visibility ensures accurate record-keeping and enhances your ability to provide exceptional customer service.


Lot Tracking

Similar to serialised inventory management, NetSuite also offers lot tracking for businesses that deal with products that are grouped together in lots or batches. With lot tracking, you can easily trace products back to their specific lot or batch, which is crucial for maintaining quality control and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.


Drop-Ship Fulfilment

If your business relies on drop-shipping, NetSuite's drop-ship fulfilment feature can simplify and automate the process. With drop-ship fulfilment, you can seamlessly manage orders that are fulfilled directly by your suppliers, saving time and eliminating the need for manual order processing.


5. Demand Planning and Forecasting

In any business, effective demand planning and forecasting are crucial for staying ahead of the competition and making informed business decisions. NetSuite offers powerful features in demand planning and forecasting that can help businesses optimise their inventory management and streamline their operations. 


Demand Planning

NetSuite provides advanced demand planning capabilities that allow you to accurately forecast demand for your products. By analysing historical sales data, market trends, and other relevant factors, you can forecast future demand with greater accuracy. This can help you determine the optimal inventory levels to maintain, ensuring that you have enough stock to meet customer demand while minimising excess inventory and associated costs.


Future Inventory Forecasting

NetSuite's inventory forecasting module uses statistical algorithms to analyse historical sales data and predict future inventory levels. By considering factors such as seasonality, trends, and external events, the system can generate accurate forecasts for each item in your inventory. This helps you plan your purchasing and production activities more effectively, ensuring that you have the right quantity of items in stock at all times.


Collaborative Planning

NetSuite enables collaborative planning by allowing you to involve stakeholders from different departments in the demand planning and forecasting process. This ensures that everyone has visibility into the forecasted demand and can provide inputs and feedback based on their expertise. By promoting collaboration, you can make more accurate forecasts and align your inventory planning with your overall business strategy.


6. Online Vendor and Supplier Management

One of the key aspects of running a business is managing your vendors and suppliers effectively. This helps ensure a smooth supply chain and enables you to maintain good relationships with your business partners. When it comes to NetSuite, there are features specifically designed to help you streamline your vendor and supplier management processes, one of the most powerful being the Online Vendor Portal. The NetSuite Vendor Portal allows users to:

Streamline Vendor Management with the Free Online Portal

NetSuite provides you with an online platform where you can let your Vendors manage some or all of their information. This includes details such as contact information, payment terms and contract information. 


Unlock Supplier Collaboration

NetSuite offers collaboration tools that allow you to communicate and collaborate effectively with your suppliers. You can share important documents, exchange messages, and collaborate on projects or tasks within the system. This helps foster better communication and collaboration between you and your suppliers, leading to improved efficiency and productivity.


Streamline Vendor Management with the Free Online Portal

NetSuite provides you with an online platform where you can let your Vendors manage some or all of their information. This includes details such as contact information, payment terms and contract information.

Unlock Supplier Collaboration

NetSuite offers collaboration tools that allow you to communicate and collaborate effectively with your suppliers. You can share important documents, exchange messages, and collaborate on projects or tasks within the system. This helps foster better communication and collaboration between you and your suppliers, leading to improved efficiency and productivity.

7. Mobile Access and App from Your iPhone or Android Device

Whilst NetSuite can be accessed from any device with a browser and internet connection, sometimes the usability of the platform, depending on screen resolution can be challenging. Many users aren’t aware that NetSuite has a dedicated mobile application that allows you to set up dashboards and access reports in a responsive way. This app provides a user-friendly interface and optimised experience, allowing you to navigate through NetSuite effortlessly on your mobile device. 


Customisable Mobile First Dashboard

Get a snapshot of your business performance with a customisable dashboard on the mobile app. Monitor key metrics, track sales, view upcoming tasks, and stay on top of your business wherever you are.


Quick Search on the Go

Easily find the information you need with the app's quick search functionality. Whether you're looking for a customer's contact information or a specific sales order, the app allows you to search and retrieve data quickly and efficiently.


Notifications

Stay informed and never miss an important update with push notifications on the mobile app. Get instant alerts about new leads, pending approvals, or low inventory levels, allowing you to take immediate action and stay on top of your business.


Using the NetSuite mobile app, you can truly manage your business on the go. With its intuitive interface and seamless integration with the NetSuite platform, it's like having your office in the palm of your hand.


Are You Keen To Try These Features?

NetSuite offers a wide range of powerful features that can greatly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your business operations. By taking advantage of these features, you can streamline your processes, improve decision-making, and boost productivity.



By leveraging these features, you can gain valuable insights into your business, make informed decisions, and stay ahead of the competition. So, don't miss out on the benefits that these features offer. Take the time to explore and experiment with these features, and don't hesitate to seek guidance from NetSuite experts like TeamBlueSky. We are here to help.


Henry Sack Team Blue Sky

Henry Sack

General Manager

Team Blue Sky Logo

With over 12 years of experience as a NetSuite implementation consultant, Henry Sack leads TeamBlueSky’s team of NetSuite and accounting experts in his role of General Manager.


TeamBlueSky is a leading Australian NetSuite Alliance Partner whose mission is to provide critical NetSuite BPO and Payroll services to NetSuite clients who are wanting to simplify their back office processes and partner with a leading NetSuite administration expert. 


TeamBlueSky have also partnered with global Suite Developer Network partners to offer local solutioning, implementation and support services for global NetSuite SuiteApps. 


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