When it comes to SaaS or adopting any set of advancements to try to stay with the times, it all boils down to the almighty dollar in the end. No matter how innovative and timely a new idea might be, financial is going to veto it unless you can give a solid reason to justify its ROI. This means that you have to also be very aware of pricing on the solutions you pick. This has led to confusion for a lot of SaaS shoppers, especially when services have multiple plans and sub services to mix and match. Getting a solid Netsuite price is just such a conundrum.
The problem is that Netsuite’s prices fluctuate constantly right now, due to a huge burst of new features and functionality that have recently been implemented, but are not yet enforced as standard. This means that the price of today may not be the price of tomorrow.
It may be cheaper, or it may be more expensive. But, either way, you’ll see a whole host of prices at any given time, for different suites available. Some cost significantly more than others, which will lead you to want to choose the cheaper ones, right? Well, that’s solid logic, but what do the cheap ones do, and what are you missing out on by not going with a fancier package?
Well, let’s go over a handful of their more common plans from cheapest to most expensive, and explain what defines them as higher-cost services.
#1 – Standard
Standard is the entry level package, including basic ERP, CRM and ecommerce functionality. It has a limit of users, twenty the last time I saw specs on that, though they keep promising to raise the level of users for this one.
This is actually pretty good, so you’re not that badly hurt by opting for this package.
#2 – Retail
Retail is a step up, and offers advanced inventory management. This is useful for retail businesses, but that’s a niche itself, so unless you’re dealing in merchandise, this is added expense you don’t need.
But, if you are in retail, it’s worth it!
#3 – Services
If you’re a service industry (which you are if not retail or food service), then this one is the upgrade you want. It includes advanced financials and advanced projects. But, if you’re service, you may as well skip on over to the next one on the list, if you’re spending the money for better than basic, frankly.
#4 – SRP
Yeah, you may as well go with the SRP suite, since it gets you everything services does plus revenue recognition and SRP functionality. This lets you track your expenditures, your standard finances, your CRM, your BI and your ERP all from one coherent suite.
So, base your Netsuite price on what the package offers, and what you need, more than its actual numeric price. Because if you get the one that does everything you need and little that you don’t, then the ROI is going to reflect that directly. None of Netsuite is so expensive that it’s untenable for any business bigger than a startup or a SoHo.