5 Benefits of Using Netsuite for Financial Reporting and Analysis

If your revenue is in the single-digit millions and you still rely on manual financial reporting and analysis processes, it’s time for a reality check. You can’t move or make decisions fast enough to keep up with the competition because you can’t extract real-time insights from your data. 

It’s time for an upgrade. NetSuite is the ultimate financial reporting and analysis tool utilizing automation, integrations, and customizations to bring clear, actionable insights across the organization in a single, unified platform. No more guesswork or time delays preventing you from reaching your financial and growth goals. 

Let’s explore the five benefits of using NetSuite for financial reporting and analysis and how it can level up your business. 

#1: It provides real-time financial visibility. 

Waiting for an end-of-month report isn’t a great way to make business decisions. What if you could see those same insights weeks before and make adjustments that drastically alter the course of your business due to the compounding effect of making many small, positive changes more often? 

NetSuite gives you that real-time financial visibility. You’ll always know exactly where your money is going, how much you’re making, whether everyone has hit their targets, where there are bottlenecks, and where you can cut costs…in real-time. 

Why is this a benefit of NetSuite?

• It allows for immediate decision-making—no more waiting for your finance team to compile reports. Now, you’ll have instant access to the data and insights you need to make informed decisions on the fly. 
• You can keep an eye on cash flow and avoid unpleasant surprises that could eventually harm your business. 
• You can monitor KPIs in real time and adjust your strategies as needed to stay on track with your financial goals. 

With NetSuite, you can create custom dashboards to monitor these key metrics daily. 

#2: It automates your financial processes.

No one has time to monitor every ounce of financial data coming into your business, plus all of the reasons those financial decisions were made. Your business doesn’t have the time to spend hours manually entering data, reconciling accounts, and generating reports. With NetSuite, you don’t have to. 

By using NetSuite for financial reporting and analysis, you can: 

• Improve efficiency by automating everything you possibly can. This reduces the risk of human error and speeds up your financial processes. 
• Ensure consistency through automated workflows that ensure your financial data is always reliable and consistent. 
• Scale your business. NetSuite scales with you! 

With the help of a fractional CFO, you can identify the most time-consuming financial tasks in your business and automate them using NetSuite. You’ll free up so much time, reduce human error, and improve your business outcomes. 

#3: It provides actionable insights. 

With NetSuite’s advanced financial analysis tools, you can turn your data into actionable insights. Gone are the days of relying on gut-feeling decisions. Now, every department within your organization can access a single source of truth (if you allow it based on customizable controls) to help drive success. Whether forecasting or budgeting, NetSuite can handle it for you at any scale. 

The benefits of being able to extract actionable insights are obvious, but I’ll share them anyway. 

1. You can make decisions based on hard data, not hunches, which leads to better outcomes overall. 
2. You can use historical data to predict future trends, stay ahead of the competition, and continue scaling your organization. 
3. You can create custom reports that provide insights into whatever KPI you need to improve, which can help you set more accurate targets and reach them. 

You will find better success by leveraging NetSuite’s FP&A tools instead of relying on gut feelings and manual financial data entry. 

#4: You don’t have to worry about regulatory compliance. 

Not every founder has the accounting and financial skills to ensure you’re always compliant with tax regulations. Not every founder can afford to hire a full-time fractional CFO to help manage this critical aspect of the business, either. With NetSuite, you’re investing in an automated 24/7 compliance officer who is exceptional at their job. NetSuite can automate tax calculations, financial reporting, and audit trails. 

Why is this an incredible benefit of using NetSuite? 

• You don’t have to worry about non-compliance with the federal government. Talk about stress! You can also avoid costly fines and penalties that greatly impact your business. 
• You’ll always be ready if you’re audited. NetSuite automatically maintains accurate and comprehensive financial records. 
• NetSuite helps you comply with local regulations in multiple countries if you operate internationally. You’re investing in a specialized service that is available to you at all times. That’s huge. 

You’ll want to regularly review and update your compliance settings in NetSuite to ensure you’re always on top of the latest regulations. When you hire a fractional CFO to manage the implementation of NetSuite and the upkeep of your business’s financial health, you can stay proactive rather than reactive to regulatory changes. 

#5: It enhances collaboration across the organization. 

Financial reporting isn’t only for the finance team. NetSuite enhances collaboration across the entire organization so everyone can access the information they need to succeed. From customer success to sales to marketing to development teams, KPIs play a role in everyone’s success. The more data and insights they have, the better. 

Why does this matter? 

1. NetSuite provides a single source of truth, which eliminates data silos and ensures everyone is working with the same information across the organization. 
2. Thanks to shared financial insights, you will improve communications across the organization and within teams. NetSuite encourages a culture of transparency and accountability, two great traits many uber-successful businesses have. 
3. You can better align your financial goals with the overall business strategy, and the executive team can better align their goals to each other and across their various functions to achieve better results. 

While collaboration is important, you still have role-based access controls, so you have complete control over who has access to what information. NetSuite promotes this kind of collaboration while maintaining and prioritizing data security. 

Key Takeaways of Using NetSuite for FP&A

You don’t have to settle for mediocrity with outdated financial systems. You’ll only hurt your business and stunt your growth by sticking with manual processes and a lack of transparency throughout the organization. 

The five key benefits of using NetSuite for financial reporting and analysis are: 

1. It provides real-time financial visibility. This allows you to make immediate data-driven decisions to course-correct and drive the business forward, keep an eye on cash flow and avoid surprises, monitor KPIs in real-time, and make adjustments on the fly. 
2. It automates your financial processes. Humans cannot analyze all of your business data and provide real-time insights. So, you can improve efficiency, ensure consistency, and scale sustainably by automating everything possible. 
3. It provides actionable insights. Now, you can make decisions based on hard data rather than gut feelings, create custom reports based on different KPIs to help improve those KPIs, and predict future trends to help you stay ahead of the competition. 
4. You don’t have to worry about regulatory compliance. NetSuite handles all tax calculations and regulatory requirements locally and globally to ensure you’re always compliant and protected during an audit. 
5. It enhances collaboration across the organization. You can eliminate data silos with a real-time single source of truth for every function, align on financial goals and your overall business strategy, and improve communications, transparency, and accountability across the organization. 

NetSuite can quite literally transform your financial reporting and analysis with real-time visibility, automation, advanced analysis, compliance, and enhanced collaboration. If you’re ready to level up your business and set yourself on a path to long-term success, it’s time to try this robust ERP system. 

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