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NetSuite vs SaleForce: Ultimate Comparison Guide

Written by Wiktor Borowiec | Jun 19, 2018 3:30:00 PM

NetSuite and Salesforce, pioneers of Software as a Service (SaaS), undoubtedly are the most popular software providers of cloud-based software in the marketplace today.

Naturally, when business executives are looking for new software solutions its likely that NetSuite and Salesforce will be top of mind in their evaluation.  

Both solutions provide subscription based, feature rich capabilities for companies that desire to scale their business through modern cloud-based software.  

This comprehensive "NetSuite vs Salesforce Comparison Guide" is designed to help you determine which solution is best for your growthing business across a myriad of categories.

Be sure to bookmark this page as a resource during your ERP evaluation and if you want to talk to a NetSuite expert, lets chat.

 

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NetSuite vs Salesforce & FinancialForce Overview:

Salesforce, the industry leading CRM provider does not offer native ERP capabilities within its suite of products instead they leverage their go-to partner Financialforce to provide customers an integrated CRM & ERP solution on the Force.com platform. It's important to note that while Salesforce was a major investor (along with Unit4), FinancialForce is technically not a Salesforce company nor division. 

NetSuite, now part of Oracle, is the industry leading cloud-based ERP provider offers both CRM and ERP capabilites aimed at the SMB and Mid-Market space.    

Ironically, both NetSuite and Salesforce were founded right around the same time in California and both received initial investment from Larry Ellison, whom its initial founders (Marc Benioff & Evan Goldberg) worked for at Oracle. 

How are they different...

FinancialForce focuses exclusively on financial management and Professional Service Automation (PSA) and targets existing Salesforce CRM users. NetSuite on the other hand offers a suite of applications that spans well beyond the needs of  accounting such as: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Order Management, E-Commerce, Point of Sale, Inventory and Warehouse Management, Manufacturing, and more.

Furthermore, FinancialForce primarily targets large professional service firms and will attempt to sell into other industries with smaller sized companies that require a less robust ERP whereas NetSuite has the customers and industry recognition to prove its ability to scale from a small business to a global billion dollar enterprise across multiple industry segments.  

To identify which solution is best for your growing business, it depends upon your needs, preferences and budget.  

Do you desire a single software suite that can be transformative for your company? Or do you prefer a financial management and PSA application that sits on top of the Force.com platform?

To help you uncover which one may suit your business best, we've produced this a side-by-side comparison guide below:

 

NetSuite vs FinancialForce: Company Profiles

Overview:

FinancialForce is a series of products sitting on top of the SalesForce's Force.com platform developed by Unit4 and SalesForce.com (2009) and offers a suite of Financial Management and PSA products aimed at service based organizations.

NetSuite ERP is a complete cloud ERP solution, which automates front and back-office processes like financial management, revenue management, fixed assets, order management, billing, and inventory management and more.

Years In Business:

9

20

Customers:

~1,200

~40,000

Target Industries:
  • North American based large professional service firms
  • Other industries (smaller companies) where Salesforce CRM is being used and do not require a robust ERP.
  • Retail
  • Ecommerce
  • Financials Services
  • Advertising 
  • Media & Publishing
  • Healthcare
  • Life Sciences
  • Energy
  • Education
  • Transportation & Logistics
  • Nonprofits
  • Social Venture
  • Services
  • Software and SaaS
  • Manufacturing
  • Wholesale Distribution

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NetSuite vs FinancialForce: Feature Comparison

Financial Management Features:
  1. Accounts Payable
  2. Accounts Receivable
  3. General Ledger
  4. Multi-Currency* 
  5. Fixed Assets
  6. Multi-Company & Consolidation*
  7. Revenue Recognition
  8. Subscription Billing
  9. Forecasting & Budgeting
*limited capabilites around globalization and localization
  1. Accounts Payable
  2. Accounts Receivable
  3. General Ledger
  4. Multi-Currency
  5. Fixed Assets
  6. Multi-Company & Consolidation
  7. Revenue Recognition
  8. Subscription Billing
  9. Forecasting & Budgeting
  10. Financial Planning (PBCS) 
Supply Chain Features:
  1. Order Management
  2. Procurement
  3. Inventory Management
  1. Order Management
  2. Production Management
  3. Inventory Management
  4. Procurement
  5. Warehouse & Fulfilment
  6. Demand Planning
  7. WIP & Routing
  8. Work Orders & Assemblies
  9. Shop Floor Control & BOM Maintenance
Human Capital Features:
  1. Cancelled HCM product in June,2017
  1. Human Resources Management
  2. Payroll
Commerce Features:

No Capabilities

  1. Point of Sale
  2. Ecommerce
  3. Order & Inventory Mgt
  4. Product Content Mgt
  5. Commerce Marketing Automation (Bronto)
Professional Service Automation (PSA) Features:
  1. Project Management
  2. Resource Management
  3. Timesheet Management
  4. Expense Management
  1. Project Management
  2. Resource Management
  3. Timesheet Management
  4. Expense Management
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Features:

*FinancialForce does not offer CRM capabilities.

  1. Sales Force Automation
  2. Case Management (Desk.com)
  3. Partner Relationship Management
  4. Marketing Automation (Pardot, ExactTarget)
  1. Sales Force Automation
  2. Case Management
  3. Partner Relationship Management
  4. Marketing Automation
FinancialForce vs NetSuite Demo:

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FinancialForce & SalesForce vs NetSuite Pricing:

Pricing Info:
  • FinancialForce typical one year subscription is around $9,000 per year - Heather Clancy / ZDNet 2012
  • FinancialForce user licenses range between $125 - $175 per user per month.
  • Salesforce users license range between $25 to $300 per user per month
  • Base application starts at $999 per month includes both CRM & ERP
  • User Licenses $99 per user per month
Contract Term:

Salesforce & FinancialForce requires a year-long contract; renewed annually.

NetSuite requires a year-long contract; renewed annually.

Upfront Cost:

Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation,integrations, customizations, data migration and support.

Additional fees apply for professional services such as implementation, integration, customizations, data migration and support.

Recurring Cost:

Annual recurring fees for the software subscription.

Annual recurring fees for the software subscription.

How to License:
  • FinancialForce sold Direct
  • Salesforce sold direct

Direct or through NetSuite Solution Provider partner

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NetSuite vs FinancialForce Reviews:

Software Advice:
  • 4 Stars 11 Reviews
  • Recommend by 77% of users
  • 4 Stars 91 Reviews
  • Recommended by 78% of users
Gartner:

Magic Quadrant Niche Player for Cloud Core Financial Management Suites (FMS) for Midsize, Large and GLobal Enterprises- Download Report

Magic Quadrant Leader for Cloud Core Financial Management Suites (FMS) for Midsize, Large and GLobal Enterprises - Download Report

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NetSuite vs FinancialForce Support:

Tech Support:

US Support - 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM (PST)

24/7 toll-free worldwide phone support available

End User Training:

Live and/or online training available by FinancialForce training department and by partners.

Live and/or online training available by NetSuite training department and by partners.

Online Support:

FinancialForce offers the OnDemand training library.

NetSuite has extensive knowledge base (SuiteAnswers) available to all users as well as online user group.

User Groups:

Handful of local user groups across the United States.

Dozens of local user groups across the United States.

Final Thoughts...

As you can see there's many similarities and differences between FinancialForce & Salesforce and NetSuite. Generally speaking NetSuite is going to provide broader capabilities at an attractive price point. 

If you're simply looking for an accounting solution with tight SalesForce CRM integration both FinancialForce and NetSuite can accomplish this. However if you require a proven, business solution from a single software vendor that can scale with your ambitions its probable NetSuite is going to be the right choice for your business.

Still not sure about what solution makes most sense. Let's talk!