FinancialForce vs. NetSuite

Thank you! When did you implement FinancialForce, if you don't mind me asking? Was it a while back or more recent? I have been told that FinancialForce has implemented several system improvements in the last few years...

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Previous employer implemented NetSuite for two entities, one with multiple locations. It required months of testing and script writing by IT team. They were still writing custom scripts and reports when I left several months ago.

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I left a company last year in which I was the project manager for a year long Netsuite implementation. The implementation wasn't exactly smooth - I would not recommend contracting with Netsuite to do the implementation. I went to a company that was implementing FinancialForce. They asked me to PM the FF implementation on day one. The FF implementation was not as wide in scope as the Netsuite implementation, but had it challenges as well. Again, I would not recommend using the vendor for the implementation.

My impression at that time was that the basic FF functionality was a copy of Netsuite, but that FF was about 1 or so years behind Netsuite in terms of their development. After using the FF Accounting package for about a year my comparison of the two systems is that they are very similar in function. Netsuite's out of the box functionality seemed more robust than FF, however there might be more flexibility with the FF system depending on how customized you want to make the system. The company I work for now is a heavy Salesforce user so having FF sitting on the Salesforce platform is a dream as there is no integration, FF is embedded within the Salesforce platform and uses the same fields and functionality. Last company I worked for Netsuite sold us what they called an integrated Netsuite/OpenAir system, but it was far from integrated and worlds apart in functionality and user interface. In reality, the Netsuite/OpenAir system was really 3 systems: Netsuite, OpenAir, and then the integration of Netsuite and OpenAir. It was not ideal and there were a number of issues with how the system worked or didn't work. Perhaps things have changed as that was nearly 2 years ago.

Personally, I like the Netsuite system slightly better - the UI was not as clunky as FF and the reporting was better, but having FF sitting on the Salesforce platform is a HUGE advantage. I like where FF is heading with their development (I attended a webinar yesterday to brief FF users on the latest v14) as well as the flexibility that comes with being able to use the Force platform add-ons.

At the end of the day, both systems are very good. I would recommend doing your due diligence regarding planning as well as getting references, not to mention hiring a good firm to both advise you on which system to buy and also do the implementation.

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We use FinancialForce for Accounting and implemented in 2014. It is a great fit for us because the rest of the business uses Salesforce (marketing, sales pipeline, service cloud, contract management). As it is all built on the same database, you avoid the last-mile integration of having accounting records in a silo and can easily share select financial data (e.g. open AR and collections) with the departments that need it.

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We use FinancialForce it has helped us grow as an global business without having to add additional heads as we continue along our growth plans. We heavily utilise the salesforce platform and associated applications and for us FinancialForce was a natural fit! We assessed NetSuite but didn't feel they had the functionality we needed and went against our whole Salesforce principles and model. I would 100% recommend FinancialForce.

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