Many businesses need the full functionality of a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) system, such as Salesforce, as well as the functions of a separate enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. However, when the data that these systems use is siloed and duplicated, businesses fail to capitalise on all the benefits on offer.
When you integrate Salesforce and NetSuite, you truly make the most of both systems to allow better usage of important data. But what does integration entail?
In this guide, we’ll explore all aspects of integrating Salesforce and NetSuite. We’ll discuss the different integration approaches available and the key challenges businesses should consider before starting an integration project.
Salesforce is a dedicated customer relationship management (CRM) software. At its most basic, this means it records who your customers are, what they’ve purchased and the interactions they’ve had with your company.
Most businesses use some form of CRM system, regardless of size or industry. For smaller businesses, it might be something manual, built around spreadsheets or similar. With Salesforce, a market leader in CRM software, all interactions, records and pipelines are drawn together in one place, making them much easier to manage and analyse.
NetSuite is an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. While it does have some built-in CRM functionality, this isn’t always extensive enough for some companies, which often have a separate ERP and CRM system to get the widest range of features possible.
Integrating Salesforce with NetSuite creates a data bridge between your CRM system and your ERP system, making useful and important information available in both.
Without integration, the data in each software is siloed, only available for use inside its own application. If you want to use Salesforce data in NetSuite or vice versa, then you have to manually duplicate the information in the second platform. Manual duplication is inefficient and can lead to data inconsistency or errors.
By integrating Salesforce with NetSuite, you can create a seamless information flow between your CRM and ERP systems and automate workflows across your entire organisation.
Here are some of the key benefits you’ll see when you integrate Salesforce and NetSuite:
We’ve already touched on one of the benefits of Salesforce and NetSuite integration – eliminating manual data entry and duplication.
Customer and transactional data can be useful in both systems, but without integration, sales teams have to copy over customer records while finance teams must manually reconcile orders in their own systems – and on top of this, someone has to spend time inputting this data into the second system as well.
This duplication isn’t just a waste of time and effort; it’s actually a risk to accuracy. The more often data is manually input, the more opportunity there is for human errors that introduce inaccuracies or duplicate records.
Integrating the two systems allows automated data movement, so you can improve operational efficiency while also freeing up employees to work on more important tasks.
If your CRM and ERP platforms are disconnected, inconsistencies can start to appear between sales forecasting and financial reporting.
When your systems are integrated, your CRM opportunities are aligned with ERP transactions in a seamless flow from quote to invoicing and on to revenue recognition in reporting. All sales orders generated in Salesforce can automatically sync with NetSuite, so finance teams are always working from accurate, up-to-date information.
This helps make reconciliation easier, improves billing accuracy and gives you greater forecasting confidence thanks to your clearer revenue visibility.
If you use two separate systems, customer information is fragmented across them both. At best, this means teams have to manually duplicate or seek out necessary details, and at worst, it leaves them working from incomplete or outdated data, leading to delays or mistakes.
Integrating your ERP and CRM automates the flow of vital customer information. It gives you a complete view of customer activity that your whole team can see at all times, syncing customer records, orders, financials and communications. This creates a better customer experience because processes flow faster, with fewer mistakes, and increases the speed at which queries can be followed up and answered. Even with queries that go across departments or teams.
Integrating Salesforce and NetSuite completely automates the lead-to-cash process. This means that delays between closing a deal or sale, processing orders, invoicing customs and initiating fulfilment are greatly reduced, benefiting both you and your customers.
It also reduces bottlenecks during order processing, speeding it up and enabling faster response times, which further improves the customer experience.
Lead-to-cash automation is probably the biggest benefit your business will see from NetSuite and Salesforce integration because it improves both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
There are three possible ways of integrating Salesforce and NetSuite, and no objective answer to which is correct. The most effective way to do it will depend on the complexity of your business, transaction volumes, long-term growth plans and your in-house technical capabilities. The three options you can choose between are:
One of the easiest integration solutions is a pre-built connector native to NetSuite. This is an app built inside NetSuite which allows for seamless syncing between the two platforms.
These can be proprietary, needing the specialist knowledge of the developers to manage, or they can be available to anyone.
The second option is a unique point-to-point API integration – creating a custom integration that enables direct data exchange between the two systems.
The main benefit of this method is how customisable it is. It allows you to design a workflow that matches your existing operational processes because you’re able to precisely define how data moves between the two platforms, including custom triggers, logic, validations and workflows.
This type of integration is completely customisable, so it can support unique operational models. If your business has a complex pricing structure, bespoke fulfilment processes or you’ve heavily customised your NetSuite or Salesforce environment, a point-to-point API integration is a good choice.
The main drawback of a point-to-point is its complexity. These integrations come with long-term maintenance responsibilities that can be complex, while updates and changes will all need in-house development effort. However, if the skills needed to complete this maintenance are available to you, the benefits greatly outweigh the risk.
The final option is an IPaaS platform, which adds a secondary layer of software to create the bridge between NetSuite and Salesforce. There are a number of integration platforms available, and with this method, it’s best to look around to find the option which best suits your way of working.
An iPaaS offers faster deployment because it provides out-of-the-box workflows. This can also make it simpler and easier to maintain, as there are fewer customisations to account for.
An iPaaS is usually a more expensive solution, however, and they can still be highly complex to maintain if you need to customise them.
There are many benefits to integrating Salesforce with NetSuite, but it’s not always a straightforward task. If implemented incorrectly, an integration can actually lead to data inconsistencies, failed workflows and reporting issues – many of the problems the integration is designed to reduce!
Here are some of the most common challenges to the process that you need to be aware of:
You will need to make it clear which platform ‘owns’ different types of business data. Normally, Salesforce holds authority for customer relationship information and sales activity, while NetSuite manages financials, inventory, fulfilment and billing.
As beneficial as Salesforce and NetSuite customisations are, they often lead to differing data structures across the two systems.
You need to make sure system inconsistencies like custom fields, naming conventions, data structures and legacy data quality are standardised with careful data mapping and governance. If not, even small inconsistencies can be repeated and amplified, leading to bigger problems.
You will need to stay across any issues with authentication, system updates and API errors to protect the quality of your data. This goes beyond the initial integration and into day-to-day use as well.
If integration failures go unnoticed, data can stop syncing, leading to:
The best way to avoid these is through regular and comprehensive monitoring, automated alerts and ongoing maintenance and support.
Integrating Salesforce and NetSuite is an important step in getting the best out of both platforms, but only if done correctly. It can take a lot of tweaks and customisations to make sure that you get the best experience available from both systems, and making those tweaks can require specialist knowledge.
Working with an experienced NetSuite partner will ensure you have access to the full range of benefits on offer, while also minimising the chance of errors. It will also mean that if errors or incompatibilities occur, they’re immediately spotted and rectified.
Complex workflows? Strict data needs? As a trusted NetSuite partner, we’ve got you covered. We don’t just link software; we optimise your entire workflow. Talk to our expert team today about building a secure, seamless integration between your CRM and ERP.
