Reporting is at the heart of effective business intelligence – and Sage 200 offers a powerful suite of tools to help you make smarter, faster decisions. In a recent customer webinar, Rob Coates, our experienced Implementation Team Leader, guided users through the core reporting functionality of Sage 200 and how to get the most from it, from standard tools like Report Designer and Excel Reporting to advanced options like Workspaces and Sage 200 BI.

Whether you’re new to Sage 200 or a seasoned user, this blog distils Rob’s practical walkthrough into an actionable guide.

Meet the Expert

With over 35 years of experience implementing finance and ERP systems, Rob Coates brings deep domain expertise from both Sage business partner and end-user companies. He has specialised in Sage 200 since 2008 and understands the real-world needs of businesses from both sides of the fence. His specialties include Sage 200 Financials, Commercials, BOM, Manufacturing, and Project Accounting.

Reporting Options in Sage 200

The core reporting tools discussed include:

Let’s take a closer look at each and explore practical use cases.

Standard Native Reports

Sage 200 comes equipped with a wide range of standard native reports, offering an essential starting point for your business reporting needs.

These out-of-the-box reports are built directly into the system and are readily accessible from key modules such as Sales Ledger, Purchase Ledger, Nominal Ledger, Stock Control, and others. They cover commonly used reports including Aged Debtors, Trial Balance, Audit Trail, Stock Valuations, and VAT Returns—giving you fast access to core financial and operational data.

While these reports are vital for day-to-day tasks and compliance, they represent just the baseline of what Sage 200 can do. Their structure is fixed, and while some minor filtering is possible, the level of flexibility is limited.

That’s why it’s important to recognise these standard reports not as the end, but as the beginning of your reporting journey.

Sage 200 Report Designer

Report Designer: Customise to Fit Your Business

Sage 200’s built-in Report Designer allows you to modify and build reports tailored to your needs. It’s used for everything from financial statements to customer statements and even stock labels.

One standout example Rob shared was a custom Aged Debtors Report by Sales Rep. This kind of report is particularly useful for businesses that involve sales teams in debt collection or want to measure sales rep performance.

By grouping data using Analysis Codes (e.g. account manager, region), Rob showed how to:

This kind of customisation can be set up during your initial implementation—with templates and logic like Report Category 04 driving summaries (e.g. Plant & Machinery within Fixed Assets).

Structured Financial Reporting – No More VLOOKUPs

Many users still export trial balances to Excel and manually manipulate data to create financial reports. Rob emphasised that Sage 200 already includes structured Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet templates—no need for messy VLOOKUP formulas.

These templates reference report categories assigned to nominal codes. For example:

Even better, multiple definitions can be created—e.g. detailed P&L vs. P&L with budget—allowing you to generate management reports at the click of a button.

Excel Reporting

For users who love Excel, Sage 200 includes a powerful Excel Reporting suite. As long as the correct structure (i.e. indented P&L/BS hierarchy) is created, you can:

Example Reports:

Workspaces

Workspaces offer a dynamic, real-time view of your data without requiring complex navigation or report generation. They’re particularly helpful for traceability and product recalls.

Example:

Say you need to identify which customers received goods tied to a specific batch number. Instead of running and filtering multiple reports:

  1. Go to Traceable Items Workspace
  2. Filter by batch number (e.g. BGE00001)
  3. Instantly see where it was issued or sold
  4. Export directly to Excel and share

Workspaces allow you to drill down without losing context. Each view can show linked tables like stock balances, issues, or customer orders.

Sage 200 BI: Built in Dashboards for Deeper Insights

Sage 200 BI (Business Intelligence) is an Excel-based analysis tool using Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services. It extracts data into a separate data warehouse—avoiding load on your live system—and allows for fast, flexible slicing of your data.

Available BI Packs Include:

Example: View your Top 10 Customers by Sales Value for a selected period – fully refreshable in Excel.

Support: We’ve Got You Covered

All of these tools and capabilities can be configured by us at Eureka Solutions. For example:

If you don’t see these tools in your Sage 200 menus, talk to your Account Manager. Often, they’re available but not enabled for your user role.

And if something you need doesn’t exist out of the box? We can help you:

Reporting in Sage 200 doesn’t need to be complicated. With a clear understanding of the tools available—and some upfront configuration—you can deliver meaningful insights to your team faster, more clearly, and without the manual overhead.

Need Help?

We’re here to help you unlock the full potential of Sage 200 reporting.

Watch the Webinar

If you’d like to dive deeper into the functionality of Sage 200’s reporting capabilities, we highly recommend watching the full on-demand webinar here.

NetSuite is packed with powerful reporting tools – but with so many options, it’s easy to overlook some of the features that could transform the way your business views and uses data. Whether you’re a long-time user, just getting started, or evaluating NetSuite as your next ERP, understanding these tools can help you uncover insights, improve efficiency, and drive smarter decision-making.

Why NetSuite Reporting Matters

Data is one of your most valuable assets – but it’s only useful when it can be accessed, understood, and acted upon. Effective reporting helps you:

With the right reporting tools, you can replace manual spreadsheets, reduce errors, and respond to changes faster.

In our recent webinar, we walked through the full spectrum of NetSuite’s reporting capabilities, from out-of-the-box features to advanced tools and third-party integrations. Here’s a deep dive into what’s available and how you can make the most of it.

Out-of-the-Box Reporting Tools

NetSuite provides a solid foundation of reporting functionality available to every customer, that may provide enough functionality for some businesses.

Financial Reports

NetSuite includes pre-built financial statements – such as Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Budget vs Actual, and Cash Flow – that you can customise to fit your business. For example, you might create:

Matrix, Summary & Detailed Reports

Use matrix reports to analyse performance across dimensions like class, location, or time period. Summary reports provide aggregated data, while detailed reports allow you to drill down to individual transactions.

A good use case: A CFO might use a matrix report to compare regional sales performance year-over-year, then drill into underperforming areas to investigate causes.

Multibook Reporting (OneWorld Only)

If your company operates under multiple accounting standards (e.g. IFRS, US GAAP), multibook reporting is a game-changer. It allows parallel reporting, providing the ability to record and report the same financial transaction in multiple ways, each according to a different accounting principle or requirement, without duplication of effort – a must-have for global finance teams.

Statistical Accounts

These accounts enable you to track non-financial metrics – such as headcount, square footage, or machine hours – and incorporate them into financial KPIs. For example, you might calculate revenue per employee or energy cost per unit produced.

Saved Searches:

Saved Searches are a versatile and often underutilised reporting powerhouse. They’re more than just filtered lists – they’re a foundation for:

You can even build conditional logic and formulas into your Saved Searches. For instance, you might highlight deals closing this week in green and overdue leads in red. They’re also a great way to build audit trails or power exception reporting, such as finding transactions missing a required field.

Scorecards

Scorecards let you monitor KPIs over time, using rolling periods, custom ratios, and historical comparisons. This is especially useful for performance reviews, revenue growth tracking, or monthly board meetings.

Advanced Reporting Options

As your data requirements evolve, so too does the range of advanced modules available within the Oracle ecosystem.

SuiteAnalytics Connect (ODBC)

ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) gives you read-only access to NetSuite data from external platforms like Power BI, Tableau, SQL Server, or Excel. It’s perfect for:

SuiteAnalytics Workbooks

Workbooks provide a more modern, interactive reporting experience. With drag-and-drop tools and pivot-style analysis, they’re ideal for users who want deeper insights without relying on IT or external tools.

Key benefits:

For example, marketing can analyse campaign ROI, while finance can build a profitability analysis across products and time periods.

NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW)

NSAW is a cloud-based business intelligence and data warehousing solution that enables deeper analysis, advanced visualisations, and AI-driven insights – not just from NetSuite, but from multiple data sources across your organisation (e.g. Salesforce, Google Ads).

It includes:

Use it to forecast customer churn, model revenue, or analyse historical trends – all with Oracle-grade security and performance.

Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)

EPM tools help you manage your financial planning and close processes in a single platform. Key modules include:

These tools offer natural language summaries, predictive modelling, and customisable workflows.

Third-Party Reporting Tools

When native tools aren’t quite enough, the NetSuite ecosystem offers powerful integrations:

Solution 7 – A NetSuite SuiteApp that provides two-way integration between NetSuite and Excel, helping you create flexible budgeting and forecasting models that can be personalised for each individual budget holder, emailed and quickly loaded into NetSuite with just a few simple clicks.

ZoneReporting – Built on Power BI, with plug-and-play, customisable dashboards and visualisations, providing real-time insights into various business operations, including finance, sales, operations, and supply chain management.

Tactical Connect – Data connector for external reporting tools/data extract, which doesn’t require ODBC.

These options can extend reporting to meet very specific or niche business requirements – particularly for enterprise-scale environments or teams with established tool preferences.

Training & Support Resources

No matter your reporting goals, there’s help available:

With NetSuite’s comprehensive reporting toolkit, you’re never more than a few clicks away from real-time insights. Whether you’re managing daily operations or forecasting for the year ahead, having the right data at your fingertips is a competitive advantage.

From the basics like financial reports and Saved Searches to cutting-edge tools like NSAW and EPM, there’s a reporting path for every business and every user.

For a deeper dive into everything we’ve covered, be sure to watch the full webinar.

Additionally, if you have any questions or would like guidance tailored to your business’ reporting needs, feel free to get in touch – we’re here to help.

With 48% of CFOs ranking efficiency and productivity as their top internal risk—even more than strategy execution, AI adoption, and hiring and retention—the NetSuite 2025.1 release promises process boosts that enable you to work smarter and do more with less.

Delivering improved AI capabilities, more automation, and an even greater degree of financial management, you’ll enjoy slicker operational workflows and achieve better efficiency than ever before. 

As we continue to support our NetSuite clients in getting the best from their system, we turned to Rory Munro, our expert NetSuite Solution Consultant, to share his Top 10 features from the release.

1. Bill Capture (UK Customers)

A major update for UK customers, Bill Capture’s invoice-scanning solution is now available for those using SuiteTax. Streamlining supplier bill processing, it uses automation to reduce manual data entry, speed up approvals, and detect duplicates. By enabling this in your system, you can enjoy: 

Already enhanced thanks to feedback from users elsewhere, UK customers can take advantage of this release’s improvements to usability and traceability for an even more effective solution. 

2. Embedded AI Enhancements

As NetSuite themselves say, they are ‘infusing AI into everything we do to help our customers get even more out of the suite.’

With this update, the embedded AI capabilities are more powerful than ever, and offer these features: 

3. New Import Capabilities

NetSuite now supports additional CSV import record types, including:

This expansion streamlines data import processes, making it easier to manage your records directly from CSV files. 

4. SuiteBilling Enhancements


The SuiteBilling module sees several key improvements designed to refine subscription billing processes and increase precision in financial tracking. 

New features include: 

5. Customer 360 Enhancements

These updates combine financial, transaction history and all interactions into a single dashboard, providing a holistic view of each customer, leading to better insights, better decision making and better customer service. 

6. Redwood UI Enhancements

More than just good looks, the Redwood User Interface continues to evolve, for a cleaner, more intuitive, user experience:

7. SuiteAnalytics Enhancements

NetSuite continues to improve data access and reporting capabilities with:

8. Fixed Asset Management Enhancements

Updates to the Fixed Asset Management module make it more user-friendly and efficient, including:

9. Supplier Filter on Supply Planning Workbench

Supply chain management just got easier with an added filter on the Supply Planning Workbench:

10. Quality Management Enhancements

The Quality Management module now includes powerful updates to streamline your quality processes:

What’s next? 

The NetSuite 2025.1 release will be deployed from February to April, with the bi-annual software updates providing the latest features, enhancements, and security improvements. 

These regular updates provide NetSuite users with a disruption-free way of enabling new technologies being built into the platform, so they can keep business ticking along – one of the true benefits of choosing a cloud-based ERP.  

We hope you start to benefit from these features over the coming months. If you think there’s more you can get from your system, we’d love to discuss your options. 

Alternatively, if you find yourself currently using a legacy system and see the potential benefits of adopting NetSuite with its semi-annual updates, we encourage you to reach out. 

For further details, please feel free to get in touch with Richard Christie, our Business Systems Specialist, at 01355581960 or via email at richard.christie@eurekasolutions.co.uk 

At Eureka Solutions, we’ve been delivering and implementing business software solutions for over 20 years. This experience has given us a deep understanding of the evolving needs of businesses, particularly those seeking finance systems that balance functionality, affordability, and scalability.

In 2023, we made the strategic decision to partner with iplicit, driven by our confidence in their solution—a product we believe has transformed the options available to mid-market companies.

More than a year on, we remain thrilled with both the software capabilities and the partnership itself. In this blog, we’ll share why we chose iplicit and the impact it has had on our customers and business.

Recognising a gap in the market

As a trusted provider of solutions such as NetSuite and Sage 200, we’ve observed firsthand the challenges businesses face as they grow at pace. Many outgrow entry-level finance systems, yet are reluctant to change to larger ERP solutions due to prohibitive costs and lengthy implementation periods.

We identified a clear gap in the market: mid-sized organisations needed a financial management system that was powerful yet accessible, scalable but not overwhelming. That’s when iplicit caught our attention – a solution designed to help businesses seamlessly bridge this gap.

Bridging the gap to the ideal solution

From the outset, iplicit impressed us with its innovative approach.

Enhancing iplicit with Besyncly

As well as iplicit’s excellent product and support, we also spotted an opportunity to help iplicit customers connect their finance systems with wider business systems using our in-house integration platform, Besyncly.

Besyncly is a sophisticated, cloud-based integration solution designed to seamlessly connect and exchange data across your organisation.

As our CEO David explains, “Besyncly is an API-driven platform that allows us to create connectors for any system or platform with a cloud-based API so that our customers can seamlessly connect all their business systems. It acts as a bridge between systems, synchronising data to create a smooth and uninterrupted flow of information, removing the need for manual processes.”

Customers who have integrated iplicit using Besyncly now enjoy accurate and secure transmission of critical data—such as sales orders, purchase orders, payments, contacts, and more—between various business applications. These include ecommerce platforms, CRM systems, ticketing solutions, fundraising systems, recruitment tools, and many others, ensuring improved operational efficiency, precise data handling, and enhanced security for their organisations.

By developing a Besyncly connector for iplicit, we aim to ensure that every iplicit customer can enjoy seamlessly integrated business systems.

A Buzz of Excitement

More than a year into the partnership, we’re as enthusiastic as ever about iplicit. The feedback from our team and customers has been overwhelmingly positive. Our Commercial Director, Alan Miles sums it up perfectly, “There’s a buzz of energy around iplicit, and the enthusiasm within our team and among the businesses we’ve implemented it for is contagious.”

The Road Ahead

We see enormous potential for iplicit, particularly in industries like nonprofit, education, and technology, where its feature set and price point are especially well-suited.

As cloud adoption continues to grow, we believe iplicit is positioned to become the go-to solution for scaling mid-market businesses. Alan Miles highlights the opportunity: “The number of businesses that could benefit from iplicit is considerable. Many are on legacy systems and will need to look to the cloud. They’re growing, becoming more complex in terms of their offering, and will need to move to the next level of finance system.”

CEO David Lindores emphasises, “Both businesses care deeply about getting the right solution for their customers.” This sentiment perfectly aligns with our mission to guide clients toward tailored solutions that meet their unique needs. It also reflects the confidence we have in iplicit as a partner that shares our values and unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional results.

We look forward to continuing this journey together and helping even more businesses thrive with iplicit and Besyncly at their side.

Typically, Sage releases two updates each year, with R1 arriving in February and R2 in August. However, this year marks a shift, as the 2024 R2 release has been launched this month.

Each new release from Sage is built using customer feedback to improve the software’s performance, add new features, and enhance the user experience.

So, let’s look at some of the new features found in the Sage 200 Professional 2024 R2 release.

Bank Transaction Import

If your bank doesn’t support direct download of bank feeds, you can now import bank transactions in bulk from a file.

This new feature removes the need to manually type each individual transaction into Sage, enhancing data accuracy and timeliness, while helping teams better manage cash flow, monitor financial status, and quickly identify discrepancies for improved security.

Amend Requested and Promised Dates

Streamline your workflow with the ability to update requested and promised dates across Sales Orders, Quotes (both desktop and web), and Proformas (desktop only). This new feature allows cascading date changes, eliminating the need for manual updates on each line item, saving time and improving efficiency.

This is particularly useful in scenarios where changes to delivery schedules are common, such as in industries with complex supply chains or frequent customer adjustments.

Increased Reference and Second Reference Field Lengths

Addressing the need for longer vendor invoice numbers—such as those from Amazon—this enhancement prevents the abbreviation of important details. It helps minimise errors and ensures data remains clear and accurate.

Why Have the Latest Version of Sage 200?

If you’re thinking that your current Sage 200 solution will be null and void without updating, don’t worry. Your software will continue to run as it should. However, running the latest version of Sage 200 ensures it is fully supported by Sage.

Sage officially supports the four most recent versions of its software. With the release of 2024 R2, support for versions prior to 2022 will be phased out. Therefore, it is worth noting which version of Sage 200 you are running. Without access to support and technical assistance you leave your system vulnerable. Upgrading ensures you remain eligible for Sage’s dedicated support and future updates.

All Eureka Solutions Sage 200 customers continue to be supported by us, despite which version they are on.

With a consistent 9.7/10 customer service rating, our team is dedicated to providing you with a solution to your problem and helping you achieve more with Sage 200.

How to Update Sage 200

If you’re using an older version of Sage 200 and think it might be time to upgrade, it’s best to consult your Sage 200 partner. They’ll be familiar with your system and have the expertise to guide you through a seamless migration process.

If you’d like to check which version you are on, check out this Sage guide.

How Can Eureka Solutions Help?

As a Sage Platinum Partner and five-time winner of the ‘Sage Custom Solutions Partner Award’, Eureka Solutions is one of the most experienced Sage partners in the UK.

We offer several services such as implementation, Sage development and support. So, whether you need some help with your Sage 200 solution or are looking to make the move to Sage 200, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you are a current customer of Eureka Solutions and looking to upgrade, simply get in touch with your Account Manager who will get you started.

As your business grows, the tools and systems that once served you well may start to hold you back. What worked for a small, agile team may no longer support the complexity and scale of a larger organisation. Outgrowing your entry-level finance system is a natural part of business evolution, but knowing when to upgrade—and what to upgrade to—is crucial for your continued success.

In this post, we’ll explore the key signs that indicate it’s time for a change and discuss important considerations for selecting a finance system that aligns with your growth goals.

We’ve identified four core areas to focus on when evaluating your current system:

By assessing your finance system through these lenses, you can determine whether it’s time to upgrade to a more robust solution that supports your business today and positions you for future growth.

Technical Infrastructure and Transitioning to the Cloud  

As businesses grow, their technical infrastructure must evolve to meet increasing demands. A common barrier for many organisations is the transition from an on-premise finance system to a cloud-based solution.

One major concern is the cost associated with upgrading on-premises systems, including purchasing new servers and managing ongoing maintenance. In contrast, while cloud solutions may appear to have higher upfront costs, they can prove cost-effective in the long run.

Data security is another crucial topic. While businesses were once sceptical of cloud security, the perception has shifted significantly. Today, cloud platforms are often viewed as more secure than traditional on-premises setups, offering advanced security features and regular updates that on-premises solutions might lack.

Fear of change can also be a barrier. Migrating systems and ensuring data integrity can seem daunting. However, with experienced professionals and a structured approach, these challenges can be managed smoothly.

Moving to the cloud provides the flexibility, accessibility, and scalability businesses need to thrive in a constantly evolving environment. As your company grows, cloud solutions will position you for future success.

Streamlining and Automating Manual Processes 

A key reason for upgrading financial systems is the need to streamline and automate manual processes, boosting efficiency across the business. Many organisations are unaware of how manual their processes are until they explore new solutions. Tasks like purchase approvals and bank reconciliations often involve time-consuming paperwork or email chains. Automating these processes not only saves time but also minimises errors and enhances transparency by ensuring that essential information is no longer confined to a single person’s email inbox.

For instance, automated purchase order approvals replace manual checks, speeding up decisions, while AI-driven bank reconciliation tools read statements and match transactions automatically. Accounts payable automation, where systems extract invoices from emails and generate draft entries, further reduces data entry.

Automation also simplifies recurring transactions, deferred income management, and credit control by sending automatic reminders to clients, streamlining collections without losing the personal touch.

Additionally, automation empowers department heads with real-time visibility into their budgets, allowing finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives and freeing employees from repetitive tasks. This shift enables them to engage in higher-value work that contributes more meaningfully to the organisation, boosting both productivity and job satisfaction. For businesses with multiple entities, automating inter-company transactions and consolidations improves accuracy and speeds up financial reporting.

In short, automation enhances workflows, control, and transparency, making it a vital element of modern financial management.

Management Systems and Reporting  

As organisations grow, reporting often becomes a challenge, especially with outdated financial systems. Traditionally, reports like profit and loss statements or balance sheets were printed or exported to Excel for manual manipulation, a process prone to errors and delays.

Modern financial systems are changing this, offering live, real-time, on-screen data that allows leaders to drill down into specifics without manual adjustments. This speeds up decision-making and improves accuracy.

A major issue is the lengthy month-end close process. A recent iplicit survey showed that over 50% of finance professionals take more than 20 days to close. Relying on manual Excel exports worsens delays and increases errors.

Using scalable financial systems with real-time dashboards reduces reliance on finance teams for every report, saving time and democratising access to key business insights, fostering faster, more informed decisions. For industries like non-profits, where specific reports such as fund and grant tracking are essential, modern solutions offer the flexibility to meet requirements, improving compliance and efficiency.

Overall, real-time reporting transforms outdated practices into streamlined processes that drive better, faster decisions.

Ability to Integrate with Existing and Future Business Systems  

Many businesses grapple with disconnected systems that don’t communicate effectively, resulting in inefficiencies and fragmented data. This disjointed setup can hinder decision-making and slow down operations. Integration of business systems creates a seamless, unified infrastructure.

A prime example of this is the retail sector, where we’ve seen companies struggle with the rapid shift to online sales, especially during the pandemic. One client in the health and beauty industry faced significant challenges managing data from multiple platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify. Their reliance on manual data entry for order processing led to inefficiencies and errors.

By integrating their Ecommerce systems with their accounting software, through Eureka Solutions’ cloud-based integration platform Besyncly, the entire process was automated, synchronising orders and stock levels in real time. This not only eliminated the need for manual data entry but also improved accuracy and allowed their team to focus on more value-driven tasks.

Modern systems with APIs simplify integration, allowing businesses to connect their best CRM, operational, and finance platforms without overhauling existing systems. This approach creates a unified, efficient ecosystem that boosts productivity and supports data-driven decisions.

Summary

If, after reading this post, you recognise that your business has outgrown its entry-level finance system, it’s time to explore your options. Upgrading to a more robust solution can streamline operations, enhance data visibility, and support your growth ambitions.

We’re here to help you navigate this transition. Get in touch with us today to discuss the best finance system for your organisation’s unique needs. Your next phase of growth starts with the right tools—let’s find them together.

As your business grows, the tools and systems that once served you well may start to hold you back. What worked for a small, agile team may no longer support the complexity and scale of a larger organisation. Outgrowing your entry-level finance system is a natural part of business evolution, but knowing when to upgrade—and what to upgrade to—is crucial for your continued success.  

In this post, we’ll explore the key signs that indicate it’s time for a change and discuss important considerations for selecting a finance system that aligns with your growth goals.

We’ve identified four core areas to focus on when evaluating your current system:  

By assessing your finance system through these lenses, you can determine whether it’s time to upgrade to a more robust solution that supports your business today and positions you for future growth.  

Technical Infrastructure and Transitioning to the Cloud  

As businesses grow, their technical infrastructure must evolve to meet increasing demands. A common barrier for many organisations is the transition from an on-premise finance system to a cloud-based solution.

One major concern is the cost associated with upgrading on-premises systems, including purchasing new servers and managing ongoing maintenance. In contrast, while cloud solutions may appear to have higher upfront costs, they can prove cost-effective in the long run. 

Data security is another crucial topic. While businesses were once sceptical of cloud security, the perception has shifted significantly. Today, cloud platforms are often viewed as more secure than traditional on-premises setups, offering advanced security features and regular updates that on-premises solutions might lack. 

Fear of change can also be a barrier. Migrating systems and ensuring data integrity can seem daunting. However, with experienced professionals and a structured approach, these challenges can be managed smoothly.  

Moving to the cloud provides the flexibility, accessibility, and scalability businesses need to thrive in a constantly evolving environment. As your company grows, cloud solutions will position you for future success. 

Streamlining and Automating Manual Processes 

A key reason for upgrading financial systems is the need to streamline and automate manual processes, boosting efficiency across the business. Many organisations are unaware of how manual their processes are until they explore new solutions. Tasks like purchase approvals and bank reconciliations often involve time-consuming paperwork or email chains. Automating these processes not only saves time but also minimises errors and enhances transparency by ensuring that essential information is no longer confined to a single person’s email inbox. 

For instance, automated purchase order approvals replace manual checks, speeding up decisions, while AI-driven bank reconciliation tools read statements and match transactions automatically. Accounts payable automation, where systems extract invoices from emails and generate draft entries, further reduces data entry.  

Automation also simplifies recurring transactions, deferred income management, and credit control by sending automatic reminders to clients, streamlining collections without losing the personal touch.  

Additionally, automation empowers department heads with real-time visibility into their budgets, allowing finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives and freeing employees from repetitive tasks. This shift enables them to engage in higher-value work that contributes more meaningfully to the organisation, boosting both productivity and job satisfaction. For businesses with multiple entities, automating inter-company transactions and consolidations improves accuracy and speeds up financial reporting.  

In short, automation enhances workflows, control, and transparency, making it a vital element of modern financial management.  

Management Systems and Reporting  

As organisations grow, reporting often becomes a challenge, especially with outdated financial systems. Traditionally, reports like profit and loss statements or balance sheets were printed or exported to Excel for manual manipulation, a process prone to errors and delays.  

Modern financial systems are changing this, offering live, real-time, on-screen data that allows leaders to drill down into specifics without manual adjustments. This speeds up decision-making and improves accuracy.  

A major issue is the lengthy month-end close process. A recent iplicit survey showed that over 50% of finance professionals take more than 20 days to close. Relying on manual Excel exports worsens delays and increases errors.  

Using scalable financial systems with real-time dashboards reduces reliance on finance teams for every report, saving time and democratising access to key business insights, fostering faster, more informed decisions. For industries like non-profits, where specific reports such as fund and grant tracking are essential, modern solutions offer the flexibility to meet requirements, improving compliance and efficiency.  

Overall, real-time reporting transforms outdated practices into streamlined processes that drive better, faster decisions.  

Ability to Integrate with Existing and Future Business Systems  

Many businesses grapple with disconnected systems that don’t communicate effectively, resulting in inefficiencies and fragmented data. This disjointed setup can hinder decision-making and slow down operations. Integration of business systems creates a seamless, unified infrastructure.  

A prime example of this is the retail sector, where we’ve seen companies struggle with the rapid shift to online sales, especially during the pandemic. One client in the health and beauty industry faced significant challenges managing data from multiple platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify. Their reliance on manual data entry for order processing led to inefficiencies and errors.  

By integrating their Ecommerce systems with their accounting software, through Eureka Solutions’ cloud-based integration platform Besyncly, the entire process was automated, synchronising orders and stock levels in real time. This not only eliminated the need for manual data entry but also improved accuracy and allowed their team to focus on more value-driven tasks.  

Modern systems with APIs simplify integration, allowing businesses to connect their best CRM, operational, and finance platforms without overhauling existing systems. This approach creates a unified, efficient ecosystem that boosts productivity and supports data-driven decisions.  

Summary

If, after reading this post, you recognise that your business has outgrown its entry-level finance system, it’s time to explore your options. Upgrading to a more robust solution can streamline operations, enhance data visibility, and support your growth ambitions.  

We’re here to help you navigate this transition. Get in touch with us today to discuss the best finance system for your organisation’s unique needs. Your next phase of growth starts with the right tools—let’s find them together.  

It’s that time of year once again. The upcoming NetSuite 2024.2 release is set to be seamlessly deployed from August to October, with a monthly rollout of phases. This approach guarantees that every user can take advantage of each improvement and new feature incorporation without encountering any service disruption.

As we continue to support our NetSuite clients to get the best from their system, we turned to Jack Loudon, our expert NetSuite Solution Consultant to share his top ten features from the recent release.

Number 10 – Rebates Enhancement:

Enhancements to the Rebates & Trade Promotions module have been introduced to improve efficiency and profitability by centralising and automating rebate processes. Key updates include:

Rebates can now be applied to both sales and purchase transactions, not just sales.

Users can select default rebate tiers rather than relying on the system’s automatic lowest range.

The module now updates rebate amounts dynamically based on agreements and new tiers, ensuring more accurate rebate management.

These improvements offer greater flexibility and control, especially for distribution companies, B2B businesses, and manufacturers.

Number 9 – Electronic Bank Payments Enhancements:

The Electronic Bank Payments module has received several key updates to improve payment processing, reporting, and notification management:

You can now set return and custom email addresses for response notifications and send reminder emails to approvers of pending payment batches.

Approval limits can be set for rules instead of individual employees, reducing unnecessary email notifications for amounts exceeding set limits.

A new “Include All Credits” checkbox allows users to view all credit transactions on bill and invoice payment processing pages.

These enhancements streamline EFT payments, customer refunds, and check fraud prevention, making payment processing more efficient and user-friendly.

Number 8 – Quality Management Enhancements:

The NetSuite 2024.2 release enhances the Quality Management module to better automate and formalise quality management processes, ensuring products meet required standards.

Key Enhancements:

Only assigned employees can perform inspection tasks, preventing unauthorised updates and enhancing data integrity and security.

Configurable email notifications help reduce excessive emails, improving user experience.

A new quality subtab on the item page consolidates all quality records, and improved navigation allows easier access between transaction pages, inspection queues, and the Quality Management tab.

These updates make the Quality Management module more secure, efficient, and user-friendly, aligning it with customer needs for effective quality control.

Number 7 – Compliance 360 SuiteApp:

The release has brought the new compliance 360 SuiteApp, designed to enhance the tracking and auditing of user interactions with customer records.

Key Features:

Compliance 360 simplifies monitoring of user actions (create, delete, edit, search, export) on customer records, eliminating the need for custom reports and saved searches.

It includes a dashboard with KPIs for real-time monitoring, making it easier to manage and analyse user activity.

This feature streamlines compliance management in NetSuite, making it easier and more efficient for users to track critical interactions with customer data.

Number 6 – Benchmark 360 SuiteApp:

Benchmark 360 is a new SuiteApp that provides industry benchmarks for key performance indicators (KPIs), helping businesses measure and compare their performance against similar companies within the same industry and region.

Key Features:

Allows businesses to compare their performance with similar companies, offering insights into their market position.

Features a dashboard with five KPIs (e.g., days cash on hand, revenue per full-time equivalent) and allows setting target values aligned with industry standards.

Displays NetSuite products and features used by similar businesses, suggesting tools that could enhance operations.

Benchmark 360 empowers companies to improve performance through relevant industry insights and encourages the adoption of NetSuite’s best practices.

Number 5 – SuiteBilling Enhancements:

The latest SuiteBilling update enhances subscription management with several key improvements:

Customers can prepay a set amount for services, with usage deducted from the prepaid balance. Additional prepayments or pay-as-you-go options are available once the balance is exhausted.

Businesses can now create custom subscriptions without needing a basic plan or price book, offering greater flexibility, including searching subscriptions by price book.

New automated email alerts notify customers of subscription changes, eliminating manual workflows.

These updates enhance the versatility of SuiteBilling, making it more efficient for complex billing scenarios and improving customer communication and subscription management.

Number 4 – Supply Planning Enhancements:

The 2024.2 release enhances the Supply Planning module with new features that improve planning efficiency and flexibility:

Users can now remove problematic transactions directly without a full system refresh, making issue resolution quicker.

Minimum order quantities can now be handled with any lot size, adding flexibility to supply planning.

The planning horizon and lead times have been extended from one year to almost ten years, allowing for more advanced long-term planning.

These enhancements streamline complex supply chain management and improve the module’s overall efficiency.

Number 3 – WMS Enhancements:

Additionally, the Warehouse Management System(WMS) in NetSuite has received significant enhancements to optimise warehouse operations:

Users  can now create inventory count plans ad manage cycle counting directly from the mobile app, allowing counts for up to ten items, and automatic submission for approval.

Users can set up and manage bin replenishment schedules within NetSuite, including frequency and timing, with notifications for successful or failed runs. Replenishment tasks are accessible on the mobile app.

Lot numbers can now be automatically generated during the assembly build process on the mobile app, streamlining lot numbering in work orders.

These updates enhance warehouse efficiency by improving inventory management, replenishment, and order fulfilment capabilities.

Number 2 – NetSuite Customer 360:

NetSuite Customer 360 is a powerful new feature that provides a comprehensive view of customer information on a single page.

Key Features:

Aggregates data from various sources to present a complete picture of each customer.

Provides insights into past sales and suggests product recommendations, making it easier to identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

Simplifies tracking and reporting on customer sales activities, whether from a CRM or accounting perspective, improving customer relationship management and analysis.

NetSuite Customer 360 enhances visibility into customer interactions and financials, allowing for more informed decision-making and better-targeted marketing strategies.

Number 1 – New User License Types:

NetSuite has introduced two key new licenses:

CRM Licenses

Manage CRM functions like campaigns, opportunities, quotes, sales orders, cases, and CPQ features. They offer customisable permissions but exclude invoicing capabilities.

View and Approve Licenses

Allow users to view and approve transactions, invoices, and reports, with customisation options to restrict access to specific subsidiaries or departments. Users can only view and approve, not perform other actions.

Implementation and Costs

These new licenses offer more tailored access to NetSuite, enhancing operational efficiency.

What’s next?:

We hope you start to benefit from these features over the coming months. If you’re a NetSuite user but suspect there is more potential within the system, we’d be happy to discuss your options.

Alternatively, if you find yourself currently utilising a legacy system and see the potential benefits of adopting NetSuite with its semi-annual updates, we encourage you to reach out.

For further details, please feel free to get in touch with Richard Christie, our Business Systems Specialist, at 01355 581960 or via email at richard.christie@eurekasolutions.co.uk