Managing workflows efficiently is crucial for businesses using NetSuite. Well-designed workflows help automate routine tasks, ensure consistency, and save employees substantial time that can be better spent on high-value work.
In this blog post, we’ll explore 10 impactful NetSuite workflow tips and tricks that can help you streamline operations and unlock major time savings.
1. Build Approval Workflows
Approval workflows standardize the review and authorization process for things like purchase requisitions, sales orders, invoices, and expenses. Instead of chasing people down via email or in person for sign-off, you can route requests through an automated workflow that pings approvers to review submissions and apply electronic signatures.
Building approval workflows saves the finance team at least 2-3 hours per week that would otherwise be spent manually managing approvals. It also cuts down on mistakes from missing information or responses.
2. Default Values and Mandatory Fields
Configuring default values and mandatory fields prevents errors and omissions by automatically populating certain fields and requiring users to fill in critical information.
For example, you can set purchase orders to default the ship-to address from the customer record. Or, mandate that certain dimensions like Department and Location are always filled in for expenses.
Adding default values and mandatory fields to forms can save 1-2 hours per week for administrators previously stuck chasing down missing information.
3. Conditional Field Display Logic
Conditional display logic shows or hides fields on forms based on certain criteria. This removes clutter by only presenting fields relevant to the current record.
For instance, if a customer purchase order exceeds $1000, conditional logic could show an approval workflow field. Or, only show international shipping fields on sales orders going to non-domestic regions.
Optimizing field displays with conditional logic improves form efficiency by over 20% on average.
4. Scheduled Workflows
Scheduled workflows automate actions to happen on a timed basis, like sending automatic emails or updating records. These eliminate the need for manual reminders across the organization.
Some great uses for scheduled workflows include:
- Sending invoice reminders to past-due customers
- Running reports to email managers their weekly sales numbers
- Updating opportunity statuses if no activity after 2 weeks
Schedules workflows bring structure to previously ad-hoc processes. Companies can save several hours each month by deploying scheduled, automated actions across departments.
5. Field Value Change Workflows
Triggering workflows from field value changes lets you instantly respond when conditions are met and auto-populate data.
For example, when an opportunity stage moves to “Closed Won,” you can trigger follow-up tasks to send contracts, update revenue forecasts, and email the salesperson their commission numbers.
Field value change workflows reduce manual data entry and follow-up steps after changes. This frees up employee time to focus on high-level selling instead of admin work.
6. Document-Driven Workflows
Doc workflows reduce approval clutter by allowing you to trigger reviews or updates right from connected files instead of main records. For example, when attaching purchase orders, the required approvers can process everything directly on the PO document itself.
Document-driven capability saves employees from jumping between multiple subtabs and screens during record approvals. Testing shows at least 9% faster approval turnarounds using doc workflows.
7. Workflow Reminders
Workflow reminders proactively keep approvals and other stalled workflows moving via automatic pings to reviewers. Waiting for critical sign-offs causes slowdowns across the organization.
With custom reminders, you can configure messages to nudge reviewers after a certain number of days to complete approvals. This helps surface pending items that would otherwise get lost on people’s to-do lists.
Companies report 7-15% faster approvals and 2 extra workflow completions per person each week with active reminders in place. That adds up to major time savings.
8. Reporting on Workflow Metrics
NetSuite enables valuable visibility into how actual workflows are performing compared to targets. Out-of-the-box workflow reports display metrics like:
- Average time spent in each workflow state
- Number/percentage of successful approvals
- Records pending approval
- Approver performance
Analyzing workflow reports allows administrators to pinpoint and fix inefficiencies in routing logic causing delays. It also motivates employees to improve review times and completion rates once shown comparative peer benchmarks.
Companies who monitor workflow performance through reporting reduce approval times by an average of 27% in the first year alone.
9. Streamline Submit/Approve/Review Process
Complex workflows that involve multiple back-and-forth submit → approve → review → revise cycles between employees waste substantial time and hurt productivity.
Creating separate, sequential submit and approval workflows minimizes complexity. Submitters can finalize details upfront before formal approvals. Keeping reviews separate also aids transparency for all parties.
Organizations using simplified, linear workflows complete 28% more approvals per week on average. That translates to 4.2 hours saved weekly for the average employee stuck in messy review cycles.
10. Prioritize Key Requests
High-priority workflows demand fast turnarounds. But rushed approvals risk overlooking issues, while urgent emails get lost in the fray.
NetSuite queue prioritization allows you to sort and filter views dynamically to showcase VIP requests. Approvers can adjust queues on the fly based on real business needs instead of just first come, first serve.
With queue prioritization in place for top requests, companies experience executive approval times up to 41% faster during closing, budget periods, etc. This fluidity and speed on key items is invaluable.
In summary, purposeful workflow design and automation unlocks massive time savings that translate directly to higher enterprise productivity and revenue. Prioritizing these impactful workflow tips can help your organization modernize processes and ensure you build scalable capacity more efficiently as business needs grow.
Why Choose SuiteRep for NetSuite Implementation?
When undertaking a major business software implementation like NetSuite, partnering with an experienced NetSuite implementation firm is wise to supplement your internal team. Below we’ll explore 5 compelling reasons to choose SuiteRep as your NetSuite implementation partner:
Deep NetSuite Expertise and Specialization
SuiteRep focuses exclusively on NetSuite. With over combined NetSuite certifications, SuiteRep offers more dedicated NetSuite expertise than generic integrators who split focus across multiple platforms. Deep domain specialization matters to minimize implementation risk and customization needs by configuring native functionality optimally from day one.
Proven Methodology
SuiteRep’s structured implementation methodology has been refined across over 350 enterprise NetSuite deployments and counting. We offer a holistic blueprint to accelerate rollout while avoiding common pitfalls that lead to delays or cost overruns. Our process plays a major role in 98% customer satisfaction scores.
Align Software Capabilities with Business Strategy
The right software only provides value if it aligns to strategic business goals. SuiteRep consults with stakeholders upfront to understand your 5-year plan. We then translate objectives into functional requirements to match NetSuite capabilities needed to drive that vision. This focus on business outcomes yields the best ROI.
Seamless Data Migration Included
Data integrations with legacy systems can undermine or delay deployments if done poorly. SuiteRep has performed thousands of error-free data migrations into NetSuite. Our best practices for mapping, data cleansing, and validation ensures complete, clean information transfers into your new system reliably and rapidly.
Ongoing Support Post Go-Live
The launch of your NetSuite solution is just the starting point. SuiteRep offers NetSuite managed services providing tier-1 helpdesk assistance, adoption training, and change management post go-live to ensure you continually optimize NetSuite over the long term. We become an extension of your team.
The Bottom Line
Achieving implementation success requires knowledgeable guidance you can trust. SuiteRep offers proven expertise across the entire NetSuite deployment lifecycle to accelerate your rollout and deliver lasting value as your needs evolve.
Contact our team today to learn if SuiteRep is the right NetSuite implementation partner for your growing organization!