NetSuite versus MYOB Advanced

Perhaps you’ve outgrown the accounting platform that got you to where you are today, or maybe you’re still reliant on an on-premise system that can’t keep pace with your success?

Or is it that you already have an ERP system such as MYOB Advanced or an equivalent, but have reached the limits of what it can achieve?

The good news is that you have a wealth of options to improve your situation and keep your business evolving — but sometimes even choice can be overwhelming! At Fusion5 we understand that one size does not fit all when it comes to an ERP system, which is why we’ve put together this comparison between popular accounting software MYOB and the Cloud-based ERP NetSuite, to help you assess which solution may be better suited for the next phase of your organisation’s digital journey.  

When it comes to cloud-based ERP, without a doubt NetSuite and MYOB Advanced are frequently on the shortlist of applications under consideration. Both solutions have comparable functionality across several different modules as can be seen in the table below. Both are cloud-based ERP systems, meaning the service provider maintains and updates the software, and you can access it via a web browser.

In our experience, companies typically choose MYOB Advanced when they need a quick-fix and a less advanced functional product to address their immediate challenges and concerns. These companies tend to be more price-sensitive. Whereas companies that choose NetSuite over MYOB Advanced often are seeking a solution that can scale and grow quickly with their current and future business expansion needs. This is why NetSuite is also a popular business management suite for fast-growing businesses. NetSuite is also built with real-time data entry, while MYOB Advanced uses batch-based entry at the sub-ledger level, which can make reporting difficult, especially when your business is experiencing rapid growth and you require accurate data visibility across your core operations.

Once a company expands internationally, however, the differences do become more evident between these two solutions. One of NetSuite’s key strengths is its ability to support multiple languages and currencies as well as foreign regulatory and tax laws at a more superior level. This means that MYOB Advanced users may struggle with limited visibility across their international entities and operations, which in turn creates a significant manual workload when transacting in other currencies and conducting financial consolidation.

Comparison matrix between NetSuite and MYOB Advanced

Source: NetSuite Australia

Once you get past the same core ERP capabilities that both these ERP systems offer (as shown in table 1) and delve into the unique requirements of your business that an ERP will need to meet, that’s when it becomes evident that the value between MYOB and NetSuite vastly differ.  

A more comprehensive breakdown of these differences can be found in our whitepaper, but for now let’s take a closer look at the features, functionality, and underlying benefits of each: 

NetSuite vs MYOB Advanced — vertical industries

Processes, workflows, and data demands can vary greatly by industry. The majority of ERP software vendors offer industry-specific editions as well as the ability to customise the software to meet the specific needs a business might have. 

Real-time data entry vs batch-based data entry

NetSuite is based on real-time data entry. MYOB Advanced uses batch-based entry at the sub-ledger level. This could mean that it takes longer to get your hands on the reports that you need in real-time.  

Reporting and Analytics

As you would expect from any modern ERP system, both NetSuite and MYOB Advanced offer a series of standard reports that will work out of the box. As you would expect from any modern ERP system, both NetSuite and MYOB Advanced offer a series of standard reports that will work out of the box. Even NetSuite’s SuiteSuccess starter edition gives companies over 95 pre-built standard reports, pre-configured dashboards, and intelligence metrics designed for the key roles that most frequently use ERP across your business. Fusion5 has witnessed that users migrating from MYOB to NetSuite have found this very useful, impressive, and comprehensive. If you scrutinise user feedback on MYOB Advanced, it would appear that the focus is on helping users create their own reports rather than delivering them out of the box. 

Core Financial Management Capabilities

Both NetSuite and MYOB Advanced give you the core financial management that is central to an ERP. These include general ledger (GL), accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash management, currency management, tax, deferred revenue accounting, intercompany accounting reconciliation, recurring revenue management, billing, and fixed assets management.

NetSuite does offer some important additional accounting functionality that MYOB Advanced does not. It allows customers to keep more than one book, referred to as multi-book accounting. Businesses that need to give different accounting treatments to the same business event, either because of industry-specific, country- or region-specific accounting rules or a combination of these rules, can do so in NetSuite and remain regulation compliant. Keeping multiple sets of books in parallel allows for easier reporting for compliance. Without multi-book capabilities as part of the ERP software, accountants are forced into error-prone and cumbersome manual processes.

General Ledger customisation

NetSuite also allows customers to customise their General Ledger (GL). For many businesses, the GL is no longer a static entity. Traditionally, ERP systems provide a hard-coded set of transaction types such as vendor bills, customer invoices, and inbound/outbound payments that are rigidly reflected in the general ledger, limiting the business’s ability to see and understand their GL impact.

With many solutions, MYOB Advanced included, the customisations related to the GL typically require a third-party IT consulting team to change the core code of the application — which does come at extra cost and could be a source of risk. By comparison, NetSuite users can add custom general ledger lines to standard transactions to avoid manual journal entries, create custom transaction types to create new business processes that can impact the general ledger, such as accruals for vendor bills, and create custom general ledger segments that users can tag to demonstrate the impact of transactions and improve flexibility and results from reporting and analytics.

Sub-ledgers vs one single database

Why is this difference important? Well, sub-ledgers are a series of transactions grouped by type, such as accounts receivable or accounts payable. Because sub-ledger architectures are designed to pull certain transaction types but leave others out, this creates reporting challenges. The detailed data is ultimately stored at the sub-ledger level, and a summary is pushed up to the GL through the batch process. To drill down to access that detailed data from reports (which pull from the GL), requires drilling into the sub-ledger to access data on customers, vendors, or projects, and building out more reports.

This is an area where NetSuite does have an edge. It stores all transactions on a single database, meaning everything in the system is updated in real-time and there is no need to run batch jobs to update the books. When a NetSuite user needs to access information on a customer, they can conduct a global search and access all the information for that customer in a single view. With the sub-ledger architecture found in MYOB Advanced, they would need multiple screen tabs and reports to produce a similar result.

The subledger architecture also impacts the close process. With batch processing of the sub-ledger, users need to factor in extra time and effort to review all the transactions and approve them for summary entry to the GL. With NetSuite, the GL is updated in real-time with no need to review transactions. This allows businesses to more easily undertake newer financial strategies like the continuous close.

Multi-subsidiary management

Over the years, Fusion5 has implemented and supported ERP for companies with multiple subsidiaries (legal entities in Australia and New Zealand as well as internationally). This has been achieved through a variety of solutions, including NetSuite which provides multi-subsidiary management.

MYOB Advanced is licensed for use in Australia and New Zealand. If you wish to expand and open offices in other parts of the world, an instance of Acumatica would be required. Having multiple instances could mean manageability and visibility challenges.

International trade and subsidiaries

If you have international entities and operations, you need to ensure that your ERP solution can handle the complexities surrounding this. For example, languages, currencies, and foreign regulatory and tax laws. MYOB Advanced has rudimentary built-in localisation translation books, but often customers rely on local partners to get the additional functionality that they need. Currency revaluations in MYOB Advanced need to be performed manually. NetSuite supports 27 different languages, 190 different currencies and has localised regulatory and tax law provisions for over 200 countries.

Without the same level of capability in these areas, MYOB Advanced users may struggle with getting the right level of visibility across their international operations. The consequence of not having this functionality could be the need for additional manual workload when transacting in other currencies and doing financial consolidation. From our experience of implementing ERP, we often see organisations using Excel and spreadsheets to make these international calculations separately. Doing this outside of your core ERP does increase the potential for error and brings in elements of double keying that are not ideal from an admin time point of view.

Batch processing vs real-time processing

When it comes to processing data, the two primary architectures are ‘batch’ and ‘real-time’.

MYOB uses batch processing. This is typically done at a scheduled time or on an ‘as-needed’ basis and is particularly well suited to end-of-cycle processing such as the end-of-day bank reports or monthly payrolls, inventory, or invoicing. It requires minimal human intervention, but there can be quite complex training required to manage things like batch triggers, schedule processing, and how to deal with notifications. Where a business needs up-to-date data 24/7, then batch processing can severely limit the company’s ability to make informed decisions. 

NetSuite uses real-time processing, giving you access to accurate company performance data whenever you want it. Real-time processing enables you to make more informed decisions faster. In addition, it can help you identify issues earlier so you can take immediate action, improve customer service, and resolve issues relating to order and profit tracking before they cause too much damage!  

Implementation and support services

Implementation and support are key considerations in any ERP purchasing decision. And they represent another area of significant difference between NetSuite and MYOB Advanced.

NetSuite offers implementation and support services through its professional services and support teams respectively, as well as through partners, who tend to be regional or specialists in specific industries. In either case, customers get 24/7 support from NetSuite support services around the globe in addition to its SuiteSuccess methodology. In addition to this, Fusion5 maintains a dedicated relationship with every customer by allocating a dedicated Account Manager. 

MYOB also provides a support service for their clients which is accessible via their Support website 24/7. This is not global. It is unclear if clients get a dedicated Account Manager, however, MYOB does provide consultants based in Australia, that clients can reach out to.  

Ambitious organisations such as yours are looking for the latest software that can transform business operations today whilst giving the scope to accommodate significant growth and rapidly evolving digital transformation needs. We’ve highlighted some of the critical differences between NetSuite and MYOB Advanced, not just at a functional level but the long-term benefits an ERP system should provide to your business.  

Think of this comparison as a complement to your research on these solutions and possibly others.  

NetSuite might be perfect for you — or it may not — but having the right partner to help you through this process will make or break your ERP project.  

And whilst no two businesses are the same, we encourage you to read what our many satisfied Fusion5 NetSuite customers have to say. This may provide you with additional insights, learn about their business challenges (and growing pains), and why NetSuite became an obvious choice for them. Click here for more information.  

If you think that NetSuite may be the right solution for you, then let’s test that. We encourage and support choice and our Fusion5 NetSuite team will work with you to find the best solution for your business.  

Arrange a time for our expert team to give you an obligation-free, real-time demonstration of the NetSuite solution so that you may see it in action. You will quickly discover if NetSuite is the right fit for you and your business. And if not, we have other leading solutions to consider.