What to Look for When Choosing a Payment Integration for NetSuite

NetSuite is a complete, scalable cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution targeted at high-growing, mid-sized and large enterprise businesses. Various integrations have been created to improve the digital automation of your financial cycle, an area that is critical. In this article, we'll walk you through what to look  for when choosing a NetSuite payment integration.

NetSuite offers a variety of flexible payment solutions, but users often face difficult integration challenges associated with these third-party tools called SuiteApps. The right payment solution will not only integrate easily with your current systems, but will also help you reduce processing costs, speed up collections, and even streamline the payment process for your customers.

Selecting the best payment software for your team depends on a lot of factors, including your growth rate and the volume of transactions you’re processing. In this guide, we’ll take you through what to look for when choosing a NetSuite payment solution.

Free guide: Choosing the Right Payment Application for NetSuite

What is a NetSuite SuiteApp?

A SuiteApp is an application that enhances NetSuite in order to meet your business needs. Some SuiteApps run completely inside NetSuite, while others are integrations with other systems in use by NetSuite customers.

When shopping for a payment solution, it’s important to look for a SuiteApp with a “Built for NetSuite” status* — the gold standard for B2B payments applications.

All Built for NetSuite apps must be reviewed for compliance with NetSuite’s standards, which include documented proof of robust architecture, development, security and privacy. A product demonstration and/or customer references follow, and only upon final approval can an application meet NetSuite’s stringent standards and win SuiteApp designation.

*Paystand’s SuiteApp has had a Built-for-NetSuite status since 2018.

3 Factors to Consider When Shopping for a NetSuite Payment Integration

Choosing a payment SuiteApp that doesn’t meet your needs can be costly, given contracts, software, implementation costs, and the time it takes to migrate to a new provider. Before you start investing in a payments partner, consider these three factors:

Compatibility

The implementation of new work processes, technologies and tools are one of the most significant challenges that enterprises face. Studies show that up to 75% of ERP integrations fail. These mistakes usually occur because of inexperience with migration and how an ERP integration should be implemented. As a result, many SuiteApp implementations take longer than expected, costs run over, and business value is not delivered.

If a solution doesn’t play nice with your current setup, it’s probably not worth your time. The ability to sync your various software systems is what sets superstar payment solutions apart.

Compliance

It is important to pick a payment provider that offers secure data processing. If you accept credit and debit cards, this means selecting a provider that is PCI-compliant*. The PCI Data Security Standard is a U.S. industry standard governing how you secure, process and store sensitive payment information.

A reliable payments solution should reduce your PCI compliance workload and safeguard your customers’ payments using the latest in data security.

This means taking advantage of technologies like tokenization, point-to-point encryption, and other fraud management tools.

*Note: Paystand is a PCI DSS payment processor.

Costs and markups

You want to keep processing fees as low as possible, but beware of the attractive rates some solutions may have to offer. Transaction fees are only one way that payment solutions add on costs. There are also hidden charges that can negatively impact your margins.

For example, Authorize.net charges customers $10/month to process eCheck and $25/month for ACH, and that’s in addition to regular per transaction costs. Other markups may include:

• Fees for leased equipment, such as a lockbox
• Early termination penalties and charges
• Fees for exceeding maximum monthly quotas
• Fees for missing minimum monthly quotas

Sample Hidden Fees and Markups in eCheck Pricing

What to Look for When Choosing a NetSuite Payment Integration

Ideally, payment software should exponentially improve both the internal accounts receivable process and the customer-facing payment experience. Here are some features to watch for in your search for a NetSuite payment solution:

Multiple payment methods and flexible options

Payments play a crucial role in the overall customer experience, but they can sometimes be an afterthought. Many users like to have options or they have their own preference as to which payment method they use. Offering your customers multiple payment options can help you get paid faster, reduce the risk of bad debt, and adapt quickly to changing customer expectations.

Streamlining bill payments for your customers can also help reduce barriers in getting money from their accounts into yours. Manual billing processes and traditional payments like paper checks require time and effort that can be a burden on internal resources.

They also require work from your customers and can create a less-than-ideal interaction with your brand. When shopping for a payment solution, look for a tool that enables you to have all payment rails presented as options – credit card, debit, ACH, and eCheck, as well as digital alternatives like the Paystand Bank Network*, which can eliminate transaction fees altogether.

What to look for:

• Convenience factors for your customers that also help you save money and time. Look to partner with a payment processor that can consolidate your receivables and have all payment rails presented as options – credit and debit cards with the lowest rate you can find, ACH and direct bank payments, which can eliminate bank transfer percentage transaction fees all together.
  
  Having rails that allow for 0% processing will drastically cut transaction costs. With a rail like eCheck at your disposal, you will also receive instant fund verification, allowing you to avoid bounced checks or declined cards and the manual follow up and cost associated with it.

Automatic reconciliation and cash application

Without a doubt, manual reconciliation is the least efficient and most cost-demanding process in a company. According to a survey by EY, up to 60% of a financial department’s resources are spent on managing transaction-intensive processes. And around 95% of this effort is wasted on transactions that already match, rather than problem entries that actually require attention.

That’s why one of the most important features that a NetSuite payment solution can offer is automatic reconciliation. Payment solutions like Paystand can deal with repetitive tasks like transaction matching, giving you the ability to drill down on open entries or exceptions that require additional attention, and also to develop strategic, qualitative activities.

After a payment is remitted, the payment solution should automatically reflect it in your NetSuite ERP records, eliminating a large amount of manual processing.

We’ve gathered this checklist of things to consider when reviewing and improving reconciliation management from our most successful customers:

• Map out all reconciliations. Is anyone doing double work? Are there any gaps?
• Analyze your month-end, quarter-end, and annual close from end-to-end. Who does what? When do they do it? Why?
• Are processes and procedures written down or is it sitting in one central colleague’s brain?
• Are there any reconciliations being done that should be automated?

Enterprise-grade dashboard and reporting

There’s no denying that data-driven insights are the backbone of financial decision-making, helping accounting and finance professionals better understand their customers, receivables, revenue, and more.

Payment solutions with enterprise-grade reporting offer an easy way to access this data, as well as tools to analyze revenue insights and monitor key financial metrics.

When analyzing payment solutions that offer enterprise-grade reporting, look for tools that can customize reporting to your specific needs as a business. The solution should also be able to guide your team in identifying opportunities and red flags based on customer payment history.

What to look for:

• Finding a unified solution that can sync your backend systems to your payment processing is critical and will not only consolidate the programs that you are consistently working in, but it will give you one invoice to pay as well. We have found that digitization is a key element in todays accounting life cycle in order to speed up time to cash, eliminate human error, manual processing and to create a superior user experience for you and your customer.
  
  
• Reporting and notifications on both sides of the transaction is another feature to look for. Making sure your customer receives a notification when their payment is processing and when it clears improves customer relations and payment remittance. In accounts receivable, you of course are heavily reliant on when you are getting paid – tracking that process is going to improve your cash flow.

Interested in Learning More About Paystand's Payment Integration for NetSuite?

If you're looking for a payment processing or accounts receivable automation solution for NetSuite, Paystand offers powerfully flexible payment modules that can be customized to your business needs. Our software is packed with features to help you manage, optimize and automate the payments experience in and outside of NetSuite.

Whether you are looking for a one-stop-shop for all things payments, or simply need answers to your questions, our payment experts are here to make your business better. Schedule a free demo or call us anytime at 1-800-708-6413.

Learn more about the Paystand SuiteApp.