What would you do with 5 extra days every month? For finance teams using NetSuite, this isn't hypothetical. It's an achievable reality through strategic optimization.
Month-end closing procedures often consume disproportionate amounts of time and resources. Many finance departments spend 6-10 working days completing their monthly close, but with the right NetSuite optimization approach, you can cut that time in half.
Month-End Marathon: What's Slowing You Down?
Finance teams frequently encounter these obstacles during month-end:
- Manual reconciliation processes: Staff spending hours cross-checking data between systems or spreadsheets.
- Reporting bottlenecks: Reports that take too long to generate or require extensive manual adjustments.
- Sluggish approval workflows: Multi-step approvals with unclear ownership that create unnecessary delays.
- Integration gaps: Disconnects between NetSuite and other business systems that require manual intervention.
Our analysis of mid-market companies shows these inefficiencies typically consume 30-40% of a finance team's monthly capacity, time that could be spent on analysis and strategic planning instead.
What Is the Impact of Prolonged Closing Cycles?
When your monthly close drags on for 7+ days, the consequences extend beyond the finance department:
- Delayed strategic decisions: Executives make choices based on outdated information.
- Reduced accounting staff retention: Employee burnout from repetitive, high-pressure close periods.
- Increased error rates: Rush to close creates an environment where mistakes happen more frequently.
- Compliance vulnerabilities: Time constraints can lead to shortcuts that expose your company to risk.
A study by the American Productivity & Quality Center found that top-performing finance organizations close their books in just 4.8 days, compared to 7+ days for average performers.
Each additional day of closing costs a typical mid-market company $2,000-$3,000 in direct labor costs alone.
3 Options for Speeding Up Your Month-End Close
Most companies face three potential paths when addressing slow closing cycles:
Option 1: Maintain current processes and add staff:
- Pros: Minimal disruption to existing workflows.
- Cons: Increases costs without addressing root causes; simply adds more people to inefficient processes.
Option 2: Complete system replacement:
- Pros: Fresh start with newest technology.
- Cons: High risk, significant disruption, 6-12 month implementation timeline, 7-figure investment.
Option 3: Strategic NetSuite optimization:
- Pros: Targeted improvements, quick wins within weeks, minimal disruption, builds on existing investment.
- Cons: Requires expert knowledge of NetSuite capabilities and finance best practices.
Most of our clients find Option 3 provides the best balance of rapid results, manageable costs, and minimal business disruption.
5 NetSuite Optimization Strategies That Make Closing Faster
After analyzing hundreds of NetSuite implementations, we've identified specific optimization techniques that consistently reduce closing times. These practical approaches can be implemented quickly and provide immediate time savings:
1. Automated reconciliation workflows
Advanced NetSuite workflows can reduce manual reconciliation time by 65-80%. We configure custom matching logic that automatically flags exceptions only when human review is genuinely needed.
Real Result: A distribution client reduced bank reconciliation from 2 days to 2 hours.
2. Custom dashboard development
Finance teams need instant visibility into closing status. We build role-specific dashboards showing task completion, bottlenecks, and exceptions requiring attention.
Real Result: A healthcare client eliminated daily close status meetings, saving 5 hours of collective team time weekly.
3. Script modernization for performance
Outdated or inefficient scripts can slow NetSuite performance during critical close periods. Our team reviews, refactors, and optimizes custom scripts to improve processing speed by 40-60%.
Real Result: A manufacturing client's consolidation process decreased from 4 hours to 20 minutes after script optimization.
4. Automated journal entry generation
For recurring entries, we implement automated solutions that prepare, validate, and post journal entries with appropriate approvals, cutting manual entry time by 75%.
Real Result: A technology client reduced manual journal entries from 200+ to fewer than 30 per month.
5. Exception-based review processes
We implement intelligent rules that highlight only transactions requiring review, rather than forcing teams to examine every transaction.
Real Result: An e-commerce client reduced review time by 60% while improving accuracy.
Implementation Without Disruption: The Stockton10 Approach
We understand that finance teams can't press pause on their regular responsibilities. Our approach ensures continuous operations while implementing improvements:
- Phased implementation: We target quick wins first, building momentum while working toward comprehensive optimization.
- Parallel processing: Changes are tested thoroughly in sandbox environments before deployment.
- Knowledge transfer: Your team learns each improvement as it's implemented, building capability incrementally.
- Stability focus: Our 91% staff retention rate ensures the same experts who start your project will finish it, eliminating the $15,000+ in turnover costs that plague other consultancies.
How to Measure Success Using Key Performance Indicators
Successful NetSuite optimization produces measurable improvements:
- Closing timeline: 30-50% reduction in days to close.
- Error rates: 60-75% fewer adjusting entries.
- Team capacity: 25-35% increase in available time for analysis.
- Decision timing: Financial information available to executives 3-5 days earlier.
NetSuite Optimization Success Stories
These aren't theoretical benefits. Our clients have achieved significant improvements through targeted NetSuite optimization. Here are two examples of how specific companies transformed their financial closing processes:
Trading company cuts month-end close by 40%
A trading company struggled with a 10-day closing process due to:
- Complex multi-currency reconciliations.
- Manual data transfers between systems.
- Time-consuming inventory adjustments.
Stockton10 implemented a targeted NetSuite optimization program that:
- Created automated currency revaluation processes.
- Built custom reconciliation dashboards.
- Developed streamlined inventory workflows.
Result: The company reduced their closing cycle to 6 days, a 40% improvement, with significantly higher data accuracy and reduced overtime for finance staff.
Technology company eliminates 60+ manual processing hours
A technology company was spending excessive time on financial closes due to:
- Complicated revenue recognition processes.
- Manual subsidiary consolidations.
- Lack of standardized reporting templates.
Our optimization approach:
- Implemented automated revenue recognition workflows.
- Created consolidation scripts that run overnight.
- Developed standardized, auto-generating reports.
Result: The company eliminated over 60 hours of manual processing each month and can now access critical financial data 4 days earlier than before.
What Is the Value of NetSuite Optimization?
Faster closing represents just one benefit of NetSuite optimization. Companies also experience:
- Improved data quality: Fewer errors mean more reliable financial information.
- Enhanced controls: Better automation enables more consistent application of accounting policies.
- Increased staff satisfaction: Less overtime and fire-fighting improves retention.
- Better business outcomes: Quicker access to financial data leads to faster responses to market changes.
Next Steps: Your Path to Faster Closing
Every company's NetSuite environment is unique. The most effective first step is a targeted assessment to identify your specific opportunities.
We offer a complimentary 30-minute NetSuite optimization consultation to:
- Review your current closing process.
- Identify 2-3 quick-win opportunities.
- Outline a potential optimization roadmap.
Book your free 30-minute NetSuite optimization assessment today and take the first step toward closing your books 5 days faster.
