When executives think about NetSuite, they usually picture efficiency: automated workflows, real-time data, and compliance-ready reporting.
But what happens when your setup drifts from best practices, customizations clash, or regulatory changes aren’t applied correctly?
That’s when costs creep in.
Small misalignments snowball into expensive problems. Errors in tax filings, stalled integrations, misreported revenue, or broken workflows that eat up hours of your team’s time.
At Stockton10, our NetSuite Health Check is designed to catch these issues before they turn into six-figure headaches.
Drawing from real-world client projects, here are five expensive problems we regularly uncover and fix early.
1. Tax configuration errors that trigger compliance risks
Tax compliance is unforgiving. One wrong configuration in NetSuite can expose your business to penalties, delayed filings, or costly rework.
Take the case of a global technology client expanding into the US. Their internal team had tried to self-implement Avalara, but mismatched tax codes and recurring tokenization errors meant invoices weren’t posting properly.
The business risk? Failing to file accurate state-level sales tax returns. A problem that could have invited IRS scrutiny and fines.
What the health check caught early:
- Misaligned tax codes and groups not following Avalara’s best practices
- Broken tokenization causing authentication failures at invoice save
- No standardized financial reporting to trace liabilities per tax authority
The fix: Stockton10 realigned the Avalara configuration to a single tax code, created custom reports for state-by-state liability, and resolved authentication issues by working with Avalara’s support team.
The outcome? The client went from six-hour processing delays to smooth, compliant tax reporting across 10 states.
That’s the kind of issue you want caught in a health check, not in an audit.
2. Manual lead-to-order processes that drain sales productivity
When your NetSuite setup forces staff into manual workarounds, the costs aren’t just inefficiency. They’re lost deals and wasted salaries.
A trading company we worked with had a sales cycle riddled with manual tasks: data entry from website sign-ups, contract reprocessing due to DocuSign limitations, and delayed customer portal provisioning.
Each new lead cost their sales team 30 minutes of admin time, and errors stretched into hours of contract rework.
What the health check caught early:
- SuiteApp limitations in DocuSign’s integration with NetSuite workflows
- Manual email triggers for customer portal access, creating bottlenecks
- Inconsistent lead capture forms due to SquareSpace design constraints
The fix: Our team built custom Map/Reduce scripts to automate DocuSign validation, scheduled workflows to provision customer access instantly, and redesigned the sign-up form to match SquareSpace branding while integrating seamlessly with NetSuite.
The result? Faster lead conversion, real-time pipeline insights, and a sales team focused on customer retention and acquisition, not data entry.
Without intervention, the cost of lost productivity and missed opportunities would have continued to climb.
3. Broken planning and budgeting that stalls purchasing decisions
Your purchasing and inventory teams live or die by accurate planning. When NetSuite Planning and Budgeting (NSPB) is misconfigured, decisions get made on faulty data or not made at all.
A retail and distribution client came to us after their first implementation of NSPB failed. Purchasing managers were still exporting data into Excel, losing 30-50% of their daily workload just to create reports.
Worse, they couldn’t transact purchase orders for pallets and containers directly in NSPB, leaving their supply chain decisions blind.
What the health check caught early:
- Lack of documentation from the previous implementation team
- Broken payload transfers between NetSuite and NSPB
- Scripts for vendor quotes and container logic that weren’t functioning
The fix: Stockton10 conducted a full system review, documenting every configuration before creating new scripts for pallet ordering, container logic, and vendor prioritization.
By replacing Excel spreadsheets with real-time NetSuite insights, the purchasing team recovered half their day and gained confidence that their supply chain was operating on accurate data.
Without this, the hidden cost was poor inventory decisions leading to stockouts or excess carrying costs.
4. Revenue recognition errors that put financial compliance at risk
Revenue recognition isn’t just an accounting task. It’s a compliance mandate. Errors here can mean misstated financials, regulatory penalties, and lost investor confidence.
One US healthcare client was drowning in manual revenue recognition entries. 500 every month. When their process owner went on maternity leave, the organization was at risk of missing filings altogether.
What the health check caught early:
- Over-reliance on manual invoice and dunning letter tasks
- No automation in revenue recognition workflows
- High risk of continuity breakdown if key staff were unavailable
The fix: Stockton10 automated the entire revenue recognition process, reducing manual entries from 500 to zero. Invoices and dunning letters were streamlined with custom solutions, and extensive documentation was created to protect against knowledge loss.
The payoff? A 70% reduction in manual tasks, accurate recognition aligned with compliance standards, and a business no longer dependent on a single employee.
A health check flagged the weakness before it could cost the company in both compliance fines and cash flow delays.
5. Regulatory changes that leave outdated systems noncompliant
Tax and compliance laws change, but NetSuite setups don’t update themselves. Ignoring these changes can result in penalties, disputes, or disallowed tax claims.
In the Philippines, the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act changed VAT recognition rules, consolidating reporting under “gross sales” and requiring invoice-based substantiation.
A telecommunications client was still configured for cash-based VAT on services and official receipts for claims. Setups that would have made their filings invalid under the new law.
What the health check caught early:
- Scripts tied to outdated VAT recognition triggers
- PDF templates misaligned with new reporting formats
- Risk of mismatched BIR reports and disputed VAT claims
The fix: Stockton10 updated scripts to align with accrual-based VAT, adjusted PDF templates, and ensured prospective application so historical transactions weren’t retroactively impacted.
The result was error-free compliance with the new law and peace of mind that their filings wouldn’t be rejected.
Without proactive adjustments, the cost could have included both regulatory fines and strained client relationships.
Why Catching Problems Early Saves You More
Each of these problems shares a common theme: they don’t start expensive.
A misconfigured workflow, a missing documentation set, or a delayed integration seems manageable… until the ripple effects build into weeks of wasted time, compliance risks, or missed revenue.
A NetSuite Health Check acts like preventive medicine for your ERP. It identifies hidden risks in your system setup, integrations, and workflows before they can snowball into six-figure costs. Whether it’s tax compliance, revenue recognition, sales processes, or system performance, catching problems early is always cheaper than cleaning them up later.
Ready To Protect Your Business
At Stockton10, we specialize in post-implementation support. That means we know where NetSuite setups tend to break, what regulators are watching, and where inefficiencies hide.
Our senior consultants perform in-depth health checks that flag risks, provide clear fixes, and give your executives confidence that your system is working for—not against—you.
Don’t wait for an IRS audit, a sales bottleneck, or a revenue recognition error to show you what’s broken.
Get ahead of the costs now.
Book your NetSuite Health Check with Stockton10 today.
