NetSuite Enhances its ERP

San Mateo, Calif. (May 28, 2004) -- In its ongoing effort to compete against established desktop enterprise resource planning systems such as Microsoft Great Plains and MAS 200, hosted business application software maker NetSuite will offer additional ERP functionality in the latest version of its flagship product.

The company will begin rolling out the new capabilities in June. New features are specifically targeted at NetSuite’s core customer base of wholesalers and distributors and service-oriented businesses. Key features will include allocations; advanced budgeting; advanced billing for service-oriented businesses; revenue recognition; and wholesaler-specific features, including special orders for unstocked items and lot tracking.

“Well over 50 percent of our deals are against Great Plains and MAS 200 and these new features will finish out the functionality [of NetSuite] to compete more aggressively,” said NetSuite chief executive Zach Nelson. Nelson also said that with this new functionality the company is more aggressively targeting service-oriented businesses including accounting, banking and finance organizations.

He stressed that the new advanced billing features will create a sales order that defines, by line item, how a customer is billed. In addition, the revenue recognition feature was designed to make it easier for companies to recognize revenue according to customer contracts and to maintain accounting control within generally accepted accounting principles and other reporting standards.

“A big part of our Sarbanes-Oxley capabilities is offering these key tracking and auditing capabilities,” Nelson said.

Pricing for the new ERP features will be available during the third quarter of this year.

-- Seth Fineberg

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