NetSuite Pre-Implementation Audit
Make sure your plan to Go-live will go smooth!
NetSuite Pre-Implementation Audit: Measure Twice, Cut Once
You wouldn’t build a house without an independent inspector checking the blueprints. Your ERP implementation should be no different.
Implementing NetSuite is likely one of the largest capital investments your operations team will make this decade. While your software vendor or implementation partner wants the project to succeed, their primary incentive is to close the deal and move to the next build. This often leads to vague scopes, "happy path" assumptions, and technical architectures that look good on paper but fail on the warehouse floor.
The NetSuite Pre-Implementation Audit is your insurance policy. At eMerge, we act as your independent advocate. We are not selling you licenses, and we are not trying to rush you to a go-live date. We exist solely to validate that the plan you have been sold actually matches the business you run.
We review your Statement of Work (SOW), Business Requirement Document (BRD), and proposed architecture to identify gaps, risks, and missing workflows before configuration begins. We ensure that what you signed up for is exactly what you are going to get.
Why You Need an Independent Pair of Eyes
To Prevent "Sales-to-Delivery" Gap
There is often a disconnect between what a salesperson promises during the demo and what the technical team is scoped to deliver. Sales teams may gloss over complex requirements to keep the services estimate low. We audit the Scope of Work against your actual requirements to ensure the budget is realistic and you aren’t hit with massive Change Orders halfway through the project.
To Eliminate Technical Debt Before It Starts
A bad implementation creates "technical debt"—shortcuts and hard-coded scripts that break every time NetSuite updates. Once these are in your system, they are expensive to fix. We review the proposed technical design (Scripting vs. Workflows, Custom Records vs. Standard Transactions) to ensure your partner is building a system that is scalable and compliant with NetSuite best practices.
Because Your Process is Unique, and "Standard" Won't Cut It
Many partners try to shoehorn your business into a "Standard NetSuite" box to save time. But if your inventory flow or revenue recognition is unique, a standard setup will break your operations. We validate that the proposed solution respects the nuances of your industry, ensuring the software adapts to you, not the other way around.
To Validate the Data Strategy
Data migration is where most go-lives collapse. If the plan is simply to "import your CSVs," you are at risk. We review the Data Migration Strategy to ensure there is a clear plan for data cleansing, historical data mapping, and validation. We make sure you aren’t just moving old clutter into a new house.
NetSuite Pre-Implementation Audit FAQ
Ideally, this happens after you have selected a partner/vendor and received a Statement of Work (SOW) or Business Requirement Document (BRD), but before major configuration or scripting begins. This is the "Architectural Phase" where changes are cheap. Changing the plan after the build has started is significantly more expensive
It shouldn’t. A confident implementation partner welcomes a clear, validated scope because it protects them from "scope creep" later. We frame our review as a collaborative step to ensure clarity for both sides. If a partner refuses to let a third party review their plan, that is a red flag.
Not necessarily. Our goal is to ensure your current plan succeeds. If we find the plan is solid, we give you the green light to proceed with your chosen partner. If we find critical flaws, we provide a remediation plan. We only step in to take over the build if you specifically request us to replace the current vendor.
To provide a comprehensive assessment, we typically review the Statement of Work (SOW), the Business Requirements Document (BRD), any proposed Solution Architecture diagrams, and the Project Timeline.
