NetSuite Health Check: How a System Assessment Turns into an Optimization Roadmap

NetSuite is rarely “set it and forget it.”

A year after go-live, most teams are moving faster, adding users, introducing new products, and layering on apps and integrations. That is when small configuration choices turn into big operational problems: month-end stretches, reporting becomes a spreadsheet project, and users start saying, “Don’t touch that, it might break.”

A NetSuite Health Check is a structured system assessment designed to identify what is working, what is slowing teams down, and what to prioritize next. Done well, it does not end with a list of issues. It ends with a practical, sequenced optimization roadmap tied to outcomes, owners, and timelines.

If you are seeing close delays, reporting workarounds, brittle integrations, or growing user frustration, this guide explains what a NetSuite Health Check includes and how to get real ROI from it. (If you want the service overview, start here: NetSuite Health Check service.)

What is a NetSuite Health Check?

A NetSuite Health Check is a targeted review of your NetSuite environment across configuration, workflows, roles and permissions, data integrity, customizations, integrations, reporting, and user adoption.

Unlike a generic audit, the goal is not to grade your system. The goal is to produce an optimization roadmap that answers three questions:

1. What is blocking performance or accuracy today?
2. What improvements will unlock time, visibility, and reliability?
3. What should be tackled first, and why?

This is especially valuable if your current state is “NetSuite works, but only if we do a lot of manual cleanup.”

When you should run a NetSuite Health Check

Many companies wait until a breaking point. A better approach is to run a Health Check when early warning signs appear, or before major changes.

Common triggers

• Month-end close keeps getting longer
• Finance does not trust reports without manual “cleanup”
• Inventory accuracy varies by location, item, or team
• Approvals are bypassed, or everyone has admin access “to keep work moving”
• Teams rely on spreadsheets to connect departments
• Saved searches and dashboards have become slow or inconsistent
• Integrations break, drift, or require constant monitoring
• Custom fields and scripts keep growing without governance
• User adoption is slipping because workflows feel heavy

Ideal timing

• 6 to 12 months after go-live
• Before rolling out new subsidiaries, locations, or major product lines
• Before implementing new modules
• After an acquisition, reorg, or leadership change
• When you inherit a system built by a prior team or partner

If your implementation itself is off track, you may also want to review CEBA’s NetSuite Project Recovery service, or this related article: Fixing a Failed NetSuite Implementation: When to Rebuild vs Optimize.

What a NetSuite Health Check should cover

A Health Check should be broad enough to catch systemic issues, and specific enough to produce a roadmap your team can execute.

1) Configuration and process alignment

This verifies NetSuite matches how the business operates today, not how it operated during implementation.

• Chart of accounts and segment strategy
• Accounting periods, close controls, approvals
• Order to cash workflow (quote, order, fulfillment, invoicing, payments)
• Procure to pay workflow (POs, receipts, vendor bills, payments)
• Inventory costing and item setup consistency
• Multi-location, multi-subsidiary, intercompany settings (if applicable)

If you are still in early stages, it can help to align on implementation best practices first: NetSuite Implementation and the NetSuite Implementation Checklist.

2) Roles, permissions, and governance

This is where risk and friction quietly grow over time.

• Role-based access accuracy
• Segregation of duties for key financial actions
• Overuse of admin roles
• Audit trail expectations and controls
• Change management process for system updates

3) Customizations, scripts, and technical debt

Customizations are not the enemy. Unmanaged customizations are.

• Custom fields, forms, workflows, and custom records
• Script review for maintainability and performance
• Redundant objects and unused “just in case” fields
• Clutter that slows record entry and confuses users

4) Integrations and data flows

If NetSuite is connected to e-commerce, WMS, 3PL, CRM, billing tools, or custom systems, a Health Check must document the reality of your data flow.

• Integration architecture and sync frequency
• Error handling and reconciliation process
• Source of truth for customer, item, inventory, pricing, and financial data
• Mapping gaps, timing issues, and duplication points

If integrations are a known pain point, see CEBA’s NetSuite Integrations page and this related article: How Integrating NetSuite with Other Tools Can Transform Your Workflow.

5) Reporting and analytics readiness

Most reporting complaints are not “report problems.” They are process, configuration, or data integrity problems that surface in reporting.

• Saved search structure and performance
• KPI dashboards and role based reporting
• Financial statements, segment reporting, and consolidation requirements
• Where spreadsheet reporting exists, and why it exists

6) User adoption and workflow friction

This is often where the highest ROI sits, because small workflow improvements remove daily friction.

• Where users exit NetSuite to finish work elsewhere
• Inconsistent process adherence across teams or locations
• Bottlenecks in transaction entry (orders, receiving, billing, adjustments)
• Training gaps and role confusion

Training is a common “missing piece” after go live. CEBA offers NetSuite Training to bring teams back into alignment after the system evolves.

The deliverable you want: an optimization roadmap, not a punch list

A list of issues is easy. A roadmap is what drives results.

A strong Health Check deliverable should include:

• Findings grouped by theme (finance, inventory, sales ops, integrations, reporting)
• Impact and severity (risk, time cost, accuracy, compliance exposure)
• Recommendation and approach (configure, train, refactor, retire)
• Effort estimate (hours or t-shirt sizing)
• Dependencies (what must happen first)
• Stakeholders and owners (finance, ops, IT, leadership)
• A 30/60/90-day plan plus a longer horizon plan

If your team does not leave with a clear sequence and rationale, the Health Check is not done.

What teams often discover during a Health Check

Every NetSuite environment is different, but these patterns are common.

Finance and close

• Close tasks are not standardized, so period end becomes reactive
• Approvals are inconsistent, increasing audit exposure
• Revenue recognition is partially configured, then handled manually
• Journal entries are used to patch upstream process gaps

Inventory and operations

• Item master standards are inconsistent, costing and reporting vary
• Adjustments are used as routine workflow, not exception handling
• Locations follow different receiving and fulfillment processes
• Planning is avoided because inputs are not reliable

Sales and customer operations

• Quotes to orders requires manual steps or re-entry
• Discounts and pricing lack governance, margin leaks follow
• Customer data duplication causes billing and support issues

Technical structure

• Workflows overlap and slow record saves
• Integrations do not reconcile cleanly, so finance chases drift monthly
• Field sprawl clutters screens, users stop trusting forms

A well-scoped Health Check turns these into priorities that leadership can sponsor and teams can execute.

How to prepare for a NetSuite Health Check

You do not need weeks of prep. A few inputs make the assessment faster and more accurate:

• Key stakeholders by function (finance, ops, sales ops, IT)
• Your top 10 pain points (be specific, “reporting” is too broad)
• Close timeline and recurring issues from the last two closes
• List of integrations and who owns each one
• Any planned changes in the next 6 to 12 months (new locations, product lines, subsidiaries)
• Appropriate access for reviewers (role-based, read-only where possible)

If you want a broader view of how Health Checks fit into post-go-live improvements, CEBA outlines ongoing support options under NetSuite Services and NetSuite Consulting.

What success looks like after the Health Check

A Health Check is successful when the business feels the difference:

• Month-end close is faster and more predictable
• Reporting is consistent, and spreadsheets become optional
• Teams enter data once, downstream workflows run without cleanup
• Permissions and approvals match your control requirements
• Integrations reconcile reliably without constant manual effort
• You have a quarterly optimization plan instead of one-off fixes

Call to action

If your NetSuite environment feels harder to trust, harder to report on, or harder to change, a NetSuite Health Check gives you a clear, prioritized optimization roadmap so you know what to fix first and why.

Start here: NetSuite Health Check service. Then contact CEBA Solutions to schedule a short discovery call and confirm scope, timing, and the fastest path to measurable improvement.

FAQ

How long does a NetSuite Health Check take?

Typically, a few weeks depending on system complexity, subsidiaries, and integration footprint.

Will it disrupt daily operations?

It should not. The assessment is interview-led and review-led; changes are proposed in the roadmap rather than made during discovery.

Is this the same as a NetSuite audit?

No. The goal is operational and system improvement, though governance gaps often surface during the review.

What happens after the Health Check?

Most teams execute the roadmap in phases. If you need ongoing help, explore NetSuite Support.

Next step

If your NetSuite environment has become harder to trust, harder to report on, or harder to change, a NetSuite Health Check gives you a clear, prioritized optimization roadmap so you know exactly what to fix first, what can wait, and what will move the needle fastest.

Book a short discovery call with CEBA Solutions to walk through your current pain points and confirm whether a Health Check is the right next step.