You’ve invested heavily in NetSuite. But is it delivering what your team actually needs?
If dashboards don’t reflect business priorities, if workflows fail silently, or if saved searches are piling up with no owner, your system isn’t optimized. It’s drifting. And it’s more common than you think: 60% of ERP users report underutilized systems due to weak internal processes.
This isn’t about theory. It’s about fixing what’s broken. CIOs, IT Directors, and NetSuite Admins need visibility into what’s slowing things down and a clear path to fix it. This guide gives you the structure to do that. You’ll get execution-ready checklists, audit scoring tools, and a 30/60/90-day plan designed for system accountability.
Your ERP doesn’t need another vague strategy session. It requires a real audit. Let’s get started!
A NetSuite System Audit is a structured review of your ERP environment that validates how configurations, permissions, scripts, and integrations align with operational goals. It tracks data accuracy, compliance posture, and technical performance across record types and workflows.
Unlike a basic NetSuite Health Check, which is a top-level snapshot, a system audit dives into every functional layer. It examines transaction trails, audit logs, and configuration dependencies to reveal inefficiencies that standard reports overlook.
Regular audits matter because unmonitored changes accumulate fast. A new saved search or workflow can trigger unexpected downstream effects. Over time, they slow transactions, distort dashboards, and increase risk. A disciplined audit protects scalability and keeps internal controls intact for financial management and reporting compliance.
No audit delivers value without proper setup. If the right people aren’t aligned, if roles block access to key data, or if findings are logged inconsistently, you won’t get results worth acting on. Preparation turns a vague review into a focused system inspection with real outcomes.
Multiple teams shape every NetSuite environment. A solo administrator can’t uncover systemic issues without input from operations, finance, and inventory leaders. Pull in those voices before you begin. Each group will surface blind spots that others miss.
Define a clear goal before opening any logs. Are you targeting internal control gaps, poor ERP performance, or configuration bloat? A shared objective keeps the audit focused and makes the findings harder to ignore.
You cannot audit what you cannot see. Make sure your audit role includes access to system notes, transaction audit logs, workflow history, and configuration subtabs across all relevant record types. If you’re locked out of any preferences or field settings, you’ll miss problems that directly impact system behavior.
Never allow delete permissions during an audit. The role should be observed only. Your job is to trace what changed, not to clean it up prematurely.
Every serious audit needs structure. Build a checklist that covers configuration, customization, accounting setup, workflows, roles, and scripts. Use saved searches to surface broken logic, inactive components, or permissions that violate policy.
Track findings in a scorecard with columns for record type, risk level, remediation scope, and ownership. That audit log becomes your action plan. Templates turn scattered notes into a system of record: trackable, repeatable, and defensible.
A comprehensive NetSuite system audit must evaluate the six areas that shape performance and risk: configuration, roles, workflows, saved searches, dashboards, and integrations. Each of these components contains buried inefficiencies that slow your ERP and introduce internal control risk if left unchecked.
Start with the basics: General Preferences, Accounting Setup, and Subsidiary Settings. These control everything from base currency and fiscal periods to transaction number formatting and consolidation logic. Inaccurate preferences lead to downstream failures in reporting, compliance, and financial close.
Review transaction numbering closely. Gaps or inconsistencies may indicate deleted records or broken sequences. Many teams overlook this, yet it is one of the simplest indicators that transaction integrity has been compromised.
Common missteps include duplicate tax codes, inactive accounts still tied to journal entries, and inconsistent subsidiary configurations. Every one of these affects your ability to produce clean financial statements across the suite.
Over time, permissions expand. New hires receive copied roles. Custom roles get tweaked and never reviewed. This permission sprawl creates audit trail gaps and weakens your system’s internal control framework.
Start by reviewing every role in your NetSuite account. Compare each against least-privilege standards. Roles with access to sensitive transaction types like customer refunds, vendor payments, or script execution must be reviewed in context. Determine if their level of access reflects business need or just legacy convenience.
Every change made to a role must be traceable. Maintain a permission audit log that records each modification, including the requestor, the approval path, and the timestamp. Without this, oversight breaks down, and privilege creep becomes invisible.
NetSuite workflows often age poorly. What worked two years ago may now bottleneck operations or conflict with updated processes. Inactive workflows still attached to active record types create drag. Poorly built automation generates unnecessary system calls or record saves that slow down high-volume tasks.
Use workflow history to view audit trail entries and determine whether processes still execute as intended. Review execution logs, not just script status. If a workflow loops, fails silently, or never triggers, it needs to be rebuilt or retired.
Don’t assume automation adds value. Automate only what creates measurable speed or control benefits. Everything else is clutter.
Saved searches multiply fast. Teams duplicate them, tweak filters, forget owners, and break naming standards. This creates reporting noise, inflates database load, and leads to user confusion.
Audit your saved searches by volume, purpose, and data relevance. Focus on filters, summary types, and execution frequency. Any saved search that queries inactive fields or unused record types adds friction. Look at who owns each one. If no owner is assigned, it’s probably not needed.
The audit should identify and flag searches with no filtering, excessive joins, or missing usage descriptions. Removing or consolidating these improves both system performance and decision-making clarity.
Dashboards are only valuable if people use them. Many teams launch dashboards during implementation and never revisit them. KPIs drift out of sync with business goals. Widgets display outdated metrics. Users stop checking.
Audit every dashboard by department. Look at login patterns to see what’s opened and what’s ignored. Talk to business owners to understand which KPIs they rely on—and which no longer apply.
If a dashboard doesn’t support an active operational process or decision flow, replace it. Dashboards must reinforce ERP value, not dilute it.
Third-party connectors and custom scripts represent the highest technical risk in most NetSuite environments. APIs break. Token expirations go unnoticed. Scripts fire under outdated assumptions.
Start by listing every integration, web service, and SuiteScript running in your environment. Identify who built it, what record types it touches, and whether it still meets functional requirements. Then review logs to track recent changes made to each. If a script’s last successful execution predates your last NetSuite upgrade, it likely needs a rebuild.
Every integration should have a test plan, a support contact, and documentation of its scope. If it doesn’t, you’re flying blind.
A long list of audit findings is not a plan. To drive action, each issue must be scored by business impact and remediation effort. This converts raw data into a prioritized queue that teams can actually work through. If you're unsure how to score or prioritize your findings, a NetSuite Health Check can provide a professional baseline and validate whether your internal controls and system behavior align with current best practices.
Use a simple two-axis system: Impact covers business risk, system performance, and compliance exposure. Effort reflects complexity, required resources, and dependency on developer support or external validation.
For example, a misconfigured accounting preference that distorts transaction numbering affects reporting accuracy and internal control. That’s high impact. A saved search with no filters may be easy to fix, but it still matters if it's used in customer dashboards or export processes.
Context matters. Review each finding with its functional footprint in mind—record types, user roles, and NetSuite account setup all influence risk.
Once scored, sort findings into a prioritized list. Tackle high-impact, low-effort issues first, like inactive workflows still tied to active records, or excessive permissions on vendor payment roles.
Next, scope high-impact, high-effort items such as outdated integrations or fragile custom scripts. These require planning, but carry real business risk if ignored. This ranked list becomes the foundation for your remediation roadmap. It also gives leadership visibility into where resources are needed and why.
Audits only matter if they lead to change. A structured 90-day plan transforms your findings into focused execution. This section gives your team a timeline to resolve critical issues, stabilize the ERP environment, and restore internal control without slipping into project drift.
Start by addressing high-impact, low-effort issues. Clean up permissions that exceed role policies or expose sensitive records. Remove unused saved searches that confuse users or slow system performance. Review dashboards that no longer reflect current metrics, and remove or replace them.
Fixing these quick wins restores visibility, tightens internal oversight, and builds momentum across departments. Document every change made, and update your audit log to include execution status and owner.
Use this phase to address issues that require testing and staged deployment. Rebuild broken workflows, optimize approval routing, and reconfigure accounting preferences that affect transaction validation or trail accuracy. This is also the time to test subsidiary-level changes, such as adjustments to tax settings, currency defaults, or reporting periods.
Every adjustment should be reviewed in a sandbox before production deployment. Your project team must describe the requirement, document the solution, and verify that the new setup meets functional expectations.
The final phase addresses changes that involve external dependencies or deep customization. Review every SuiteScript, integration, or web service identified during the audit. If an application fails to meet its original objective, revise or replace it.
Use log data to confirm whether scripts execute successfully or if they create downstream friction. If custom scripts or integrations need a full rebuild, consider partnering with a NetSuite Implementation Expert to redesign with long-term scalability and compliance in mind. Each update should include an updated implementation record, a backup of the previous configuration, and a change request log that meets regulatory requirements.
Project tracking during this phase should include weekly summaries, owner accountability, and ERP-specific checkpoints for go-live readiness. Whether you use NetSuite’s native project module or external tools, your remediation plan must remain searchable, structured, and tied to real outcomes.
Even the strongest internal teams hit a limit. Complex scripts, recurring ERP issues, or regulatory compliance concerns often require outside support. When internal teams can’t restore ERP functionality or trace key system changes, it’s time to escalate.
A NetSuite Health Check from Kimberlite Partners offers a second layer of validation and benchmarks your current setup against best practices. Their Managed Services team helps address implementation gaps, optimize configurations, and reduce risk across every component of your NetSuite account.
If your system audit raised red flags, don’t let them sit. Schedule a Pro Review with Kimberlite Partners to turn your audit into a supported roadmap.