NetSuite Salesforce Integration: Custom Built vs Third Party Solutions

If you are considering whether to build a customized integration or adopt an out-of-the-box solution to sync your NetSuite and Salesforce account, you’ll need to consider the amount of time and resources needed for building the integration, as well as how much control you want. This blog post will walk through the pros and cons of both methods. 

Custom Build Solution From The Ground Up

Building a custom solution enables businesses to map out the exact capabilities and functionalities they want in their system. 

Pros

This approach is great for businesses who understand the complexities of NetSuite and have specific requirements while maintaining complete control over the integration. 

Another advantage of building a Salesforce and NetSuite connector is that even though money needs to be spent developing the connector up front, businesses can avoid the ongoing costs of monthly/annual subscription spends. 

Cons

While custom-built software has its benefits, it also takes a significant amount of time to plan, as well as to program. It can easily turn into a project lasting for several months. This means that an organization would either have to a) spend additional money on new hires for the project or b) utilize their current team of developers, removing them from current projects, causing delays. 

Another factor to consider in building your connector is that there is a risk that the code may develop bugs or even break. This requires regular maintenance and monitoring of the connector by your developers to ensure functionality and productivity. 

Third-Party Integration Solution 

Third-party integrations are a popular method of integrating Salesforce and NetSuite. There are a variety of solutions available such as Celigo, Breadwinner, and Boomi that enable you to connect your Salesforce and NetSuite accounts. 

For example, Breadwinner is an integration solution that lives inside of your Salesforce and provides bi-directional syncing between Salesforce and NetSuite and can easily be installed right from the AppExchange. 

Pros

An advantage of this out-of-the-box solution is that with little configuration, you can connect your account and match your NetSuite companies to your Salesforce accounts due to Breadwinner’s pre-built custom objects which replicate data in NetSuite. This enables you to generate Invoices, Sales Orders, and Sales receipts from within Salesforce. 

Cons

If you have an extremely complex environment, then this may not be the best option for you. A custom-built connector may be a better option if you have unusual requirements. However, Breadwinner has experience where customers require additional customization and have been able to do some additional development to accommodate the customer’s needs. 

Summary 

Whether you decide to build a custom connector or opt for a third-party solution, it’s important to understand the needs and requirements of your business. Although a custom solution may fulfill your exact requirements, it would take a considerable amount of time and cost to build. Therefore, a third party solution may be most suited if you want a robust NetSuite and Salesforce integration that will take fewer resources to install and configure.