- Is a NetSuite renewal uplift negotiable?
- Yes. The uplift in the quote is a starting position, not a rule. What it ends at depends on the position you walk in with, and that position is built months before the quote, not in the last six weeks.
- How much does a NetSuite renewal usually go up by?
- More than inflation, and more each time. The exact figure varies by account and by how the contract was set up, but the pattern is consistent: the discount you signed with shrinks at each renewal while the list price rises, so the bill climbs faster than either on its own.
- Why does the discount disappear at renewal?
- Because it was a discount off list, and list is Oracle’s number to move. A discount is a concession that can be withdrawn; a structure that fits what you use is not. The companies that hold their position are the ones that fixed the structure, not the ones that argued hardest about the percentage.
- When should I start preparing for a NetSuite renewal?
- As early as you can, and twelve months out is comfortable. With time in hand there’s scope to change bigger things and have them in place before the quote. Closer to signing, the options narrow to what you could do in future rather than what you’ve already done, which is a weaker place to argue from. Even if the renewal is a long way off, it’s better to know which direction you’re going, so the sooner the quote and the invoice are shared, the better.
- My renewal is in two months. Is it too late?
- No, but the scope is smaller. There’s still a position to take and usually something to come off. The first move is to ask Oracle for the quote today if you haven’t got it, because the clock only runs from the day you see the number.
- What does no win, no fee mean here?
- A benchmark figure is agreed in writing before any work starts: the amount you’d otherwise have paid. The fee is a share of what you save against it, measured once at signature. No saving, no invoice.
- What if there’s nothing to save?
- There nearly always is. Where there’s nothing to save structurally, the positioning work still helps, and that part is on the house. Either way you’ll know within the first week, there’s no fee, and you’ve lost an hour.
- Does Oracle find out that someone is helping us?
- Not from this side. Every message to Oracle is drafted for you and sent by you, in your words, from your account. There is no third party on any call, email or document Oracle sees.
- Why anonymous?
- Oracle prices against methods it can see. If it knows who is advising a customer, it adjusts. Staying out of sight is what keeps the approach working, for you and for the next customer.
- Will this damage our relationship with Oracle?
- No. You send every message yourself, so nothing goes that you’re not happy with. And a customer who has put real effort into getting the structure right is one that plans to stay. Oracle would rather have that than a customer who pays up quietly and one day walks.
- Do we have to threaten to leave?
- No. The point is to know what you’d do if the price is wrong, not to say it. A real, planned route away changes how the conversation goes without anyone raising their voice. A bluff doesn’t, and Oracle has heard every bluff there is.
- What does the review actually look at?
- How you use NetSuite, how it’s structured, and what you’re effectively paying for. Nearly every account has something that was sold rather than fitted, and NetSuite has moved on since you signed, so options that didn’t exist then often do now.
- Will you change things in our NetSuite account?
- No, not as part of this. Where the review points to changes in the system, your own admin makes them with direction. If you’d rather have help with that, some of it can be done for you and there are partners who can take on the rest, both at extra cost and entirely your call; you’re equally free to get your own help. What you get here is the advice and the templates, drawn on twenty-odd years of finance systems work and more than a decade of it with NetSuite. What you do with them, and how you approach Oracle, is up to you.
- What do you need from us to start?
- Your latest renewal quote and what you paid last year, which is usually the last invoice. From there, an hour of someone’s time who knows how the system is used. Everything else comes from the account itself.
- How long does it take?
- The initial review turns round in a couple of days. If your deadline is tight it gets bumped up the list, because the aim on both sides is the biggest saving possible. After that it’s usually a few weeks of back and forth with Oracle. Sometimes the review points to prep work before the renewal is pushed on with, and sometimes it gives you more than one direction to choose from, where you decide whether the saving is worth the effort. That’s why more time helps, and why there’s no fixed number.
- We’re not in the UK. Does this work for us?
- Yes. Oracle sells NetSuite the same way everywhere, and the renewal pattern is the same. The work is done remotely in any case.
- We’re about to buy NetSuite for the first time. Can you help before we sign?
- Yes, and it’s the best moment to. The cheapest way to save money on NetSuite is to get the first contract right, because it is far harder to take things out of a contract than to never put them in. Send what you’ve been quoted. The sooner it’s shared, the sooner it can be looked at.