Implementing a complex business software like NetSuite comes with a steep learning curve. Even experienced employees need proper onboarding onto new processes and screens. Yet many companies roll out NetSuite with nothing more than generic vendor training and online help docs. The result?
Frustrated users start clinging to old ways of working in spreadsheets and legacy systems. Adoption lags while data integrity suffers from improper usage. All that ROI potential goes wasted if your team never fully leverage the platform.
A tailored NetSuite user manual serves as the ultimate cheat sheet to unlock user adoption across your company. With customized step-by-step instructions, screen shots, and process flows mapped to your unique configurations, employees have the dedicated reference resource they need to get up to speed.
In this guide you’ll learn:
- Benefits of an Internal NetSuite User Manual
- Exact Sections & Content to Include
- Best Practices for Visually Intuitive Designs
- How Much Time/Effort is Required
- Pros of Partnering with SuiteRep
Let’s explore how to build the ultimate NetSuite user manual tailored to your business…
The Benefits of Creating Internal NetSuite User Manual
Well-designed NetSuite training guides provide a valuable resource for:
- Ramping new hires — Manuals speed up the productivity timeline for freshly onboarded employees trying to navigate new systems by providing job-specific instructions.
- Supporting existing users — Experienced employees still encounter unfamiliar screens or processes needing handy reference guide.
- Encouraging utilization — Visual tutorials and step-by-steps for advanced features drive greater adoption across the platform capabilities.
- Preserving tribal knowledge — As key super users eventually move on, user manuals retain customized configurations to aid future team members.
Beyond adoption benefits, a well-organized NetSuite user manual also provides vital documentation for compliance. Manuals create audit trails for configured processes around data access, transaction controls, reporting, and more.
Now let’s explore what exactly to include inside your custom NetSuite training manual.
Must-Have Sections to Include Inside User Manuals
At a minimum, your NetSuite user manual should cover three key areas:
Overview Training
Here we provide users the 30,000 foot view of NetSuite capabilities by category and role. Sections should include:
- Intro to NetSuite — Explain core modules (ERP, PSA, CRM, etc), navigation conventions, preferences to set up.
- Department/Role Summary — Breakdown all the workflows, dashboards, and key transactions for each employee persona (Sales, Accounting, Project Mgmt etc.)
- Process Flows
- The heart of any good user manual. Here we visually map common employee workflows inside NetSuite with annotated screenshots. Sections should cover:
- Day in Life — Map regular processes from end-to-end for each role across departments showing how daily actions translate to NetSuite clicks (e.g Create New Customer -> Log Support Case as Sales Rep)
- Common Actions — Provide individual step-by-step instructions for frequently used transactions (e.g. entering expenses, invoicing)
Feature Instructions
Provide reference instructions for utilizing NetSuite’s hundreds of tools with best practice tips peppered in. Typical sections include:
- Dashboards — Review KPIs shown on role-specific home pages plus using available filters
- Analytics — Instructions for running common reports (e.g Accounts Receivable Aging)
- Forms Customization — How to add custom form fields or modify transaction subtabs.
Content will vary significantly based on your particular workflows and NetSuite configuration but these core sections ensure all user needs are covered.
Now let’s discuss best practices for visually designing your custom NetSuite training guides and manuals.
Designing Intuitive & Visually Appealing Manuals
Simply listing paragraphs of instructions does little to aid learning and retention. Well-designed training manuals apply visual design best practices:
- Use Annotated Screenshots — Augment steps with numbered, circled screenshots to vividly depict where users need to click and what to expect.
- Diagram Workflows — Illustrate multi-step narratives through flowchart diagrams navigation employees through subprocesses.
- Apply Visual Cues — Use highlights, color coding, tabs, and icons so users can rapidly scan to relevant sections.
- Embed Training Videos — No screenshots required for complex workflows better shown dynamically on film. Link to private internal video libraries.
- Use Consistent Formatting — Organize manual visually and typographically consistent across sections for smooth information absorption.
- Optimized Searchability — Ensure browsers and PDF bookmarks work so users instantly search for help on topics.
While seemingly like overkill during initial training sessions, employees greatly appreciate well-designed job aids available on-demand helping fill knowledge gaps.
Effort Required to Create Custom User Manuals
If going completely DIY, plan at least ~100-200 hours to produce a polished 50-100 page reference guide for most small to mid-sized businesses.
Activities include:
- Conducting employee interviews across departments
- Mapping ~25+ separate workflows
- Screenshotting/annotating 50+ NetSuite dashboard and transactional interfaces
- Writing 150+ pages of instructions
- Designing document formatting and layout
Larger enterprises with greater workflow complexity or customizations should anticipate closer to 300-500 hours across 3-4 employees on average.
While substantial effort, also consider $100,000+ spent on just basic NetSuite licenses and implementation activities. So maximizing user adoption pays dividends.
For most SMBs, the faster path is having your implementation partner focus on creating custom user manuals tailored specifically to your employee roles, workflows and configured processes.
Why Choose SuiteRep as Your NetSuite Training Manual Partner
As leaders ranking #1 globally across 300+ five-star NetSuite implementations, SuiteRep takes immense pride in our best-practice training programs and manuals that drive user productivity.
Here is why customers continue relying on SuiteRep for all their NetSuite learning enablement needs before, during, and even long after go-live:
- Built-in value focus — Our fixed price implementations INCLUDE custom user manuals designed specifically for your environment and workflows.
- Breadth of expertise — Our median consultant has 10+ years NetSuite experience across 500+ companies to incorporate leading practices.
- Ongoing expansion — As your usage of NetSuite grows over the years, we help update NetSuite training guides to support evolving needs.
- Multi-modality options — Choose delivery mediums from physical binders, interactive online webpages, to even virtual instructor-led walkthroughs.
Don’t leave user adoption up to chance. Partner with SuiteRep for guaranteed success maximizing your NetSuite ROI through comprehensive training manuals custom-built for your teams.
