Here's a statistic that might surprise you: 70% of ERP implementations fail to meet their business goals.
That's not because the software is broken or the IT team messed up the installation. Instead, it’s because the people who are supposed to use the system every day simply don't.
NetSuite is powerful. It can handle complex financial processes, manage inventory across multiple locations, and generate detailed reports. But NetSuite’s power often comes at the cost of simplicity. And when your team can't figure out how to complete basic tasks without calling IT for help, you've got a user adoption problem on your hands.
This challenge is so common that entire companies have built their business around solving it. Digital adoption platforms, specialized training services, change management consultants—they exist because NetSuite's complexity can overwhelm even experienced business users.
At Stellar One, our expert team has worked with dozens of ERP systems over decades in the industry. We know how to spot the warning signs that your users are rejecting your ERP platform.
In this overview, we’ll show you how to spot the red flags during your ERP implementation and steps you can take to help users adjust to the new system. You’ll get concrete tips to help you know whether your ERP system will work with the right user training, or whether you might need to consider using a system that is a better fit.
- Why NetSuite User Adoption Often Becomes a Challenge
- Warning Signs Your Team is Struggling with NetSuite
- The Productivity Problem with ERP User Resistance
- Practical Solutions for Improving NetSuite User Adoption
- How Do You Know If NetSuite Is Not the Right Long-term Choice?
- Making the Decision to Switch Your ERP System
- The Bottom Line on NetSuite User Adoption
Why NetSuite User Adoption Often Becomes a Challenge
NetSuite allows you to purchase every additional functionality for everyone. Need accounting? Check. Inventory management? Got it. CRM functionality? Sure thing. E-commerce integration? Why not?
The result is a system with dozens of modules, hundreds of configuration options, and more screens than most users will ever need. It's like buying a Swiss Army knife when all you needed was a simple blade. It’s impressive, but frustrating when you just want to cut through tape.
The Learning Curve Reality for NetSuite
Most business software has gotten more intuitive over the years. With many business software tools, digitally literate users can now sit down and self-teach basic competence in a couple of hours.
But new users often describe their first NetSuite experience as "overwhelming" or "confusing." That's not the foundation for enthusiastic adoption. So, leadership needs to be prepared for that initial frustration.
Change Resistance is Natural
People don't love change, especially when it makes their daily work harder in the short term. If your team was comfortable with their old spreadsheets and familiar processes, asking them to learn an entirely new system feels like punishment, not progress. This hurdle can be overcome, though, if you plan in advance and watch for danger signs as you go live.
Warning Signs Your Team is Struggling with NetSuite
You might have a user adoption problem if you're seeing:
High Support Ticket Volume: Are your people constantly asking IT for help with routine tasks like running reports or entering data? That's a clear sign the system isn't intuitive for your users.
Creative Workarounds: When users start maintaining their "real" data in Excel because NetSuite is "too complicated," you've lost the battle. These shadow processes defeat the entire purpose of having an integrated ERP system.
Low Login Activity: Check your user analytics. If people aren't logging in regularly, or if they're spending just a few minutes in the system before logging out, they're probably avoiding it.
Incomplete Data Entry: Missing fields, skipped steps, and inconsistent data quality often indicate that users are rushing through processes they find difficult or confusing.
Training Resource Neglect: When your carefully prepared user guides and video tutorials go unused, it usually means the content doesn't match how people actually work.
The Productivity Problem with ERP User Resistance
When user adoption fails, productivity actually goes down initially. Your team ends up doing double work, maintaining old processes while struggling with the new system. That's expensive and frustrating for everyone involved.
Practical Solutions for Improving NetSuite User Adoption
Start with Strategic Planning
Before you blame your users for being "resistant to change," take a step back. Did you involve them in the planning process? The most successful ERP implementations include end users from day one, not just IT and management.
Create a cross-functional team with representatives from every department. Let them voice concerns, suggest modifications, and help design workflows that make sense for real-world use.
Redesign Your Training Approach
That one-week intensive training session before go-live? It doesn't work. People forget most of what they learn when they're not immediately applying it.
Instead, try:
- Role-specific training that focuses only on what each person actually needs to know
- Just-in-time learning with short tutorials available when users need them
- Hands-on practice in a sandbox environment where mistakes don't matter
- Peer mentoring programs where confident users help struggling colleagues
Use Digital Adoption Platforms
These overlay tools can provide step-by-step guidance directly within NetSuite. Instead of remembering complex procedures, users get interactive walkthroughs as the digital adoption platforms guide them through tasks in real-time.
Popular options include Whatfix, WalkMe, and Userlane. They're not cheap, but they're often less expensive than the productivity loss from poor adoption.
Implement Gradual Rollouts
Don't try to implement everything at once. Start with core functions like basic financial transactions, then gradually add modules as users become comfortable.
This phased approach gives people time to build confidence with simpler processes before tackling more complex workflows.
Measure and Adjust Continuously
Track adoption metrics beyond just login counts. Look at:
- Task completion rates
- Time spent on common processes
- Error frequencies
- Support ticket trends
- User satisfaction surveys
Use this data to identify specific problem areas and adjust your approach accordingly.
How Do You Know If NetSuite Is Not the Right Long-term Choice?
Sometimes the problem isn't user adoption strategies: it's the software itself.
NetSuite is an enterprise-level solution designed for complex organizations with sophisticated needs. If you're a small to midsized business without multiple subsidiaries, NetSuite might simply be overkill.
Signs NetSuite Might Be Too Much ERP System for Your Business
You might want to consider alternatives if:
- Your team consistently finds basic tasks unnecessarily complicated
- You're paying for modules and features you'll never use
- Implementation and training costs are exceeding your budget by significant margins
- Your business processes are relatively straightforward and don't require extensive customization
ERP Alternatives for Midsized Businesses
Acumatica offers many of NetSuite's capabilities with a more intuitive interface and flexible pricing model. Instead of paying per user, you pay based on transaction volume, which can be much more cost-effective for growing businesses. Objective third-party surveys from G2 show ERP users reporting that Acumatica feels easier to learn.
Odoo provides excellent customization options with its modular approach. You can start with basic functionality and add features as needed. The open-source nature means lower upfront costs, though you'll want technical expertise for customizations.
Sage Intacct excels if your primary need is sophisticated financial management without all the operational complexity. It's particularly strong for service-based businesses.
Making the Decision to Switch Your ERP System
Switching ERP systems is expensive and disruptive, so don't make this decision lightly. But continuing with a system your team can't or won't use effectively is also costly.
Consider factors like:
- Total cost of ownership over 5 years
- Implementation timeline and resource requirements
- Your team's technical comfort level
- Future business growth plans
- Integration needs with existing systems such as eCommerce tools
The Bottom Line on NetSuite User Adoption
User adoption challenges aren't a reflection of your team's capabilities: they're often a sign that the system doesn't match your organization's reality.
NetSuite is powerful, but power without usability can become a liability. When your people spend more time fighting with software than focusing on customers and growth, something needs to change.
Poor ERP adoption doesn't just waste the money you spent on software licenses. It wastes time, creates frustration, reduces productivity, and can actually make your business operations worse than they were before.
But you don't have to accept poor adoption as inevitable. Whether that means investing in better training, buying support software, or considering a more user-friendly ERP alternative, there are solutions.
The key is being honest about what's working and what isn't, then taking action to fix it.
If you're questioning whether NetSuite is the right fit for your business, or if you're curious about alternatives that might be easier for your team to adopt, we can help you explore your options.
At Stellar One, we've helped dozens of businesses find ERP solutions that their teams like and want to use. And if Acumatica is not right for your business needs, we will tell you.
Check out the differences between Acumatica and NetSuite to see if a switch could help your business.
