Sage Intacct vs. Oracle NetSuite: The Cloud Accounting Showdown

The fight for finance is heating up. As market forces evolve and companies diversify their cloud-based accounting and finance solutions, competition is reaching critical mass. And with every provider offers their own take on why they stand head and shoulders above the competition, it’s often difficult for midsize accounting firms to find their best-fit among the hype and hyperbole.

Sage Intacct vs. Oracle NetSuite: The Cloud Accounting Showdown

So let’s dig in with an honest comparison of two industry leaders: Sage Intacct and Oracle NetSuite. Which cloud accounting software comes out ahead, and which falls behind the curve? Which offers the best return on your investment, and which leaves you looking for more?

The Accounting Software Overview

 NetSuite is part of Oracle’s substantial software platform. With a large customer base and diverse IT infrastructure, Oracle offers a host of cloud-based and on-premises products to customers; their NetSuite accounting solution is a small part of this overall operational landscape. With a large social media reach and deep roster of IT pros, Oracle has solution offerings across almost every cloud vertical.

The Sage Intacct cloud accounting solution, meanwhile, was built by finance experts for finance professionals. It’s the preferred choice of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), is endorsed by first and only preferred provider of the AICPA and was recognized as a visionary on Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant report.

Put simply? While NetSuite comes with the large, existing infrastructure of Oracle’s cloud offerings, Sage Intacct is on the cutting edge of cloud accounting development, earning accolades from finance industry associations and research firms alike.

 Round 1: Overall Customer Satisfaction

 As noted above, both Sage Intacct and NetSuite are market leaders — but their positioning differs significantly. While NetSuite takes the win on overall market presence, Intacct comes out ahead in customer satisfaction. In fact, Intacct takes the win over NetSuite in every customer service category, according to G2 Grid Report data. While 77 percent of companies are likely to recommend NetSuite, 85 percent say the same about Intacct. Eighty-six percent of organizations point to Intacct’s ease of use, and 78 percent highlight its ease of setup.

And perhaps most tellingly in a rapidly-evolving financial market, while just 79% of NetSuite users say the product is “going in the right direction”, 95% of Sage Intacct customers are confident that new features will align with functional requirements.

Round 2: Corporate Connection

The G2 data makes it clear: Oracle has a substantial social media and market presence. It makes sense: With more employees and broader offerings, Oracle can afford to spend more on NetSuite marketing and advertising.

But this begs the question: Is form or function more important? While Oracle has more offices and more employees — more than 130,000 — they’re not all working on NetSuite. And while parent company market presence indicates positive shareholder positioning, it tells you nothing about work culture — and in turn, potential customer satisfaction.

Data bears this out: While Sage Intacct has won multiple best workplace awards and earns a Glassdoor rating of 4.7, Oracle NetSuite gets a 3.1. This speaks to the different between action and appearance — smaller teams and focused workplaces earn Intacct higher marks with customers for performance and ease of use, while bigger market mandates give Oracle the edge on splashy social media posts and shareholder satisfaction.

Round 3: Time to Implementation

Financial firms don’t have time to spare when it comes to implementation and integration of cloud-based accounting software. So how do NetSuite and Intacct stack up?

On average, NetSuite deployments require 6.2 months to achieve full operation. That’s half a year lost between purchase and productivity for accounting firms. Sage Intacct, meanwhile, comes in at 3.5 months for full implementation — which translates to time savings of up to 77 percent. In addition, the average NetSuite contract is 27 months to Intacct’s 15, making it easier for firms to make a change if cloud software isn’t delivering at scale.

And the Winner is…

Ultimately, the ideal cloud accounting software for your organization depends on current needs, future goals and functional outcomes. If large corporate backing across multiple product lines is your preference, NetSuite has you covered. If best-in-class customer service, focused team frameworks and reduced implementation time are your priorities, however, opt for accounting solutions from Sage Intacct.

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IWI Consulting group is a Sage ERP solution and Sage Intacct certified consultant ready to assist with your cloud—based process manufacturing, discreet manufacturing, non-profit, distribution and accounting & financial software needs.