Monday, 8:30 a.m. The CFO opens NetSuite. On screen: a list of shortcuts, a chart nobody has updated since go-live, and three reports they never look at. So they export their data to Excel, as they do every week.
This scene is more common than you might think. Yet NetSuite has everything it takes to give each role a useful dashboard, up to date and readable at a glance. What is most often missing is not the tool, but the design.
At SuiteVise, we design NetSuite dashboards for management, finance, sales, purchasing and project managers. Here are the best practices we apply, with concrete examples by role.
The principles of a good dashboard
- One dashboard per role, not one for everyone. An accounts payable clerk and a CEO don’t have the same questions. Each role should see what helps it act.
- Few indicators, but the right ones. Five to eight key indicators are better than thirty charts. If everything is important, nothing is.
- Information that prompts action. A good dashboard does more than inform: it flags what needs attention. Overdue invoices, blocked orders, pending approvals.
- Readable in seconds. Main indicators at the top, details below. You should understand the situation without clicking.
- Reliable, explained figures. Each indicator needs a clear, shared definition. “Revenue” calculated differently by each department creates more debates than it settles.
- Comparison. A figure on its own says little. Compared with the previous month, last year or a target, it becomes meaningful.
- The ability to drill down. From an indicator, users should be able to reach the underlying transactions in one click.
The NetSuite building blocks for a dashboard
A NetSuite dashboard is made of portlets, blocks arranged on each role’s home page. Here are the main ones and what they are for.
| Portlet | What it is for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Key performance indicators (KPI) | Show key figures with a comparison over a period | Revenue this month vs last month |
| KPI Meter | Show an indicator against a target | Sales target achievement rate |
| KPI Scorecard | Compare several indicators over several periods | Margin, revenue and expenses over 4 quarters |
| Trend graph | Track how an indicator changes over time | Cash position over 12 months |
| Reminders | Flag actions to take | Bills to approve, orders to ship |
| Saved search | Show a filtered, up-to-date list | Customers more than 60 days overdue |
| Report snapshot | Show an extract of a report | Top 10 customers of the quarter |
| SuiteAnalytics workbooks | Show advanced analyses and charts | Margin analysis by product and region |
| Shortcuts | Quick access to frequent tasks | Enter a bill, create an order |
Two features make the difference for a successful rollout:
- Dashboard publishing: the administrator designs a standard dashboard for a role, then publishes it to all users with that role. Some portlets can be locked to ensure key indicators stay visible.
- Saved searches and SuiteAnalytics workbooks: they are the foundations of the indicators. Well designed, they feed several portlets at once and remain easy to maintain.
Concrete examples, role by role
Executive management
Their question: “How is the company doing, and where should I step in?”
- Revenue for the month and year to date, compared with target and the previous year
- Gross margin and operating income
- Available and forecast cash
- Order backlog
- Customer receivables and significant late payments
Finance and accounting
Their question: “Where is the close at, and are there any risks?”
- Progress of the month-end close
- Aged receivables and payables
- Days sales outstanding (DSO)
- Vendor bills awaiting approval or payment
- Pending bank reconciliations
- Unusual entries or large amounts to review
Financial control
Their question: “Where are the variances, and why?”
- Actual vs budget by department, subsidiary or business line
- Trend in main expenses
- Margin by product, customer or region
- Business-specific activity indicators
Sales and sales administration
Their question: “What needs to be shipped, invoiced or followed up?”
- Orders for the day and the month
- Orders awaiting approval, shipment or billing
- Top customers and how their purchases are trending
- Open quotes and conversion rate
- Customers with late payments (to adjust follow-ups)
Purchasing and procurement
Their question: “What do I need to order or chase?”
- Purchase orders overdue for receipt
- Items below the reorder point
- Spend by vendor and by category
- Vendor bills that don’t match orders or receipts
Project managers (professional services firms)
Their question: “Are my projects profitable and on schedule?”
- Budget consumed vs progress by project
- Margin by project
- Time entered vs time expected from the team
- Unbilled work in progress
- Timesheets to approve
Accounts receivable and payable clerks
Their question: “What do I need to handle today?”
- Reminders: bills to enter, approve, pay
- Unapplied payments received
- Collection reminders to send
- Shortcuts to daily tasks
For these operational roles, reminders and action lists are often more useful than charts.
Our method for designing a useful dashboard
- Start from decisions, not data. For each role, we list the decisions made every day, week and month. Then we ask which figures inform them.
- Define each indicator. Name, formula, source, scope, refresh frequency. This sheet avoids endless debates about “the right figure”.
- Build solid foundations. Well-named, documented and reusable saved searches and workbooks, rather than one search per portlet.
- Prototype with users. A simple first version, tested by two or three users in the role, then adjusted.
- Publish by role. Once validated, the dashboard is published to all users in the role, with the essential portlets locked.
- Measure use and evolve. A few weeks later, we check what is viewed, what is not, and what is missing. A dashboard is never set in stone.
Mistakes to avoid
- The “showcase” dashboard: attractive, crowded, but useless day to day. If nobody opens it twice a week, it needs rethinking.
- Too many portlets: each portlet slows down the home page. Beyond ten or so, the screen becomes slow and hard to read.
- Heavy searches on the home page: a search that scans years of transactions at every login penalizes everyone. Limit the periods and optimize the filters.
- Indicators without definitions: two departments that don’t get the same figure lose trust in the whole dashboard.
- Poorly designed permissions: a dashboard published to a role shows data according to that role’s permissions. Make sure a sales rep doesn’t see the whole company’s margins if that isn’t intended.
- Forgetting maintenance: a modified search, a renamed account, a new subsidiary, and an indicator becomes wrong without anyone noticing.
- Designing without users: a dashboard designed by IT or the consultant alone has little chance of being adopted.
Frequently asked questions
How do you create a dashboard in NetSuite?
You build a role’s home page with portlets: key indicators, trend graphs, saved searches, reminders, reports. The administrator can then publish this dashboard to all users with that role.
How many indicators should a dashboard have?
Generally five to eight key indicators per role, complemented by a few action lists. Beyond that, readability and performance suffer.
Can you impose a dashboard on all users with a role?
Yes. Dashboard publishing lets you roll out a template to a role and lock certain portlets.
What is the difference between a saved search and a SuiteAnalytics workbook?
A saved search is ideal for lists and simple indicators. A SuiteAnalytics workbook allows richer analyses, with pivot tables and advanced charts.
Why is my NetSuite home page slow?
Often because of too many portlets or searches that are too heavy. Reducing the number of portlets and limiting the periods analyzed noticeably improves load times.
In short: a useful dashboard is a dashboard that gets used
A good NetSuite dashboard is not measured by the number of charts, but by the number of decisions it makes easier. Designed by role, limited to the essentials, built on well-defined indicators and created with users, it replaces Monday morning Excel exports with a clear, up-to-date view.
Your teams still export their data to Excel, or your dashboards are no longer viewed? SuiteVise designs NetSuite dashboards by role with you: defining indicators, building searches and workbooks, publishing by role and training. Let’s take 30 minutes to talk it through.