5 Big Reasons for NetSuite OpenAir System Extensions

While your NetSuite OpenAir system may have thrived for years, you may be feeling some growing pains due to changes in your services business. Core system functionality is sufficient but there is just that one little change in processing you wish would be available to better meet the needs of your business.

That’s where PSA extensions come in. These pre-built, tested, and ready-to-install additions to your OpenAir system give you the flexibility needed to tackle any new processes, reporting needs, system defaults, and more while keeping your core system in place.

The Pros and Cons of PSA Extensions

As with any business solution, opting for PSA extensions has its pros and cons. On the pro side, extensions help your business meet a specific need that your core PSA solution simply can’t handle. Extensions give you the flexibility to modify the behavior of the system without directly impacting or risking the core system features of the system.

An extension can also provide a powerful boost both to business efficiencies, by streamlining processes, and to your team member behavior influence, by enforcing compliance.

When it comes to the cons, PSA extensions will require a bit of maintenance and need be reviewed when testing for new software releases. Beyond that, extensions are essentially just that. They don’t change the core system itself. The majority of today’s cloud-based PSA systems provide a developer framework for customization through extensions – allowing you add the functionality you need to support your business processes.

The 5 Big Reasons for PSA Extensions

Here are five ways PSA Extensions can help you.

1. Keep Users Informed.

PSA extensions can help keep your team in the know with automated and fully customizable updates and alerts, typically delivered via email. These messages can be as simple as timesheet reminders for your staff, to specialized alerts that are triggered by certain criteria such as a project going over budget.

2. Automate Data Entry.

Data automation is a key part of many extensions and is a great way to cut down on time-intensive processes such as billing. As with any automated system, you have to keep your data current as incorrect data in one area can cascade into countless errors down the line.

3. Automate Field Population.

Auto field population can be instrumental in ensuring data accuracy and quality and also reducing maintenance at the same time. Automated default values come with a word of caution in that checks and balances are needed to ensure the auto-populated value is actually correct and not just overlooked for adjustment should that be a key value for reporting and highly visible.

4. Validate Data Entry.

By adding some logic to data entry, you can significantly increase data accuracy. Audits would still be recommended to ensure an attitude of “the system will catch it” doesn’t evolve and you end up having to add a lot more complicated logic than necessary.

5. Enforce Policy Compliance.

Compliance extensions help keep your operations running smoothly. This is especially important when it comes to billing, invoicing, and all related processes that flow in a linear fashion. When one process is held up, the rest are held up too.

PSA system extensions can be very valuable. Because they are intended to do a very specific function, they can be quickly added and tested with very little risk to your existing system.

Visit the TOP Step Consulting PSA Extension Marketplace and browse our library of PSA Extensions.