When it comes to your ERP, it’s not enough that the system has collected all your data. You need a way for each team member to access and act on the data that’s most relevant to them. This is where NetSuite shines as an ERP: through its customizable role-based dashboards.
When every user has a clear view of their priorities, key metrics, and action items, your business runs more smoothly. Let’s explore how role-based dashboards work, walk through examples of how different roles can use them, and see how they’re a game-changer for maximizing your NetSuite investment.
What Are Role-Based Dashboards?
In NetSuite, every user is assigned one or more roles, each of which comes with a tailored dashboard. These dashboards act as a user’s home base, displaying the most important KPIs, reminders, reports, and shortcuts relevant to their responsibilities.
For example, a CFO will see different data than a warehouse manager, and a sales rep will have a different view than a customer service agent. This ensures that employees aren’t wading through irrelevant reports or searching for the information they need.
Dashboards can include the following:
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Real-time metrics such as sales revenue, inventory levels, or accounts receivable days outstanding.
- Reminders: Task lists like “approve purchase orders,” “follow up on leads,” or “complete time entry.”
- Reports and Searches: Role-specific saved searches and frequently used reports embedded directly into the dashboard.
- Shortcuts and Links: One-click access to high-priority records, transactions, or processes.
- Portlets: Visual and interactive components such as trend graphs, KPI meters, and custom search results.
Examples of Role-Based Dashboards in Action
What do role-based dashboards look like in NetSuite? Here are just some of the possibilities for various user roles.
The CFO Dashboard
A Chief Financial Officer logging into NetSuite needs a high-level view of the company’s financial health. A typical CFO dashboard might include:
- KPI meters for cash flow, gross margin, and expenses against budget.
- Trend graphs showing revenue growth compared to prior periods.
- Reminders to approve journal entries, vendor bills, or expense reports.
- Saved searches highlighting overdue receivables or payables.
With this dashboard, the CFO can spot risks, evaluate performance, and make quick, informed financial decisions.
The Sales Rep Dashboard
A sales representative’s role is driven by leads, opportunities, and customer relationships. Their dashboard could feature:
- Reminders to follow up with leads, create quotes, or log calls.
- KPIs showing current pipeline value, closed deals this month, and sales versus quota.
- Recent records portlet for easy access to the customers and opportunities they’ve interacted with most recently.
- Sales trend graphs to track progress over time.
This streamlined view enables reps to spend more time selling and less time searching for customer data.
The Warehouse Manager Dashboard
In distribution or manufacturing companies, the warehouse manager needs visibility into inventory and order fulfillment. Their dashboard might include:
- Reminders for pending item fulfillments, transfer orders, or cycle counts.
- KPIs for backorders, shipping times, and inventory accuracy.
- Saved searches that highlight low-stock items or orders pending shipment.
- Links to reports for demand planning and supply allocation.
By giving managers real-time visibility into warehouse operations, role-based dashboards help reduce errors and increase fulfillment speed.
The Customer Service Dashboard
Customer service agents need quick access to open cases, customer history, and issue resolution tools. Their dashboard could display:
- Reminders for unresolved support cases.
- KPIs for case resolution time and customer satisfaction scores.
- Case trend graphs to identify recurring issues.
- Shortcuts to customer records and knowledge base articles.
With these insights, service teams can resolve issues faster and improve the customer experience.
Why Role-Based Dashboards Matter
Role-based dashboards provide several advantages.
- Efficiency: Users spend less time navigating menus or digging through data, enabling them to act quickly on relevant information.
- Accuracy: Each team member receives the data that applies directly to their role, reducing mistakes and missed tasks.
- Engagement: Clear goals and KPIs empower employees to take ownership of their work.
- Scalability: As your company grows, dashboards can be easily adjusted or expanded to accommodate new roles and responsibilities.
When tailored correctly, dashboards transform NetSuite, helping your entire organization operate at peak performance.
How SuiteRep Can Help
While dashboards are powerful, they require thoughtful setup to get the most out of them. NetSuite’s out-of-the-box roles may not always align with your company’s unique processes, and customizations can make the difference between a good dashboard and a great one.
That’s where SuiteRep comes in. Our team of NetSuite experts has deep experience designing, customizing, and optimizing role-based dashboards that give every team member the clarity and tools they need to succeed. Whether you’re setting up dashboards for the first time, fine-tuning existing ones, or looking for broader NetSuite support, we’re here to help. We’d love to have a conversation about how we can simplify and optimize your NetSuite experience.