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Software for Private Equity Firms to View Profitability

Private Equity firm employees viewing their profitability through new software.

As you might expect, investors want to receive routine updates on the profitability of their investments. In the same sense, private equity firms need easy access to critical data to guide decision-making efforts.

If your firm relies on out-of-date tech, observing the data will be tiresome, and using spreadsheets will further confuse things. Thankfully, you can make viewing your profitability easy with software for private equity firms.

Join us as we explore the flaws of legacy tools and spreadsheets. From there, we’ll shift our attention to the best software for your firm, the Oracle Netsuite Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform. We’ll also reveal how you can stretch the benefits of NetSuite with our proprietary Investment Optimization for NetSuite (ION) implementation solution.

The Problem of Spreadsheets and Legacy Software

Sure, spreadsheets offer an easy way of tracking deals and profits. But they can’t scale. During growth, you are likely handling more deals than ever, and those spreadsheets can’t keep pace.

You probably have dozens of spreadsheet documents but no good way to organize them. And the legacy tools used by your firm are not helping matters. In fact, they may be holding your firm back as you attempt to move into the next step on your growth journey. 

We recommend breaking up with spreadsheets and outdated software if any of the following challenges apply to your firm.

You Can’t Relay Timely Updates to Investors

Say that a long-time investor contacts you and asks for an update on the performance of their portfolio. You prepare quarterly updates, but their request comes in just 30 days before your next report.

If you can respond back quickly, you will strengthen your relationship with the investor. But if giving them an update takes days, the investor may wonder whether your firm is the right fit for them. By relying on spreadsheets, it will be extremely difficult to give updates in a timely fashion. 

Accounting Is Tedious

When using legacy tech tools, accounting processes can grow into massive tasks. Before you know it, they’ll consume your team’s attention, distracting you from the core duties of serving investors.

Upgrading your software can rein in out-of-control processes. You can support critical accounting functions, automate important functions, and lower your reliance on manual inputs, which will give you more time to serve the needs of your investors.

Generating Reports Is Difficult and Inefficient 

If it takes hours or days for you and your team to create a single report, you have a problem on your hands, and it’s very likely your software is to blame. Most basic accounting software simply isn’t designed for PE firms. It can’t keep up with the fast-paced nature of your industry, constantly putting your team behind schedule when generating reports.

Poor reporting processes create all sorts of headaches for your firm. First off, you won’t be able to easily pass along information to investors. Additionally, you may run into compliance nightmares if auditors come knocking. Neither situation is good for the health of the firm.

Data is Siloed

Data silos form when you store information across multiple applications. You may have some data on spreadsheets and other information on your accounting software, for instance. If the software doesn’t play nice together, the data becomes siloed.

Silos lead to information differences that slow productivity. Your team will have to manually transfer data from one platform to another, and every time they do that, there is a chance that an error will occur. On top of all of that, data silos are major wastes of resources.

Oracle NetSuite helps break down silos and solve other key challenges when it comes to viewing profitability.

NetSuite: A Better Option for Software for Private Equity Firms

Oracle NetSuite ERP is a best-of-breed solution that is highly configurable and dynamic. The NetSuite platform includes over a dozen different modules that each feature a unique set of tools and abilities.

With NetSuite, you can select the exact modules you need. As your needs grow, you can add other modules to your platform to extend its capabilities.

NetSuite’s diverse range of modules allows it to replace multiple older applications, which means you can consolidate your data in a single, central platform. 

In addition, by adopting NetSuite, you can support the following objectives.

Track Profitability in Real-Time

Losing sight of profitability interferes with decision-making processes, and it can also be plain frustrating. With NetSuite, you will never deal with that ever again.

NetSuite acts as a central location for all of your firm’s data. You can tap into it to view profitability in real time. You can also monitor changes, identify trends, and support clarity across your entire portfolio.

Real-time profitability tracking is a game-changer for your firm. You can base every decision on up-to-the-minute insights and deliver for your investors.

Create Tangible Benefits for Investors

Implementing NetSuite ERP will create real benefits for both investors and your firm. You can keep investors in the loop and enhance your organization’s transparency. This effort will help you build trust with investors, and over time, you can strengthen your firm’s standing and attract new investors as well.

The firm will benefit from NetSuite’s powerful automation tools as well. You can automate boring tasks and save countless hours each week, which will translate to reduced overhead and better profit margins.

Lastly, your team will enjoy using NetSuite as well. They will be able to get more done and remove redundant tasks from their daily workflow, freeing them up for more important tasks supporting the growth of your firm.

Generate Reports with Ease

NetSuite’s advanced reporting tools make it unlike any other software out there. The platform can pool data from every module to develop reports in minutes. You can also create custom reports that capture the data that is most appropriate for your investors. NetSuite’s reporting tools will be invaluable come audit time as well.

When creating reports, you can customize nearly every standard. You can examine a specific portfolio or obtain firm-wide reports to measure your performance. What’s great is the reports break down complex data into easy-to-understand charts and graphs.

Once you and your team switch to NetSuite, you will no longer have to track down information across disconnected applications. Instead, everything you need will be available in one secure location.

Optimize Efficiency 

Chances are that none of the systems you currently use were built for your PE firm. Instead, they are likely out-of-the-box applications that only meet a few of your firm’s needs, which is why many firms have to rely on a cobbled-together technology stack. 

Unlike these solutions, NetSuite includes tools that are purpose-built for PE firms, and you can configure the NetSuite platform to provide an experience that drives productivity.

When all tools are centralized in one place, your team can manage and track deals with unmatched efficiency, get more done, and deliver real value to investors.

Tear Down Data Silos

Data silos are the enemy of profitability visibility. When profitability data is heavily indexed, you can only get a partial view of investment performance.

With NetSuite, you can replace all of your separate applications. NetSuite will become your single source of truth for all financial data, which means that if data is put into any application, it will automatically be shared with your central database.

Reducing the number of apps that hold your information tears down data silos, optimizes data integrity, promotes usability, streamlines accounting for PE firms, and eliminates the need for manual data entry work.

Utilize ION for Exceptional NetSuite Results 

Implementing NetSuite is our specialty. We handle an otherwise complex process by outlining clear steps with clear project milestones.

For the investment community, we take our implementation expertise a step further. Our dedicated implementation solution for PE firms, ION, is specifically designed to tailor NetSuite to the unique needs of your firm.

NetSuite powered by ION enables firms to complete these critical tasks with ease:

  • Prospect potential investments
  • Streamline underwriting
  • Automate distributions
  • Track capital calls
  • Generate reports
  • Consolidate portfolio data
  • Unify all of your portfolios
  • Set up separate login credentials to access each portfolio

We built ION to help speed up the NetSuite implementation process, decrease time to value, and help your firm realize a positive return on your investment.

Stop letting gray areas in profitability hold your firm back. Get the clarity you need by working with Finlyte. Our team provides tailored Oracle NetSuite ERP implementation services for your firm.

We can manage and simplify your transition using our expertise and our ION solution. If you’re ready to learn more about how to improve profitability monitoring, book a consultation with our team.

It’s time to elevate the capabilities of your firm. See why NetSuite is the ideal software for private equity firms.