NetSuite Enables Customers to Rapidly and Easily Comply With UK VAT Changes

LONDON and SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NetSuite Inc. (NYSE:N), a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business management software suites for mid-market enterprises and divisions of large companies, today announced a comprehensive plan for customers doing business in the United Kingdom who need to respond rapidly to the recent changes in value-added tax (VAT) rates announced by the British government on 24 November 2008. The revision reduces the standard VAT rate from 17.5% to 15% beginning 1 December 2008, requiring businesses to make quick adjustments in their billing and Ecommerce systems in order to comply with the rate change. Thanks to the built-in flexibility of the NetSuite Tax Engine integrated within the NetSuite business management software suite, NetSuite customers will only have to make a few simple and easy configuration changes to comply with the new rate; they will not have to wait for NetSuite to release updates, nor will they have to apply any software patches. NetSuite's UK VAT Compliance plan is designed to educate channel partners and customers alike on how to manage their transition to the new rate so companies can quickly and immediately comply with the VAT rate reduction, without any disruption to their business. For more information about the action plan for NetSuite customers, please visit http://www.netsuite.co.uk/portal/uk/landing/uk-vat-rate.shtml.

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The British government's recent decision to reduce the standard VAT rate by 2.5% as part of the economic stimulus package will have a huge impact on business owners who are using software applications to manage many aspects of their businesses, particularly accounting / ERP and Ecommerce. The announced changes provide businesses with very little time to adjust to the changed rate, adding to the compliance challenge. Thanks to NetSuite's highly flexible and customisable Software as a Service (SaaS) business management software, companies can respond rapidly to pass the rate reduction benefits on to their customers while maintaining the integrity of their VAT and accounting records. The ability of on-demand business systems, such as NetSuite, to respond quickly to changing business conditions in near real-time and then communicate a single, best-practice message directly to customers via the on-demand platform is just the latest example of how SaaS-based solutions trump older generation, on-premise packaged software. In the case of this recent VAT change, vendors of packaged software products, such as Sage and Microsoft Great Plains, are no doubt scrambling to distribute updates and coordinate consistent direction through a myriad of distribution channels.

"Changes to UK VAT rates are relatively infrequent, but by their very nature tend to occur at those times that are most challenging for businesses to respond to them," said Craig Sullivan, Vice President of International Products for NetSuite. "Recognizing that challenge, we designed the tax engine within NetSuite to easily accommodate such changes on-the-fly. We also realize that our customers would benefit from additional guidance and support in managing the transition smoothly and efficiently, minimizing any disruption to their business. NetSuite's UK VAT Compliance plan provides that support."

Both UK businesses and global businesses with sales operations in the UK will be impacted by the VAT rate change. NetSuite customers are fortunate in that all they have to do to comply with the change is to first create a new tax code within NetSuite that reflects the new 15% rate and has an effective date of 1 December 2008, then apply this new tax code to their catalogue of items sold using either mass-editing tools, or the graphical, easy-to-use Import Assistant if a large number of items are involved. To communicate this vital information to customers, NetSuite's UK VAT Compliance action plan takes a multi-channel approach that includes a dedicated micro-site on the NetSuite Web site, postings within the NetSuite user group online forum, email communications, and a live webinar that will also be recorded for reference purposes. NetSuite Customer Support is also staffed with accounting compliance specialists to address customers' questions.

UK businesses commended NetSuite for rapidly communicating the impact of the VAT change to them, as well as for the ease with which they were able to accommodate compliance with the change within their business operations.

"As an accounting practice, we have to act quickly in response to the VAT cuts as this new decision by the British Government has a huge impact on many aspects of our business," said Andrew Norton, Managing Partner at Nortons. "Being a NetSuite customer for a while, we've had great experience not only with the software, but also with the company's commitment to helping customers succeed. NetSuite's quick response and action plan for compliance for its customers are impressive and we expect that NetSuite's highly flexible and customizable tax engine will make the transition easy and simple. We have no concern about the disruption to our business because of this change."

For more information about NetSuite Inc., please visit www.netsuite.com.

NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service marks of NetSuite Inc.

FCMN Contact: snagy@netsuite.com

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Source: NetSuite Inc.

CONTACT: Mei Li of NetSuite Inc., +1-650-627-1063, meili@netsuite.com

Web site: http://www.netsuite.com/
http://www.netsuite.co.uk/portal/uk/landing/uk-vat-rate.shtml