What is a NetSuite Developer?

by Corynn Anderson in , , October 21st, 2022

While a NetSuite consultant brings functional expertise to the table, a NetSuite developer does more of the behind-the-scenes work of building the actual NetSuite instance for your company through code customizations. NetSuite developers and NetSuite consultants work closely with each other, and many individuals will act both as a NetSuite developer and a NetSuite consultant. However, it is helpful to think of the developer role separately from the consultant role in order to better understand the value of a high-performing NetSuite developer. 

NetSuite Developers

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NetSuite Developer Jobs

You have probably heard that NetSuite ERP supports many modules that integrate seamlessly to create a unified business management system for your company. Sounds like a great way to manage a business, right?

A NetSuite developer's job is to take a client's objectives and turn those ideas into programs and extensions within a NetSuite environment. While NetSuite is highly customizable and can be tailored to meet your business's specific needs, you need a good NetSuite developer to get the job done right and ensure a high-performing system. We make sure that you get the business management experience you are looking for by helping you connect different NetSuite Modules, make necessary customizations, and plug in third-party apps when helpful.

Much of a NetSuite developer's job involves working in a developer account or sandbox account to make changes to SuiteScript with the help of NetSuite APIs. Using a base language called “Javascript”, NetSuite developers can introduce “SuiteScript 2.0” and create all of the features to be introduced into their website and NetSuite ERP back office.

The best NetSuite developers have extensive experience and knowledge in all the different types of SuiteScripts to have a tool belt ready for any NetSuite customization. For instance, not all newer NetSuite developers have made a Suitelet which can sometimes be a key ingredient for custom NetSuite tools. SuiteScript goes beyond minor automation, you can create web pages and maneuver data around in almost unlimited ways.


NetSuite Developer Background

Many NetSuite Developers have Bachelor’s degrees in one of the following:

  • Business
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering
  • Management Information Systems

However, NetSuite Developers come from a variety of academic backgrounds. To ensure that developers learn the necessary skills and requirements to succeed, they become certified in NetSuite. Visit our 'About' page to learn about the diverse educational backgrounds of our NetSuite implementation team and to discover what NetSuite certifications our team holds. (Spoiler: We collectively hold all available NetSuite Certifications).


NetSuite Developer Skills

A good NetSuite developer possesses a high aptitude to accept complex assignments, analyze problems, and provide effective solutions. NetSuite developers excel at translating customer business requirements and business goals into workable business solutions within NetSuite. This requires deep knowledge of NetSuite functionality, and the coding that brings about this functionality. Great NetSuite developers are highly skilled at coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SuiteScript, and have experience working with SuiteCommerce Advanced source code. A good NetSuite developer is able to bring their clients peace of mind by offering effective solutions through customizations and apps that will meet business needs in a cost-effective manner. 


Qualities of a Good NetSuite Developer...

A good NetSuite developer will work with consultants to discern how NetSuite can best fulfill a company's needs. Through the implementation process, the NetSuite developer builds and deploys automation, customizations, and integrations in NetSuite ERP to meet business needs, industry-specific processes, and regulatory requirements. Even after go-live, you can count on a good NetSuite developer to help you scale your NetSuite configuration through additional integrations and add-ons as your company grows. The goal of a NetSuite developer is to help NetSuite form around a business to make daily tasks automated while retaining data integrity.


Advantages of a Certified NetSuite Developer

The advantages of using a group that is certified in all areas of NetSuite are boundless. NetSuite developers know that working together is one of the best ways to resolve issues. Utilizing a team of NetSuite professionals optimizes the end-to-end NetSuite solution. The functional consultant will be able to understand the native features that might want to be utilized. A NetSuite architect will be able to solve design any project so that all business objectives are met with the most efficient use of developer time. On the other hand, the NetSuite developer can execute complex customization through SuiteScript.

To learn more about the different NetSuite Certifications that are available, and what level of expertise you can expect from an individual holding a given certification, check out our article on the topic: Understanding NetSuite Certifications


NetSuite Developer Accounts

With a NetSuite Developer account, NetSuite partners like Anchor Group can make customizations in NetSuite without seeing your sensitive company data. NetSuite developer accounts have all of the same features as your business’ production account, and they do not contain any account customizations or production data. Instead, a developer account can be populated with only the data necessary for developing and testing. Developers also use sandbox accounts and multiple sandbox accounts, which are similar to NetSuite developers accounts, but with added layers of tools for developing and testing customizations within NetSuite. Plus it already has a carbon copy of your production data. Both a developer account and a sandbox account are heavily utilized while coding SuiteScript for your business.


What does a NetSuite Administrator do?

Though they can often be confused with each other, NetSuite Developers and NetSuite Administrators perform very different different roles. The job of a NetSuite administrator is to manage the NetSuite ERP. This includes managing users, roles, permissions, and knowing how to use functions such as reports, saved searches, workflows, and other UI based tools built inside of NetSuite.

While NetSuite Administrators and NetSuite Developers both have some control over the website features, the extent and type of feature management that each role has is quite different. NetSuite Administrators can turn on and off certain features included within the code of their NetSuite instance. However, if they want more features added to the code of their NetSuite System, they will need to hire NetSuite developers to integrate new NetSuite Modules or third-party NetSuite Apps.


Oracle NetSuite Alliance Partner & Commerce Partner

Hopefully, this post gives you something to work with while trying to understand NetSuite and what it can do for your business. If you have general questions about NetSuite Developers, or more specific questions about how our team of Developers can help your business improve your NetSuite system, feel free to contact us at any time. Anchor Group is a certified Oracle NetSuite Alliance Partner & Commerce Partner, and is equipped to handle all kinds of NetSuite and SuiteCommerce projects, large or small!

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