Managed Services vs. Traditional Support: Which NetSuite Support Model Is Right for Your Business?

You’ve gone live in NetSuite and now need ongoing support for your instance.

Maybe you already have an internal support team and need additional capacity. Maybe you don’t have dedicated support resources in-house. Or maybe you’re not finished your implementation and are just planning ahead.  

Whatever your situation, choosing the right support model is an important next step in protecting the success of your NetSuite investment. At Sky High ERP, we offer two support models designed to meet different operational needs: Traditional Support and Managed Services.  

This guide will help you understand the difference so you can determine which model best fits your team. 

A High-Level Comparison 

Traditional Support 

Traditional Support is best suited for companies with limited, ad hoc support needs. 

This model is billed on a time-and-materials basis, where work is tracked hourly and typically tied to individual tickets or one-off requests. 

It is often the right fit for businesses that: 

• Have an in-house NetSuite administrator or support resource  

• Require occasional assistance with smaller issues  

• Are largely self-sufficient in day-to-day system management  

• Need support for isolated tasks or short-term development needs  

  
  

Because work is billed per ticket and by time spent, this model often requires estimates, approvals, and budget sign-off as new requests arise. Project management time is also billable under this structure.  

Managed Services 

Managed Services is designed for companies with ongoing support needs and a preference for predictable monthly costs. 

This model provides a more agile working relationship, often with dedicated resources assigned to your account, making it well suited for recurring tickets, longer-term initiatives, and teams that require continuous support. 

Key advantages include: 

• Predictable monthly costs  

• Dedicated support resources  

• Smoother handling of ongoing work  

• Less administrative overhead around hourly approvals  

• Project management time included within the rate  

Since there is less back-and-forth around hour approvals and budget communication, support tends to be more streamlined and predictable.  

When Managed Services Is the Better Fit 

Managed Services may be the right model if any of the following sound familiar: 

• You’ve recently gone live and need ongoing support to help ensure implementation success  

• Your team requires ongoing training support  

• Your finance team needs reporting assistance  

• You have a larger team with deep customizations but no dedicated developer  

• You are planning a longer-term project or portfolio of work and want a fixed-fee monthly structure  

Packages typically range from 20 to 160 hours per month and can be structured as either month-to-month or annual agreements, with annual terms offering a discounted rate.  

An additional benefit of this model is continuity. Because dedicated team members can stay closer to your environment and recurring workstreams, there is stronger knowledge carry-over over time.  

If your priority is predictability, continuity, and ease of execution, Managed Services is often the stronger fit. 

When Traditional Support Makes More Sense 

Traditional Support is typically better suited for teams that have been operating in NetSuite for several years and require occasional expert support. 

This may be the right option if: 

• you already have dedicated NetSuite support internally  

• you need occasional overflow support  

• your needs are small and ad hoc  

• you need adjustments to a single report or workflow  

• you need additional development support for a short-term project  

• your requests are well defined and do not require extensive back-and-forth  

These teams are often more mature in their NetSuite usage and internal processes, which enables faster issue definition and resolution.  

Because billing is time and materials, this structure can become more expensive when requests involve frequent updates, ongoing planning, or repeated touchpoints, as project management time is billed separately.  

Choosing the Right Model 

Both support models are designed to help your team get the most from NetSuite. 

The right choice comes down to how often you need support, how predictable you want costs to be, and whether your needs are one-off or ongoing. 

• Choose Traditional Support for occasional, clearly defined requests  

• Choose Managed Services for continuous support, predictable costs, and longer-term partnership  

If you’re unsure which model best fits your business, Sky High ERP can help you evaluate the right path based on your team structure and support needs.