Client Snapshot
Industry:
Furniture Distribution and Retail
Location:
Idaho, USA
Client Profile:
Mid-sized, rapidly growing firm supplying large retailers and direct customers
Systems:
NetSuite (accounting + POS) → QuickBooks
Key Highlights
Migration Scale:
~8,000 items and ~1,500 transactions migrated into QuickBooks
Savings:
50–55% savings in clean-up/migration phase; 30–40% savings in ongoing accounting
Control Upgrade:
Organized chart of accounts and defined product coding structure
Operating Model:
Back-office managed from India with clear onshore/offshore workflow split
Client Background
A mid-sized, rapidly growing furniture distribution and retail company in Idaho was operating on NetSuite for both accounting and POS. The client needed to correct accounting errors from a prior accountant, migrate systems from NetSuite to QuickBooks, create a structured item list and product coding hierarchy, and transition back-office operations to an offshore delivery model while maintaining business continuity.
Business Challenge
The engagement combined multi-year clean-up, high-volume migration, and an operating model redesign under tight timelines.
High-Volume Data Migration
Migrating large-scale NetSuite data (including a large item list and transaction detail) into QuickBooks.
No Product Coding Structure
Items lacked consistent product codes and hierarchy, with many in miscellaneous categories—making tracking difficult.
Accounting Clean-Up + New QuickBooks COA
Correcting errors/omissions across bank reconciliation, inventory, payables, reimbursements, charge-backs/back-orders, balance sheet transactions, and payroll—while designing a new QuickBooks chart of accounts.
Tight Timeline for Transaction Entry and Go-Live
Entering five months of activity (~1,500 transactions) quickly before transitioning to ongoing bookkeeping, while preparing for a multi-user environment across locations.
These dependencies meant the client could not treat migration as a “data move” alone—accuracy, item structure, COA design, and operating workflows all had to be rebuilt in parallel to support reliable reporting and scalable operations.
OHI's Approach & Solution
Phase-Based Delivery Plan
- Broke the engagement into phases with clear timelines to manage multiple concurrent requirements.
Clean-Up and Correction in NetSuite
- Started with NetSuite clean-up and used a control sheet to track balance impacts.
- Addressed specific issues such as chargebacks, year-end inventory adjustments, and freight reimbursements with documented P&L and balance sheet impacts.
- Supported QuickBooks version selection (Manufacturing & Wholesaling Premier) by comparing solution options.
Migration from NetSuite to QuickBooks
- Built a revised QuickBooks chart of accounts based on analysis of needs and benchmarking to furniture industry templates.
- Exported and archived close to 200 NetSuite reports for reference in a searchable folder structure.
- Reduced manual entry by exporting NetSuite data as IIF files, mapping for QuickBooks import, and validating imported fields and balances.
- Created custom item fields (manufacturing numbers, dimensions, pricing, preferred vendor) and validated ~8,000 items and ~1,500 transactions post-import.
Ongoing Accounting and Offshore Operating Model
- Designed workflows for a multi-user environment where some activities occurred real-time in the U.S. and others offshore.
- Established procedures, management reporting formats, and timelines (including a monthly close cutoff and input timelines).
Results & Impact
| KPI | Before OHI | After OHI | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean-Up & Migration Cost | Higher budgeted cost baseline | Delivered clean-up + migration via offshore model | 50–55% savings |
| Ongoing Accounting Cost | Higher ongoing processing cost | Back-office managed from India | 30–40% savings |
| Accounting Timeliness | Accounts updated slower pre-engagement | Faster ongoing updates post-transition | Improved speed |
| Migration Accuracy | High risk due to data volume | Validated import with balance comparisons | Accurate migration |
| COA & Item Structure | Redundant accounts; many items without codes | Organized COA and defined product coding structure | Better tracking |
| Business Focus | Staff pulled into accounting tasks | More time for selling and business development | Improved front-end focus |
OHI delivered a structured clean-up and migration program while establishing an offshore back-office model. The client achieved cost savings, faster updates, accurate data migration, and improved financial control through standardized reporting and a defined COA and product coding framework.
“OHI helped us correct legacy errors, migrate accurately from NetSuite to QuickBooks, and build a structured back-office model that improved control and freed our team to focus on growth.”
CAO
Idaho-Based Furniture Distributor
Migrate from NetSuite to QuickBooks without data or control risk
Clean up legacy accounting, rebuild item and COA structures, and transition back-office operations with validated migration and repeatable workflows.
