Working with Local Japanese SaaS in Practice

In our previous article, we outlined the overall approach commonly taken when combining NetSuite with local Japanese SaaS for companies entering the Japanese market.

In this follow-up article, we take a more concrete view and look at how NetSuite is typically combined with specific local SaaS tools widely used in Japan, focusing on practical, real-world usage patterns.

Do Local Japanese SaaS Become Unnecessary After Implementing NetSuite?

In recent years, the back-office environment in Japan has rapidly moved to the cloud.
Many companies rely on specialized SaaS tools for specific functions, such as:

• Accounting: Money Forward Cloud
• Expense management: RakuRaku Expense
• HR administration: SmartHR
• Time and attendance: KING OF TIME
• New Lease Accounting: Multibook

At the same time, adoption of NetSuite has increased as a cloud ERP capable of managing sales, procurement, inventory, and finance across both domestic and international operations.

Given this context, a common question arises:

If we implement NetSuite, do tools like Money Forward or RakuRaku Expense become unnecessary?

Core Perspective: Clarifying Roles Rather Than Replacing Systems

In many cases, the answer is not about whether local tools should be removed.
What matters more is clarifying which system is responsible for which role, based on their respective strengths.

• Local Japanese SaaS
  are strong in day-to-day usability and compliance with Japan-specific regulations and operational practices.
• NetSuite
  is strong in integrated management, consolidated reporting, and global visibility from a management perspective.

As a result, many companies choose not to replace one with the other, but instead define clear boundaries and combine both systems.

1. Understanding Each Tool’s Strengths

NetSuite

• Integrated management across sales, procurement, inventory, projects, and accounting
• Strong support for multi-currency and multi-subsidiary operations
• Well suited for company-wide and management-level oversight

Money Forward Cloud

• Strong compliance with Japanese accounting, tax, and electronic record-keeping requirements
• Extensive integration with banks and credit cards
• Efficient support for daily accounting operations

RakuRaku Expense

• One of the most widely used expense management systems in Japan
• Covers expense applications, approvals, and receipt management based on Japanese practices
• Supports electronic record retention and invoice requirements

Multibook

• Supports multi-currency, multi-language (12 languages), and dual-standard accounting (e.g., local GAAP and Japanese GAAP) out of the box
• Offers a robust engine to handle the New Lease Accounting Standard and IFRS 16, automating complex calculations that are difficult to manage in a general ERP
• Designed to work alongside “Tier 1” ERPs like NetSuite or SAP, acting as a feeder for local subsidiary data to ensure group-wide visibility

2. Separating “Operational SaaS” and “Integrated ERP”

From a practical standpoint, many companies organize their systems into a two-layer structure:

• Daily input and local operations: Local Japanese SaaS
• Aggregation, analysis, and visibility: NetSuite

Example

• Expense applications: RakuRaku Expense
• Local accounting and tax compliance: Money Forward / Multibook
• Project cost control and company-wide P&L management: NetSuite

This structure allows:

• Local teams to continue using familiar tools
• Finance and management teams to review integrated data in NetSuite
• Executives to see the overall business picture from a single platform

3. Common Patterns: Money Forward × NetSuite

When Money Forward Is Often Retained

• Close collaboration with Japanese tax accountants or accounting firms
• Need for quick responses to local regulatory changes
• Emphasis on automated journal entry processing

Typical Integration Patterns

Pattern A: Local accounting in Money Forward, group consolidation in NetSuite

• Japanese entity books are maintained in Money Forward
• Journal summaries and balances are transferred to NetSuite
• NetSuite is used for global P&L and consolidated reporting

Pattern B: Core business processes in NetSuite, statutory tasks in Money Forward

• Order-to-cash and operational workflows are handled in NetSuite
• Local statutory reporting and tax-related documents are prepared in Money Forward

4. Common Patterns: RakuRaku Expense × NetSuite

When Money Forward Is Often Retained

Role of RakuRaku Expense

• Expense applications and approvals
• Receipt and document management for regulatory compliance
• Support for Japan-specific operational details

Role of NetSuite

• Department- and project-level cost management
• Accurate profit analysis through integration with other cost data
• Company-wide management including overseas subsidiaries

Typical Integration Scenario

• Approved expense data is transferred to NetSuite
• Costs are allocated by project or department
• Receipts and evidence are retained in RakuRaku Expense

In practice, this often results in a structure where RakuRaku Expense serves as the entry point, and NetSuite handles aggregation and management.

5. Adapting to Regulatory Changes: The New Lease Accounting Standard and Multibook

Role of Multibook

• Building on its extensive experience with IFRS 16, Multibook provides full support for the upcoming Japanese lease accounting requirements, ensuring companies are ready long before the 2027 deadline.
• While overseas subsidiaries may continue to use local standards, Japanese headquarters must now apply the new standard for consolidated reporting. Multibook’s automated journal entry features solve this “dual management” complexity.
• Management of complex lease contracts—including variable lease payments (up to 300 levels), free-rent periods, and mid-term cancellations—often leads to errors when handled in Excel. Multibook centralizes this data in the cloud, ensuring accuracy and auditability.

Integration with NetSuite

In a typical architecture, Multibook serves as the specialized engine for lease management and local statutory compliance, while NetSuite remains the central hub for global financial visibility. By integrating Multibook’s compliant lease data into NetSuite, organizations can achieve a seamless transition to the new accounting era without disrupting their global ERP operations.

6. A Commonly Adopted Overall Structure

Operational Layer

• RakuRaku Expense (expenses)
• Money Forward (local accounting)
• Multibook (lease accounting)
• SmartHR / KING OF TIME, etc.

↓ (integration via API, CSV, etc.)

Integrated Layer

• NetSuite (sales, procurement, inventory, projects, and accounting)

This structure helps balance:

• Minimal disruption to local operations
• Improved visibility and control for finance and management

7. Summary: Designing Clear Boundaries Is Key

Money Forward, RakuRaku Expense, and NetSuite each have distinct strengths.

Rather than focusing on which tool to choose, successful implementations focus on where to draw the boundaries between systems.

• Local Japanese SaaS excel at compliance and daily operations
• NetSuite excels at integrated, company-wide management

Designing system boundaries that fit each organization’s context leads to more stable and practical operations.

If you need assistance

Approaches to combining NetSuite with local Japanese SaaS vary depending on company size and operational structure.

Support can be provided to help clarify system roles, define boundaries, and design integration approaches based on each organization’s situation.

Discussions can begin at an early planning stage and are not tied to system replacement decisions.