This article was originally published on LinkedIn on January 27, 2026.

An old friend of mine, who's considering a move into the NetSuite space, asked me a simple question. They'd been scanning job postings and kept seeing "functional" and "technical" and "techno-functional" in the listings.

Every NetSuite job posting wants to put you in a box. Functional. Technical. Maybe "techno-functional" if they're feeling generous. But here's the thing: the best NetSuite professionals that I know don't fit neatly into any of them.

What the Labels Mean

Functional means configuration, not code. You're setting up workflows, customizing forms, building saved searches, designing reports, mapping business processes to what NetSuite can do out of the box. The currency here is business knowledge: how revenue recognition works, why a three-way match matters in AP, what makes an order-to-cash cycle actually flow.

Technical means code. SuiteScript. Integrations via REST or SOAP. Custom applications. You're writing software, not clicking through setup screens. The currency is programming ability and architectural thinking.

Techno-functional means both. Configure when you can, code when you must. These folks bridge the gap between what the business needs and what the system can deliver.

Administrator often overlaps with functional work: user management, permissions, day-to-day troubleshooting, keeping the lights on.

These distinctions matter in hiring because the skill sets are genuinely different. Strong functional people think in processes. Strong technical people think in systems. Finding someone who does both well is hard, which is why larger orgs split the roles and consulting firms staff projects with a mix.

The In-House Reality

Here's where theory meets practice.

If you're the only NetSuite person at a mid-sized company, you don't get to specialize. You configure new features on Monday, troubleshoot a workflow on Tuesday, write a client script on Wednesday, and explain to Finance why their report logic is wrong on Thursday. Waiting for a dedicated developer every time something needs code isn't realistic when you're a team of one.

That doesn't mean you need to be an expert at everything. There's a spectrum:

  • Comfortable: Writing a simple user event script to enforce a business rule.
  • Stretch: Building a moderately complex scheduled script with error handling.
  • Outsource: Architecting a multi-system integration or building a SuiteApp from scratch.

Know where you sit on that spectrum. Handle what you can. Bring in help for what you can't. That's not a weakness. That's working smart.

The problem is when job postings don't reflect reality. Companies advertise a "functional admin" role at a functional salary, then act surprised when their new hire can't build integrations. Or they hire a developer who can write elegant code but struggles with change management and business process design.

How Skills Develop

I used to think you were either technical or you weren't. In practice, I've found it's more fluid than that.

Most NetSuite professionals grow into adjacent skills over time. A functional admin hits a wall where a workflow just won't do what they need. So they search the documentation, find a SuiteScript example, copy it, modify it, and suddenly they've written their first script. Do that enough times and you're no longer "just functional."

The reverse happens too. Developers absorb business logic by working on it. You can't script around revenue recognition without eventually understanding how it works.

A few things accelerate this growth:

  • Curiosity. Dig into why things work, not just that they work.
  • Exposure. Smaller companies force you to touch everything. That breadth compounds.
  • Problem variety. Your skills follow your problems. If you never build integrations, you won't learn integrations.

And a few things stall it:

  • Handing off every hard problem. If challenging requests always go to a partner, you lose the chance to stretch.
  • Staying too comfortable. Growth happens at the edge of what you know.
  • Self-teaching past the point of efficiency. Sometimes you need a course, a certification, or a mentor to break through a plateau.

A Maturity Framework

Think of your NetSuite skill development in three stages:

Crawl: You can configure standard features, build basic saved searches, and manage users. When something needs code, you call for help.

Walk: You can read and modify existing scripts, write simple customizations yourself, and troubleshoot problems that span functional and technical boundaries. You know when to escalate.

Run: You can design solutions that blend configuration and code, architect integrations, and mentor others. You're fluent in both business process and technical implementation.

Most in-house roles need someone solidly in "Walk" territory, with the judgment to know what falls into "Run" and should be outsourced.

Practical Takeaways

If you're building skills: Get conversant in SuiteScript even if you never become a full developer. Read existing scripts. Make small modifications. Understand what's possible. That fluency makes you dramatically more effective, even in a "functional" role.

If you're hiring: Be honest about what you actually need. If 80% of the work is configuration and reporting with occasional scripting, hire for strong functional skills and technical aptitude, then give them room to grow. If you need heavy custom development, hire a developer and plan for business process support separately.

If you're managing your career: Don't let labels limit you. The most valuable NetSuite professionals combine business understanding with technical capability. They know when to configure, when to code, and when to call for backup.

Wrapping Up

"Functional" and "technical" are useful shorthand. They help recruiters filter resumes and consultancies staff projects. But the real work doesn't respect those boundaries.

The practitioners who thrive are the ones who keep learning across the divide, who stay curious about the parts of the system they don't yet understand, and who measure their growth not by their title but by the problems they can solve.

My advice: Start where you are, and build toward where you need to be. The labels will sort themselves out.