Elemental Machines Increases Net Revenue Retention by Connecting Finance, Sales, and Customer Data With Salesforce and NetSuite

Clarity and Alignment Across Teams

As Elemental Machines grew, so did the complexity of managing key business data across multiple systems. Sales, finance, and customer success each had their own processes for tracking revenue and renewals, which meant teams sometimes had different perspectives on the same numbers. While the company had systems to manage financials and customer relationships, aligning those systems required extra time and manual effort to ensure accuracy.

With Salesforce as their new CRM, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement as their marketing automation tool, and NetSuite handling billing and financials, Elemental Machines now has a single, fully connected system where data flows seamlessly across departments. Teams can access real-time insights, enabling sales, finance, and customer success to work with the same information. The result? Faster, more informed decision-making and stronger customer relationships.

“We can finally trust the data we’re looking at. That’s a game-changer for the entire company.”

– Ed Seguine, CEO, Elemental Machines

Proactive Customer Renewals That Strengthen Relationships

For a company built on long-term partnerships, customer renewals are a key part of Elemental Machines’ business. Their contracts included an auto-renewal clause to maintain continuity for customers, but there was still room to improve the renewal process itself.

In the past, customers sometimes received invoices before having a direct conversation about their renewal, which could lead to confusion, adjustments, or last-minute negotiations. While most renewals went smoothly, some customers needed additional flexibility—whether to update their contract, modify their equipment, or align the renewal with their budget cycles.

To improve communication and provide a smoother experience, Elemental Machines adjusted its approach so that customer success managers (CSMs) now engage with customers 120 days before their renewal date.

This shift has had a huge impact. Renewal-related cases have dropped by 80%, and the finance team no longer spends time reissuing invoices after the fact. More importantly, customer relationships are stronger because renewals now feel like a continuation of a partnership, rather than a transactional process.

“Our renewal conversations have gone from being reactive to proactive. Now, we have the chance to engage with customers ahead of time, address any concerns, and ensure a smooth experience for everyone.”

–Britt DeBacker, Senior Director of Revenue Operations

Salesforce CPQ Brings Order to the Sales Process

Selling both hardware and software comes with unique pricing challenges, especially when contracts involve different tiers, subscription terms, and bundled solutions. Elemental Machines had a strong sales process, but as the company grew, sales reps relied on multiple systems and manual steps to generate quotes, confirm pricing, and apply discounts. While the team always found a way to get deals done, the process required extra effort, sometimes leading to inconsistencies in how pricing and discounts were tracked.

With Salesforce CPQ, sales reps can now generate accurate quotes in seconds, and leadership has a clear view of pricing trends, renewals, and expansion opportunities. This shift has not only streamlined sales, but also made it easier for finance and customer success to work with clean, structured data throughout the customer lifecycle.

Plative’s Billing IP for NetSuite Eliminates Manual Work for Finance

With a mix of hardware and software subscriptions, Elemental Machine’s contracts often include multi-year agreements, mid-term expansions, and various pricing structures. While the finance team was well-equipped to manage invoicing, handling it across multiple systems required manual effort—especially when contracts changed mid-cycle.

Invoices had to be tracked, adjusted, and triggered manually, increasing the risk of delays, inconsistencies, and extra administrative work. Finance teams were spending valuable time verifying numbers, verifying that mid-year changes were reflected correctly, and making adjustments when invoices didn’t match the final contract.

To solve this, Plative implemented our Billing IP for NetSuite, a custom-built billing engine designed to handle the complexity of recurring revenue, contract changes, and automated invoicing. With this solution, the company now benefits from:

• Automated invoice generation based on contract terms, eliminating manual tracking
• Seamless handling of mid-term contract changes, ensuring expansions or modifications are reflected without manual intervention
• Consolidated invoicing, allowing customers to receive a single, clear invoice instead of multiple separate charges
• Revenue recognition alignment, ensuring financial reporting is always accurate and up-to-date
• Dunning management, automating reminders and payment follow-ups to reduce outstanding balances

By integrating directly with NetSuite, the billing engine has completely streamlined Elemental Machines’ financial operations. Now, instead of manually adjusting billing schedules and ensuring contract updates are reflected in invoices, the finance team can trust that billing runs automatically, with precision and consistency.

“With Plative’s automation, we eliminated manual billing for multi-year contracts. Now invoices go out at the right time, with the right details, without us having to think about it.”

–Fani Isaac, Finance Operations Manager, Elemental Machines