This article will be meaningful to you if you use NetSuite but are frustrated by the platform’s limited native capabilities for visually planning and scheduling work, especially when precise coordination is critical to operational and financial outcomes.
TL;DR Summary
If you need a powerful Gantt chart application that is fully integrated with NetSuite, we developed a high-performance, React-based solution that runs natively on the NetSuite platform without third-party hosting. Our approach enables Professional Services and other industries to visually plan, schedule, and manage work with full control and no recurring license fees.
Background
In the real world, businesses often struggle when they can’t easily see, plan, and sequence their work. When thinking in terms of time, our minds gravitate toward calendars. But when we need to manage complex sequences, dependencies, and multiple resource constraints, Gantt charts are far more powerful. In industries where timing misalignments cost real money — whether in consulting, manufacturing, or construction — this visualization isn’t a luxury; it’s essential.
At Prolecto Resources, we run a Professional Services firm and use NetSuite as a strategic platform, as Evan Goldberg, NetSuite’s Founder, intended. Wherever demanded, when the built-in capacities are insufficient and other solutions are not trusted, we extend NetSuite’s capabilities to meet our business and clients’ specific needs.
Handling a constant flow of client requests demands a system that offers clarity, predictability, and performance. We first extended NetSuite’s native Case structure to build our own high-performance action management system, which we call the Prolecto Task Manager (PTM) (learn more about PTM here). Yet while PTM gave us tremendous day-to-day execution ability, we also needed a sophisticated way to plan and schedule work weekly to account for real individual capacity and manage overall client loads.
Naturally, the answer was a modern Gantt chart application that fully integrates with NetSuite with no third-party hosting required.
NetSuite’s Challenge in Visual Planning
One of NetSuite’s longstanding limitations is its user interface for visual scheduling. While some apps offered by Oracle try, none (to our satisfaction) have produced a high-fidelity visual planning interface on tasks where sequences, dependencies, and multiple resource constraints must be visualized and adjusted dynamically.
Professional Service Organizations (such as our firm), Manufacturing firms, Construction companies, Event planners, and even Software Development teams often rely on Gantt charts to manage workloads effectively. When misalignment costs are high, simple lists and basic calendar views don’t cut it.
Prolecto already had a solid task management execution platform (our PTM system). Still, we needed a way to plan realistically based on individual capacities, task requirements, and timeframes. The goal was better predictability to increase trust and to minimize drama internally for team management and externally for client expectations.
Click the image to see the application in full-screen.
Solution: Prolecto’s NetSuite-Integrated Gantt Chart Application
We built an application using the React Web Development Framework, layered over our Prolecto Extensible Client Framework (ECF). Here’s what we achieved and will be demonstrated:
- True Gantt Chart Planning: Visualize tasks across a timeline with drag-and-drop adjustments.
- Capacity-Aware Scheduling: Each team member’s work capacity is configurable (not just a default 40 hours/week).
- Start/End Date Calculation: Estimations from PTM tasks drive automatic timeline planning.
- Resource Load Balancing: Managers can help staff balance workload while monitoring incoming client demand.
- Integrated and Secure: Built directly on top of NetSuite’s platform with no third-party hosting or extra authentication layers.
- Modern UI Features: Drag-and-drop interaction, color-coding, outline structures, header-detail relationships, and robust filtering, all familiar and comfortable for modern users.
The solution operates entirely within the NetSuite ecosystem, leveraging its authentication, database, and hosting infrastructure, which keeps costs and complexity low for us and our clients.
Demonstrations and Deep Dive
To really appreciate how this NetSuite-driven Gantt application transforms planning and scheduling, check out the two short videos below where I walk through real examples with our Technology Practice Leader, Chidi Okwudire.
- Video 1: Practical Use Case and Demo
Marty Zigman interviews Chidi Okwudire, demonstrating the real-world application of our Gantt chart planning system in our Professional Services practice.
- Video 2: Technology Discussion and Approach
A technical exploration of leveraging modern web technology to redefine what’s possible inside a NetSuite environment.
These videos show that NetSuite’s underlying database and logic layers are powerful and can be fully modernized without losing the core system’s strengths.
NetSuite Gantt Chart Implementation Details
Here’s how we made it all work:
- Built on Prolecto Extensible Client Framework (ECF): ECF allows us to create high-performance web applications that sit natively on NetSuite without recurring infrastructure costs.
- React Frontend for Responsive UX: Our choice of React ensures that the application works flawlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices with modern, smooth interactions.
- Capacity Management per Individual: Instead of assuming a one-size-fits-all 40-hour workweek, the system accounts for personalized availability, leading to realistic planning.
- Sequencing and Dependency Awareness: Managers and team members can see how work flows, where bottlenecks could occur, and how to adjust resources to hit target deadlines.
- Zero Third-Party Hosting: The application uses NetSuite for all back-end services such as authentication, database storage, and business logic to preserve security, reduce costs, and simplify IT management.
- Targeted for All NetSuite Users: Although our case study focuses on Professional Services, any business that needs visual project planning can benefit. Consider that Manufacturing, Construction, Event Management, and Software Development industries can benefit from these patterns.
The key is that we can take our exact requirements and express them how we want without constraints on our imagination or technology.
High-Performance Planning with NetSuite with No Recurring Costs, Only Results
By building our Gantt chart planning application, we transformed how we manage our Professional Services within NetSuite. More importantly, we continue to prove a model that any NetSuite organization can adopt: leverage the strength of the NetSuite platform while taking full control over the user experience. In previous articles, I demonstrated and discussed how we broke through perceived NetSuite performance limitations.
Our clients receive these innovations as part of our services with no license fees for our frameworks or applications. The real investment is in partnering with high-caliber talent that listens carefully, models business challenges accurately, and delivers systems that boost productivity, predictability, and user satisfaction.
If you found this article relevant, feel free to sign up for notifications of new articles as I post them. If you are ready to gain real control over your NetSuite-driven business applications, let’s have a conversation.
Marty Zigman
Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.
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