This release note was updated March 24, 2021.
Centralized Purchasing and Billing
NetSuite 2021.1 introduces the Centralized Purchasing and Billing feature to OneWorld accounts.
Centralized Purchasing and Billing enables you to receive orders and fulfil vendor returns across multiple
subsidiaries. This feature provides a flexible item receipt process and lets you avoid unnecessary order transfers between locations. Note: Centralized Purchasing and Billing is not dependent on any other feature. After you enable the Centralized Purchasing and Billing feature, line items in the Items subtab of the purchase order form contain Target Subsidiary and Target Location columns. Target subsidiary and target location can differ from the Subsidiary and Location fields, which lets you target a single purchase order at multiple subsidiaries and locations. When you set the Target Subsidiary and Target Location fields on a line item, you override the Subsidiary and Location fields for that line item. You can configure available subsidiaries and locations on individual item records. For more information, see the help topic Creating Item Records. After receiving items from a centralized purchase order, each target subsidiary creates their own receipt. Subsidiaries can create their item receipt from the Receive Orders page or directly from the purchase order. If you receive directly from the purchase order, the Receive Orders page automatically filters the Orders list by order number. The list splits centralized purchase orders based on a new Target Subsidiary column while retaining the same order number. The Receive Orders page also includes a new Target Subsidiary filter. You can use this filter to only show purchase orders belonging to a specific subsidiary. If you prefer, you can also receive purchase orders in bulk. See the help topic Bulk Receiving Purchase Orders. You must create vendor bills for centralized purchase orders from the originating purchase order. When you create a bill, all purchase order lines received up to that point transfer to the bill automatically. Note: Line items on the vendor bill form now contains the following new columns:
- Due To/From Subsidiary – Specifies the target subsidiary of the vendor bill line
- Target Location – Specifies the target location of the vendor bill line The columns are hidden by default. If you want these columns to appear on your form, you must create a custom vendor bill form. The Centralized Purchasing and Billing feature enables the automation of intercompany cross charges between the billing subsidiary and the target subsidiary. You can set the automation to automatically run when the accounting period closes.
Posting vendor bill variances are also compatible with Centralized Purchasing and Billing. You can use
both methods of posting vendor bill variances. See the help topic Vendor Bill Variances. When you post a variance, the journals generate under the receiving Inventory or Target subsidiary. Vendor bill variance postings generate based on individual vendor bill lines. This includes support for multi-currency scenarios, in case the base currency between subsidiaries differs. When you enable the Centralized Purchasing and Billing feature, the Vendor Return Authorization transaction also contains the Target Subsidiary and Target Location columns. You can create a vendor return authorization:
- As a new transaction
- From the originating purchase order
- From the vendor bill You can fulfill vendor returns from the Ship Vendor Returns page, or by clicking the Return button on the vendor return authorization record. The item fulfilment record is generated based on lines specified in the vendor return authorization record. The Ship Vendor Returns page now also contains a Target Subsidiary filter and splits vendor returns by the new Target Subsidiary column when applicable. Note: It is not possible to bulk process vendor returns. When you initiate a vendor return directly from the vendor return authorization record, the Ship Vendor
Returns page is automatically filtered by order number. If you are fulfilling a vendor return authorization
to be fulfilled by multiple subsidiaries, the orders on the Ship Vendor Returns page are divided by target subsidiary. After you at least partially fulfill the vendor return authorization, you can refund the order in the form of vendor credit. To create a vendor credit record, click the Refund button on the original vendor return authorization record. The bill credit form automatically transfers lines from the vendor return authorization record. Note: Line items on the bill credit form now contains the following new columns:
- Due To/From Subsidiary – Specifies the target subsidiary of the vendor bill line The columns are hidden by default. If you want these columns to appear on your form, you must create a custom bill credit form. Similarly to billing, the Centralized Purchasing and Billing feature enables the automation of intercompany cross charges between the credit subsidiary and the target subsidiary. For more information, see the help topic Centralized Purchasing and Billing.
Default Vendor Payment Account
In NetSuite 2021.1, you can set a Default Vendor Payment Account preference. You can set the default vendor payment account on three levels:
- Company level – Set a company-wide accounting preference
- Subsidiary level – Set preferences at the subsidiary level
- Vendor level – Set preferences for individual vendors
Individual preferences override preferences set on a higher level. For example, a default vendor payment
account set for a vendor overrides any company level or subsidiary level preferences for that individual vendor. The preferences affect the Account field on three transaction types:
- Vendor prepayments
- Bill payments This relates to a change in the standard bill payment and vendor prepayment forms. The Payee field is now the first field in the two forms. The Account, Subsidiary, and currency fields are unavailable until you enter the Payee field. After you fill the Payee field, the fields are populated based on your preferences. If no preferences are set, you can enter the fields manually. For more information, see the help topic Setting Default Vendor Payment Accounts.
Print Vendor Bills and Vendor Credits
In NetSuite 2021.1, you can enable the Advanced PDF/HTML Templates feature for vendor bills and credits. To print a bill or bill credit using the standard PDF/HTML template, click Print next to the record in the list page. You can also go to the individual bill or bill credit records and select one of the following options from the Print dropdown list:
- Print – Prints the record using the standard PDF/HTML template
- Print GL Impact – Prints the general ledger impact of the transaction You can create custom templates by going to Customization > Forms > Advanced PDF/HTML Templates. You can create a custom Bill or Bill Credit form and set your custom template in the Print Template field. For more information, see the help topic Advanced PDF/HTML Templates. You can print multiple Bills and Bill Credits on the Print Checks and Forms page, which now contains these transactions. For more information, see the following help topics:
- Vendor Bill Printing
- Vendor Credit Printing
Create Bill from Item Receipt
With NetSuite 2021.1 you can create bills directly from item receipts. When you enable the Advanced Receiving feature, you can click Bill on an item receipt transaction to create a bill. If the quantities on the item receipt and originating purchase order differ, NetSuite deducts the quantity on the item receipt from the purchase order. This enables you to manage the creation of billing information if your purchase order is split into multiple receipts. For more information, see the help topic Receiving a Purchase Orders with Advanced Receiving. Set Purchase Contract Maximum Amount on Request for
Quote Transaction
NetSuite 2021.1 adds a Purchase Contract Maximum Amount field to the Awards subtab on the Request for Quote page. If you use Approval Routing, the Purchase Contract Maximum Amount field determines the required approval level of the purchase contract that generates after awarding a request for quote to a vendor. After you enable the Approval Routing feature and set the Approval Routing accounting preference for purchase contracts, the Purchase Contract Maximum Amount field is required. For more information, see the following help topics:
- Approval Routing
- Supervisors, Approvers, and Approval Limits.
- Analyzing and Awarding a Request for Quote