Proper financial management is crucial for every business’s success and stability. Managing multi-subsidiary costs can be increasingly challenging on legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, where manual cost allocation and data entry continue to consume users’ time with higher margins of error. 

That’s where NetSuite’s Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp comes in. As a direct replacement of the NetSuite Shared Vendor Bill solution, the Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp now offers a better way to allocate costs across subsidiaries and segments – without incurring additional costs.

Why should you use the Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp?

With automated line-level allocations and reusable templates, the SuiteApp automates and simplifies the distribution of GL transaction impacts – such as expenses or income accounts – across subsidiaries, departments, locations, and custom segments. Fully integrated with NetSuite’s other features and functions, it supports:

• Vendor bills
• Vendor credits
• Purchase requisitions
• Purchase orders
• Expense reports
• Checks
• Credit card charges
• Sales orders
• Cash sales
• Invoices
• Credit memos
• Journals

All of this means fewer errors, more accurate financial reports, and a lot less time spent on manual data allocations.

Key benefits of the SuiteApp

1. Automation: Save time automating line-level allocations and journal entry creation.
2. Flexibility: Change allocations with both percentages and dollar amounts, intercompany and intracompany, and on header and line-level data.
3. Accuracy: Minimize human error in allocations and journal entry creation.
4. Customization: Tailor expense distributions to fit your unique business needs.

Spotlight on new features

1. Scheduled journal creation

One of the SuiteApp’s most promising new features is the ability to create transaction line distribution journals on a schedule. This means journals are generated automatically and on time, every time. No more manual entries, no more missed deadlines – just set it and forget it.

2. Enhanced distribution capabilities

The SuiteApp offers even more ways to distribute within your account. You can now allocate costs across custom segments, along with the native ability across departments, classifications, subsidiaries, locations, and accounts. This flexibility helps ensure your financial statements are accurate and expands use cases to additional industries and customizations.

3. Efficiency improvements

Entering transactions just got a whole lot easier. With reusable templates and quick rules, you can apply predefined distribution rules to new transactions instantly, not only saving time but also reducing the risk of errors. Additionally, a “Quick Distribution” feature allows users to execute allocations without any templates at all.

Real-World Transaction Line Distribution scenario

Imagine you’re running a multinational corporation with subsidiaries all over the world. Allocating shared service costs (like IT or HR) across these subsidiaries can be very complicated. But with the Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp, the automation allows for predefined allocations to be dispersed automatically. 

Say your corporation needs to distribute shared service costs based on headcount or revenue. With the SuiteApp, you can set up reusable templates that define these distribution rules. Once set up, the SuiteApp automatically applies these rules to new transactions, enabling consistent and accurate expense allocation while freeing up your finance team for more important responsibilities. 

In conclusion: An efficiency must-have

NetSuite’s Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp is a must-have for any business looking to streamline its financial management processes, transforming the process of allocating downstream from source transactions. The latest updates – including scheduled journal creation, enhanced distribution capabilities, and efficiency improvements – make it even more powerful. By automating and simplifying financial activity allocations, you can achieve greater accuracy, save time, and help ensure consistent financial reporting.

If you are interested in setting up the Transaction Line Distribution SuiteApp in NetSuite, or have any questions, reach out to the CohnReznick NetSuite team today.