A Guide to Invoice Management in NetSuite

In today's fast-paced business environment, efficient management of accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) is crucial to maintaining healthy cash flow. Invoices are an essential part of this. Invoice creation and processing are critical steps in these processes.

NetSuite's robust invoice management system offers a powerful solution to automate and streamline the billing process, increasing efficiency and improving your bottom line.

This comprehensive guide delves into the capabilities of NetSuite for both AR and AP, allowing you to take control of your financial operations. We will also discuss NetSuite and ai-enabled automation to simplify some of the manual processes in AR and AP.

NetSuite Billing – Accounts Receivable (AR)

Collecting payments from customers can be a constant struggle for many businesses. NetSuite's AR features give you the tools to speed up the process and improve your collection rate:

Invoice creation

Generate invoices quickly and easily by converting sales orders directly into invoices. This eliminates the need to enter duplicate data, ensuring accuracy and saving valuable time.

Under Transactions->Sales->Click 'Create Invoices'

Click 'New Transaction'

• On the screen above, you can select the form. Enter the Customer and invoice date.
• You have the option to select multiple currencies and the corresponding exchange rate.
• In the items section, you can include the line items that are billed. On the following tabs, you can add billing addresses and additional tax details.
• Offer your clients a convenient and simple way to receive invoices. NetSuite allows you to send invoices electronically via email or offer a secure online portal for access and self-service options.

Customizable NetSuite Invoice Templates

Design professional templates that reflect your brand identity and communicate essential information such as product details, pricing, payment terms, and expiration dates.

You can select multiple invoice templates under Customization->Forms->Transaction Forms.

You can see the different templates accessible here. Filter by invoice type. You can create a new template and select the type as Invoice.

You can choose from the existing template and press Customize to edit

In the print template, you can select custom HTML templates that allow for modifications and extended layouts.

You can choose various invoice templates from the home screen under Personalization->Forms->Advanced PDF/HTML Templates.

This is what the editor screen looks like.

• You can press the '+' button to include fields in NetSuite.
• Fields can include your company name, invoice, line items, etc.
• When an invoice is created, the template fields are automatically populated based on the invoice.

This creates a perfect way to predefine templates and visualize how they would look. You can also import HTML templates.

You have more customization options to include images, split them into multiple columns, add page numbers, and more.

There are other features that make accounts receivable and invoices easier in NetSuite.

• Multiple delivery options: You can save and download them as PDF files or email invoices directly to clients.
• Automated payment reminders: Don't let outstanding bills go unnoticed. NetSuite allows you to set up automatic payment reminders that notify customers of overdue payments. You can customize the timing and frequency of these reminders to encourage customers to make a timely payment.
• Real-time payment visibility: Get real-time information about the aging of your AR. NetSuite provides detailed reports that classify your accounts receivable by their due dates, allowing you to identify overdue payments and prioritize collection efforts.

More customizations with SuiteApp

He Electronic Invoice SuiteApp is designed to support the following customizations:

• Custom Shipping Methods—An administrator must create electronic document delivery methods available for selection in the transaction record and the electronic document package record. Dispatch methods should be implemented as custom plugins instead of scripts.
• Outbound electronic document generation programming—The e-Invoicing SuiteApp allows an administrator to implement a script to generate multiple e-documents simultaneously instead of manually generating e-documents for each transaction.
• Scheduling sending of outgoing electronic documents – Like the script for the massive generation of electronic documents, the Electronic Invoice SuiteApp also has a script for the automatic scheduled sending of outgoing electronic documents. The script sends only outbound electronic documents whose status is Ready to Send.

Invoice Processing – Accounts Payable

For many businesses, managing accounts payable involves a mountain of paperwork and tedious data entry.

• In Transactions->Accounts Payable->Invoices, you can add a new invoice and view existing ones.
• Made manually, the invoice needs additional information about items, amount, taxes, etc.
• Once the invoice is added, you can review and approve it.

This would also be related to payment requests and could be approved as a paid invoice. However, this is a fairly manual process that is also prone to errors. That's where the need for automation and ai-driven processes comes in.

The AP tasks that are likely to benefit most from automation are those where processing time can be reduced or accuracy increased, saving money. Compared with manual processing, AP automation can significantly improve the following steps:

• Data entry. Automating data capture from invoices and other source documents is faster and less error-prone than manually entering data.
• Invoice reconciliation. Invoices can be automatically checked against supporting documents such as purchase orders and receiving documents (triple check). This automatic comparison is faster and more accurate than manual comparison, especially for companies that would otherwise have to compare documents stored in different locations.
• Invoice coding. You can set rules that automatically establish the correct general ledger code for each invoice, eliminating the time and inconsistencies inherent in manual coding.
• Approval route. Electronically sending to all necessary approvers is faster than manually sending documents to each of them and also provides better tracking throughout the workflow.

The Payment Automation Suite application allows you to automate supplier payments and manage your accounts payable and reconciliation workflows efficiently. Payment automation is part of the AP Automation Payment Module. This SuiteApp has its limitations, and that's where third-party integrations and other SuiteApps come into play and provide additional benefits:

This SuiteApp has its limitations, and that's where third-party integrations and other SuiteApps come into play and provide additional benefits:

• Integrate and obtain invoices, purchase orders, etc., from more sources. No more dragging and dropping, sending emails or connecting your Google Drive, etc.
• Complex approval setups with approval and follow-up reminders
• ai to match invoices, purchase orders and all the designs they present.
• More payment options and integrations with Stripe, Wise, Revolut and ACH.

Nanonets: Your AP Automation Champion

Nanonets is a powerful AP automation solution that leverages the magic of artificial intelligence (ai) to streamline invoice processing and integrates seamlessly with NetSuite and other integrations.

Trusted by over 10,000 brands, Nanonets comes with the best ai and invoice recognition software for accurate AP recognition and processing.

Below is how Nanonets automates the AP workflow:

1. Automated invoice receipts: Importing invoices into Nanonets from multiple sources is best in class
2. Automated data entry: Nanonets extracts structured data from your invoices, regardless of the invoice format and whether the invoice is scanned or digital.
3. Automated verification: Two-way pairing and more. Match invoice information to purchase orders, delivery notes, and other open AP documents.
4. Multi-stage approval route: Send automatic notifications to the appropriate person in the organization to review invoices before approval.
5. Automated payment scheduling and processing: Pay bills using any payment method
6. Real-time synchronization: Import your NetSuite chart of accounts and create rules to encode documents from your suppliers.

By automating these critical tasks, Nanonets significantly reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and speeds up the AP process, allowing your team to focus on more strategic tasks.

Unleashing the power of integration

Integrating Nanonets with NetSuite offers many benefits for businesses of all sizes. Here are some of the most compelling advantages:

• Reduced effort: Nanonets automates invoice processing, freeing your AP team.
• Improved Accuracy: Integration reduces errors and ensures data integrity.
• Faster processing: Automate tasks for faster approvals and payments.
• Greater visibility: Gain valuable insights with real-time dashboards.
• Improved compliance: Ensures an optimized and auditable AP process.

Nanonets integration with NetSuite can automate and streamline accounts payable operations. This combination can streamline the AP process, reduce costs, and empower the team to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Taking the first step towards AP automation

Nanogrids automate accounts payable, driving efficiency, accuracy, and a robust financial process. Leverage ai and machine learning to lead financial management. Eliminate errors, automate tasks, and seamlessly integrate APs. See how Nanonets tailors solutions with a free demo. Delve into the future of finance with Nanonets.