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Top 10 Highlights: NetSuite 2020.1 Release

It’s that time of year again! NetSuite 2020.1 is here. NetSuite rolls out these product upgrades twice per year to provide requested features, upgrades to existing features, or bug fixes for all NetSuite accounts. These new enhancements offer ways to improve business processes, remove the need for customizations, or provide brand new functionality for businesses looking to improve their operations. Preparation is key for a smooth and successful release upgrade. Therefore, make sure to refer to the updates and additional information below to be fully prepared.

Here is our list of the top 10 most significant updates in the 2020.1 NetSuite release:

Note: these are in no particular order. We’ve also included a few helpful resources to ensure your NetSuite account is ready to adopt the latest updates.

  1. BALANCE TRANSACTIONS BY SEGMENT

    Previously, the NetSuite general ledger only balanced by subsidiary, but with this new feature, users can balance transactions by segments, e.g. product line or business unit. When enabled, this feature will be added to the Period Close Checklist, but can be run at any time. After running this process, the system creates a Balancing Journal, a new transaction record type, which maintains lines for all balancing segment values in addition to links that drill down into transaction details. The balance segments can be selected as a Column filter or column on reports like the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, & Cash Flow Statement. Accounts have a maximum of two balancing segments.

  2. SALES AND PURCHASE CUSTOM TRANSACTIONS

    Two new custom transaction types are now available: Sales and Purchases. This allows users to create custom transaction records similar to invoices, credit memos, vendor bills, vendor credits and more. This feature will allow companies to comply with local reporting requirements, meet expectations of certain business verticals, or satisfy requirements from specific types of customers. Note that these custom records are available in SuiteScript as well.

  3. SUBSIDIARY HIERARCHY MODIFICATION

    Users with the appropriate permissions are now able to modify their subsidiary hierarchy structure, e.g. when the parent subsidiary changes or child subsidiaries need to be elevated in the hierarchy.

  4. BANK DATA UPGRADE

    With the 2020.1 release, users can now set up automatic bank feeds directly from their financial institution accounts, either through the new Bank Feeds SuiteApp or the new Financial Institution Connectivity API. This will allow companies to automatically import bank data and account balances on a daily basis, eliminating the previous manual process. Alongside this update, NetSuite has improved the Bank Data Matching to help with the reconciliation process.

  5. VENDOR MANAGEMENT UPGRADES

    Exciting new vendor management features include:

    • Users can link one or more vendor prepayments to a purchase order either by creating the Vendor Prepayment record directly from the Purchase Order or creating a standalone Vendor Prepayment and linking it to a Purchase Order via a dropdown list.
    • Automatic application of Vendor Prepayments to future Vendor Bills, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
    • Vendor Prepayment records can now use the NS Advanced PDF and HTML feature to print and customize vendor prepayment vouchers.
    • Employee Center role now has the ability to approve vendor bills.

  6. EXPENSE TRANSACTION IN VAT/GST REPORTING

    SuiteTax Reports allows Billable Expenses, Expense Reports, and Expenses on Bill & Bill Credit records to be reported in VAT/GST Reporting. Using the new Search Type filters of “Billable Expenses” and “Expenses”, users can now report expenses on applicable tax reports.

  7. SCRIPT MODULE ENHANCEMENTS (N/FILE, N/REDIRECT)

    N/redirect: A new redirect.toRecordTransform(options) method has been added to the N/redirect module. The method opens the form of the destination transaction and uses information from the source transaction to fill in fields on the form.

    N/file: Previously, you could load a file only by specifying the internal ID of the file or the absolute file path to the file in the File Cabinet but now you can specify a relative file path  (./ or ../.)  when you load a file using the file.load(options) method in the N/file module.

  8. ENHANCEMENTS TO EXECUTION CONTEXTS FOR SCRIPTS AND WORKFLOWS

    NetSuite 2020.1 includes enhancements to execution contexts supported for user event scripts, client scripts, and workflows. The following contexts are new in 2020.1 include

    • Bank Connectivity
    • Bank Statement Parser
    • Financial Institution Connectivity
    • Platform Extension
    • REST Web Services
    • SOAP Web Services
    • Revenue Management

  9. SUITESCRIPT 2.1 DEBUGGER (BETA)

    SuiteScript 2.1 Debugger uses Chrome DevTools that allows developers to debug scripts with functionality that is similar to debugging JavaScript while using Google Chrome. This feature is available for all SuiteScript developers but note that this feature is in Beta Mode and subject to revision or discontinuation. It can only be used on the Chrome Browser and it is targeted to be fully released at a later date within the 2020.1 release cycle.

    It supports the following:

    • On-demand scripts written directly into the debugger window
    • Server scripts in your account, including Suitelets and Scheduled Scripts

  10. LOCALIZATION FILTERING FOR SUITESCRIPT 2.0

    With the new Localization Context Filtering, developers can now execute a script based on the country associated with the transaction or record, reducing scripts running unnecessarily. The system automatically determines the localization context for records and transactions based on their values for country fields such as subsidiary and tax nexus.

For more detailed information, read about all the new enhancements & functionality in the 2020.1 Release Notes. Access this from the New Release Portal on your Dashboard or in SuiteAnswers. It is critical to thoroughly test any potentially affected areas in the Release Preview account in order to prepare for any changes that may impact your business. Be sure to review all the release preview information and formulate a testing plan for a successful release transition.

If you need more information or guidance to get ready for the new release, check out these helpful NetSuite resources:

LOOKING FOR NETSUITE EXPERTISE?

Our large team of NetSuite ERP Consultants and SuiteCloud Developers are here to help you make the most of your implementation & account. If you have any questions about the upcoming new release or would like help preparing your organization for the transition, please reach out!

By

John Howard is a Senior Consultant in Bridgepoint’s NetSuite Consulting practice. As a Certified Public Accountant and Certified ERP Consultant, he has contributed to numerous projects to increase the efficiency of companies’ operations in addition to satisfying accounting and finance standards.