You're almost ready to take the exciting leap into your new NetSuite implementation, but before you do, it's crucial to get a handle on open balances and transactions. So, what exactly are open balances and transactions?
Open balances represent the initial figures in your General Ledger (GL) accounts, serving as the starting points for your Income Statement and Balance Sheets. Open transactions, on the other hand, encompass your outstanding Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP), and Inventory Values (IV) – essentially, any unpaid or unused invoices, credits, and bills. The process of transferring this data into NetSuite can be a bit tricky, but don't worry, we've got you covered with some valuable tips to get you ready for the upload.
Mapping Matters:
The concept of mapping is critical and applies to various aspects of your data. You'll need a common identifier to connect transactions from your legacy system to their counterparts in NetSuite. For example, using the legacy system's document number as the NetSuite external ID will come in handy if you ever need to reference the original document when a customer calls.
GL Account Mapping:
Another key step is mapping old and new GL accounts, ensuring a smooth transition for your open balance data.
Vendor and Customer Mapping:
Take a close look at your vendors and customers and develop a strategy for mapping them from your legacy system to NetSuite. Sometimes, data cleanup can lead to name or ID changes or the creation of duplicates when loaded into NetSuite. This can make it challenging to match the right transactions to the right vendor or customer.
Balance Verification:
The individual transaction values for AR, AP, and IV should match the corresponding values in the open balance report. For example, if you've uploaded ten invoices with a total value of $1,000, this total should align with the AR GL account balance in the open balance file. In essence, these individual transactions should replace the total balance.
Adapt to Your Needs:
It's important to be flexible. Open transactions may not always contain the same data as transactions created from scratch in NetSuite. You can address this by temporarily turning off scripts or mandatory fields, or you might choose to load the data using a different, more standard form.
Practice Makes Perfect:
Before the go-live, take advantage of your sandbox environment to perform trial runs with the data files. This way, you can identify and mitigate any potential errors in advance.
Going live in NetSuite is a thrilling yet potentially stressful endeavor. By proactively addressing data errors, you can minimize the time spent troubleshooting or reworking your data. If you find yourself in need of assistance, whether it's before or after the go-live, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to guide you through this process and ensure your NetSuite journey is as smooth as possible.
For any inquiries or assistance related to this topic, please feel free to contact Concentrus. We're here to help you succeed with your NetSuite implementation.
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Our goal is to help businesses of all sizes maximize their investment in NetSuite by providing expert NetSuite cost optimization and implementation strategies. With years of experience as a NetSuite partner, our NetSuite administrators and NetSuite consultants are well equipped to help businesses of all sizes with their NetSuite consulting needs.
Whether you're looking for a NetSuite consultant to help with your NetSuite implementation or you need ongoing NetSuite support, Concentrus is here to help.
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