Items for Revenue and Expense
Items in NetSuite contain default general ledger accounts and classification information (Department and Class) for sales (revenue) and purchase (expense) transactions. Most of the items you need for NFP Financials are used to provide financial information rather than for inventory purposes. For general information about items in NetSuite, see Using Item Records.
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Revenue and expense accounts – Depending on the type of item (for sale, for purchase, or for resale), an income account, expense account, or both, is required. You set these accounts on the Accounting subtab of the item record. You can also select deferred revenue and deferred expense account on the Accounting subtab.
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Tax schedule – Tax schedules are required when the Advanced Taxes feature is enabled. The tax schedule on an item determines how NetSuite calculates taxes for each tax nexus. You can set up non-taxable schedules on donation items that are not subject to tax.
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Billing schedule – When the entire revenue is not booked at the time of award or contract, you can associate a billing schedule with the item on the Sales/Pricing subtab of the item record. Some examples of items that could have a billing schedule are fees for service, exchange agreements, or pledges that are not a promise to pay. For information about billing schedules, see Advanced Billing Overview.
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Amortization template – You can associate a predefined amortization template with an item for purchase or resale on the Revenue Recognition/Amortization subtab. Amortization templates define expenses are recognized over future periods. If you set an amortization template, you must also select a deferred expense account on the Accounting subtab. For more information about deferred expenses and amortization, see Expense Amortization.
Non-inventory or service items for sale or resale represent revenue on sales transactions. In NetSuite, non-inventory and service are item types with for resale and for sale as subtypes.
Non-inventory or service items for purchase or resale represent expenses on purchase or payables transactions. You need expense items for any expenses with quantities and receipts. You can set the general ledger account directly in the transaction for other expenses.
The Can Be Fulfilled/Received box on the item Preferences subtab is checked by default for non-inventory items and other charges. Be sure to clear the box unless the item requires fulfillment or receipt. After you use the item in a transaction, this preference on the item record cannot be changed.
To create items, go to Lists > Accounting > Items > New and click the link for the type of item you want to create. For more information, see Creating Item Records.
You can also import items using CSV files. For more information, see CSV Imports Overview and Items Import
Best Practices for Items Used for Nonprofits
The following are some best practices for nonprofit items:
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Create at least one revenue item corresponding to each income account in your chart of accounts that you plan to use to record revenue transactions. The non-inventory for sale item type is preferred for these items. For example, create items for contributions, membership dues, grant income, pledges, and other income sources, as needed.
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If you use billing and amortization schedules, create items to reduce the need to override the default billing or amortization schedules when the items are added to transactions.
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Leave the NetSuite segmentation fields (Department and Class) blank. You can set the values on the transactions.
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For expenses, create item records for items you purchase for internal use or occasional resale.
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Use parent-child item hierarchy to create logical relationships between items to facilitate reporting.
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Consult with your accountant before setting up tax schedules. Taxation rules on items vary dramatically by state, exemption status, and type of item.