How to use Oracle NetSuite Invoice Management

Are you considering using NetSuite to automate your invoice processing?

Maybe you use NetSuite and are looking to improve your invoice management process, or you are considering NetSuite as an ERP solution and are wondering about its AP automation capabilities.

AP automation streamlines time-consuming manual invoice management in order to:

• Reduce costs and processing time 
• Eliminate errors 
• Get vendors paid on time 
• Optimize cash flow. 

With the right AP solution, you can take total control of your procure-to-pay (P2P) workflows.

If you use NetSuite, you already know it’s a powerful platform with a proven track record of helping companies save money and increase efficiency. But is NetSuite Invoice Management software the right solution for your business?

In this podcast, Ben Murray, Founder of The SaaS CFO, and Simone Nardi, CFO at G-P, discussed how companies can adapt as they do business in new markets and locations. As you’ll see, NetSuite Invoice Management is an excellent solution for many companies but has some limitations. A dedicated AP automation solution like Stampli may provide greater capabilities and flexibility, making it a better fit for your business.

Read this guide to learn how NetSuite Invoice Processing works and how to determine if it’s the right choice for you.

What Is NetSuite Invoice Management?

Oracle NetSuite is a powerful and flexible solution for automating core business processes. It’s also a popular solution – over 37% of businesses surveyed in 2022 use NetSuite as their primary ERP. 

In September 2022, NetSuite introduced NetSuite Invoice Management, a comprehensive invoice management solution that uses the NetSuite accounts payable automation platform to automate core invoice management tasks. Invoice Management leverages NetSuite’s functionality to provide a simple vendor invoice solution to NetSuite customers.

Invoice Management is available as part of the NetSuite AP Automation module. The solution processes vendor invoices in six steps:

1. Vendor invoice capture and data entry
2. Bill review
3. Invoice matching and verification
4. Bill approval
5. Payment
6. Payment reconciliation

Let’s look at these steps in more detail.

NetSuite ERP invoice automation workflow

I’m the CFO of a health services company operating in the US and abroad. We operate as several national and international subsidiaries, each with its own financial system. Our financial operations are centralized in a holding company, and we use NetSuite in our head office to manage our financial functions. 

Our subsidiaries manage their vendor payments and use various other ERP systems. Our goal is to move to a unified accounts payable and payment solution that will streamline our current processes while allowing our subsidiaries to manage their own vendor payments. We’re looking at NetSuite Invoice Management as one alternative automated invoice processing solution.

Because of how our business is structured and operates, we have some specific needs for processing invoices: 

Flexible payment options for international business

For regulatory reasons, many of our international subsidiaries pay vendors locally. We need a payment solution that supports multiple subsidiaries, locations, and currencies.

ERP platform independence

We need a platform that can easily integrate and share data with several ERP systems while giving our AP team, which is located in our head office, oversight and control over all AP processes.

Minimal IT investment

We don’t want to increase our IT expenditures and would prefer an AP solution that can be implemented and integrated with a minimum of coding and development.

With this in mind, here is how the NetSuite invoice management process would look for us.

Step 1: Vendor invoice capture and data entry

We can enter vendor invoices into NetSuite in several ways. For digital invoices, our vendors can send invoices directly to a central email address, or our AP staff can use File Explorer or drag-and-drop bills directly into NetSuite Bill Capture. NetSuite’s OCR capability can scan, digitize, and upload paper invoices. 

Once an invoice is uploaded, the platform automatically scans it, creates a bill record in NetSuite, and links the bill record to the purchase order. After it has been uploaded, the scanned invoice can be located on the Scanned Vendor Bills screen.

From here, we click on the scanned bill to open the Review Bill screen.

Step 2: Bill review

The Review Scanned Bill screen shows the scanned invoice on the left and the vendor bill on the right. NetSuite automatically imports invoice details like vendor name, invoice number, date, and line items from the scanned invoice into the vendor bill. The system also imports the vendor’s information from the NetSuite Vendor Record. 

At this stage, our AP team confirms the invoice details and makes any necessary corrections to the vendor bill. If the invoice contains an expense not included in the PO, our AP team can manually add the expense to the vendor bill.

Step 3: Invoice matching and verification

When NetSuite matches a scanned invoice to a purchase order, the system automatically matches the line items to the associated PO. Then it suggests GL codes for the line items on the invoice, performs two-way matching, and flags discrepancies for our AP team. To perform three-way matching between the invoice, PO, and shipping receipt, we’d need to install the optional NetSuite Approvals Workflow SuiteApp.

After they make the necessary corrections and verify the invoice, our reviewer can post the bill for approval and payment. To post the bill, they select the location in the Review Scanned Bill screen and then click Create Bill.

Once the bill is posted, it moves on to Approval and Payment.

Step 4: Invoice approval

After the vendor bill has been posted, it’s ready for approval. In the base Invoice Management solution, approvers can go to the bill list, select the bill to be approved, review the bill, and then change the approval status to Approved.

We can automate the bill approval process by adding the optional SuiteApprovals SuiteApp. We’d also need to add SuiteApprovals to add automated approval workflows, routing, and rules, such as adding multiple approvers or batch approvals.

After the vendor bill is approved, it can be paid in the Payments screen.

Step 5: Payments

We can use the built-in SuiteBanking feature to pay our vendor bills in NetSuite. When a bill has been approved, our finance team can open the bill in NetSuite, check the payment details, and make payment. SuiteBanking supports payments with ACH, paper checks, or HSBC virtual credit cards. We can pay bills individually or in bulk using the SuiteBanking dashboard. SuiteBanking also lets our finance team see payment and batch status and virtual card activity in the dashboard. 

NetSuite’s vendor payment solution is offered in partnership with HSBC. Because our business doesn’t use HSBC for banking, we’d need to set up auto funding (through the Bank Accounts screen) to fund the HSBC account before we can pay vendors. 

To make a payment, we go to the payments window, select the bills we want to pay, enter the amount we want to pay, and choose the payment type. Then we submit the payment to HSBC to be processed.

Step 6: Payment reconciliation

Finally, we can use NetSuite to reconcile our vendor payments through SuiteBanking and maintain an AP audit trail. NetSuite downloads the payment information from HSBC every day and monthly statements every month. The system automatically matches virtual credit card charges and flags any discrepancies for our team.

Bottom line 

Although NetSuite Invoice Management was a good accounts payable solution, it didn’t meet our specific needs. We needed a solution that provided a higher level of flexibility and support for our subsidiary operations, so we chose a different provider.

Let’s break out our decision.

Disadvantages of NetSuite Invoice Management

While NetSuite did help our business streamline and automate our invoice management, it didn’t meet several of our specific needs. 

Restrictive payment options

One primary concern was that NetSuite’s payment solution was tied to HSBC. We need a platform-independent solution and flexibility in payment methods and currencies. At the time we assessed Invoice Management, it only offered payments via ACH, check, and virtual credit card (HSBC Mastercard) and could only make payments in USD. HSBC also charges transaction fees in addition to the fees we’d already be paying NetSuite for Invoice Management. 

Platform independence

NetSuite Invoice Management is only available within the NetSuite environment. Because some of our subsidiaries operate their own ERP systems, we need a platform that is not linked to a specific ERP solution. After consideration, we decided that a platform-independent AP automation solution that offers NetSuite integration was a better fit for our needs. 

Use of IT and development resources

The base Invoice Management Solution doesn’t support 3-way matching and advanced invoice routing. We’d need to add SuiteApps or features to access this functionality, which means tying up IT resources. We’d prefer a solution with this functionality already built in.

The bottom line: flexibility and freedom

The bottom line was that we needed a solution that didn’t tie us down to a single provider and was flexible enough to handle our needs. 

We decided on Stampli– here’s why.

Stampli: advanced and flexible invoice management

Stampli’s end-to-end AP automation solution gives us total control over our P2P workflows and the flexibility to meet your evolving business needs. It also gives us freedom – Stampli is platform-agnostic, so we can use whatever payment provider or ERP system we choose. With proven industry-leading expertise and experience, Stampli is the ideal accounts payable partner for our business.

We like Stampli because it offers built-in support for multiple approver workflows, multiple currencies and locations, and multiple subsidiaries – with no IT work needed. Stampli also integrates seamlessly with NetSuite (and is Built For NetSuite (BFN) certified), so we can be sure our central financial records are accurate and up to date in real-time.

Here are some other reasons why Stampli was the ideal solution for us.

The industry-leading AP solution

You may already know Stampli is the leader in the G2 Grid for AP automation software and has been rated #1 by users for Customer Support, Implementation, and Delivering Results. Their impressive track record was a major factor in our decision to choose their solution.

Advanced invoice capture, coding, and three-way matching

Stampli uses OCR, machine learning, and AI to capture and code invoice data in real time. Their solution learns our accounts payable processes, allows our employees to scan and upload invoices from mobile devices, and lets vendors upload invoices directly from the built-in vendor portal. 

Stampli also automatically matches invoices with POs and receipts and flags discrepancies in real-time – without any additional coding.

Accurate, real-time ERP and NetSuite integration

Stampli auto-syncs invoice, PO, and vendor data with NetSuite and our other ERPs, ensuring that everyone in our company sees the same AP data. 

Powerful invoice management

Stampli supports all line types – items, GL, charges, and resources – and syncs tax data and custom fields. It can also manage partial payment workflows, partial and multiple POs, and different tax codes.

Flexible payment processing

Stampli Direct Pay gives complete control and visibility over vendor payments. We can choose to pay our vendors through Direct Pay or use our own payment solution – a degree of freedom we appreciate when dealing with multiple subsidiaries and locations. Direct Pay also gives our AP team visibility into every transaction so we can centralize control, manage our AP transactions, and optimize our cash flow.

Stampli was our clear choice for a flexible and powerful invoice management solution. Contact our team today to set up a free demo and see how Stampli can empower your business.