NetSuite's Financial Alchemy: Transforming Data into Strategic Insights

In this world of modern business, the ability to utilize financial data is prominent. NetSuite, a leading cloud-based ERP platform, offers a robust set of tools to streamline the financial reporting process and provides valuable insights. In this detailed guide, we will delve into the financial reporting in NetSuite, providing you with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to use its full potential.

What are Financial Statements?

The Financial Statements are the core financial documents that present a company’s financial position, its performance and the cashflows.

Understanding NetSuite Capabilities:

Here’s an overview of the Financial Reporting features that NetSuite offers.

Standard Financial Statements: In NetSuite, we have a range of standard financial reports that can be easily accessible and can be generated.

Realtime Reporting: NetSuite offers real-time access to financial data, allowing users to generate reports instantly. This ensures that financial reports are always up-to-date and accurate, providing insights into the company's financial performance.

Custom Financial Reports: NetSuite's flexible reporting tools provide customizable financial statement templates. Users can prepare these statements to meet their specific requirements by adding or removing accounts, adjusting layouts and applying filters, custom calculations, graphical elements and formatting options.

Accessing and Navigating the Reports

NetSuite’s reporting tools can be easily accessible from the main Dashboard page. All you need to do is to Log on to the NetSuite page and navigate to the “Reports” Tab. On the Reports Tab you will find a range of financial reports like Income statements, Balance Sheets, Cashflow Statements, Trial Balance…. And more.

Additionally, you can also customize these reports, allowing you to prepare the reports to your specific business requirements.

All you need to know about the Standard Financial Reports

The common Standard Reports Include:

Income Statement (Profit & Loss): Reports>Financial>Income Statement

• Also called P&L statements.
• An Income statements are a company’s revenue, expenses, gains, losses, profits for a specific accounting period.
• The company’s Income statement is often considered as the most useful tool for communicating financial information to people that are outside the business.
• These Income statements are usually used by managers, investors, lenders, analysts to assess the company’s profitability, growth, and efficiency.
• The Income statements are also used to compare different companies.

Want to know how the Income is calculated in NetSuite?

Below here is the formula for calculating,

Net Income = (revenue + gains) - (expenses + losses)

Balance Sheet: Reports>Financial>Balance Sheet

• The Balance Sheet lists everything that the company owns (its assets), everything that it owes (its liabilities), and the company’s net worth (its equity).

• The difference between assets and liabilities is the equity in the company, which belongs to the owners.
• The information in the balance sheet can be used to help assess the company’s liquidity, efficiency and returns on investment.
• A company’s balance sheet is a depiction of the company’s financial position at a specific point of time.

Cash Flow Statement: Reports>Financial>Cashflow Statement

• The name itself gives us an idea of what cashflow statements are meant.
• The Cashflow Statement report shows how your company's cash position has changed over a period, so that you can assess your company's current financial position and set goals for its future.
• The Cashflow Statement provides the perception of cash inflows and outflows for a specific period.

• A Cashflow Statement includes the cash from operating activities, cash from investing activities and cash from financing activities.
• This report is also useful for investment and credit decisions.

Trial Balance: Reports>Financial>Trial Balance

• The Trial Balance report shows the balances of all the GL accounts present in the NetSuite as of specific date.
• The accountant of the company runs the Trial Balance report before preparing the financial statements.

• The purpose of generating the Trial Balance report is to make sure the debits and credits of the company are equal.
• When the Trial Balance Report is in balance, then only the financial statements are prepared.

Generating Standard Financial Reports

To generate standard financial reports in NetSuite:

1. Access the Reports tab from the main Dashboard.
2. Choose the Financial report you need (like Income Statement/Balance Sheet/Cashflow statement ……).
3. Set parameters such as reporting period and currency.
4. Generate the report.

After generating the Standard Financial Reports, you can compare with others, analyze it, share within your organization and export in different formats.

Custom Reports through “Financial Report Builder”

You can easily customize the Financial Reports using the “Financial Report Builder”

• The “Financial Report Builder” is provided with a user-friendly interface so that you can easily design and customize the financial statements.
• Customization can be done by selecting the line items, designing subtotals, applying the filters, and arranging groupings according to the user’s requirements.

How to access the “Financial Report Builder”?

Oh, it is simple. Firstly, you need to log in to your NetSuite account and navigate to the Reports menu which will be available on the main dashboard menu. Then, look for the option to access the “Financial Report Builder.”

Isn’t it Easy?

What can you do by accessing the “Financial Report Builder”?

Oh, So many!!! Here I will provide you some valuable inputs regarding the “Financial Report Builder”

• After logging into the account, selecting the report type or the template; Design the Report Layout.
• The Report Builder provides a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to add, arrange, and customize report elements such as rows, columns, subtotals, and totals.
• Apply filters and criteria to specify which data should be included in the report.
• This filtering can include the date range, subsidiary, department, location, or any other relevant dimension.
• The best part is, you can Preview and Test the Report. This is to ensure that the designed report reflects the desired layout and data.
• Once you are satisfied with the designed report, you can Save it for future use and Share the Report with the users or groups within your organization which allows them to access and run the report as needed.

Lastly, Financial Reporting is essential for effectively managing and growing your business.

Key Insights:

• The Financial Statements are the core financial documents that present a company’s financial position, its Performance and the Cashflows.
• NetSuite's flexible reporting tools provides customizable financial statement templates
• NetSuite’s reporting tools can be easily accessible from the main Dashboard page.
• An Income statements are a company’s revenue, expenses, gains, losses, profits for a specific accounting period.
• The Balance Sheet lists everything that the company owns (its assets), everything that it owes (its liabilities), and the company’s net worth (its equity).
• A Cashflow Statement includes the cash from operating activities, cash from investing activities and cash from financing activities.
• The Trial Balance report shows the balances of all the GL accounts present in the NetSuite as of specific date.
• The “Financial Report Builder” is provided with a user-friendly interface so that you can easily design and customize the financial statements.