Have you ever needed to track non-monetary accounts in NetSuite? With Statistical Accounts in NetSuite, you can do that. Let’s take a quick look at what these accounts are and how you can set them up in NetSuite.
Statistical Accounts Overview
First, the Statistical Accounts feature is part of the Advanced Financial module, so you’ll need to have access to that module before you can use this feature.
Statistical accounts are GL accounts, though since they are non-monetary they do not impact the GL. They will, however, be listed in your Chart of Accounts. These accounts allow you to track and report on key non-monetary data.
You can enable Statistical Accounts under the Advanced Features section of the Accounting tab in Enable Features.
How to Set Up Statistical Accounts
What’s next after enabling the Statistical Accounts feature? You’ll need to set up your statistical accounts.
If you have experience creating a typical account, you’ll find that statistical accounts work the same way. To create a statistical account, navigate to Setup > Accounting > Manage G/L > Chart of Accounts > New. On the New Account page, find the Type field and select “Statistical” from the dropdown list.
Once you have chosen the type of account, you’ll notice the options on the page that are unique to statistical accounts. Now, instead of choosing a currency for this account, you’ll be choosing a unit type and the default unit. (You can learn about how to set up these units and unit types in our blog, Multiple Units of Measure.) For example, if you select Length as the unit type, you could make the default unit Foot, Meter, or Yard.
While on this page, you’ll also want to name your new account and assign it an appropriate account number. In the Date field, you’ll enter the date you wish to record the initial opening balance against. You can also restrict the account to a specific classification or subsidiary, and you can restrict the account to an accounting book.
Once you have everything you need for this account, save the record. You can see a list of all your statistical accounts if you navigate to Setup > Accounting > Chart of Accounts and select Statistical in the View field.
How to Use Statistical Accounts
After you have set up any statistical accounts you’ll be using, you can begin entering journal entries against them. As with setting up the account, making journal entries is going to feel familiar as long as you’ve made journal entries in the past. To make a statistical journal entry, navigate to Transactions > Financial > Make Statistical Journal Entries.
On the main line, select key identifying information, such as the subsidiary this entry will be associated with.
In the Statistical Information field group on the journal entry record, you’ll select the unit of measure type. Then, under the Lines subtab you can enter information for the statistical journal lines.
Advanced Statistical Accounts Usage
Without going into great detail, what are some other things you can do with statistical accounts? For one thing, you can set up a schedule based on a saved search that automatically creates journal entries using data from a specific statistical account. This can save you a great deal of time!
The statistical accounts feature also integrates well with dynamic allocation, if you use that feature. And finally, if you want to set up budgets for your statistical accounts, you can do that as well. Simply set up a new budget and select the appropriate statistical account on the budget record.
Conclusion
Statistical accounts in NetSuite empower you to manage your essential non-monetary account data. At SuiteRep, we focus on all things NetSuite so you can focus on better business results. Contact us today to learn how we can partner with you.