Custom Financial Reports in NetSuite

📝 What Are Financial Reports in NetSuite?

NetSuite provides a set of pre-built financial reports like Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow. These reports can be customized to meet your company’s accounting and compliance needs.

Unlike saved searches (best for operational reporting), financial reports are designed for accountants and CFOs to review official financial data.

🔧 Key Features of Financial Reports

• Custom Layouts → Add/remove sections, reorder rows.
• Filters → Run reports by subsidiary, department, class, or location.
• Columns → Add time ranges (monthly, quarterly, yearly).
• Formulas → Calculate percentages and ratios.
• Drill-Down → Click values to see the underlying transactions.

⚙️ How to Customize a Financial Report

1. Go to Reports > Financial > Income Statement (or another report).
2. Click Customize.
3. In the customization screen:
   • Edit Columns → Add month/quarter breakdowns.
   • Filters → Limit by subsidiary, department, or class.
   • Sections → Rearrange account groupings.
   • Formulas → Add percentage columns (e.g., Gross Margin %).
4. Save as a Custom Report with a clear name, e.g., P&L by Subsidiary.

✅ Example 1: Profit & Loss by Subsidiary

Goal: Show P&L for each subsidiary side by side.

• Base Report: Income Statement.
• Customize → Columns → Add “Subsidiary.”
• Now you can view revenue and expenses for each subsidiary in one report.

✅ Example 2: Balance Sheet by Department

Goal: Review assets and liabilities split by department.

• Base Report: Balance Sheet.
• Customize → Add “Department” as a column.
• Useful for companies with departmental accountability.

✅ Example 3: Cash Flow Statement with Quarterly View

Goal: Show quarterly inflows and outflows.

• Base Report: Cash Flow Statement.
• Customize → Columns → Change period to Quarter.
• Add comparative year columns to track trends.

✅ Example 4: Gross Margin %

Goal: Add a calculated percentage to P&L.

Formula example:

({grossprofit} / {income}) * 100

• Add as a Formula (Percent) column in customization.
• Displays margin percentage alongside revenue/expenses.

✅ Example 5: Comparative Income Statement (Current Year vs Last Year)

Goal: Compare revenue and expenses by year.

• Base Report: Income Statement.
• Customize → Add This Year and Last Year as columns.
• Add Formula: ({thisyear} - {lastyear}) / {lastyear} * 100 to calculate % change.

🔗 Financial Report Distribution

• Scheduled Emails → Send monthly reports automatically to finance teams.
• Excel/PDF Export → Share reports with external auditors or executives.
• Dashboards → Add financial report snapshots to CFO dashboards.

💡 Pro Tips & Best Practices

• Always clone NetSuite’s default reports instead of editing them directly.
• Use naming conventions → e.g., “P&L – Subsidiary Breakdown.”
• Limit filters and columns → keep reports performant.
• Validate results with your finance team before publishing widely.
• Use access controls → not all users should see financial data.

📌 Key Takeaways

• Custom Financial Reports are best for official accounting and compliance reporting.
• You can slice by subsidiary, department, class, or location.
• Formulas allow for advanced KPIs like Gross Margin % or Year-over-Year growth.
• Always test reports before distribution to avoid misstatements.

👉 Next Page: Dashboards & KPIs in NetSuite