Average cost body field:
The system uses the Periodic Average Cost Calculation Method for calculating the Average Cost on Item Records. Since the periodic calculation is computed on a daily basis, the unit cost at the end of each day is used to arrive at the correct unit Average Cost following the principle of Periodic Average Cost Calculation. The average cost is calculated as the total units available during a period divided by the beginning inventory cost plus the cost of additions to inventory.
Note: Average cost body field will reflect value only if an accounting period has been set up for the current period in the NetSuite account as the computation is done on a periodic basis.
Moreover, if the item does not have inventory on hand, then the body average cost field would show a null value as it is computed on the basis of this quantity on hand.
Location Average cost field:
The Location Average Cost in an Inventory Item record is based on calculating the location value over the location quantity on hand.
In cases where the location value and quantity on hand are both 0.00, the Location Average Cost retains the value it had before the transaction that brought on hand count to 0.
This is why most of the time when the inventory on hand is 0, the location average cost may reflect an amount whereas the body average cost field would display a null value.
The computation of the average cost field is a standard computation by the system and cannot be altered. Hence, we cannot display the average cost in the standard body field when the quantity on hand is 0.