BALANCING SEGMENTS

Balancing Segments Definitions 

• Segment – A custom classification field used to classify records, similar to class, department, and location. We can define possible values for each segment and add the segments to specific record types. 
• Balancing segment – A segment within which we can balance debits and credits. Examples of balancing segments that we might create include business units, product lines, or funds. 
• Header segment value – A value within the segment that we select in the transaction header. 
• Column or Line segment value – The value or values within the segment that we select in transaction lines. 
• Intersegment account – A general ledger account used as a clearing account to balance transactions by segment. 

Enable features [SuiteAnswers ID 91449] 

Custom Segments (Setup -> Company -> Enable features: SuiteCloud -> SuiteGL-> Custom Segments) 

Balancing Segments (Setup -> Company -> Enable features: Accounting -> Advanced features -> Balancing Segments) 

Roles and Permissions for Balancing Segments 

Two permissions control access for the Balancing Segments feature: Balancing Journals and Balance Transactions by Segments.   

Balancing Journals –  

• Controls access to balancing journal records and the Balancing by Segments Details subtab on the GL Impact subtab of transactions.  
• This permission is on the Transactions subtab of the Permissions subtab of role records. Balancing journals are created by the balancing by segments process.  
• We need View level permission to see the record and Create level or higher permission to run the balancing by segments process. To delete balancing journals or rerun the process to create them, you need Full level permission.

Balance Transactions by Segments –  

• Controls access to the Balance Transactions by Segments page at Transactions > Financial > Balance Transactions by Segments.  
• This permission is on the Setup subtab of the Permissions subtab of role records.  
• We need View level permission to see the page, and Create level to run the process. To run the process, you also need the Balancing Journals permission at Create level or higher. 
  

To run the balancing by segments process you must also have a Record Access Level of Edit for all active balancing segments. 

To assign the Record Access permission to a role: 

• Edit the custom segment. 
• Click the Permissions subtab. 
• For a role to have access, the role must be referenced in the Permissions sublist. Review the sublist to see if the role is already listed, then do one of the following: 
• If the role is not listed, add a line to the sublist: In the Role column, select the appropriate role. In the Record Access Level column, select the required access level. Review the values for this role in the columns labeled Value Management Access Level and Search/Reporting Access Level. Make any changes as needed. Be aware that the Value Management Access permission gives the user permission to create values, so review this column with care. Then click Add. 
• If the role is already listed but does not have the ability to manage values, then edit the role’s access. Locate the role in the sublist. Edit the corresponding value in the Record Access Level column. Then click OK. 
• From the Default Record Access Level list, set the default record access level for a segment. This access level applies to any role that is not listed in the Permissions sublist with a specific access level. 
• Click Save. 
  

Creating Balance Segment  

After enabling balancing segment feature, we can create a balancing segment from a new or existing custom segment. 

Balancing Segments must have GL Impact. 

We can have only two active balancing segments at one time. 

To make a custom segment a balancing segment, we need Balancing Journal permission at Create level and Custom Segments permission at Edit level or higher. 

After creating balancing segment, we cannot clear the GL Impact box for the custom segment. 

To create a balancing segment: 

• Go to Customization > List, Record, & Fields > Custom Segments. 
• Click New Custom Segment. 
• Keep the Type field set to its default value of List/Record. 
• Balancing segments must have GL impact, and custom segments with GL impact must be of the List/Record type. 
• Check the GL Impact box. This box must be checked for balancing segments. Enter additional configuration settings on the following subtabs: 
• Values – Create values for the balancing segment by adding lines to the sublist. These values are the options that are available in the balancing segment list on transaction records.  
• Application & Sourcing – This subtab does not relate specifically to balancing segments.  
• Validation & Defaulting – This subtab does not relate specifically to balancing segments. 
• Permissions – Complete this subtab as follows: 

1. Add the roles that can run the balancing by segments process to the sublist. 
2. Set the Record Access Level to Edit for each role. 
3. Set the Search/Reporting Access Level to a value other than the default. 

• Dependent Segments – This subtab does not relate specifically to balancing segments. 
• Display Order – This subtab does not relate specifically to balancing segments.  
• Translation – This subtab does not relate specifically to balancing segments. This subtab shows only when the multi-Language feature is enabled. 
• Click Save. 
• Go to Setup > Accounting > Preferences > Accounting Preferences (Administrator) and click the Balancing Segments subtab. 
• In the Segments list, click Add Row. 
• Select the custom segment we created or want to use as a balancing segment. 
• (Optional) If we are using the Enable Intersegment Elimination preference, select an elimination value to use with this custom segment. NetSuite uses this balancing segment value to reverse auto-balancing lines posted by balancing journals in our intersegment accounts. 
• Click OK, then Save. 

Upon save, NetSuite creates the balancing segment and an associated custom record type. The custom record type has the same name as the balancing segment and is available on the Custom Record Types list page. We can edit the custom record type directly to add values to the custom segment. 

Configuring Intersegment Accounts 

Intersegment accounts enable us to balance by segment without changing the general ledger impact to our regular transaction posting accounts. When balancing journals are generated, NetSuite posts the offsetting debits and credits to these intersegment accounts. We must configure our intersegment accounts to complete the feature setup. 

Create the intersegment accounts before beginning this procedure. We can use accounts of any of the following account types for intersegment accounts: 

• Accounts Payable 
• Accounts Receivable 
• Bank 
• Long Term Liability 
• Other Asset 
• Other Current Asset 
• Other Current Liability 

Select our default intersegment accounts on the Balancing Segments subtab of the Accounting Preferences page. Our role must include the Accounting Preferences permission. 

To configure intersegment accounts: 

• Go to Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences. 
• Click the Balancing Segments subtab. 
• In the Accounts section, select values for the following fields: 

• Default Intersegment Due To Account 
• Default Intersegment Due From Account 
• Default Intersegment Cash Account 

We can use different accounts for the Default Intersegment Due To and Default Intersegment Due From accounts. If needed, we can use the same account for both. 
If we use the same account for both Default Intersegment Due To and Default Intersegment Due From accounts, the consolidated balancing lines automatically zero out in the general ledger. We can also zero these lines out using the Default Intersegment Cash Account. 

• (Optional) To set up due to and due from accounts for specific transactions types, add lines in the list below the Accounts section as follows: 

1. Select a Transaction Type from the list. 
2. Select a Due To Account or Due From Account. 
   We can select – Transaction Posting Account – as the value for these fields. In that case, the offsetting debits and credits for the balancing journals post to the default account for the transaction type. 
3. Click Add. 
4. Repeat these steps needed. 

• Click Save. 

Reversing Balancing Segment Intersegment lines 

We can select different Intersegment Due To and Due From accounts when we set up the balancing by segments process. If we do, our Balance Sheet Total Assets and Total Liabilities & Net Assets may appear to increase. This is because the balancing process produces adjustment transactions in both intersegment accounts, and these will not offset each other within their respective accounts. There are two solutions to prevent this situation: 

• Select the same account for both the Intersegment Due To and Intersegment Due From accounts. When set up this way, the adjustment transactions automatically balance, as one balancing transaction is a debit, and one is its corresponding credit. 
• Use different Intersegment Due To and Due From accounts, and use the Enable Intersegment Elimination preference. 

If we use the Enable Intersegment Elimination preference, NetSuite will automatically balance the adjustment transactions in the Intersegment Due To and Due From accounts in an Elimination value which we create and select. 

If we use this preference, we should create a value within our balancing segments which will be used only for this purpose. 

To set up intersegment elimination: 

• Go to Setup > Accounting > Preferences > Accounting Preferences (Administrator) and click the Balancing Segments subtab. 
• Check the Enable Intersegment Elimination box. 
• In the Segments subtab, select an Elimination Value for each balancing segment. 
  We can change the elimination value to another one later if needed. 
  When you run the balancing by segments process, NetSuite will create intersegment elimination transactions in this fund. These elimination transactions balance the Intersegment transactions created in your due to and due from accounts. Your consolidated statements will then display the correct consolidated figures 
  Intersegment elimination only affects intersegment lines which NetSuite creates for balancing by segments, and not any manually created lines. We must manually balance any of these postings. 

Workflow for Balancing Segments 

After setting up the Balancing Segments feature, the typical workflow is as follows: 

1. Enter transactions in NetSuite, selecting segment values in the transaction header and lines as appropriate. Segment fields that are not mandatory can be left empty. These transactions are our source transactions for the next step.  
2. At period end, run the Balancing by Segments process to generate journal entries that balance our source transactions by segment and by subsidiary.  
   Note: We can run this process any time and not just at period end. 
3. (Optional) Review balancing journal entries. 
4. (Optional) Run financial statements with the balancing segment as the Column value.  

Adding Balancing Segment to a Transaction 

The configuration of balancing segment determines which transactions it appears on and whether the segment is available in the header, transaction lines, or both. Most transaction types support custom segments. 

To add a balancing segment value to a transaction: 

1. Complete the other transaction information as usual. 
2. Select header and line segment values as required. 

• Header segments are in the Classifications section of the transaction header. 
• Line segments are columns in the transaction lines. 

3. Save the transaction. 

We can view the balancing segment value in the transaction after you save. However, we must run the Balancing Transactions by Segment process to complete the balancing. The transaction is a source for the process. 

Balancing transactions by segments 

After setting up a balancing segment, NetSuite can use the values assigned to those segments in transaction headers and lines to create balancing journals. 
To create the balancing journals, we must run a process to balance transactions by segments. This process can be run any time. 
When the Accounting Periods feature is enabled in our account, the Balancing by Segments process is part of the Period Close Checklist. 

To run the process to balance transactions by segment: 

1. Go to Transactions > Financial > Balance Transactions by Segments. 
2. We need the Balance Transactions by Segments permission to access this page. To run the process, we need the Balancing Journal permission (create level or higher) and the Edit Record Access Level permission for all active balancing segments. 
3. In the Posting Period field, select the posting period to balance by segments. 
4. In the Accounting Books field, select the accounting books to include in the balancing journal. This field appears only when the Multi-Book Accounting feature is enabled. 
5. In the Subsidiaries field, select the subsidiaries to include in the balancing journal. This field appears only in NetSuite OneWorld accounts. 
6. Check the Include Children box if we also want to balance the children of the subsidiary by segments. This field appears only in NetSuite OneWorld accounts. 
7. (Optional) In the Memo field, enter a memo for the balancing journal. 
8. Click Run. 
9. When the process starts, the Balancing by Segments Process page opens with a message confirming that the process has started. This page includes the following information in addition to the fields on the Balance Transactions by Segments page: 
   – Date/Time 
   – Status 
   – Percent Complete 
10. Click Refresh to obtain the latest process status, or click New Process to start a new balancing by segments process. 

After the Balancing by Segments process has finished, source transactions include Balanced by Segments in the record status. In addition, the GL Impact subtab includes another subtab called Balancing by Segments Details.