When it comes to managing customer invoices in NetSuite, enabling invoice approval routing is an important step in maintaining control over the billing process. First, navigate to the Accounting Preferences page in NetSuite and select the Approval Routing tab. Here, you can activate invoice approval routing, which enables organizations to build a customized workflow process within SuiteFlow. A customized workflow ensures the right individuals review invoices before sending them out. Workflow setups help businesses enforce oversight, reducing the risk of errors, fraud, or unauthorized invoice processing. 

Customizing for Invoice Approval Routing

Customizing an AR invoice workflow in SuiteFlow can provide added value, particularly for businesses with unique invoicing processes or more complex approval hierarchies. SuiteFlow allows you to tailor workflows to meet specific business needs, from routing invoices to different approvers based on the amount, customer, or type of invoice, to automatically sending notifications to relevant personnel. This approach is especially useful for managing approvals across departments or when different transactions require varied review levels. In these cases, customizing the invoice approval process involves all stakeholders and ensures each invoice receives proper scrutiny. 

Designating Custom Workflows

When designing a custom invoice approval workflow, there are several control considerations to keep in mind. First, it’s important to establish clear criteria for when invoices require approval. For instance, high-value invoices might need multiple layers of approval, while smaller transactions may require only a single review. Additionally, the type of invoice can also influence the approval routing. For example, invoices for international customers may require approvals from finance teams familiar with currency exchange rates or regulatory compliance. Similarly, the system can route invoices with special terms or discounts to a sales manager for review. This process ensures verification of all unique conditions before finalization. Properly designed customer invoice workflow processes provide efficiency without compromising security.  

Given that NetSuite has inherent audit logging over workflow events and transactions, you can rely on the system to automatically track every approval, rejection, or change made to an invoice. This audit trail documents each workflow step, making it easily accessible for review and enhancing transparency without extra manual tracking. A well-designed approval workflow, combined with NetSuite’s built-in audit logs, not only supports compliance but also improves efficiency by automating approval routing and ensuring a clear record of all invoice-related actions.