Order of Data Load
Order of Data Load: Key Sequence for NetSuite Data Migration
When migrating data to NetSuite, the order in which you load your data plays a critical role in ensuring accuracy and preventing issues. This section will walk you through the step-by-step order to follow when loading your data into NetSuite.
Loading data in the right sequence helps avoid dependency issues. For example, your Chart of Accounts (COA) and Subsidiaries before loading entities or transactions. Also checking at each stage as for example some subsidiary data cannot be changed after other data is loaded.
While every project is different, the following order is a tried-and-true sequence that ensures smooth data migration.
1. Chart of Accounts (COA)
The Chart of Accounts (COA) is the backbone of your financial system. Since all transactions will reference accounts from the COA, it needs to be loaded first.
Key Points:
Ensure the COA structure is finalized and reflects the financial reporting needs of your organization.
Maintain a mapping document of the old system accounts to the new system account. You will need this during reconciliation.
2. Subsidiaries (if using OneWorld)
If you’re working in a multi-subsidiary environment (NetSuite OneWorld), you’ll need to set up your subsidiaries early. Each subsidiary acts as a separate legal entity, so it’s important to have these in place before moving on to other data.
Key Points:
Plan out your subsidiary hierachy carefullt as this cannot be changed later (or at least it is difficult to change this in many cases).
Define each subsidiary’s base currency - make sure you check details like this carefully at this can't be changed later!
Subsidiaries are required before loading any subsidiary-specific data (like transactions or employees).
Before assocaiting a tax nexus, check the subsidiary data carefully.
3. Tax Nexus and Tax Codes
Once your subsidiaries are set up, it’s time to configure your tax nexus and tax codes. This step ensures that NetSuite knows where your business has tax obligations and how taxes should be applied to transactions.
Key Points:
Set up tax nexuses for each region where your business operates (states, countries, etc.).
Link the appropriate tax codes to each tax nexus so that NetSuite can calculate taxes correctly for sales and purchases.
4. Departments, Classes, and Locations
Departments, Classes, and Locations are essential for organizing and reporting your data. These categories help segment your data so that you can generate reports by department or location, for example.
Key Points:
Load these early so they can be assigned to transactions when they are later imported.
Make sure your team has agreed on how you’ll use each segment (e.g., whether to track by location, department, or both).
5. Customers, Vendors, and Items
With the backbone of your data in place, it’s time to load your customers, vendors, and items. These static records form the foundation for transactional data, such as invoices, bills, and sales orders.
Key Points:
Customers and vendors need to be set up before importing any AR/AP transactions.
Items (inventory and non-inventory) need to be loaded before transactions like inventory receipts or sales orders.
Plan to load customer and vendor addresses at go-live. If they were loaded earlier in the project, you can perform a full replacement just before cutover.
6. Opening Balances / Trial Balance
After loading static records, the next step is to bring in your opening balances and trial balance. This step ensures that your financial records are in sync between your legacy system and NetSuite. It may be that in practice, you cannot get closing balances from the old accounting system due to deplays in closing, if this is the case, don't worry, just load any historical months you need to load. You can come back to this and load the go live month at a later point.
Key Points:
Import historical trial balances if needed for financial reporting.
Use this opportunity to ensure all accounts are reconciled between NetSuite and your legacy system.
7. Open Accounts Receivable (AR) / Accounts Payable (AP)
Once the COA and static records are in place, it’s time to load open AR and AP transactions. These represent outstanding invoices and bills at the time of migration.
Key Points:
Ensure that your AR and AP transactions tie out to the balances from your legacy system.
After loading, run a reconciliation to make sure the aging reports in NetSuite match your old system.
8. Open Sales Orders / Purchase Orders
Next, you’ll want to bring in any open sales orders and purchase orders. These transactions reflect commitments that have been made but not yet completed.
Key Points:
Verify that your sales and purchase orders are correctly linked to customers, vendors, and items.
Make sure to load these transactions before any inventory updates to avoid mismatches.
9. Inventory
If you’re using NetSuite to manage inventory, you’ll need to import your inventory quantities and values. This is critical for ensuring accurate stock levels and cost of goods sold.
Key Points:
Ensure items have already been loaded before bringing in inventory quantities.
Reconcile your inventory levels to match the quantities and values from your legacy system.
10. Deferred Revenue
Lastly, if your organization deals with deferred revenue, you’ll need to load those transactions so that revenue can be recognized properly over time.
Key Points:
Ensure that deferred revenue entries are tied to the correct accounts and transactions.
Make sure that the revenue recognition schedules are set up correctly in NetSuite.
Summary of the Data Load Sequence:
Chart of Accounts (COA)
Subsidiaries (if using OneWorld)
Tax Nexus and Tax Codes
Departments, Classes, and Locations
Customers, Vendors, and Items
Opening Balances / Trial Balance
Open Accounts Receivable (AR) / Accounts Payable (AP)
Open Sales Orders / Purchase Orders
Inventory
Deferred Revenue
By following this order, you’ll set up the foundation first and ensure that each subsequent data load builds on the previous one. This approach minimizes the risk of errors and ensures smooth financial reporting in NetSuite.
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