How to Connect NetSuite to Abacus

Abacus supports a direct integration with NetSuite that syncs over reimbursable expenses as well as corporate card expenses. When reimbursable expenses are approved in Abacus, we will sync over a Bill & Bill payment into NetSuite to reconcile those expenses. When corporate card expenses are approved, we push in individual entries for those charges.

The entry will include two line items:

1. A debit against the account 
2. An offsetting credit against your corporate card account; you also have an option to sync on an accrual basis

Step 1: Enable Features in NetSuite

You will need to enable a few options to allow Abacus and NetSuite to communicate. Log in to NetSuite as an Admin and navigate to Setup  > Company > Enable Features.

Click the SuiteCloud tab and then check off four options that should be on in order to sync data. 

• Client SuiteScript
• Server SuiteScript
• Token-based Authentication
• SuiteSignOn

Those options will look like this: 

Step 2: Install Abacus in Your NetSuite

Now you will need to install the Abacus Bundle integration package in your NetSuite account. Navigate to Customization > SuiteBundler > Search & Install Bundles.

Search for "Abacus," select it, then click on Install and Install Bundle.

On the Preview Bundle Update page, select Update Bundle.

This will bring you to the Installed Bundles page, where you will see the download of Abacus pending. It will take a minute or two to download. We recommend waiting until it has loaded completely before moving on to the next step.

Step 3: Abacus Settings in NetSuite

Now you will assign an Abacus role to a NetSuite member. This will be the member log-in that you use later to initiate the connection between Abacus and NetSuite, so the credentials should be accessible and preferably be for a system admin.

1. Navigate to Setup > Users/Roles > Manage Users.
2. Select the member you want to assign the role to.
3. Click on Edit.
4. Select the Access Tab.
5. Under Roles, add Abacus Integration.

The Manage Member bar will look like this:

Step 4: Connect Abacus to NetSuite

You're now ready to go to the Abacus website and log in as an Administrator: 

1. Navigate to Accounting Sync settings.
2. Click on Connect to NetSuite
3. Use the username and password of the NetSuite account that was registered to the Abacus Role above. 
4. Click Next.

It will look like this:

You will now be asked to pick which company in NetSuite you would like to connect to. If this login can only access one company, there will only be one option in this list.

1. Select the company from the drop-down menu.
2. Click on Connect.

Step 5: Select a Default Expense Account

Once Abacus is connected to NetSuite, the next step is customizing the integration with your NetSuite.

First, select a default expense account that will be applied to any expenses that are missing a category. This should be something like Miscellaneous or Other Expense in your chart of accounts.

Step 6: Select Sync Mode and Bank Account

This is where you will select a Cash or Accrual method of syncing. Once this is set, select the bank account that's being used to reimburse your expenses. 

Step 7: Select an AP account (Optional) 

This is the AP account that you want to be associated with the bill and bill payment.

Step 8: Sync Corporate Cards to NetSuite

If you have corporate cards you are managing in Abacus, we can sync transactions into NetSuite as individual Journal Entries or Credit Card Transactions. You can specify which field you'd like the Abacus merchant to sync into. You have three options: Memo field, Name field from Other Names list, or Name field from Vendor list. Make a selection at the bottom of your Accounting sync page, and click save.

Step 9: Customize Your Corporate Card Sync

You have several customization options for the corporate card sync, depending on how you'd like the data to sync.

• For Transaction type, you can choose to sync card transactions to NetSuite as either Journal Entries or Corporate Card transactions.
• For the vendor/merchant, you can opt to sync that information into the Memo field or the Name field.
  • For the Name field, choose whether you want the vendor name stored in your Other Names list or the Vendor list. 

Step 10: Select Default Mappings for Class, Location, and Department 

Abacus pulls in Class, Location, and Department information from your NetSuite. You have the option to create custom fields in Abacus and map them to these fields in NetSuite. 

You can optionally add default mappings for Class, Location, and Departments in your Accounting Sync settings page. Each expense that's missing this field will be associated with the default item you select here.

Step 11: Map Your Categories 

To complete the integration, navigate to your Categories page and map each item to the corresponding expense account. Now you have successfully connected to NetSuite! 

Syncing Custom Fields to NetSuite (Location, Department, and Class) 

You can create custom Team or Expense Fields in Abacus and sync them to Location, Department, and Class fields in NetSuite.

• Team Fields are customizable fields that you can add to a member's profile, like Department or Team. This data will be attached to employees expenses automatically. 
• Expense Fields are customizable fields that you can add to the expense submission form. You can create a custom drop-down menu on the expense form for your employees to fill out while submitting their expenses.