Expense Categories Import
An expense category record represents a type of expense that can be referenced on an employee's expense report. For example, you might have expense categories named “Meals,” “Transportation,” and “Lodging.” Every expense listed on an expense report must belong to an expense category. You can create and update expense category records using the CSV Import Assistant.
The expense category record is available only when the Expense Reports feature is enabled, at Setup > Company > Enable Features, on the Employees subtab. When the feature is enabled, “Expense Categories” appears as an option in the Record Type dropdown list when you set Import Type to Accounting.
In the UI, you access the expense category record by choosing Setup > Accounting > Expense Categories > New. For details on the process of manually creating an expense category, see Creating an Expense Category.
Understanding the Rate is Required Field
Before you begin working with expense categories, you need to understand the Rate is Required field. The purpose of this field is to determine the behavior of expenses that use this category. That is, when Rate is Required is set to Yes, an expense report line item using this category must have values in the Rate and Quantity fields. These values are then used to determine the amount of the expense. Note that you can also set default rates for your expense categories. You set default rates by using either the Default Rate body field (in accounts that are not OneWorld) or the Rates sublist (in OneWorld accounts).
Related to your ability to create defaults, be aware of the following: If your account is not a OneWorld account, the Rate is Required value affects the availability of the Default Rate field. That is, when the value of Rate is Required is Yes for any particular expense category, you can import a value for Default Rate for that category. Otherwise, the field is not available. The Default Rate field determines the default rate for the category throughout your organization.
If your account is a OneWorld account, you use the Rates sublist, which stores a default rate for the category for each subsidiary. Unlike the Default Rate body field, an expense category’s Rates sublist is available even when you set the Rate is Required value to No.
The default value of Rate is Required is No.
Expense Category Fields
This section summarizes the body fields supported for mapping.
|
Field |
Notes |
Required? |
|---|---|---|
|
Default Rate |
Available only for expense category records on which Rate is Required is set to a value of Yes. Further, available only when the account is not a OneWorld account. (In OneWorld accounts, this field is replaced by the Rates sublist.) |
No |
|
Description |
The description displays on the Expense Categories list view and on the expense category record. The description is not visible to employees using the standard expense report form. |
No |
|
Expense Account |
The account to which all expenses of this category will post. If you use NetSuite OneWorld, the account determines for whom the new expense category is available. Specifically, a category is available only to employees within the subsidiaries associated with this account. |
Yes |
|
ExternalId |
Can be used as a unique identifier for the record. |
No |
|
Inactive |
Possible values are:
Do not use an abbreviation such as “Y” or “N.” If you do, the Import Assistant ignores your input. |
No, but if you do not map a recognizable value for this field, the system uses the default value, which is No. |
|
Internal ID |
A read-only field that is a unique identifier of the record. Internal ID is available for mapping only when the Data Handling option on page 2 of the Import Assistant is set to ‘Update.' |
No |
|
Name |
A label for the category. If the category is active, the Name text displays as a choice in the Category list on the standard expense report form. |
Yes |
|
Rate is Required |
When Rate is Required is set to a value of Yes, an expense report line item using this category must have values in the Rate and Quantity fields. These values are then used to determine the amount of that expense. |
Yes, but if you do not map a value, the system uses the default value, which is No. |
|
Subsidiaries |
Enter the subsidiaries you want this expense category to be available to. The list of available subsidiaries is filtered based on the subsidiaries available to use the selected expense item or expense account. |
Yes |
For details about the Rates sublist fields, and for other details on the expense category record, see the SOAP Schema Browser’s expense category reference page. You can use the field definitions here as a basis for creating your own CSV import template file. For information about working with this tool, see SOAP Schema Browser.
Expense Category CSV Examples
The following table shows how you might structure a file for importing expense categories.
|
External ID |
Name |
Expense Account |
Description |
Inactive |
Rate is Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
101 |
Meals |
1000 Meals & Entertainment |
Should be available year-round. |
|
|
|
102 |
Lodging |
2000 Lodging |
Should be available year-round. |
|
|
|
103 |
Annual Conference |
9500 Conferences |
Should be made available on Sep. 1. |
Yes |
Yes |
In this example, the first two records are automatically active and available to employees following the import (because the Inactive field defaults to No when left blank). If all the items in your CSV file are meant to be active, you could simply omit this column.
The Import Assistant is available at Setup > Import/Export > Import Tasks > Import CSV Records. After you select the record type for import, you choose the import character encoding. For more information, see Select a Record Type for Import and Choose Import Character Encoding.