Splitting a bill across jobs or cost centres means giving each line of one supplier invoice its own job, department or project so costs land where they belong. In NetSuite you do it with department, class, location and project.
Before you start
- Departments, Classes or Locations enabled (Setup > Company > Enable Features)
- Projects: bill lines carry a Customer:Project
- For percentage or template splits: Transaction Line Distribution set up, and the Custom CFO or Custom A/P Clerk role
The NetSuite way
Where to find it: Transactions > Payables > Enter Bills > Expenses and Items > Expenses subtab
- Add one expense line per share of the bill.
- On each line set Department, Class and Location, plus Customer (or Customer:Project) where it applies.
- Make sure the line amounts add up to the bill total.
- Save.
- For splits by percentage or amount rules: choose a Default Distribution Template in the Classification section, or a Line Dist. Template on each line, then Save and check the Distribution List subtab.
Limits in NetSuite
- Each plain expense line carries a fixed Amount. Percentage splits need Transaction Line Distribution.
- Oracle says only users with the Custom CFO and Custom A/P Clerk roles can distribute lines and apply distribution templates on bills.
- Vendor Bill must be turned on in the transaction distribution preferences.
- On distribution by weight the percentages must total 100% or the distribution is not processed.
Good to know in NetSuite
- Distribution Percentage and Distribution Amount on the Distribution List can be edited only while the approval status is Pending Approval.
Words NetSuite uses
- Department. A tag on each line used to report costs by team or cost centre.
- Class. A second tag on each line, often used for job type or business line.
- Location. A third tag on each line, often a branch, warehouse or site.
- Customer:Project. The project (job) a cost is charged to. It sits under a customer record.
The Pulsify way
- Forward the supplier's invoice to your Pulsify address. Pulsify reads every row as its own line.
- Review each line and set its account. Line-item coding learns from how that vendor was coded before.
- Approve. The vendor bill is created in NetSuite with one line per row.
Pulsify connects to NetSuite. We set up the connection for you.
What Pulsify does not do here
- Pulsify does not split a line by percentage. A shared cost needs separate lines with set amounts.
- Tagging a line to department, class, location and project is done in NetSuite unless the line already carries it.
Example in NetSuite
Example Timber Supplies sends one vendor bill for two sites. Total $4,400 including GST. Each site is a Location in NetSuite.
| Line | Amount | Tagged to |
|---|---|---|
| Framing timber, Site A | $2,200.00 | Location: Site A |
| Framing timber, Site B | $1,400.00 | Location: Site B |
| Delivery $400 | $400.00 | Line Dist. Template: Site A 50%, Site B 50% |
The Distribution List shows the delivery as $200 to each site. Site A carries $2,400 and Site B $1,600, before GST.
Common mistakes
- Applying a distribution template without Vendor Bill turned on in the distribution preferences, so nothing is split.
- Using a weight-based template whose percentages do not total 100%, so the distribution is not processed.
More help
- How to split a vendor invoice across financial dimensions in Dynamics 365 Finance
- How to split a supplier invoice across jobs in Kinetic
- How to split a supplier invoice across code parts in IFS Cloud
- How to job cost vendor bill records in NetSuite
- How to code one vendor bill to several account codes in NetSuite
- How to code a vendor bill with mixed GST lines in NetSuite
- All NetSuite how-to guides
- Pulsify setup guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19. Confidence: confirmed.
Common questions
Can NetSuite split a vendor bill by percentage?
Yes, with Transaction Line Distribution. You pick a distribution template and NetSuite spreads the line by percentage. Oracle says only the Custom CFO and Custom A/P Clerk roles can apply it on bills.
Should I use department, class or location?
Use department for who owns the cost, location for the site and class for anything else you report on, such as a product line. A line can carry all three plus a Customer:Project.
Can I change the split after the bill is approved?
Distribution percentages and amounts can only be edited while the bill is Pending Approval. After that, edit the bill lines or post a journal.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles supplier bills in NetSuite.