Invoice approval is the check that the right person agrees a supplier bill is correct before it is paid.
What NetSuite does on its own
Standard approval (status and Approve Bills page), employee approval limits, SuiteApprovals rules by amount and 3-way match exceptions.
- Needs set up.
- Bills made by CSV import are not routed for approval by SuiteApprovals.
What you need in NetSuite
- Approval Routing feature
- SuiteFlow
- Vendor Bills ticked under Accounting Preferences > Approval Routing
- SuiteApprovals or the NetSuite Approvals Workflow SuiteApp for amount rules
Setting it up in NetSuite
Where to find it: Setup > Accounting > Accounting Preferences > Approval Routing
- Turn on Approval Routing under Setup > Company > Setup Tasks > Enable Features > Employees.
- Tick Vendor Bills on the Approval Routing subtab of Accounting Preferences.
- Give every bill creator a supervisor on their employee record.
- Set Vendor Bill Approver, Vendor Bill Approval Limit and Vendor Bill Entry Limit on employee records if you use limits.
- Approvers open Transactions > Payables > Approve Bills, tick Approve and click Submit.
Good to know in NetSuite
- Standard routing sends a bill to the supervisor. Routing by vendor or department needs a saved search condition or a SuiteFlow workflow.
- The approvals workflow SuiteApp does not support other languages. SuiteApprovals does.
- Bills created by CSV import, script, web service or RESTlet are not routed for approval by SuiteApprovals.
How to do it in NetSuite
How to set up vendor bill approval in NetSuite
In NetSuite, set up bill approval routing: choose who can approve and their limits, then test it with a real vendor bill before you rely on it.
How to approve vendor bill records in bulk in NetSuite
Yes. Go to Transactions > Payables > Approve Bills, tick Approve on each bill or click Mark All, then Submit. If one bill errors, processing stops and the bills before it stay approved.
How to route vendor bill records by amount, vendor or project in NetSuite
In NetSuite, set bill approval routing rules by amount, vendor or project. Put specific rules first, then a default for everything else and test with a real vendor bill.
What Pulsify adds
- Every company starts with a default rule: any Admin or Approver can approve.
- With the Approval Workflows Add-on, add ordered steps that route by supplier, amount, account and tracking such as job.
- Each step asks a role, a person or a team. A step can need any one of them or everyone.
- Add a review step before approval if someone should check coding first.
- Use Try an invoice to see which path a sample bill would take.
- Approvers approve, reject or send back from a phone or laptop, one bill or many at once.
Pulsify connects to NetSuite. We set up the connection for you. More about invoice approvals in Pulsify.
What Pulsify does not do
- Pulsify does not reassign an approval to someone else.
- Pulsify does not send approval reminders.
- Pulsify never moves money. Payment runs stay in NetSuite or your bank.
More help
- Invoice approvals for Dynamics 365 Finance
- Invoice approvals for Kinetic
- Invoice approvals for IFS Cloud
- Invoice capture for NetSuite
- Supplier credit notes for NetSuite
- Duplicate invoice checks for NetSuite
- All NetSuite how-to guides
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-19.
Common questions
Can NetSuite route bills for approval by amount?
Yes. Install SuiteApprovals, make a rule for the Vendor Bill record and tick Route Approvals Based on Amount. Set the Record Amount Limit. Bills up to the limit approve automatically.
Why did my imported bills skip approval?
Oracle says bills created by CSV import, script, web service or RESTlet are not routed for approval by SuiteApprovals. Create them on screen or approve them in bulk on the Approve Bills page.
Is every approval recorded?
Yes. Every approve, reject and send back is recorded in the bill's activity with who did it and any reason.
Pulsify setup guides
Want this done for you?
Book a call to see how Pulsify handles invoice approvals in NetSuite.