NetLease - Delayed Multi-Book go-live

Overview

Clients who are already live in NetLease can add the Multi-Book add-on later. This is common when the primary book is ready before the secondary book. For example, the primary book goes live in October and the secondary book isn't ready until December. NetLease supports this with a catch-up process: it posts the secondary-book entries for prior periods once the secondary book is ready.

The process has four parts:

Configure NetLease for Multi-Book.
Update the lease records with the multi-book fields.
Open the periods the catch-up entries will post to.
Run the catch-up journals for the secondary book.

Key assumptions

The client is live in NetLease and already posting journals to the primary book.
The secondary accounting book already exists and is set up in NetSuite.
Catch-up entries start at each lease's go-live date and use the same entry types already posted in the primary book.

Prerequisites

The NetLease Multi-Book add-on has been purchased. Leases with a secondary book count toward the Multi-Book license.
Multi-Book Accounting is enabled in NetSuite at Setup > Company > Enable Features. NetLease treats Full Multi-Book and Adjustment Only books the same way. See NetLease - Multi-Book Lease Journals.
A role that can edit script deployments, typically Administrator. This is needed to turn the catch-up parameter on and off.

Test in sandbox first

Run the full process in a sandbox account before production. Then review the secondary-book balances for a sample of leases.

Step-by-step process

Step 1 - Configure NetLease for Multi-Book

Navigate to NetLease > NetLease Setup > System Setup.
On the System Features subtab, check Multi-Book. The box is unavailable until Multi-Book Accounting is enabled in NetSuite.
On the General subtab, under Transaction Settings, select the Book-Specific Transaction Form to use for book-specific journals. If left blank, the default is the preferred form.
Click Save.

Delete Transactions Upon Rejection is turned on automatically

Enabling Multi-Book also turns on Delete Transactions Upon Rejection. Multi-Book requires this setting.

NetLease uses the same lease type accounts for both books. If the secondary book needs different accounts or segments, set up a Custom Sourcing record and use Apply To Accounting Books (Optional) to limit it to the secondary book.

Step 2 - Update lease records

Decide on the posting method first. The method depends on which multi-book fields you populate. See NetLease - Multi-Book Lease Journals and NetLease - Full Multi-Book Combinations and Implications.

Adding an Accounting Book to a lease with posted history

On a live lease, the primary entries posted so far were custom transactions, and those post to all books. If you populate Accounting Book, NetLease does not reverse those historical entries out of the secondary book. Contact Netgain Support before you populate Accounting Book on leases that already have posted journals.

Option A - CSV update (recommended for multiple leases)

Prepare a CSV file with these columns:
- NetLease Lease Internal ID
- Secondary Book
- Secondary Classification
- Accounting Book (only if applicable)
Run an Update CSV import on the NetLease Lease record. See NetLease - Bulk CSV Updates.
Open several updated leases and confirm the fields show the expected values.

Option B - Edit a single lease in the UI

On a locked lease, the multi-book fields are read-only.

Open the lease and click Edit.
Uncheck Locked and click Save.
Click Edit again and populate the fields in the Multi-Book Information section.
Re-check Locked and click Save.

Re-lock the lease before running journals

An unlocked lease stops recording amortization, and NetLease posts no transactions for it until it is locked again. Re-lock every lease you unlocked before you run catch-up journals.

Always populate Secondary Classification when you populate Secondary Book. If it is blank, the lease shows the "Secondary Classification Not Set" banner and nothing posts to the secondary book. Updating these fields does not regenerate the amortization schedule.

Step 3 - Open the periods the catch-up entries will post to

Catch-up entries post to the original period of each schedule line, starting at the go-live date. NetLease does not move secondary-book catch-up entries into a later open period. Any closed or locked period in that range causes the entry to fail.

Navigate to Setup > Accounting > Manage Accounting Periods.
Temporarily reopen or unlock every period from the earliest lease go-live date through the current period.
Close or lock those periods again after you finish Step 4.

Step 4 - Run catch-up journals

Navigate to Customization > Scripting > Scripts.
Click View next to NetLease - Journal SL.

On the Deployments subtab, click NetLease - Process Monthly Amortization Journals SL LINK.

Click Edit, check Catch Up in the Parameters sublist, and click Save.

Navigate to NetLease > Process Monthly Transactions > Monthly Lease Journals. The page title is now NetLease Catch Up Journal Processing. Allow Processing of Posted Lines is checked and can't be changed.
Select the Period and set Type to - All -. Confirm the correct entries are selected, then click Generate Transactions.

Process an open period with Type set to All

To trigger catch-up journals for prior periods, you must process at least one fully open period. For example, if the primary book is processed through November, process December to start the catch-up.

Set Type to - All - so the catch-up includes go-live and initial balance entries.

When processing finishes, open several leases and check the Multi-Classification Schedule subtab. There should be a book-specific journal for the selected period and for every prior period from the go-live date forward.
Return to the NetLease - Process Monthly Amortization Journals SL LINK deployment. Click Edit, uncheck Catch Up, and click Save.

Turn off Catch Up when finished

Uncheck Catch Up once the process is complete. Leaving it on can slow down future journal processing.

Close or lock the periods you reopened in Step 3.

Limitations / things to be aware of

Catch-up mirrors the primary book entry types

The catch-up posts the same entry types to the secondary book that the primary book already has. If the primary book has a go-live entry followed by amortization, the secondary book gets the same. If the primary book has an initial balance entry followed by amortization, the secondary book gets those instead. A lease can't have an initial balance entry in the primary book and a go-live entry in the secondary book.

Confirm initial balance entries in sandbox

For leases that started with an initial balance entry, confirm in sandbox that the catch-up created the secondary-book initial balance journal. If it is missing, contact Netgain Support before you run the process in production.

Historical modifications, transfers, and close-outs are not caught up. These events happened before the secondary book was added, so they don't get book-specific entries. Contact Netgain Support before you start if any lease has these events.
Short-term, 840, or sublease primary classifications. A lease may have one of these primary classifications and get Operating or Financing as its secondary classification. In that case, its existing schedule may have no liability or asset values for the secondary book. Contact Netgain Support before you run the catch-up for these leases.
True-up modifications are not available for leases with a secondary book.
Terminations can't be delayed for Multi-Book leases, even if Delay Termination JE is enabled.
Elimination subsidiaries are not supported for Multi-Book.
Transfers can't use auto-eliminating AR/AP accounts when a lease has an Accounting Book or Secondary Book.
Foreign currency: the secondary book uses the historical rate from the global FX date setting, not the date Multi-Book was enabled. See NetLease - FX Journal Entries with Multibook.
Approvals: journal entry approval workflows may hold book-specific journals for manual approval. See the auto-approval section of NetLease - Multi-Book Lease Journals.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause and resolution
Multi-Book checkbox is unavailable	Multi-Book Accounting is not enabled in NetSuite. Enable it at Setup > Company > Enable Features.
Journal processing fails with "MULTIBOOK ERROR: ..."	Usually a closed or locked period. Reopen it as described in Step 3 and run the catch-up again. Any primary entry created in the same run is deleted, so nothing is duplicated.
"Secondary Classification Not Set" banner on the lease	Secondary Book is set but Secondary Classification is blank. Populate the classification.
No secondary-book entries were created	Check that Catch Up is checked on the deployment, Type is - All -, an open period was processed, and the lease is locked.
Multi-Classification Schedule subtab is not visible	Show it on the lease custom form. See NetLease - Multi-Book Lease Journals.

Record structure

Field Name	Field Type	Description	Example	Field ID
Multi-Book	Checkbox	NetLease System Setup feature that enables book-specific journals	Checked	custrecord_laa_gbl_ftr_multibook
Accounting Book	List/Record	Lease field. When set, primary entries post to this book only	Primary Book	custrecord_laa_ls_accounting_book
Secondary Book	List/Record	Lease field. The book that receives book-specific journals	IFRS Book	custrecord_laa_ls_secondary_book
Secondary Classification	List/Record	Lease field. The classification recorded in the secondary book	Financing	custrecord_laa_ls_second_classification
Book Specific Journal Entry	List/Record	Schedule line field. The secondary-book journal for the line	Journal #1234	custrecord_laa_lse_book_specific_je