Cross-Validation Rule Examples
Cross-Validation Rule Examples
Every company has accounting controls that live in spreadsheets, email reminders, and month-end review checklists. Cross-Validation Rules move those controls into NetSuite to minimize errors at the point of entry rather than discovering them during close.
The rules below provide common examples of how companies can utilize Cross-Validation Rules to enforce accounting policies, maintain data integrity, and reduce manual review cycles. While your specific accounts, segments, and thresholds will differ, these examples illustrate the types of controls that Cross-Validation Rules can automate in your NetSuite environment.
1. Require Segments Department on All Revenue Transactions
When any revenue account (Account Type = Income) appears in a transaction, require a Department, Class, and Custom Segment. Take this a step further by requiring specific Department, Class, and Custom field values to be used, depending on the context.
For example, suppose the Revenue Account is Services Revenue. In that case, the Cross-Validation Rule will require that the transaction be coded to the Services Department, the Accessories or Hardware Class, and Custom Segment ABC.
Why it's helpful: Ensures complete tracking by business unit and segment for accurate P&L reporting and prevents month-end scrambles to correct missing segment data. Finance teams can confidently run departmental performance reports knowing revenue is properly attributed.
2. Block AP Account Transactions Without Vendor
Prevent posting of any transaction containing Accounts Payable accounts unless a Vendor is specified on the transaction header.
Why it's helpful: Eliminates orphaned AP balances that can't be matched to vendor statements and prevents cash application errors. This rule catches manual journal entries that should have been vendor bills, maintaining the integrity of the AP subledger.
3. Depreciation Expense Must Credit Accumulated Depreciation
When any depreciation expense account (you can multi-select GL Account) is debited, require a corresponding credit to the related accumulated depreciation account.
Why it's helpful: Enforces proper fixed asset accounting by preventing depreciation from hitting the wrong contra-asset account or P&L accounts. Auditors appreciate this control because it ensures the balance sheet relationship between assets and accumulated depreciation remains accurate.
4. Restrict Direct Posting to Control Accounts
Block users from posting transactions directly to accounts flagged as "control accounts" (like AR Summary, AP Summary, or Inventory Asset) unless they have the Controller or Administrator roles.
Why it's helpful: Protects subledger integrity by forcing transactions through proper transaction types (invoices for AR, bills for AP) rather than manual journal entries. When control accounts only move through system-generated postings, subledger reconciliations become trivial.
5. Project Required for Operating Expense Above Threshold
When operating expense accounts have a line amount exceeding $5,000, a Project/Customer must be specified.
Why it's helpful: Ensures significant expenses can be traced to initiatives or clients without creating friction on small purchases. This gives finance visibility into where large expenditures are allocated while keeping the day-to-day expense entry process lightweight.
6. Require Class on All Transactions for Multi-Entity Reporting
When a transaction involves subsidiaries in specific countries/regions (defined by a custom field), require Class to be populated on every transaction line.
Why it's helpful: Supports matrix reporting requirements where you need to slice financials by both legal entity (subsidiary) and business line (class), without this rule, missing class values create gaps in management reporting that are difficult to correct retroactively.
7. Block Negative Line Amounts on Vendor Bills
Prevent vendor bills from being saved if any expense line has a negative amount, forcing users to create Vendor Credits instead.
Why it's helpful: Enforces proper transaction type usage, which keeps the AP aging accurate and prevents vendor payment runs from selecting the wrong records. Vendor Credits flow through the system differently than negative bills, particularly for 1099 reporting and vendor statement reconciliation.
8. Intercompany Transactions Require Both Subsidiaries
For transactions involving intercompany receivable/payable accounts, require that one of the approved Intercompany Representing Vendors or Customers is populated.
Why it's helpful: Prevents unbalanced intercompany eliminations during consolidation and ensures every intercompany transaction has a clear counterparty. This eliminates the "which subsidiary does this IC balance belong to?" investigation during close.