NetClose - Modify Amortizations
Overview
This article covers how to change an amortization at any point in its life. What is possible depends on one thing: whether journal entries have been run.
- Before any journals have run - whether the amortization is Pending or Commenced - you can edit any field directly with the Edit button, including both Primary Information and Schedule Information.
- Once journals have run, the fields that drive the schedule, segments, and accounts lock so the amortization header cannot drift out of sync with the entries already posted. To change a locked amortization you use one of the actions below rather than editing the record directly.
When journals have run, pick the action that fits the change:
- Modify to change the amount or the term.
- The Time Machine to roll the amortization back to Pending so you can change anything, including Primary Information.
- Transfer to move the amortization to a different subsidiary, department, class, location, or amortization type.
- Write Off to expense the remaining balance and close the schedule.
- Inactivate to remove an amortization from active views without deleting it.
Editing Before Journals Are Run
While an amortization is in Pending status, editing is straightforward - click Edit, change whatever you need, and save. This is true whether or not you have already generated the schedule.
Editing still works after you Commence an amortization, as long as no journals have been run yet. Click Edit and change any field, including the Schedule Information. If you change a field that affects the schedule (the capitalization date, start date, term, amount, or end date, or a segment), NetClose returns the amortization to Pending status and shows the message below. The Commence button changes back into the Generate Schedule button, so you will need to regenerate the schedule and commence the amortization again before running journals.
After Journals Are Run
Once you run journals for an amortization, NetClose locks the Schedule Information, the segments, and the account fields on the record. This protects the match between the amortization header and the entries that have already posted to the general ledger. Descriptive fields that do not affect the schedule stay editable, but to change anything that drives the schedule you use one of the actions in the sections below.
Note
Choose the lightest option that covers your change. Use Modify for a change to the amount or term, and Transfer for a change to the segmentation - both keep the posted history intact. Reach for the Time Machine only when you need to change Primary Information or rebuild the schedule from scratch, since it requires removing the journals you have already run.
Modify the Amount or Term
Use Modify to change the amortization amount or term after commencement without unwinding the entries you have already posted. On the commenced amortization record, click Modify.
This opens the NetClose Amortization Modification page, which shows the current amortization information alongside the changes you want to make. You can:
- Increase or decrease the amortization amount using the Modification Amount field. A positive number increases the amortization; a negative number decreases it.
- Change the end date or the term (months).
The effective date defaults to the 1st of the month, and the effective period defaults to the period the amortization is currently in.
Once the modification is entered, click Save. The modified schedule generates automatically - refresh until schedule generation is complete. To review the change, open the Modifications subtab on the amortization record.
Note
If your company has turned on Modification Approvals, a modification is held in a pending state for review before the schedule updates, and it must be approved before any other action is available on the amortization. See the Rejecting Amortizations, Modification Approvals, and Transfer Types article for details.
Roll the Amortization Back to Pending with the Time Machine
When you need to change something Modify does not cover - Primary Information such as the capitalization date or start date, or a full rebuild of the schedule - roll the amortization back to Pending using the Amortization Time Machine. See the Amortization Time Machine article for the full walkthrough.
Transfer to Different Segments
If the only thing you need to change is the subsidiary, department, class, location, amortization type, or accounts transfer the amortization instead of rolling it back. A transfer keeps the existing schedule intact and books a journal entry that moves the remaining balance from the old segmentation to the new one. See Transfer Amortizations for the step-by-step process, including mass transfers.
Write Off the Remaining Balance
If a prepaid should stop amortizing and the remaining balance should be expensed now, write it off. On the commenced amortization record, click Write Off. This creates a modification that expenses the remaining balance in full and closes out the schedule - the remaining balance and remaining term both go to zero, and the amortization moves to Write Off status. As with a modification, the write-off is booked through the modification approval flow, so click Save and then Approve to post it.
Inactivate the Amortization
If an amortization was created in error and you want it out of your active views without deleting it, mark the record Inactive. Inactive amortizations drop off the amortization list and are skipped by schedule generation, commencement, and journal runs.
Note
To decline a Pending amortization while keeping a clear, auditable record of the decision, use Reject rather than inactivating it. Many organizations are not permitted to delete or inactivate records in NetSuite, and rejecting leaves the amortization on the record with a searchable status. See the Rejecting Amortizations, Modification Approvals, and Transfer Types article.
