Revenue recognition in NetSuite uses Advanced Revenue Management (ARM) to defer and recognise revenue over time. Most of the setup happens in NetSuite, but Re-Leased Rent Templates must be configured to link invoices to the correct NetSuite Sales Order for ARM to trigger correctly.
Prerequisites in NetSuite
Before setting up revenue recognition for Re-Leased invoices, ensure these are configured in your NetSuite environment (typically by your implementation partner):
Advanced Revenue Management (ARM) enabled — both Essentials and Revenue Allocation
Accounting Preferences configured for ARM
Revenue Recognition Rule created (e.g. Straight-Line Monthly)
Service Item (e.g. Rent) with Deferred Revenue Account and Revenue Recognition Rule linked
Custom Start Date and End Date fields added to Sales Orders and mapped to ARM fields
Revenue Field Mapping configured
Sales Order form configured for tenancy/lease contracts
Linking Rent Templates to a Sales Order
Each Rent Template in Re-Leased must reference the NetSuite Sales Order for the tenancy. The required fields are:
Field | Description |
Sales Order ID | Internal NetSuite Sales Order ID. Must be entered manually in Re-Leased. |
Item | The NetSuite Service Item linked to the Revenue Recognition Rule. |
Start Date / End Date | The tenancy period dates, used for ARM scheduling. |
Note: Re-Leased does not automate the linking of Sales Order IDs — this must be manually added to each Rent Template.
One-Off Invoices
For ad hoc invoices outside of recurring rent, populate these fields on the invoice line to trigger recognition:
Sales Order ID (matching an existing Sales Order in NetSuite)
Item linked to a Revenue Recognition Rule
Start Date and End Date for the recognition period
End-to-End Flow
Create the Sales Order in NetSuite — set the customer, item, tenancy start/end dates, quantity (billing periods), and link to the Revenue Recognition Rule.
Enter the Sales Order ID in Re-Leased — paste the Sales Order ID into the Rent Template's Sales Order ID field, ensuring item and dates match.
Re-Leased generates the invoice — the invoice syncs to NetSuite, linked to the original Sales Order.
NetSuite ARM triggers — ARM creates Revenue Arrangements and Plans. Revenue is recognised evenly over the tenancy duration.
Key Considerations
The Sales Order is the driver for revenue recognition — not the invoice.
The item in the Rent Template must already have the correct Revenue Recognition Rule in NetSuite.
If tenancy dates or items change, updates must be made in both NetSuite and Re-Leased.
Re-Leased supports a single Revenue Recognition Rule per invoice. Line-level rules are not supported.
In Asia-Pacific, "Tenancies" is the standard term; North American customers refer to them as "Leases". For more information on regional terminology, see our Glossary of Regional Terminology.