The quick answer
Go to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries and click New Subsidiary. Enter the Name, then change Parent subsidiary from the root to the parent the new entity should roll up to. Parents are listed by path, such as Example Supply Co. : Harbor Point US Operations. Set Document Number Prefix, State/Province, Currency, and Legal Name, enter the address through the Edit link, and click Save. Back on the Subsidiaries list, the new subsidiary should be indented under that parent.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
You need a OneWorld account and the Administrator role, or a role that can create subsidiaries. This example adds Harbor Point Gulf Coast, a Texas entity, under Harbor Point US Operations. That parent already has a child, Harbor Point West, and its own elimination subsidiary, US Operations Elimination.
Decide the parent, base currency, and country before you start. The parent sets where the entity's results roll up. Moving a subsidiary to a different parent later isn't a normal edit. It goes through NetSuite's hierarchy modification process, which can change historical reporting. Treat the base currency as permanent. It generally can't be changed once the subsidiary is saved.
Subsidiary licensing is based on country and currency combinations, and an account usually allows up to 250 subsidiaries including the root. Elimination and inactive subsidiaries don't count toward that. Setup > Company > View Billing Information lists your provisioned components, but the rows it shows vary by account. A new subsidiary in a country and currency combination you already use may not need a new country license, but confirm that combination against what your account has provisioned.
01. Check the current hierarchy
Go to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries. The root, Example Supply Co., is at the top and every other subsidiary is indented under its parent. Harbor Point US Operations has two children one level further in: Harbor Point West and US Operations Elimination. The Elimination column shows Yes for the elimination subsidiaries, so this parent already has one. The list shows Total: 8.
02. Start the subsidiary and choose its parent
Click New Subsidiary and enter Name Harbor Point Gulf Coast. In this account, Parent subsidiary starts on Example Supply Co., the root. If you save it like that, the new entity sits directly under the root.
Open the Parent subsidiary dropdown and select Example Supply Co. : Harbor Point US Operations. Each option shows the full path from the root, and elimination subsidiaries aren't offered as parents.
03. Enter the document number prefix
In Document Number Prefix, enter HPGC-. Leave Subsidiary Logo (Forms), Subsidiary Logo (Pages), and Web Site blank. They're optional.
NetSuite adds the prefix to auto-generated transaction numbers for this subsidiary, so a transaction list shows which entity a document belongs to. That only happens for transaction types set to number by subsidiary under Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers. The prefix doesn't replace the transaction's Subsidiary field.
04. Set the country, state, currency, and legal name
Country is already United States. Open State/Province and select Texas. Currency is US Dollar, which becomes the subsidiary's base currency. Edition shows US and can't be edited, because Country sets it. Country normally also creates the subsidiary's first tax nexus. Review the nexuses after saving and add any others the entity needs. Fill in Employer Identification Number (EIN) or other tax fields if your entity needs them. This example leaves them blank.
Language shows English (U.S.), and Fiscal Calendar and Tax Fiscal Calendar show Standard Fiscal Calendar, the defaults in this account. Which calendars you can pick depends on your account's features. Change one only if this entity reports on a different fiscal or tax year.
Enter Legal Name Harbor Point Gulf Coast LLC. It's the registered name for legal documents and is separate from the display name. Leave Elimination cleared, because this is an operating subsidiary.
05. Enter the address
Below the fields, click the Edit link next to the Address box. In the popup, Country is United States. Enter Addressee Harbor Point Gulf Coast LLC, Address 1 418 Pelican Wharf Road, and City Beaumont, select State Texas, and enter Zip 77701. The Address box on the right builds the address as you type. The fields in this popup can differ by country and address form.
Click OK. The Address box on the form now shows the same four lines.
06. Save and check the record
Click Save and let the page finish loading without refreshing it. A confirmation appears above the saved subsidiary. In the account used here it reads "Subsidiary successfully Saved". Check Parent subsidiary, Document Number Prefix, State/Province, and Currency against what you entered.
The Addresses subtab shows the address under Address.
07. Confirm it in the hierarchy
Go back to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries. The list shows Total: 9, and Harbor Point Gulf Coast is indented under Harbor Point US Operations with Harbor Point West and US Operations Elimination.
Check the result
- The list total went from 8 to 9.
- Harbor Point Gulf Coast is indented under Harbor Point US Operations, not directly under Example Supply Co.
- Its Elimination value is No.
- The saved record shows Document Number Prefix HPGC-, State/Province Texas, and Currency US Dollar.
In this account, its Representing Vendor and Representing Customer cells stay blank until representing entities are generated for it, for example with Generate Representing Entities on this list. Saving a subsidiary doesn't set it up for intercompany transactions. Tax nexus, account and item subsidiary assignments, role access, and intercompany accounts are separate setup.
If Harbor Point Gulf Coast later gets child subsidiaries of its own and their intercompany activity has to be eliminated, it will need its own elimination subsidiary too.
If the new subsidiary shows up directly under the root, the parent was left on the default. Don't fix it by re-parenting until you've reviewed the hierarchy modification risks, and try the change in a sandbox first.
Common questions
Why did my new subsidiary land under the root subsidiary?
Parent subsidiary can default to the root, as it does in the account used here, so a subsidiary saved without changing it sits directly under the root. Pick the intended parent from the dropdown before you save. The options are hierarchy paths, and elimination subsidiaries aren't offered.
What does the Document Number Prefix on a subsidiary do?
NetSuite adds it, HPGC- in this example, to auto-generated transaction numbers for that subsidiary. That only happens for transaction types set to number by subsidiary under Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers. The transaction's Subsidiary field still says which entity it belongs to.
Does every parent subsidiary need an elimination subsidiary?
You usually create one as a child of each parent whose intercompany activity has to be eliminated in consolidation. How many you need depends on your hierarchy and reporting. Only elimination journals post to it, and it uses the same country and base currency as its parent.
Do elimination or inactive subsidiaries count toward the subsidiary limit?
No. They don't count toward the maximum, which is generally 250 including the root. Active operating subsidiaries do count, and your licensed country and currency combinations can limit you separately, so check both before adding one.
How do I change a subsidiary's parent later, and what are the risks?
Re-parenting needs the Allow Subsidiary Hierarchy to be Modified preference under Setup > Company > General Preferences, agreement to NetSuite's warning, and the right permissions. The change can affect historical financial statements, consolidated and budget exchange rates, which elimination subsidiary gets eliminations, Include Children reporting, role restrictions, and scripts that use subsidiary values. Try it in a sandbox and check your financial statements there before doing it in production.