The quick answer
Open the WIP work order once every unit is completed and click Close in the action bar. NetSuite opens a Work Order Close filled in from the work order. Click Save, then check the close's GL Impact subtab and confirm the work order's status is Closed. Before you close, the Work Order Analysis subtab shows planned and actual operation times. Afterward, Related Records > Builds lists the issue, the completion and the close.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own work order when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. closes work order WO4412 for 24 TL-210 Trail Lanterns built at the Spokane Plant. The order has the WIP box checked and uses the routing TL-210 Standard Routing, with two operations: 10 Assemble Housing and 20 Test and Pack. Work Order Issue WOI2051 took the components out of inventory and Work Order Completion WCO3318 recorded all 24 lanterns.
A few things have to be in place:
- WIP. Work Orders and Manufacturing WIP are enabled, the order's WIP box is checked and it has a Location, which WIP work orders require. The Work Order Analysis rows in this example come from a routing. You can close a WIP order without one, but then there are no operations to compare.
- Finished production. Save the issues and completions you expect before you close. NetSuite doesn't force you to, but a closed WIP order isn't available for further production transactions, and closing early can leave a larger residual in WIP.
- The accounts. The assembly has its WIP, scrap and WIP cost variance accounts set. They decide where a close posts anything that is left over.
- Your role and the period. Your role can create a Work Order Close and view its GL Impact, and the posting period for the close date is open.
The screens and labels here come from one account. What status the order shows after the last completion depends on your account, so check it. Here it's In Process. Some accounts show Built. The action names, subtabs and columns can differ with your release, role and form, and the quantities and values in the screenshots are examples.
01. Review the work order
Start on the work order. Status is In Process, WIP is checked, Quantity is 24 and Built is 24. In this account the action bar offers Issue Components, Enter Completion, Enter Completion with Backflush and Close, so the order is still open even though every lantern is built.
Click the Work Order Analysis subtab. The Operations sublist compares time for each routing operation: Planned Setup Time, Actual Setup Time, Planned Run Time, Estimated Run Time and Actual Run Time, then Variance to Estimated and Variance %. Variance to Estimated is the Actual Run Time minus the Estimated Run Time, and Variance % is that difference over the estimate. Assemble Housing was estimated at 96 and took 108, so the variance is 12 and 12.5%. Test and Pack ran exactly to its estimate of 72, so its variance is 0.
This is a comparison of time. It doesn't post anything to the general ledger. Use it to see where the order ran long before you close it.
Click the Related Records subtab, then Builds. It lists the Work Order Issue and the Work Order Completion with their dates and numbers. There's no Work Order Close yet. The subtab labels can vary with your release and form.
02. Click Close
Click Close in the action bar. The Work Order Close form opens with Save and Cancel at the top. It's already filled in from the work order: the Assembly, the Bill of Materials and its revision, a Work Order Quantity of 24 and Created From Work Order #WO4412. Reference # reads To Be Generated until you save. The Date defaults to today's date, 10/05/2026 here, and the Posting Period is Oct 2026. Check the Date, Posting Period and Location before you save.
Under Classification, the Subsidiary is Alderbrook US and the Location is Spokane Plant. On the Components subtab, this example lists three components, each with a Work Order Quantity of 24, and a Department and Class that can stay blank.
03. Save the Work Order Close
Click Save. The Work Order Close opens in view mode as WCL4087, under a Confirmation band that reads Transaction successfully Saved. Created From links back to WO4412 and Work Order Quantity is 24. Built Quantity and Quantity Scrapped are both 0. Those two fields describe quantities recorded by the close itself, not the order's totals. The 24 lanterns were built by the completion, and the work order is where you read the production total. A close of an order that wasn't completed in full can carry other quantities.
Click the GL Impact subtab. It shows No records to show. All 24 lanterns were completed and nothing was left in WIP for the order, so the close had nothing to post. That's an observed result for this order, not what every WIP close does. What a close posts depends on what is left in WIP, your costing method, scrap and account setup, so open GL Impact on your own close rather than expecting a result. The run-time variance on Work Order Analysis doesn't by itself post an amount.
04. Check the work order
Scroll up and click the Work Order #WO4412 link beside Created From. The work order now shows the status Closed and Built 24. In this example the Close, Issue and Completion buttons are gone from the action bar, which offers Edit, Back, Print BOM and Cost Variance Analysis.
Click Related Records and then Builds again. The list now has three records: the Work Order Issue, the Work Order Completion with Quantity 24 and the new Work Order Close WCL4087 with Quantity 0. Click a date to open that record.
Check the result
- Work Order Close WCL4087 shows the Confirmation Transaction successfully Saved and Created From Work Order #WO4412.
- The close's GL Impact subtab shows what, if anything, the close posted, and the Date and Posting Period are the ones you meant.
- WO4412 has the status Closed and Built 24.
- Related Records > Builds lists the Work Order Issue, the Work Order Completion and the Work Order Close.
Common questions
How do I close a WIP work order in NetSuite?
Open the work order after its issues and completions are saved and click Close in the action bar. NetSuite opens a Work Order Close filled in from the work order. Click Save, check the close's GL Impact subtab and confirm the work order's status is Closed.
What does a Work Order Close do?
It finalizes the accounting for the work order. The close reviews the issues and completions on the order and posts any remaining reconciliation amounts, depending on your costing method and account setup, and the order's status changes to Closed. It doesn't replace the Work Order Completion that records finished production. The close is its own saved transaction, linked to the order.
Must every unit be completed before I close the work order?
No. You can close an order that was only partly built. The close doesn't create the missing units or issue components that were never issued, and it can leave a larger residual in WIP. Whether to close an incomplete order is an accounting and production decision, so make it before you save.
Why is my work order still In Process after I completed every unit?
Completing the last unit doesn't close the order. The status it shows after the last completion depends on your account: it can still read In Process, as it does in this example, or it can read Built. Check the built quantity and the status rather than assuming one. The order becomes Closed when a Work Order Close is saved.
Does the variance on Work Order Analysis post to the general ledger?
No. Work Order Analysis compares planned, estimated and actual setup and run time for each operation. Variance to Estimated is Actual Run Time minus Estimated Run Time, and Variance % is that difference over the estimate. It doesn't create a posting. What posts when you close the order is decided by what is left in WIP, your costing method and your accounts.
Why does my Work Order Close have no GL impact?
A close can have no GL lines when earlier transactions have already cleared what the close would reconcile, but that isn't guaranteed. Remaining WIP, costing method, timing, scrap and account setup can all change the result. The close in this walkthrough is one observation, so check the GL Impact subtab of your own close.
Why do Built Quantity and Quantity Consumed show 0 on my Work Order Close?
On a close of an order that was completed in full, those fields showed 0 in this example. They describe quantities recorded by the close itself, not totals for the order, and the work order and its completions carry the production totals. A close of an order that wasn't completed in full can show other quantities, so don't treat zero as a rule.
How do I see the issue, completion and close for a work order?
Open the work order, click Related Records and then Builds. The list shows the date, type, number and quantity of each Work Order Issue, Work Order Completion and Work Order Close. Click a date to open the record. The subtab label can vary with your release and form.
How do I close many work orders at once?
Use Transactions > Manufacturing > Close Work Orders when your account has it. Choose a posting period, date and subsidiary, narrow the list with the location, item, customer, date and variance tolerance filters if you like, mark the orders and click Submit. In the account used here, orders still In Process only appeared after Include In-Process Work Orders was checked, and a tolerance filter can also keep an order off the list. The filters and required fields can vary with your release and role.
Can I reopen a closed WIP work order?
Don't plan on it. The Reopen action on a work order's Actions menu is for non-WIP work orders. Check the built and scrapped quantities, any components still to be issued and the posting period before you save a close, and involve your accounting owner if a close has to be corrected.