The quick answer
Go to Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers, open the Document Numbers subtab, check Use Subsidiary on the Invoice row and click Save. Then edit each subsidiary under Setup > Company > Subsidiaries and enter a Document Number Prefix, such as PAC- or ATL-. New invoices get the invoice prefix, then the subsidiary prefix, then that subsidiary's own counter: with Prefix INV- and Minimum Digits 5, Pacific's first invoice is INV-PAC-00001. Each subsidiary's counter starts at 1 unless you set an Initial Number for it. The invoice's subsidiary defaults from the customer, so the number changes once you choose the customer. Use Subsidiary needs NetSuite OneWorld.
The example company, Kestrel Ridge Outfitters, has two operating subsidiaries, Pacific and Atlantic, under the parent Kestrel Ridge. Both share one invoice sequence, so INV-04218 says nothing about which entity issued it. Nora Castellanos, an administrator, switches invoices to subsidiary numbering and creates one invoice in each subsidiary. Every person, company and record in the screenshots is fictional example data.
Before you start
You need a OneWorld account and a role that can change company setup. The example uses Administrator. Numbering is set per transaction type, so this guide changes invoices only. Other types keep their own settings. If customers in your account can belong to more than one subsidiary, check which subsidiary the invoice picks up before you save.
The subsidiary field is labeled Document Number Prefix in this account. NetSuite's documentation and some releases call it Transaction Number Prefix. It's the same field.
In the example, Allow Override is checked on the Invoice row, so the invoice form shows the proposed number before you save. With Allow Override clear, Invoice # reads To Be Generated and the number appears only after saving. What you see before choosing a customer also depends on your invoice form. Either way the saved number follows the same pattern.
01. Review how invoices are numbered now
Go to Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers and click the Document Numbers subtab. Each transaction type has a row with Prefix, Suffix, Minimum Digits, Initial Number, Use Subsidiary, Use Location, Current Number and Allow Override.
The Invoice row has Prefix INV-, Minimum Digits 5 and Current Number 4217, with Allow Override checked. Use Subsidiary is clear, so invoices from Pacific and Atlantic share one sequence and the next one from either would be INV-04218.
02. Number invoices by subsidiary
On the Invoice row, check Use Subsidiary. Leave Use Location clear. A transaction type is numbered by subsidiary or by location, not both.
Click Save. When you come back to the Document Numbers subtab, Use Subsidiary is still checked on the Invoice row. Nothing changes for existing invoices. They keep the numbers they already have.
03. Give each subsidiary a document number prefix
Go to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries. Kestrel Ridge is the parent, with Atlantic and Pacific indented under it. Click Edit beside Pacific.
In Document Number Prefix, type PAC- and click Save. Include the dash if you want one in the number. NetSuite puts the prefix in exactly as you type it.
The saved record shows Subsidiary successfully Saved and Document Number Prefix PAC-.
Go back to the Subsidiaries list, click Edit beside Atlantic, type ATL- in Document Number Prefix and click Save. Set a prefix on every subsidiary that issues invoices. Without one, that subsidiary's invoices can fall back to the ordinary shared sequence, so don't leave it to chance.
Each subsidiary's invoice counter starts at 1. To start somewhere else, set an Initial Number for Invoice on the subsidiary's own Document Numbers subtab, which appears on the subsidiary record once a type uses subsidiary numbering. The walkthrough leaves both at the default. If invoices with these prefixes already exist, for example from a migration, pick a starting number that can't collide with them.
04. Create an invoice for a Pacific customer
Go to Transactions > Sales > Create Invoices. Before a customer is chosen, Invoice # shows INV-04218, the next number in the shared sequence. That's this form with Allow Override checked. Yours may show To Be Generated instead.
In Customer, choose Cascade Summit Lodge. Subsidiary fills in from the customer as Kestrel Ridge : Pacific and Invoice # changes to INV-PAC-00001: the invoice prefix INV-, Pacific's prefix PAC-, and Pacific's own counter starting at 1, padded to five digits.
On the Items subtab, add a Guided Trail Day line with rate 1,850.00 and click Add.
Click Save. The saved invoice is INV-PAC-00001 for Cascade Summit Lodge, subsidiary Kestrel Ridge : Pacific, total 1,850.00.
05. Create an invoice for an Atlantic customer
Go to Transactions > Sales > Create Invoices again and choose Granite Harbor Ski Club. Subsidiary becomes Kestrel Ridge : Atlantic and Invoice # changes to INV-ATL-00001. Atlantic also starts at 00001 because each subsidiary keeps its own counter.
Add the Guided Trail Day line and click Save. The saved invoice is INV-ATL-00001 for Granite Harbor Ski Club under Kestrel Ridge : Atlantic.
06. Confirm that the sequences are separate
Start one more invoice and choose Willow Bend Scout Camp, another Pacific customer. Invoice # proposes INV-PAC-00002. Pacific's counter moved on by one, Atlantic's stays where it is, and the shared Current Number of 4217 didn't carry over into either.
You're done when:
- the Invoice row on the Document Numbers subtab has Use Subsidiary checked and Use Location clear;
- every subsidiary that issues invoices has a Document Number Prefix;
- a new invoice for each subsidiary's customer gets that subsidiary's prefix and its own next number.
Allow Override lets users type their own invoice numbers. That can leave gaps, and typed numbers from users, imports or integrations can clash with generated ones, with a warning or a block depending on your duplicate-number settings. Leave it clear unless people really need to type numbers. To check how a subsidiary gets its prefix in the first place, see how to add a subsidiary under a parent subsidiary.
Common questions
Why did the invoice number change when I chose the customer?
The invoice gets its subsidiary from the customer. Before a customer is chosen, the form shows the next number in the shared sequence, INV-04218 here. Once Cascade Summit Lodge is chosen, Subsidiary becomes Kestrel Ridge : Pacific and NetSuite switches to Pacific's sequence, so Invoice # becomes INV-PAC-00001.
Does turning on Use Subsidiary renumber existing invoices?
No. It only affects invoices created after you save the setting. Old invoices keep their shared-sequence numbers, so your invoice list will mix both styles for a while.
Can I number transactions by both subsidiary and location?
Not for the same transaction type. Each row on the Document Numbers subtab is numbered by subsidiary or by location, so leave Use Location clear when you check Use Subsidiary.
How is a subsidiary-specific number built?
Transaction prefix, then subsidiary prefix, then the number padded to Minimum Digits, then any suffix. With Prefix INV-, subsidiary prefix PAC- and Minimum Digits 5, Pacific's first invoice is INV-PAC-00001 and Atlantic's is INV-ATL-00001.
Why does each subsidiary start again at 1?
Each subsidiary with a prefix keeps its own counter for the transaction type, and it starts at 1 unless you set an Initial Number on the subsidiary's Document Numbers subtab. The shared Current Number, 4217 here, doesn't carry over. Set a starting number before the first invoice if you need the series to continue from somewhere else.
Is it Document Number Prefix or Transaction Number Prefix?
Same field, different labels. This account shows Document Number Prefix on the subsidiary record. NetSuite's documentation and some releases call it Transaction Number Prefix.
What does Allow Override change here?
With Allow Override checked, Invoice # shows the proposed number before you save, and users can edit it. With it clear, Invoice # reads To Be Generated and NetSuite assigns the number when you save. Typed numbers can leave gaps or duplicates, so keep it clear unless people really need to type numbers.