Price Purchase Orders from a Purchase Contract in NetSuite

The quick answer

Put the negotiated price on a purchase contract, then pick that contract on each purchase order line. Go to Transactions > Purchases > Enter Purchase Contracts, choose the Vendor, set the Start Date and End Date, and on the Items subtab enter the item's Base Rate. Quantity breaks go in the line's Additional Pricing dialog. Save. On the purchase order, NetSuite doesn't pick the contract for you: select it in the line's Purchase Contract column. The Rate then comes from the contract and follows its tiers when you change the Quantity. The contract's Purchased Amount goes up once the order is saved.

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 the Purchase Orders and Purchase Contracts features, and a role that can create purchase contracts and purchase orders. The example uses the Administrator role. If Enter Purchase Contracts or the Purchase Contract column is missing, check the role's permissions and the transaction form.

In this example, a pump manufacturer buys cast pump housings from Tamarack Castings. The item's normal purchase price is 64.00 each. Purchasing negotiated 58.50 each through March 2027, and 55.00 each on any order of 250 or more. Buyers keep getting 64.00 on new purchase orders because nothing in NetSuite knows about the deal.

Everything is in one subsidiary, US dollars, and one unit of measure (Ea). The contract isn't routed for approval, so it saves as Active. With approval routing, a new contract waits for approval first. This account's standard purchase order form shows the contract as a column on the item lines. Some forms also have a header-level Purchase Contract field that applies one contract to the whole order.

01. Confirm purchase contracts are on

Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features and open the Transactions subtab. Under Basic Features, Purchase Orders and Purchase Contracts should both be checked. If either is clear, an administrator checks it and clicks Save.

The Transactions subtab of Enable Features, where Basic Features lists checked boxes including Purchase Orders and, marked by a red arrow, Purchase Contracts. — Purchase Orders and Purchase Contracts are both checked under Basic Features.

02. Check the price orders use today

Open the item, Cast Pump Housing here, and its Purchasing/Inventory subtab. Purchase Price is 64.00. Without a contract, a purchase order line for this vendor and item starts at the rate NetSuite normally sources, which here is that purchase price.

The Purchasing/Inventory subtab of Cast Pump Housing with Average Cost 64.00, Last Purchase Price 64.00, and a red arrow pointing to Purchase Price 64.00. — The item's Purchase Price is 64.00, the rate new orders get today.

03. Enter the contract header

Go to Transactions > Purchases > Enter Purchase Contracts. If you use requests for quote, awarding RFQ lines to a vendor can create a contract too. This guide enters one from scratch.

The Transactions menu with Purchases expanded and Enter Purchase Contracts highlighted in its submenu, between Enter Requests For Quote and Enter Blanket Purchase Order, with its List and Search options beside it. — Transactions > Purchases > Enter Purchase Contracts.

Select Vendor Tamarack Castings. Enter Start Date 10/01/2026 and End Date 03/31/2027. Leave Effectivity Based On at Order Date, so any purchase order dated in that range qualifies. The other choice, Expected Receipt Date, uses each line's expected receipt date instead, which matters for orders placed before the end date but received after it. With that setting, enter the expected receipt date on each purchase order line.

Enter Maximum Amount 20,000.00, the most you plan to spend under the contract. Minimum Amount is the least you committed to order over the contract period. Neither amount blocks a purchase order. When contracts go through approval routing, the maximum sets the contract's approval level. Under Classification, select the Subsidiary that will place the orders, Example Supply US here.

A new Purchase Contract with Vendor Tamarack Castings, Effectivity Based On Order Date, Start Date 10/01/2026, End Date 03/31/2027, Maximum Amount 20,000.00, an empty Minimum Amount, and Subsidiary Example Supply US. — Vendor, dates, Order Date effectivity, a 20,000.00 maximum, and the subsidiary.

04. Add the negotiated prices and save

On the Items subtab, select Item Cast Pump Housing and enter Base Rate 58.50. The base rate is the contract price before any quantity tier applies. Leave Update Item Vendor clear. Checking it copies the contract price into the item's vendor pricing, and then that price becomes the default even on orders that don't use the contract.

The contract's Items subtab with a line for Cast Pump Housing, units Ea, a red arrow pointing to Base Rate 58.50, the Additional Pricing plus icon beside it, and Update Item Vendor unchecked. — Cast Pump Housing at a Base Rate of 58.50. Update Item Vendor stays clear.

Click the Additional Pricing icon on the line. Leave Calculate Quantity Discounts at by Line Quantity and Price Using at Rate. With those settings, a line's whole quantity gets the rate of the highest tier it reaches. The first row, From Quantity 0, already carries the 58.50 base rate. Add a row with From Quantity 250 and Rate or Lot Price 55.00. Percent Discount shows the tier against the base rate as a negative number, about -5.98% here. Click OK.

The Additional Pricing dialog with Calculate Quantity Discounts by Line Quantity and Price Using Rate, and two tiers: From Quantity 0 at 58.50 with 0.0% discount, and From Quantity 250 at 55.00 with -5.98290598% discount. — Two tiers: 58.50 from quantity 0, and 55.00 from quantity 250.

Click Add on the item line, then Save. The contract is saved as PC12 with status Active. Its Summary shows Purchased Amount, Received Amount, and Billed Amount all at 0.00, because no order uses it yet.

Saved Purchase Contract PC12 for Tamarack Castings with status Active, Maximum Amount 20,000.00, and a Summary showing Purchased Amount, Received Amount, and Billed Amount of 0.00. — PC12 is Active with nothing purchased against it yet.

05. Select the contract on a purchase order

Go to Transactions > Purchases > Enter Purchase Orders and select Vendor Tamarack Castings. The order Date is 10/05/2026, inside the contract's dates.

A new Purchase Order on the Standard Purchase Order form with Vendor Tamarack Castings, Date 10/05/2026, and Summary Total 0.00. — A new order for Tamarack Castings, dated 10/05/2026.

On the Items subtab, select Item Cast Pump Housing and enter Quantity 150. The line prices at the item's normal Rate, 64.00, for an Amount of 9,600.00. The Purchase Contract column is empty.

A purchase order line for 150 Cast Pump Housing with a red arrow pointing to Rate 64.00, Amount 9,600.00, and an empty Purchase Contract field. — Before the contract: 150 at 64.00 is 9,600.00, and Purchase Contract is empty.

Open the line's Purchase Contract list. It shows the contracts for this vendor that include the item and are effective for the order, in the order's subsidiary and currency. Here that's only Purchase Contract #PC12. Select it.

The Purchase Contract list open on the purchase order line, offering Purchase Contract #PC12, while the line still shows Rate 64.00 and Amount 9,600.00. — The list offers Purchase Contract #PC12.

The Rate changes to 58.50, the contract's base rate, and the Amount to 8,775.00. The rate is now set by the contract and can't be typed over.

The purchase order line with Purchase Contract #PC12 selected and a red arrow pointing to Rate 58.50, now shown as plain text, with Amount 8,775.00. — With PC12 on the line, 150 at 58.50 is 8,775.00.

06. Order past the quantity break and save

Change Quantity to 300. That reaches the 250 tier, so the Rate becomes 55.00 and the Amount 16,500.00.

The purchase order line with Quantity 300, a red arrow pointing to Rate 55.00, Amount 16,500.00, and the purchase contract still selected. — At 300 the line moves to the 55.00 tier: 16,500.00.

Click Add, then Save. PO2318 is saved with a Total of 16,500.00, the one line's amount, since the order has no tax, shipping, or expense lines. Its line shows Quantity 300, Rate 55.00, and Purchase Contract Purchase Contract #PC12.

Saved purchase order PO2318 for Tamarack Castings dated 10/05/2026 with Total 16,500.00, and an item line of 300 Cast Pump Housing at 55.00 for 16,500.00, with a red arrow pointing to the Purchase Contract #PC12 link. — PO2318 saved at 16,500.00, with Purchase Contract #PC12 on the line.

07. Check what the contract has tracked

Click the line's Purchase Contract link to open PC12. The Summary now shows Purchased Amount 16,500.00, under the 20,000.00 maximum. Received Amount and Billed Amount stay at 0.00 until the housings are received and billed.

Purchase Contract PC12 with Maximum Amount 20,000.00 and a Summary showing Purchased Amount 16,500.00, Received Amount 0.00, and Billed Amount 0.00. — PC12 now shows 16,500.00 purchased against its 20,000.00 maximum.

On the Related Records subtab, Purchase Orders lists PO2318, Pending Receipt, for 16,500.00.

The Related Records subtab of PC12, where Purchase Orders lists PO2318 dated 10/05/2026, Pending Receipt, for 16,500.00, with a total of 16,500.00. — The order behind the 16,500.00: PO2318.

Check the result

The purchase order line shows the contract in its Purchase Contract column.
The line rate matches the contract tier for its quantity: 58.50 below 250, 55.00 from 250.
The contract's Purchased Amount includes the order's line amount.
Related Records on the contract lists the purchase order.

If a line still shows the item's normal price, check that the contract is selected on that line, and that the order date falls between the contract's start and end dates.

Common questions

Why does my purchase order still show the item's old price?

Usually because no contract is selected on that line. The purchase price is only where the line starts. In this example, the 150-unit line sat at 64.00 until Purchase Contract #PC12 was picked in the line's Purchase Contract column, and then it dropped to 58.50. If the contract isn't in the list at all, check the vendor, the item on the contract, and the dates.

Does NetSuite pick the purchase contract automatically?

Not on this form. The buyer selects the contract on each line. Once it's selected, NetSuite sets the rate from the contract and you can't type over it. Some forms have a header-level Purchase Contract field that applies one contract to the whole order.

What does Effectivity Based On do?

It decides which date has to fall between the contract's start and end dates. Order Date checks the purchase order's date, so PC12 applies to any order dated 10/01/2026 through 03/31/2027. Expected Receipt Date checks each line's expected receipt date instead. Once the relevant date is past the end date, the contract stops showing up for new lines.

How is Base Rate different from the Additional Pricing tiers?

Base Rate is the contract price before any tier kicks in, 58.50 here. The tiers in Additional Pricing set lower rates from a quantity, 55.00 from 250. With by Line Quantity and Price Using set to Rate, the whole line gets the rate of the highest tier it reaches, so all 300 units cost 55.00. Marginal Rate prices each band of the quantity at its own rate instead.

What do Minimum Amount and Maximum Amount do?

Minimum Amount is the total you committed to buy over the contract period. It isn't a minimum per purchase order. Maximum Amount is the most you plan to spend under the contract, and with approval routing it sets the contract's approval level. Neither one stops you from saving a purchase order.

What happens when purchases go past the maximum?

Nothing blocks the order by default. The contract keeps adding to Purchased Amount, and depending on your account, NetSuite can alert you as purchases get close to the maximum. Check the contract's Summary and its Related Records to see how much of the commitment is used and which orders used it.