The quick answer
With the Electronic Bank Payments SuiteApp, create the timing at Payments > Setup > Payment Schedule > New: a name, a Time Zone, Event Type Creation, a Recurrence such as Monthly Event on a day of the month, and a Start Time. Next Scheduled Date fills in on its own. The schedule does nothing until a batch uses it, so edit the company bank under Payments > Setup > Bank Details, pick the schedule in the vendor line's Payment Schedule on the Batch Details subtab, click OK, and save. The line's saved search still decides which bills are picked up. The schedule decides when the batch is built.
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 Electronic Bank Payments SuiteApp installed and a company bank record set up for EFT, here Operating Account with the ACH - CCD/PPD template. Each company bank can hold several batch definitions on its Batch Details subtab. A definition names a saved search of bills and one or more payment schedules.
Scheduled batches are part of the SuiteApp's automated batch processing, which needs the Electronic Bank Payments license and its scheduled script deployment active. The bank also has to be set up for automatic processing. In most accounts that's Process Bills Automatically on the bank's EFT settings, where the bank's format offers it. Vendors need EFT Bill Payment checked and valid bank details. Configuring schedules, approving batches and processing payment files can each take different permissions. The example uses an Administrator.
In the example, the vendor batch has a saved search, Bills Due for EFT, but no schedule. Someone has been generating the bill payment file by hand each month. The goal is to have NetSuite build the vendor batch on the 5th of every month at 4:00 am Central.
01. Review the bank's batch definitions
Go to Payments > Setup > Bank Details and click View on the Operating Account row. Its EFT Template is ACH - CCD/PPD.
Click the Batch Details subtab. Employee reimbursements uses the saved search Expense Reports Approved for EFT and the schedule Fridays 7:00 am. Vendor bills due uses Bills Due for EFT, but its Schedule column is empty. Nothing builds that batch automatically.
02. Create the payment schedule
Go to Payments > Setup > Payment Schedule > New. Schedule Type shows Credit, because this schedule is for outgoing payments. Direct debit collections use Debit.
Fill in the header:
- Name: Vendor EFT - 5th at 4:00 am. Name and Time Zone are required.
- Time Zone: the time zone the run should follow. The example uses (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
- Event Type: Creation. A Creation run executes the line's saved search and creates or updates the Open batch with newly eligible bills. Closing is the other type. It routes the Open batch onward, to Pending Approval when approval routing applies.
On the Recurrence subtab, set Recurrence to Monthly Event. Monthly Option stays Day. In Day of Month, type 5 and press Tab. The form shows "of every month" after it, and Next Scheduled Date fills in with 10/05/2026, the next 5th. You don't type that date. NetSuite calculates it and moves it forward after each run.
In Start Time, choose 4:00 am. Start times come in half-hour steps. Click Save. The saved schedule shows Event Type Creation, Monthly Event on Day 5 of every month, Next Scheduled Date 10/05/2026 and Start Time 4:00 am.
Saving the schedule alone creates nothing. It needs a batch line to use it.
03. Add the schedule to the vendor batch line
Go to Payments > Setup > Bank Details and click Edit on the Operating Account row. Click the Batch Details subtab, then click the Payment Schedule cell of the Vendor bills due line. The list is a multiple select, so a line can use more than one schedule. Select Vendor EFT - 5th at 4:00 am, then click OK.
Click Save. On the Batch Details subtab, the Vendor bills due line now shows Vendor EFT - 5th at 4:00 am in the Schedule column, next to Bills Due for EFT.
Check the result (example values)
- Before, the Vendor bills due line had Bills Due for EFT but an empty Schedule column.
- The schedule Vendor EFT - 5th at 4:00 am is a Creation schedule, Monthly Event on Day 5, Start Time 4:00 am.
- Its Next Scheduled Date is 10/05/2026.
- The Vendor bills due line now shows Vendor EFT - 5th at 4:00 am in the Schedule column.
From 10/05/2026, the SuiteApp's scheduled process is expected to pick up the schedule around 4:00 am Central on the 5th, run Bills Due for EFT and create or update an Open bill payment batch from the bills it returns. NetSuite still applies its own payment checks, so a bill on hold or a vendor without valid bank details can drop out even if the search returns it. That process polls on its own cadence, so the batch usually shows up some time after the start time, not at that exact minute.
A Creation schedule doesn't submit the batch. Submit it yourself, or add a Closing schedule to the same line to route it onward. The payment file comes later. Once the batch is submitted and any approval your account requires is done, NetSuite queues a Payment File Administration record and builds the ACH file. Check that record for errors. It doesn't send that file to the bank. Upload it through the bank's own channel unless a bank integration does it for you.
Common questions
Why doesn't my payment schedule create any batches?
A schedule only runs once a Batch Details line on the company bank uses it. Check that the schedule is selected in the line's Payment Schedule, that the line isn't inactive, and that the bank is set up for automatic processing, usually Process Bills Automatically. The line's saved search also has to return bills that are eligible for payment.
What's the difference between the Creation and Closing event types?
Creation runs the line's saved search and creates or updates the Open batch with newly eligible bills. Closing takes the Open batch and routes it onward, to Pending Approval when approval routing applies. Closing doesn't build a batch, and Creation doesn't submit one.
What does Next Scheduled Date mean on a payment schedule?
It's the date of the next run, calculated from the recurrence. You don't type it. In the example, Monthly Event on day 5 gives 10/05/2026, and the date moves forward after each run.
Why did my scheduled batch run later than the start time?
The SuiteApp's scheduled process picks up payment schedules on its own cadence, so the run lands some time after the Start Time rather than at that exact minute. If the batch never shows up, check the schedule's line assignment and the bank's automatic processing setting.
Does a Creation payment schedule generate the bank file?
No. It only creates or updates the Open batch. The batch still has to be submitted, by you or by a Closing schedule, and get through any approval before NetSuite builds the payment file.
What does Schedule Type Credit mean?
Credit marks a schedule for outgoing payments, such as vendor bill payments. Direct debit collections use Debit. For a monthly run on a set day, choose Monthly Event, leave Monthly Option at Day, and type the day in Day of Month.