How to Set Up an Installment Payment Term in NetSuite

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

A standard term like Net 30 gives an invoice one due date, so the whole balance ages from that date. An installment term gives each payment its own due date, so aging and collections only see the installments that are late.

You need the Installments feature turned on and a role that can create terms and invoices. Turning the feature on takes an administrator. Without the feature, the Term form has no Installment box. Installments cover customer invoices and vendor payments. This guide walks through an invoice. A vendor bill shows its schedule in the same place, but the schedule on a bill is more restricted to edit than on an invoice. For a bill from a purchase order, set the installment term on the purchase order first, and the bill inherits the schedule. Paid installments can't be changed on either record.

This is also different from an Advanced Billing schedule. An installment term keeps one invoice and gives it several due dates. A billing schedule generates several invoices over time.

The example is a standalone invoice in the base currency with no tax, shipping or discount, for a customer whose usual term is Net 30. Tax and shipping allocation depends on the term and your account's tax settings, so this example doesn't show how taxable invoices split. Where your Term form offers Pay Tax Upfront, it controls whether tax goes on the first installment. The form in this walkthrough doesn't show that box, so decide that deliberately on your own taxable invoices. OneWorld accounts can also have subsidiary-level installment preferences. You define installment terms on the Term form, not on the customer.

If you create the invoice from a sales order instead, it can inherit the order's term rather than the customer's. A sales order can show the schedule, but you edit the schedule on the invoice. Menu paths and field layout are the ones in this account, and the Term form can differ by role and form. If a page isn't where it says, search for its name in global search.

01. Confirm Installments is on

Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features and open the Accounting subtab. Under Advanced Features, Installments should be checked. If it isn't and you're an administrator, check it and click Save.

Enlarge

02. Open the Term form

Go to Setup > Accounting > Accounting Lists > New. On Add to Accounting Lists, click Term.

Enlarge

03. Define the installment term

Type 3 Monthly Payments in Terms. Type 15 in Days Till Net Due. The first installment is due that many days after the invoice date. Then check Installment.

NetSuite grays out % Discount, Days Till Discount Expires and the Date Driven fields, because installment terms don't take early-payment discounts. The recurrence fields appear below.

Enlarge

Set Recurrence Frequency to Monthly. The list also offers Annually, Daily and Weekly. Type 3 in Recurrence Count for three payments in total, the first one included. The generated rows on the invoice are the real check, so count them later. Type 1 in Repeat Every, so each payment falls one month after the one before. Leave Split Evenly checked so the three amounts come out equal. If you clear it, you enter each installment's share on the term instead.

Enlarge

04. Save the term

Click Save. The saved term shows Days Till Net Due 15, Installment checked, Monthly, Recurrence Count 3, Repeat Every 1 month(s) and Split Evenly checked.

Enlarge

05. Enter the invoice

Go to Transactions > Sales > Create Invoices. Set Date to 09/24/2026 and choose Summit Dental Group in Customer. The customer's usual term, Net 30, fills in and sets Due Date to 10/24/2026. On the Items subtab, choose Conference Room Furnishing Package and click Add. The line is 2,850.00, and the Summary shows a Total of 2,850.00.

Enlarge

06. Apply the term and read the schedule

Open the Billing subtab. Terms shows the customer's Net 30.

Enlarge

Choose 3 Monthly Payments in Terms. The Installments list appears with three rows, and you should count them and add them up before you save: 950.00 due 10/09/2026, which is 09/24/2026 plus 15 days, then 950.00 due 11/09/2026 and 950.00 due 12/09/2026. Three times 950.00 is 2,850.00, the invoice total.

Leave Override Installments clear. Check it only when this one invoice needs different dates or amounts. NetSuite doesn't rebalance edited rows for you, and they still have to add up to the total before you can save.

Enlarge

Due Date at the top of the invoice also changed, from 10/24/2026 to 10/09/2026. It shows the next unpaid installment, which on a new invoice is the first one, instead of the Net 30 date. You can't edit it separately from the schedule. If the schedule is wrong, fix the term, or use Override Installments where it's available and the rows are still editable.

Enlarge

07. Save the invoice and check it

Click Save. NetSuite opens INV-2041 with a Total and Amount Due of 2,850.00. Invoice numbers depend on your account's numbering.

Enlarge

Enlarge

Check the result

1. On the Billing subtab, Terms is 3 Monthly Payments.
2. Installments lists numbers 1, 2 and 3, due 10/09/2026, 11/09/2026 and 12/09/2026.
3. Each installment has an Amount and Amount Due of 950.00 and a Status of Unpaid, and the three amounts add up to the 2,850.00 total.
4. The invoice's Due Date is 10/09/2026, the next unpaid installment. After payments, it moves to the next one that's still open.

Monthly steps are calendar months, so look closely at any schedule that starts near the end of a month. When a total doesn't divide evenly, check the generated rows to see where the leftover cent lands before you save, and make sure they add up to the full total, tax and shipping included.

Common questions

What do Recurrence Count and Repeat Every mean?

Recurrence Count is the total number of installments, the first one included. Repeat Every is the gap between payments, in the unit you picked in Recurrence Frequency. Monthly, a count of 3 and a Repeat Every of 1 give three payments, one month apart.

How does NetSuite calculate the first due date?

It adds Days Till Net Due to the invoice date. Here that's 09/24/2026 plus 15 days, which is 10/09/2026. Each later payment falls one month after the one before, so the others are 11/09/2026 and 12/09/2026.

Why are the discount fields grayed out?

Installment terms don't support early-payment discounts. When you check Installment, NetSuite grays out % Discount, Days Till Discount Expires and the Date Driven fields.

What does Override Installments do?

It lets you change the generated dates or amounts on one invoice, without changing the term. The rows still have to add up to the invoice total, and paid installments can't be changed. The option isn't always available, and it depends on the form and the state of the transaction.

How does aging work with installments?

Each installment ages from its own due date. If the first one is late, only its balance is past due, and the later ones stay current until their dates arrive.

Where do I see the schedule on a vendor bill?

Look under Installments on the Billing subtab of the bill. The schedule can be harder to edit there than on an invoice, so a bill created from a purchase order normally takes it from the order. This guide only demonstrated the invoice.

Does the customer's usual term still apply?

On a standalone invoice, choosing the customer fills in their usual term, here Net 30. Choosing 3 Monthly Payments replaces it for that invoice. An invoice created from a sales order can inherit the order's term instead.

Why does the invoice show one Due Date?

That field shows the next unpaid installment, 10/09/2026 on a new invoice. The Installments list holds the full schedule.