ANS-1173 · ACCOUNTING & FINANCIAL CONFIGURATION
Why Are Voided Transactions Automatically Approved in NetSuite?
NetSuite's system automatically approves voided journal entries, a design decision that prevents manual approval workflows and script modifications.
Short answer
NetSuite's system is designed to automatically approve voided transactions, which generate journal entries. This behavior, implemented in the 2011.1 release, prevents script modifications and manual approval processes for these specific journal entries.
Scenario
Organizations often require all journal entries, including those generated by voiding transactions, to undergo a supervisor or manager approval process for audit compliance and accuracy. However, since the 2011.1 release, NetSuite's system automatically approves voided transactions, preventing any script-based modifications or manual approval steps. This creates a challenge for businesses needing to enforce strict approval policies for all journal entries.
Solution
NetSuite's development team has confirmed that the automatic approval of voided transactions is an intentional design behavior and will not be reversed. This is based on the requirement from the majority of customer use cases, which do not see a business justification for approving voided financial transactions. Voided transactions are intended to remain intact, with only non-GL posting edits, such as changes to the memo field, being permissible. Therefore, there is no current workaround or scripting option to enable manual approval for system-generated voided journal entries.
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