How to set up subsidiaries and nexus in NetSuite OneWorld

Prerequisites

These steps assume the Administrator role with Use Classic Interface enabled. NetSuite menu paths are role- and centre-dependent, so a custom role may surface different navigation.

• A NetSuite OneWorld account (subsidiaries are a OneWorld capability).
• The Administrator role, or a role with the Subsidiaries and Nexus permissions.
• The country, base currency, and tax registration details for each subsidiary, agreed with the client before you start.

Steps

1. Enable the feature. Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features > Company subtab and confirm the OneWorld / Subsidiaries capability is enabled. Enable Multiple Currencies if subsidiaries will transact in different currencies.
2. Create the subsidiary. Go to Setup > Company > Subsidiaries > New. Set the name, parent subsidiary (building the hierarchy), country, and base currency. Base currency cannot be changed once the subsidiary has any transaction, so confirm it now.
3. Create or confirm the nexus. Go to Setup > Tax > Nexuses and ensure a nexus exists for the subsidiary's tax jurisdiction. Create it if missing, choosing the country/state and the tax agency.
4. Attach the nexus and registration. On the subsidiary record's Nexus subtab, add the nexus, then set the tax registration number and the tax control accounts so transactions post correctly.
5. Assign the subsidiary to records and roles. Set the subsidiary on items, classes, customers and employees as required, and restrict roles to the subsidiaries they should see. This controls visibility and where transactions can post.

Gotchas

• Base currency is immutable once the subsidiary transacts — getting it wrong means creating a new subsidiary and migrating, which is expensive mid-implementation.
• Create any elimination subsidiaries before you turn on Automated Intercompany Management, or the intercompany setup will not line up.
• A subsidiary cannot be deleted once it has transactions — only inactivated — so avoid creating throwaway subsidiaries in production.

Where this bites in an implementation

Subsidiary hierarchy and base currency are among the hardest things to change after go-live. A rushed structure — wrong parent, wrong base currency, or a missing nexus — surfaces as consolidation and tax-reporting problems months later, when unwinding it means re-creating subsidiaries and re-keying history. Designing the hierarchy deliberately up front is the single highest-leverage decision in a OneWorld build.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change a subsidiary's base currency later?

No. Once a subsidiary has any transaction, its base currency is fixed. Confirm currencies during design, before any data is entered.

Do I need a separate nexus per subsidiary?

You need a nexus for each tax jurisdiction a subsidiary is registered in. Subsidiaries in the same jurisdiction can share a nexus; a subsidiary registered in several jurisdictions has several nexuses.