NetLease - Connecting to AI (via MCP)
Overview
NetLease integrates with Large Language Models (LLMs) through NetSuite's Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI-assisted automation, analysis, and guidance across asset management operations. This integration allows users to interact with NetLease data directly through LLM applications such as Claude, streamlining lease creation, reconciliations, and reporting processes.
Choice of LLM
There are a growing number of LLMs available for workplace use. At Netgain we use Claude internally, so Claude is the only LLM we've tested and the only one we provide setup instructions for. The tools and MCP connection are product agnostic though, so once you have the tools available in your NetSuite bundle, you can set up a MCP connection with any MCP-compatible LLM and use them as suggested below.
How to Set Up the NetSuite MCP Tool
This video walks through how to set up the general NetSuite MCP tool and connect it with Claude.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
You will need to enable the NetSuite MCP connector (we use Claude in our example) and have a role configured with the correct permissions. The role can either be your existing role with added permissions or a copy of the role if you want to tailor it to the LLM connection. This role is what the LLM uses to access NetSuite and drives its allowable actions.
Setting up the Claude MCP connector and editing the roles in NetSuite require specific, often administrator, privileges. Contact your admin if the steps are not available.
MCP roles cannot have administrator level access per NetSuite's rules.
Oracle's rule, verbatim:
"To prevent unwanted results in case the external AI client's security is at risk, it is not possible to run the NetSuite AI Connector Service if you've logged in to NetSuite with the Administrator role or roles that have full permissions to access NetSuite features."
This means your MCP role cannot be the Administrator role or have the "Core Administration Permissions" box checked. This qualifies as "full permissions" and the role will get an error when trying to connect to Claude.
- Navigate to the SuiteApps marketplace and install NetSuite's MCP Standard Tools.
- You need to add the correct permissions to a role you have access to in NetSuite. That could mean creating a dedicated MCP Role in NetSuite (typically easiest to make a copy of an existing role) or just adding the below permissions to your existing role in NetSuite.
- On the role record, add the following required permissions under Permissions > Setup with the Full level:
- MCP Server Connection
- Log in using OAuth 2.0 Access Tokens
- Add these additional standard permissions depending on what you want AI to be able to process:
| Section | Permission | Suggested Level | Purpose |
| Setup | Manage Accounting Periods | View | Allows the tools to read dates in NetSuite |
| Setup | SuiteScript | Full | (1/2) Allows the tools to kickoff suitescript processes like generating schedules |
| Setup | SuiteScript Scheduling | Full | (2/2) Allows the tools to kickoff suitescript processes like generating schedules |
| Setup | Accounting Preferences | Full | Allows journals to be ran |
AI Error: Search error occurred: Record 'XXXX' was not found.
This error occurs when there is a permission gap most of the time. For example the error message "Search error occurred: Record 'accountingperiod' was not found." surfaces in your AI chat when the permission for Manage Accounting Periods is not included in the role. Telling your AI chat that this is likely the error will help it diagnose the issue and guide you on how to fix it.
- If you want AI to be able to kick off any process in NetLease, make sure the following required permissions under Permissions > Custom Record are added with the Full level:
- NetLease System Job
- NetLease System Job Batch
- Add any additional permissions needed. Anything you want AI to be able to do or look at needs to have that permission granted on this role.
- If creating a new role, assign the role to your employee record. You will have to log out and log back into NetSuite to enable the role.
- In the LLM application, navigate to the LLM settings and add a custom MCP server connection using the following URL format, replacing the account ID with the NetSuite-specific account ID for the environment:
https://td12345.suitetalk.api.netsuite.com/services/mcp/v1/all
- Once the connection has been established, authenticate in NetSuite and select the MCP enabled role set up above.
Custom Connector vs Standard NetSuite Connector
We suggest using the custom connection option as shown in the video and explained because the standard NetSuite connection is known to fail and often is unable to connect. The custom URL option is more stable.
How to Set Up the NetLease Specific Tools
- MCP Tools for NetLease can be downloaded from the SuiteApp listing for NetLease.
- Login to your NetSuite account. Navigate to the SuiteApps Marketplace via the top navigation bar or the search bar and search for NetLease. Open the app.
- Click the Install button in the top left corner.
- A popup will show verifying you want to download the app. Click Install.
Note the popup will describe what you are installing as "NetLease by Netgain - Lease Accounting for NetSuite". You are not installing the full app. You are just installing the MCP tools. This is the name of our full tool and a quirk due to how we are supporting the installation of the MCP tools.
If you need to still download NetLease, that is done through the legacy SuiteBundle path. Reach out to a sales representative if you need to purchase NetLease or your professional services specialist if you have already purchased NetLease.
- Once installed, the button will update to green and say "Installed".
Prompt Suggestions
The following examples illustrate how LLMs can be used in conjunction with NetLease:
Lease Register & Onboarding
- Summarize the lease portfolio by classification, subsidiary, or commencement period and flag leases missing key inputs like location, square footage, or renewal provisions.
- Create a new lease from a set of payment terms, attach the source document, and commence it once the inputs are confirmed. (Note: Binary files like signed PDFs still need to be uploaded directly in NetSuite. But the MCP tools can attach excels.)
Classification & Schedules
- Review a lease's inputs and explain whether it classifies as operating or finance under ASC 842, and what drives that result.
- Generate or regenerate ROU asset and lease liability schedules for a set of leases and summarize the expense and liability balances by period.
Modifications & Remeasurements
- Identify leases with pending term, payment, or scope changes and walk through entering the modification, then preview the remeasurement impact before posting.
- Review recent lease modifications and summarize their effect on the liability and ROU asset, or reverse a modification entered in error.
Payments & Fees
- Summarize scheduled lease payments by lease, period, or subsidiary and flag any that look misaligned with the contract terms.
- Review lease fees and fee types across the portfolio and identify leases where a fee is missing or inconsistently applied.
Billing & Journals
- Run lease billing for the period and summarize the bills generated by lease, subsidiary, and amount.
- Run lease journals for the period and summarize the entries posted by account, lease type, and subsidiary.
Reporting & GL Reconciliation
- Reconcile the NetLease subledger to the NetSuite GL for ROU asset, lease liability, and lease expense, and explain any variances.
- Pull the data needed for quantitative disclosures — maturity analysis, weighted-average lease term, and weighted-average discount rate — and assemble it into a summary table.
Considerations
Using Projects in Your LLM Application
Netgain recommends creating a dedicated Project within the LLM application when using NetLease MCP tools. Projects provide isolated workspaces that offer the following advantages:
- Persistent context — Upload NetLease documentation, reconciliation templates, and configuration files that the LLM references across all conversations.
- Conversation continuity — Previous troubleshooting sessions, feature discussions, and reconciliation analyses remain accessible for reference.
- Tool-specific instructions — Configure the LLM to understand the specific NetSuite environment, custom fields, and reporting preferences.
- Project Skill files — Skill files contain instructions that apply to every conversation within a project, giving the LLM additional context about what actions to perform and how to interpret NetLease data.
Using a dedicated Project prevents interference from unrelated conversations and ensures the LLM maintains full context about the NetLease implementation when querying data, analyzing reconciliations, or troubleshooting issues.
For additional information on using Projects and Skills within specific LLM applications, refer to the documentation for your LLM platform.
For additional information on using Projects and Skills within specific LLM applications, refer to the documentation for your LLM platform:
