Custom Fields in NetSuite

July 8, 2024

Custom Fields in NetSuite

A Custom Field in NetSuite is a user-defined field that you can add to various records and transactions within NetSuite to capture additional data that is specific to your business needs.

These fields are highly customizable and can be tailored to store information that is not covered by the standard fields available in NetSuite. They can be created for both records and transactions, and can be of different types, such as text, date, checkbox, and more.

Custom Fields are particularly useful for:

Tracking unique data: You can use custom fields to track information that is unique to your company or industry, which is not captured by the default NetSuite setup.

Enhancing reporting: Custom fields can be used in searches and reports, providing more detailed insights into your business operations.

Automating processes: They can be used in workflows and scripts to automate business processes, making them more efficient.

For example, if you need to track the manufacturing date of a product, which is not a standard field in NetSuite, you can create a custom date field for this purpose and add it to the product record.

NetSuite provides a suite of eight distinct custom field categories for records and transactions, each of which can be crafted within specific areas of the NetSuite interface:

Item Fields: These are utilized to enhance item records with additional fields, applicable to various item categories such as inventory, non-inventory, service, group, kit/package, and assembly/bill of materials.
Entity Fields: These fields are integrated into entity records to capture additional details. They are relevant for records associated with relationships and employees, including customers, vendors, employees, contacts, partners, and groups.
CRM Fields: Designed to augment CRM records, these fields are added to capture extra information related to activities, marketing, and support, including tasks, events, campaigns, and cases.
Transaction Body Fields: These fields are inserted into the main body of transaction records to provide extra data points for various transactions like purchases, sales, journal entries, and expense reports, encompassing sales orders, invoices, purchase orders, opportunities, web store transactions, and item receipts.
Transaction Line Fields: Implemented within the line-item columns of transaction records, these fields offer additional data capture for line items such as expense, purchase, sales, store, or opportunity items.
Item Number Fields: Tailored to serial and lot numbered inventory records, these fields track specific information for each item or business-specific workflows, such as quality control procedures or recall details.
Other Record Fields: These fields are added to custom records not covered by the aforementioned categories, which include but are not limited to campaign events, classes, competitors, departments, and locations.
Other Sublist Fields: Added to the columns of custom sublists, these fields appear within the line-item columns to capture supplementary information.

How To Create a Custom Field:

Go to Customization > Lists, Records, & Fields > Entity Fields > New.

netsuite custom fields

Input a name or description (up to 200 characters) in the Name Field as per your requirement.
In the Type field, select the kind of custom field you want to create.
If you have chosen List/Record or Multiple Select in the Type field, select the list or record in the List/Record that contains the items for the list field.
The Store Value option, set by default, saves custom field data in NetSuite. Uncheck to avoid saving & Consider setting the field to read-only if not storing values.
Select Show In List to display the field in the record list it’s associated with.
If Store Value is enabled and the field type is one of the specified types, you can index it for global searches.
When creating a List or Record field, use Record is Parent to establish a parent-child relationship with the selected record type.
To deactivate the field at a later time, select the Inactive checkbox.
Once a custom field is established, it’s important to specify the record types that will utilize this field.
After Completion, click on Save