SuiteCommerce In Store (or SCIS) is NetSuite’s user-friendly point-of-sale platform for businesses already on NetSuite.  In contrast to the more robust NetSuite Point-of-Sale (or NSPOS) platform for enterprise users, SCIS is designed to be run on tablets and features a minimalistic user interface designed for fast order processing and quick onboarding of new sales staff.  While SCIS is a good platform for certain customers, it is not a fit for all businesses – especially those with complex requirements.  In this post, I’ve review five signs that SCIS may not be the right point-of-sale interface for your organization.

In previous posts, I’ve shown how simple, single-state workflows can be used to automate actions like sending emails and setting default field values.  In this post, we’ll build upon those basic skills and create a multi-state approval workflow that will guide a transaction through a series of review and approval steps.  While I’ll be using a purchase order in my demonstration, this same logic can be applied to practically any transaction type within NetSuite, you may need to add some custom fields if you are adding an approval process onto a record that doesn’t typically support approvals (such as a quote).

NetSuite has two different options for creating customized PDF templates – Transaction Form PDF Layouts and Advanced PDF/HTML Templates.  Transaction Form PDF Layouts allow users to add or remove fields and adjust field order and placement, however the general structure is somewhat basic and does not support HTML or the addition of formulas or other logic to the template.  In comparison, Advanced PDF/HTML Templates also allow for the addition, removal, and adjustment of fields, but with the added flexibility of enabling users to directly edit the HTML code of the template.  Since the HTML code is accessible, users have nearly complete control over the look and feel of each PDF and can build custom logic into the body of the template.  For organizations with stringent design requirements or that have complex business logic that drives how information is presented to their customers, Advanced PDF/HTML Templates are the way to go.

NetSuite natively supports direct shipping integration with but UPS and FedEx, which allows users to print shipping labels for a wide variety of service levels for each carrier from within the NetSuite UI.  To expand upon those capabilities, NetSuite also supports the integration of third-parting shipping platforms that connect to hundreds of other carriers, such as USPS, DHL, and even LTL and large freight transportation providers.  These integrations allow for shipment information to be passed back into NetSuite automatically, however the standard functionality that converts UPS and FedEx tracking numbers into links does not work with any other carriers.

In today’s always-connected world, being able to provide instantaneous feedback to your customers has become a requirement of doing business. Using NetSuite’s saved searches and their built-in email features to automate common notifications is an effective way to meet your customers’ expectations without increasing the workload of your team.  Below are five quick and easy email automation that can be achieved entirely within saved searches – with no development or technical knowledge required.

This article is a continuation of my previous post, in which we started setting up a workflow using SuiteFlow to pre-populate several field values within a ticket record used by support staff to help improve their overall efficiency. We began by configuring the workflow itself, and then added a simple automation to set and unset the value of a custom field called “Completed By” based on the value of the “Status” field.  In the second half, we’ll dive deeper into workflows and use joins to source fields from other related records to populate additional fields on the ticket for an even more dynamic automation.

When looking for ways to optimize your business operations, it is tempting to focus on “big wins” – the changes that will yield time savings in the minutes or hours.  However, it can be just as fruitful, if not more so, to find ways to save a few seconds on repetitive tasks that are performed hundreds of times each day by multiple employees. 

NetSuite’s saved search function gives you the ability to develop highly-customized reporting in a simple, point-and-click interface.  In previous posts, I’ve highlighted some of the more advanced techniques that can be used when creating saved searches within NetSuite, including formulas and SQL statements.  In contrast, this article will address one of the easiest-to-use and most powerful features available within saved searches – automated email alerts.  With just a few clicks, you can create automated emails that are specifically tailored to the unique processes of your business, all without any coding or development background.

Using NetSuite’s saved searches feature is one of the easiest and most effective ways to segment data and create custom reporting without requiring a technical background.  Not only can you harness both standard and custom field values as search criteria and in search results, but you can also use formulas and SQL statements to include calculated values within your searches.  In this post, I’ll share five of my favorite ways to use formulas to make your searches even more powerful – including tricks for generating dynamic links within searches, adding custom highlighting on individual text values, consolidating values into a single column, and more.

NetSuite’s saved search feature is a powerful tool that allows you to create customized reports based on your unique criteria.  Saved searches can be created for standard record types as well as custom records, and can even use formulas and SQL statements to accommodate more complex criteria or display more dynamic results.