Mastering the basics of NetSuite requires knowing how to navigate the most important record types, such as vendor and customer records. This guide, and video tutorial, are here to show you everything you need to know about navigating customer records! (We also created a tutorial on navigating vendor records!)
What is a Customer Record in NetSuite?
A customer record consists of either a company or individual who has made a purchase in the past. Customers have transactions, such as quotes or sales orders, which are associated with their Customer record in NetSuite. You can use customer records to view important information about each customer or to edit important details.
Navigating Customer Records in NetSuite
First, you'll need to navigate to the customer record.
- Click on customers in the shortcut portlet. Note that this may look different depending on your NetSuite installation.
- Now, you'll see a list of customers. Click on the view button on the left-hand side to open up that customer's record
The primary information section at the top of the customer record is where you'll see some general information such as the company's name, company type, and sales rep. If you ever have questions about what information in a field means, you can click on the title of the field and a small box will appear with more information about that field.
Customer Record Subtabs
At the bottom of the customer record is the subtabs section. These will vary based on your company's needs, so we're just going to go over the most commonly used ones here.
Relationships Subtab
This subtab shows a list of all contacts related to this customer. It shows their name, company, job title, phone number, email, and role. The role usually denotes which contact is the primary contact for the customer.
Addresses Subtab
This subtab shows a list of all the addresses on file for the customer, including the default shipping and default billing address. There can only be one default shipping address and one default billing address. These addresses will default into the addresses field whenever a new transaction is created for this customer.
Sales Subtab
The sales tab shows a list of all sales and potential sales with this customer. The items purchased tab, within the sales subtab, breaks down what items the customer has purchased. This includes the item's name, brief description, quantity, purchase price, and last purchase date.
Financial Subtab
The Financial tab shows financial information about the customer's account. Payment terms and balance information are both shown.
Communication Subtab
The communication tab keeps a record of all emails sent from NetSuite to the customer. The files tab within the communications sub-tab is where all files related to the customer are generally stored.
Support Subtab
The support sub-tab shows support tickets for the customer. This could include Warranty claims or returns.