How to Navigate NetSuite's Communications Subtab in Customer Records
NetSuite contains a lot of data. It keeps everything organized by sectioning out data into records such as customer records, vendor records, and inventory records.
Learning the basics of NetSuite is the first step to mastering the software, but it's also important to be able to navigate NetSuite's different records. There are a ton of different record types you'll find in NetSuite, but we're here to talk about one of the most common: customer records.
One of the most important features of customer records is being able to view, edit, and log customer communications into NetSuite. Here's everything you need to know about how to use the communications subtab in NetSuite's customer records.
Navigate to the Customer Record
The first thing you need to do is navigate to the customer record you want to view the communications for:
In the top menu bar, click on customers > relationships > customers. Here, you'll see a list of all customers in NetSuite. Once you've found the customer record you're looking for, click view.
NetSuite Customer Record: Communications Subtab
Now that you're in the correct customer record, click on communication in the subtab section, as seen in the screenshot below:
Once you're in the communications subtab, there's a new menu that includes:
- Messages
- Activities
- Files
- Notes
Here, you'll see all of the communications related to the customer record you're in, including anything that was sent through NetSuite or logged into NetSuite. Each communication shows:
- The date
- The user that sent the email
- The recipient
- The subject (which is usually the subject of the email)
- The type of communication
- If any file was attached
- If the communication was sent only to internal employees
Viewing a Specific Communication
To view the contents of a message, click view on the left-hand side. As seen in the screenshot below, a window will pop up showing the content of the message, recipients, attachments, and read receipts.
Replying to Emails through NetSuite
You can also directly reply to an email from the email message window seen above by clicking reply.
Another box will pop up where the recipient is automatically populated. To edit the email, click on the message tab. If you want to upload an email template, click on the attachments tab > + button and upload the email template file from your computer.
Once everything has been completed, click merge & send!
After the email is sent, you'll see the message populate in the main communications subtab.
Sending a New Email in NetSuite
In the communications subtab, click the email button. A new email message will pop up with the same tabs as the reply function: recipients, message, and attachments.
Type up your email in the messages tab or upload an email template using the attachments tab, just like you would if you were replying to an email in NetSuite.
NetSuite Customer Record Communications: Activities Subtab
Next, we're going to look at the activities subtab, located to the right of the messages subtab. The activities subtab shows all activities related to the customer including tasks, phone calls, or events.
Each activity is grouped into two buttons: new activity and log activity. For example, the first two buttons you see are "new task" and "log task". The same goes for phone calls and events.
Making a Phone Call
Let's say you want to make a phone call:
- First, you would click on the new phone call button
- Then, add any relevant information, including the main subject of the phone call, any notes you take while you're on the call, or any related records
- Click save
- Once the call is completed, you'll click the completed button seen at the end of the row in the activities subtab
Logging a Phone Call
If you want to add a phone call that already occurred:
- Click the log phone call button
- Add all of the information you have
- Click save
- The status will automatically be marked as completed in the activities subtab
NetSuite Customer Record Communications: Files Subtab
The files subtab in the customer record is where all files related to the customer are stored. This is where you'll upload any existing or new files, so everything in the customer's account stays up to date!
To attach files that already exist in NetSuite:
- Select the attach existing files dropdown
- Click attach
To upload new files from your computer:
- Click the new file button
- In the pop-up window, make sure you select the proper folder — all files uploaded to NetSuite are required to be assigned to a folder
- Click choose file and select the file from your computer
- Click save
NetSuite Customer Record Communications: User Notes Subtab
The last section under the communications subtab is user notes. This tab shows any notes about the customer, whether it's about an email that was sent, a letter that was sent, or a general note for the account.
To add a new note, click new note. Then, fill out the fields (only the memo section is required. Click save, and now you'll see your note populated in the user notes section!
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