Deleting Fields In NetSuite

Imagine a desk covered with rows of post-its, piles of paperwork, scraps of old contracts, and legal pads filled with notes. Undoubtedly, there are some key pieces of data within this jumble, but what executive has time to sit there and sort them out? The most accurate analyses do no good if they're lost within a sea of irrelevant information. Business software suites such as NetSuite exist to provide a streamlined solution to these problems, organizing your corporate data so you can actually use it. However, even NetSuite can get messy. This program is highly customizable, but additional fields can become cumbersome. In the following blog, we explain how to delete fields in NetSuite so you can free up more space in your system and make better use of all its benefits.

Why Would You Need to Delete a Field?

One of the many advantages of NetSuite is that it allows you to create custom fields, or "fields that you can add to your records and transactions to record information specific to your business needs."NetSuite's own guide on Customization" includes 50 pages of detailed instructions on just this feature.

Despite their myriad uses (which SCS Cloud would be happy to help you utilize), sometimes these fields can get in the way. Perhaps at one time you needed a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) field to track a particular campaign, but since that promotion is over, that field is now in the way. Yet again, you might have experimented with the program and added an even more specific transaction field for your accounting team to use, but found that you already had more than enough financial information already at your fingertips. There might even be fields that you thought were useful, but are actually just making your NetSuite software load more slowly without offering any real reward.

Unwanted fields can make NetSuite unnecessarily complex to navigate, obscure the crucial information you really need to run your business, and actually make the program harder to customize to your specifications. Much like throwing away unnecessary papers on your desk, deleting these fields can help simplify your life and maximize your productivity.

The Deletion Debacle

Now that you know how custom fields can clog your NetSuite software, you might be all ready to log in and merrily erase each and every one you aren't using, but not so fast. You see, this software suite is a delicate system. Getting rid of the wrong field could interfere with the formulas at work, creating a domino effect. To save yourself the headache and hassle of a broken system, you'll need to delete fields with caution. Fortunately, we can show you just how to do it.

What To Do

Our friends at FLODocs provide a painless solution to help you organize your operations without causing disastrous deletions. In his article "Use Case: Can I delete this field?," FLODocs Founder, Yasu Fujita, explains that you need to first "determine if something has not been used," which would make it unnecessary, and then find out if "deleting it would cause something else, like a search or script, to break." This two-pronged approach allows you to identify the unwelcome fields and eliminate them in a way that doesn't taint your entire system.

Just performing these two steps would take hours upon hours if you did so manually, but FLODocs has the answer. Their software includes "automatic customization documentation and pre-built searches to quickly and systematically understand [your NetSuite] account." From the "date of last use," you'll be able to tell if a field has become obsolete, and by looking at its "dependencies" you can "identify when that customization is used in Searches/Mass Update, Scripts, Workflows, or in Integration Processes with other systems." If a field is ancient history and removing it won't break your system, you can feel free to delete away!

How Our Team Can Help

The seasoned specialists at SCS Cloud are here to help you leverage NetSuite to your advantage. We know this program forwards and backward, so we can help you design your system from the ground up and handle more complex concerns. Our team can configure your NetSuite account according to your needs and preferences, reducing your risk of stacking up undesirable custom fields. In addition, if you desperately want to delete a field, but you find that it is part of a vital script, we may be able to create a workaround for you. We can also recommend complementary applications to further enhance NetSuite, such as FLODocs

Make the Most of NetSuite

Do you want to upgrade your business management system? Do you have more questions about NetSuite? SCS Cloud can help your company succeed with this software suite. Contact us today to learn more about NetSuite and schedule a free consultation.