Understanding how to build a NetSuite workflow is essential for improving task management within your business operations. This guide demonstrates a workflow that leverages a saved search condition.
In this article, we’ll provide step-by-step guidance on how to design a NetSuite workflow. Our example features a workflow that assigns a task (due in 5 days) to the sales representative linked to a customer record. The purpose of the assigned task is to reach out to the customer since their Master Service Agreement (MSA) will expire in one week.
This specific workflow example showcases the use of the custom field feature in NetSuite. For more details on how to handle custom fields in NetSuite, take a look at our training article on Creating Custom Fields.
Step 1: Create the Saved Search
1) Log in to your NetSuite Administrator Role and navigate to Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches > Select New.
2) In the New Saved Search options, choose "Customer."
3) Enter your preferred search title, like "Customer Won Status."
4) Under Criteria > Filter, choose "Status" > Select "Customer-Closed Won" > click "Set."
5) Under Criteria > Filter, select "MSA Expiration (Custom)" > "on" "same day next week" > click "Set."
6) Under Criteria > Filter, select "MSA Signed (Custom)" > Select "Yes" > click "Set."
Note: "MSA expiration" and "MSA signed" are two custom fields created for our customer record. For more guidance on setting up custom fields in your own NetSuite account, refer to our article on Creating Custom Fields.
At this stage, your Saved Search form should resemble the image below:
7) Under Results > Choose "Sales Rep" > Click "Add."
8) Under Results > Choose "Status" > Click "Add."
9) Under Results > Choose "MSA Expiration (Custom)" > Click "Add."
10) Under Results > Choose "MSA Signed (Custom)" > Click "Add."
Your Saved Search form should now show the image below. The fields included here will be the columns visible when reviewing your saved search. So, remember to include the fields you'd like to display in your saved search results.
11) Click "Save & Run" in the top left corner to verify that your saved search is functioning as intended.
The Saved Search runs and identifies three customers that meet our criteria. It should present all the customers that align with the filtered criteria (i. customer closed-won status, ii. MSA expiring in one week, and iii. MSA is signed). In summary, after clicking "Save & Run," it will produce a list of customers with a closed-won status, an MSA expiring in one week, and an MSA that is signed.
If your Saved Search operates correctly, you can proceed to Step 2.
Step 2: Create the Workflow
1) Navigate to the Customization tab > Workflow > Workflows > Select "New."
2) In the Name field, type your desired name, such as "Customer Follow Up."
3) In the ID field, enter your preferred ID, such as "_customer_follow_up."
Tip: We often find it helpful to add an underscore in the ID fields manually because NetSuite automatically assigns a prefix to the internal ID, making it easier for developers to input and read during their development.
4) For Record Type > Select "Customer" and for subtypes > select "Customer."
5) In the Description field, provide an optional description of the workflow, such as "This Workflow assigns a task (due in 5 days) to the sales rep to follow up with a customer whose Master Service Agreement expires in precisely one week."
6) For now, set the release status to "Testing" and maintain instance and history as "only when testing."
7) Check the box for "enable logging."
8) For Initiation, select "scheduled" to configure the workflow to run automatically every night at midnight.
9) For the Saved Search Filter, choose your saved search filter (customer-won status).
10) Ensure the Repeat box is checked (if it isn't already).
11) Set Frequency to "daily."
12) For the scheduled from date, select today's date.
13) Set Execution time to 12:00 am.
14) Click "Save."
At this stage, your workflow should look like the image below.
1) Click on the gray box labeled "State 1."
2) Click on "+ New Action" in the bottom right corner (shown in the image below).
3) Select "Create Record."
4) Under Parameters > Record Type, choose "Task."
5) Under Field > Select Title > In the Text field, enter your task title, such as "Follow Up with Customer (MSA Expiring in 7 Days)" > Click Add.
6) Under Field > Select "Due Date" > for the date, select "five days from now" > Click Add.
7) Under Field > Select "Assigned" > for Formula, input "{salesrep.id}" > Click Add.
8) Under Field > Select "Company" > for selection, choose "current record" > for join, select "company" > Click Add.
9) Choose your saved search condition, "customer won status."
At this point, your workflow action should resemble the image below.
10) Now, go ahead and click the "Save" button. You are now ready to test the workflow!
Step 3: Test the Workflow
1) In Workflow Edit mode, click the pencil icon (indicated in the image below).
2) Click "Execute Now" to perform a test run of your Workflow.
3) Go to the Activities tab > Scheduling > Select Tasks.
4) Here, you can check if the workflow assigned a task after you clicked "Execute Now." Click View on the task.
5) In the Task record, click the "Related Records" subtab to view the company that the sales rep needs to follow up with.
6) In the Task record, click on the "System Information" subtab to access the system notes. You should see that your workflow created the task.
Conclusion
That wraps up our NetSuite Workflow tutorial! We trust this has been useful and that you can now utilize workflows to enhance your business processes. Thanks for reading!
