Creating custom reports in NetSuite

NetSuite offers a number of reports out of the box.  In cases where these reports do not meet a specific business requirement or reporting objective, they can be customized using NetSuite’s standard report builder.  Most of the available modifications, however, deal with changing the format of the content and the manner in which the content is displayed.  For example, reports can be sorted by account number or amount.  Columns can be customized to show a specific time period, or several time periods of different duration.  Additionally, filters can be added or modified to allow dynamic filtering of the content displayed on the screen.

In some circumstances, standard NetSuite reports or statements must be customized beyond the customization abilities available in NetSuite.  For example, you may want to add a custom footer to a printed customer statement.  Another situation might require that a custom logo be printed on a customer statement or report, with the logo being dynamically derived from a custom field on a customer or vendor record.  Additionally, you may want to display data from a joined record type that is not available in the standard report definition.

NetSuite allows scheduled emailing of certain reports.  This can be very useful for internal distribution of frequently-used reports, but many companies require more advanced distribution capabilities.

Through SuiteScript, the custom reporting capabilities of NetSuite are nearly endless.  Take a look at the following example of a client’s requirement that was solved by the RSM Application Development and Integration team:

ABC Company sends customer statements to certain customers on a scheduled basis, two times per month.  Certain sales reps have requested that their own company logo be printed on the customer statement instead of the ABC Company logo.  Additionally, Accounts Receivable transactions that are marked as “Exclude from Statement” (through a custom check box field) must be excluded from the customer statement.

Result:

After designing a customized solution in NetSuite, customer statements are now automatically distributed twice per month using the following specifications:

1. Custom logos are stored in a custom field on the sales rep record
2. Statements are automatically generated on the 1^st and 15^th of each month. The process runs overnight.  Any transactions marked as “Exclude from Statement” are not included in the customer statement PDF.
3. If the customer requests statements to be emailed, the individual statement is automatically emailed to the customer when the process runs.
4. For customers who prefer a printed statement, one PDF is created and stored in the file cabinet, which holds all customer statements that must be printed and mailed the next day.
5. Each statement that gets generated is also stored on the “Files” subtab of the customer record, so that it can be easily referenced and re-printed if necessary.
6. If a custom logo exists on the sales rep record, that logo is printed on the customer statement. If no custom logo is found, the standard ABC Company logo is shown on the statement.
7. When the process is completed, an email is sent to an individual within ABC Company, notifying him/her that the statement run has been completed, and the PDF containing the statements is ready to be printed.

To learn more about the custom reports feature or others related to your NetSuite solution, Contact RSM at erp@rsmus.com or by phone at 855.437.7202. RSM is a nationally recognized NetSuite Solution Provider with more than 30 years of ERP implementation experience.

By: Chris Bleile – Iowa NetSuite Solution Provider

Chris Bleile