Entering Data

In this video, we’ll take a look at how to enter data into NetSuite. We’re going to cover the basics of entering data into forms, and some features common to most of them, but we will not be delving into any specific type of record. If we wanted to enter a new sales order we could go to Transactions, Sales, and click Enter Sales Order. If we wanted to enter a new customer we could go to Lists, Relationships, Customers, and click New. But both of these entries have something in common, they are both done using forms. In fact, most manual data entry is done using a form. Since I just opened each of these records in a new tab, let’s take a look at them. If we click between the two tabs we should immediately notice something. They look a lot alike. Part of this is because NetSuite has a distinct look and feel that stretches throughout the system. Part of this though is because these are both data entry forms. If I scroll through the Sales Order we can see it has some buttons at the top, followed by a few sections, toward the bottom there are subtabs, and below that is a second set of buttons. If we scroll through the customer form, guess what, it has the same things. Well not the exact same, but they’re very similar. Not only are forms where you enter data, but they are also where you view it. If I open this Lafayette Metal from my recent records, the layout looks almost the exact same as the blank customer form we were just looking at. Right now, we are in view mode, and I can’t change any of the data. I can click edit, and most of these fields become editable. In fact, this is the same layout as what we were just looking at for the new record. All of this may seem simple, but if you have never used NetSuite before, then this might be new to you. Let’s use this Lafayette Metal to look at some things that are common to most forms and records. I do want to give a warning here though. I am using the default forms for NetSuite. Administrators can, and almost always do, customize forms. For this reason yours may look significantly different from what I show here. I am going to duplicate this tab so we can see this record in both view and edit mode, and I can click cancel on either of them to bring me back to view for one of them. The buttons we have in view mode are different than the buttons we have in edit. This makes sense because having an edit button for a record you’re already editing is kind of pointless. Having a save button in view mode, where you can’t make any changes, also seems kind of silly. There are some more things that have changed too. Take a look at this dropdown actions menu. In edit all I can really do is view all transactions, which may or may not be useful to me depending on what I was doing. I also have this delete option down here but that is just because I am an administrator. Normally you won’t see an option like this. In view mode however I have options to generate a price list or statement, as well as view all transactions, and show activity. New just creates a new customer. The distinct parts of forms have names, and they are good to know so you can effectively communicate when talking about NetSuite. These top buttons we were just looking at are called action buttons. In the top right we have the navigation section, because these options are all used to navigate. The arrows take you to the previous and next record. List takes you to a list of records of this type. Dashboard takes you to the dashboard for the record, if there is one. Search takes you to a search builder. This entire area at the top is referred to as the header section. The sections inside the header section in white are called field groups. The places inside of them where data lives are called fields. Below the header section are the subtabs. These are also sometimes just called tabs, because they can contain subtabs of their own; which is the case with Communication. You will probably hear me refer to them as tabs in this course as well. But, technically speaking though, these and these are both called subtabs. This can sometimes make talking about locations in NetSuite a little confusing. At the bottom, we also have a second set of action buttons. These are not all that useful in the rolled-up view we are looking at now, but in the unrolled view they come in handy. If we scroll to the far right of our subtabs, we see this icon with two boxes. Clicking on it switches from the rolled-up view to the unrolled view. In my case I am working on a monitor with a limited amount of resolution so I can effectively record this course. I also have a lot of things enabled in NetSuite. It is likely, and actually desirable that you don’t have to scroll to the right to get to this, but if you do, now you know it’s there. In the unrolled view, I can see everything in one page. This is useful if I want to print out the screen or if I want to use my browser’s find to try to find some specific information here. To the right of each of these blue bars is a square with a triangle pointing upwards. Clicking on any of these changes this form back into the rolled-up view. Some of these subtabs are common between forms however most aren’t. The three that tend to be common between almost all forms however are, Communication, System Information, and Custom, but these can be changed. Communication allows you to attach things such as messages, activities, files, and user notes to a record. System Notes allows you to view what has happened with the record, such as seeing when an address or phone number changed. Custom is where many of the custom fields go by default if they’re not setup on another subtab. If I come back over to the form I left in edit mode, I can see this Custom dropdown. Clicking it reveals that, while I am using the Standard Customer Form, there are several others available to me. Let’s look at this Basic Customer Form. Quite a bit has changed and things have been moved around, but the same pieces still exist for it that did previously. One of the things we don’t see in view mode, but do see in edit mode are these fields with an asterisk next to them. These are required fields and the record will not save until they have been filled out. This is similar to when you fill out information in any other online system. This was just a brief overview of forms in NetSuite. We will cover specific forms as we continue on in this course and get to those sections. Questions this video will answer: • 0:00 – How do I enter data in NetSuite? • 0:15 – How do I enter new records in NetSuite? • 0:25 – How is data entry done in NetSuite? • 0:25 – Where do I enter data in NetSuite? • 0:45 – What are NetSuite data entry forms? • 0:50 – How are forms in NetSuite structured? • 1:20 – What is the difference between view and edit mode? • 1:40 – Can NetSuite forms be changed? • 1:50 – How do I get from edit back to view mode of a record? • 1:55 – Why do the form action buttons sometimes change? • 1:55 – What are form action buttons? • 2:10 – Where are my missing action buttons? • 2:10 – What is the action button drop down? • 2:30 – What are the different parts of NetSuite forms? • 2:40 – Where is the form navigation section? • 2:45 – What do form navigation buttons do? • 2:55 – What is the header section of a record in NetSuite? • 3:00 – What are field groups in a record in NetSuite? • 3:00 – What are fields in NetSuite? • 3:05 – What are tabs and subtabs in NetSuite? • 3:35 – How do I switch between rolled up and unrolled view in NetSuite? • 4:00 – What is the unrolled view used for? • 4:25 – What is the communication subtab for? • 4:25 – Where can I attach emails to a record in NetSuite? • 4:30 – What is the system information subtab for? • 4:30 – Where can I find system notes for a record? • 4:30 – What are system notes used for? • 4:30 – Where can I find what changes have been made to a record? • 4:40 – What is the custom subtab used for? • 4:55 – How do I change the form I am using to enter data in NetSuite? • 4:55 – How do I get to fields that are hidden in NetSuite? • 5:10 – How do I tell if information is required in NetSuite?