NetSuite uses fairly standard names for records and transactions, but what if your business uses different names than the ones in NetSuite? If that’s your situation, then seeing the standard NetSuite terms could create some confusion for users. Thankfully, NetSuite has addressed this problem by providing a way to change the names of records and transactions. Renaming records and transactions gives your business the flexibility to seamlessly integrate your terminology with your use of NetSuite.
The Renaming Process
To access the Renaming Records and Transactions page, log in as the administrator and navigate to Setup > Company > Rename Records/Transactions. On this page, you can change the names of three entities: relationship records, transactions, and account types.
Relationship Records
First, at the top of this page you can edit the names of relationship records. You can see all of NetSuite’s standard names in the field names. NetSuite has also already populated the fields with the standard name, but you can easily update the name of a record by changing the field. For example, perhaps in your company you use the term “client” instead of “customer,” or you may use “job” instead of “project.” Simply write the new name in the field and save your change.
Transactions
You can update the names of transactions under the Transaction Names subtab. NetSuite provides their original name under the Type column. To change the name, simply alter the Name column. You can also change the abbreviation of the Transactions to correspond with your new Transaction name. Note that this functionality is unique to Transactions—neither the Records nor the Account Types have abbreviations that you can alter.
Account Types
And finally, you can change account names under the Account Type Names. As with Transactions above, you can see the original NetSuite name under the Type column, and you can change the name under the Name column. In the future when you return to this page, the original NetSuite name will still be visible under the Type column whether or not you have changed the name. One unique characteristic of this section is that you can adjust the order of the names. To do this, simply select the account you wish to move and use the “Move to Top” and “Move to Bottom” buttons to relocate the account on the list. Note that the order of accounts in this list does not affect the order that these accounts appear anywhere else in NetSuite.
Potential Problem Areas
NetSuite strives to make the renaming process as seamless as possible, but you should be aware of a few areas that may cause confusion.
Customized Items
When you change the name of a record, transaction, or account item, that name generally updates throughout NetSuite. However, it will not update for any customized items. For example, if you have a custom field, a custom form, or custom tab that uses the previous name, you will need to manually change the name in those areas to reflect your company’s preference.
Different Languages
Another potential problem is that when the administrator renames records or transactions, the new name applies only for the preferred language that is currently set under Set Preferences. In other words, if an administrator who has English set as the preferred language makes a name change for a record, then when a user with French set as the preferred language logs in, they will not see a comparable name change in their language. In order to update a record or transaction name for every language used by your company, you will need to rotate through setting each language as your preferred language under Set Preferences and updating the record or transaction name for that language. This could be a tedious process if your company has many languages represented! Unfortunately, however, there is currently no shortcut to the process.
Duplicate Names
Another caution in renaming records and transactions is that you must be careful to avoid having duplicate names. Surprisingly, if you do have duplicate names NetSuite will accept them both, but you can imagine the confusion that this situation could create! So you will want to double-check when renaming records and transactions that you haven’t inadvertently created any duplicates.
Searching Names in the Help Center
Suppose that you are looking up a renamed record or transaction in the Help Center. You may be concerned that you will not get the result you need since NetSuite does not natively recognize that name. NetSuite’s got you covered here, though. Instead of trekking over to the Rename Records/Transactions page to find the native NetSuite name for that record or transaction, go ahead and search for your custom name. NetSuite will notice that you are searching for a custom name and will ask if you intended to search for the original name. All you have to do is click the link provided in the Help Center to access all the results for that record or transaction under its native NetSuite name.
Study Tips
According to the SuiteFoundation study guide, the ability “to identify constraints and benefits with renaming records/transactions” is important for the exam. The study guide recommends some courses that address this topic, but if you don’t have access to these courses then your next best bet would be to review the information on this topic in SuiteAnswers or the Help Center. This post covers essentially the same information available in SuiteAnswers on renaming records and transactions, but feel free to browse through this Help Center page if doing so would help to reinforce your understanding.
Conclusion
Renaming records and transactions is just one other way that you can control and customize your experience of NetSuite. If this blog was helpful, be sure to check out the related posts linked below. And don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list so you never miss out on our latest posts!