Session 7: Searches and Reports

Searches and Reports

This section describes the basics of Searches and Reports

Searches

A Search in NetSuite is essentially a list of results based on criteria and filters. Virtually any kind of record in NetSuite can be the basis of, or included in, a Search. Searches saved to the Saved Searches can either be private or shared with others.

In the following example, a Search is created based on a Customer record and then saved as a Saved Search. To create a Customer Saved Search, go to:

Reports > New Search

•        From the list of record types, choose Customer
•        Click Create Saved Search
•        Enter the Search Title “Customer List”
•        Check Public box to make the Search available to all Users
•        Check the Show In Menu box to include the Search in the Saved Searches menu
•        On the Standard subtab under the Criteria tab, click the Filter dropdown and review the fields available to filter
•        Click the Results tab
•        On the last row, select the dropdown and review the choices to include in the Search Results
•        Click the Available Filters tab
•        From the Filter dropdown choose City, then tab to the Show In Filter Region column and check the box
•        Click Save
•        On the Saved Searches screen, click Results next to the Search you saved
•        The Search results appear, with the option to enter a City name to restrict the Results

To access a Saved Search, go to:

Reports > Saved Searches

•        Click the name of the Search you saved

Advanced Searching

In the Advanced view, a search looks more like a database query.  If you are familiar with query language, or SQL, you may find this option more powerful.  To show the advanced view in the Search screen above (Reports > New Search > Customer), check the "Use Advanced Search" checkbox.  In this view, you enter your search criteria in the left tab, and then define the columns you want returned by the search in the Results tab.  Once you save the search, you will have additional options to filter it, schedule it, and send the results by email.  NetSuite has several in-depth courses on searches and reporting that are available using your online training pass if you'd like to dig into this further. 

Reports

NetSuite provides a set of standard, customizable Reports for nearly all transaction types. The following provides reference to the most common financial reports and on-page filters or settings that are available.  Reports can be modified and custom reports can be created.  We recommend that if you want to create a custom report, you start with the closest system report and modify it rather than starting from scratch.

  Note:  Each report has filter settings at the bottom of the screen.  These settings can be defaulted.  Often, if you're not seeing the data you expect from a report, you may need to update the filter settings.

Financial

The following is a sample of standard reports that are available from the Reports > Financial menu:

• Income Statement

   Modify the date ranges in the footer

   Use the  selector in the footer to expose additional filters

• • Comparative Income Statement
  • Compares year-over-year financials

• Balance Sheet
  • Comparative Balance Sheet
  • General Ledger
  • Trial Balance

Banking and Budgeting

The following is a sample of standard reports that are available from the Reports > Banking and Budgeting menu:

• •        Bank Register
  •        Budget Income Statement
    •    This is the organization’s budget
  •        Budget Versus Actuals

Reports and Custom Segments

By default, NetSuite financial reports do not contain the custom segments we created earlier in this course.  We are going to remedy that by customizing the standard reports.  There are a couple of places where it is useful to have our custom segments appear.  For the example below, we will use the Balance Sheet, and add our Custom Segments as additional columns in the report and as filtering options below.

To Add Custom Segments as new Columns in a Report

• Go to Reports, Financial, Balance Sheet, Customize Summary
• Click on the Edit Columns heading.
• Expand the Financial list on the left.
• Drag the Grant Custom Column onto the Report Preview.
• Repeat to add the Restriction, Fund\Program, Functional Expense, Region, Revenue Type, Revenue Subtype and Time Restriction fields.
• At the top left, update the Name field to include your Organization Name - this will be the name of your custom version of the Balance Sheet report.
• Click Save
  
  

To Add Custom Segments as a Report Filtering Option

• Type the name of your custom report from above into the global search field, hover over the results and click on the Edit link on the right side of the search result drop down.
• Click on the Filters heading.
• Under Add Fields, expand the Financial section. 
• Click on Grant and it will be added as a row in the Choose Filters table.
• Ignore the popup under value. 
• Check the box in the Show in Filter Region column.
• Click Add.
• Repeat to add the Restriction, Fund\Program, Functional Expense, Region, Revenue Type, Revenue Subtype and Time Restriction fields.
• Click Save.

  
  

  Note:  The balance sheet report on the reports menu will continue to show the original unaltered balance sheet.  You will want to add this new custom report to your shortcuts or to a Custom Center (see below).

• To add to shortcuts, hover on the Star menu and select Add to Shortcuts.

Repeat this process for all the standard reports you would like to see Custom Segments values in.

Custom Centers and Tabs

While there is a standard Center (group of tabs) associated with each role in NetSuite, you can also create your own.  A custom center will replace the standard set of tabs for a chosen role or roles.  A custom Tab can be added to the top menu on existing centers, with links to your content.  Links are organized by Category.  We will walk through creating a custom tab for the reports you modified above.

To create your Custom Tab:

• Click on Customization, Centers and Tabs, Center Tabs, New.
• Give your tab a name and choose which center/s it will apply to.  In our example, we will apply our tab to all centers.
• Click on Save.
• You now see a custom tab on the top menu, but it doesn't yet have any content.

To create your custom report links:

• Click on Customization, Centers and Tabs, Center Links, New
• Under the Label, choose your Report Name. 
• Under the URL, put the NetSuite link to that report.  You can find this by either navigating to the report and copying the URL out of the browser address field.  If you have saved the report as a shortcut, hover over it in the Star menu, right-click and select Copy Link Location.
• Add other reports as needed, and click Save.

To create your Center Category:

• Go to Customization, Centers and Tabs, Center Categories, New.
• Under the Label, give it a name.
• Under the Center Type, choose Classic Center.
• Under the Center Tab, choose the custom tab you created above.
• in the Link field, choose the custom report link or links you created in the previous step.
• Click Save.
• You should now see your report link when you hover over your custom tab.