Saved search email alerts are a powerful, built-in feature that allows you to automate monitoring and notifications without any scripting. You can configure a saved search to run on a schedule and automatically send an email to designated recipients when specific conditions are met. This is ideal for creating proactive alerts for overdue invoices, low inventory levels, high-value orders, or any other business-critical event. This guide provides a fact-checked and expanded overview of how to configure saved search email alerts.

How Email Alerts Work

The process is straightforward:

1. You create a saved search with criteria that defines a business exception (e.g., invoices that are more than 30 days overdue).

2. You configure an email alert on that search to run on a recurring schedule (e.g., every morning at 8:00 AM).

3. When the search runs, if it finds any results that meet your criteria, it automatically sends an email to the recipients you have defined.

   
   

Configuring an Email Alert

All alert settings are located on the Email subtab of the saved search definition page.

Key Configuration Sections

1. Schedule

This determines how often NetSuite will run the search to check for alert conditions.

• On Demand: The search is not scheduled and will only be run manually.

• Scheduled: Check this box to reveal the scheduling options.

• Event Type: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Single Event.

• Repeat: Define the specific interval (e.g., every 1 day, every 2 weeks).

• Start Time: The time of day the search will run.

2. Recipients

This defines who will receive the email when the alert conditions are met.

• From: The employee from whom the email will be sent.

• Recipients from Results: This powerful feature allows you to send a targeted alert to the employee referenced in the search results (e.g., the Sales Rep on a sales order). This ensures that employees are only notified about the records relevant to them.

• Specific Recipients: You can also manually enter email addresses or select specific employees, roles, or groups to receive the alert.

3. Send Condition

This is a critical setting that determines when the email is actually sent.

4. Email Content

This controls what is included in the body of the email.

• Customize Message: You can define a custom subject and body for the email.

• Include View Record Link: Provides a direct link to the search results in NetSuite.

• Send Files: Attach the full search results as a CSV, Excel, or PDF file.

  
  

Practical Examples

Alert for Overdue Invoices

• Search Criteria: Type is Invoice, Status is Open, Days Overdue is greater than 30.

• Schedule: Daily at 8:00 AM.

• Recipients: The AR Manager and the AR Clerk role.

• Content: Include a link to the search results.

Alert for Low Inventory

• Search Criteria: Quantity on Hand is less than Reorder Point.

• Schedule: Daily at 7:00 AM.

• Recipients: The Purchasing Manager.

• Content: Attach the results as an Excel file.

  
  

Best Practices and Troubleshooting

• Test with Yourself First: When setting up a new alert, always set yourself as the only recipient initially. Verify that the alert is triggering correctly and that the email content is as expected before adding other recipients.

• Be Mindful of Email Volume: An overly broad search or a very frequent schedule can lead to a high volume of emails. Ensure your criteria are specific enough to only alert on true exceptions.

• Check Email Sending Limits: Your NetSuite account has a daily limit on the number of emails it can send. High-frequency alerts can contribute to exhausting this quota.

• If Emails Are Not Being Received:

• Check your spam/junk folder.

• Confirm that the search actually returns results when you run it manually.

• Verify that the email addresses of the recipients are correct in their NetSuite records.