A Detailed Guide To NetSuite Workflows

In today’s global and highly competitive business environment, managerial success depends on the possibilities to automate and enhance business operations. Thus, businesses across all industries strive and work to improve their productivity, minimize human intervention, and increase the accuracy of operations. 

Now, NetSuite ERP gives organizations a robust array of tools for doing so known as NetSuite Suiteflow, the workflow engine.  It allows organizations to map out business processes, manage approvals, and be compliant without writing a script. Here, in this blog, we will discuss NetSuite workflows, their vital role in achieving operational efficiency, and how to create NetSuite workflows within the context of the NetSuite ERP system. So, let us get started!

What Are NetSuite Workflows or Suite Flows?  How Does it Improve Business Operations?

NetSuite Suiteflow enables businesses to map numerous business process maps with little or no NPQ JAVA programming. SuiteFlow is also a PC-menu-based solution where users can create particular procedures and construct particular workflows based on business rules and requirements. It allows the organization to set up their approvals, notifications, escalations, and record creation. Additionally, it also enables power users and business analysts, with no technical background, to model and manage processes that used to be coded.

NetSuite workflows improve business operations by:

• Reducing Manual Effort: It helps preserve resources as simple operations or even recurrent translations do not need to be done physically anymore.
• Ensuring Compliance: The guidelines and audit trail prevent the violation of business processes against company policies and regulations.
• Increasing Efficiency: It improves efficiency and reduces cycle time, promising improved efficiency due to the reduction of blocking points.
• Enhancing Accuracy: It eliminates the risk of mistakes while working with lots of data through automation.
• Supporting Scalability: Process volumes can be scaled up, and such processes do not have to undergo drastic transformation to accommodate the addition of extra work.

These reasons make it evident that SuiteFlow plays an important role in improving the flexibility and productivity of the company’s processes in various fields.

Top Workflows in NetSuite ERP 

Here are some of the most popular and effective workflows used in NetSuite ERP to optimize operations:

1. Sales Order Approval Workflow

This workflow streamlines the approval of sales orders against a set credit check, order size, or any other characteristic. Each time an order is generated, it is automatically sent to the appropriate approver, without any human intervention. Additionally, it ensures that orders are received, verified, and processed accurately without wasting time. This enables you to strengthen the bond between the company and its clients or customers and foster responsibility.

2. Purchase Order Approval Workflow

It approves purchase orders and enables the users to control and monitor compliance with procurement policies. Furthermore, it also represents a check that each purchase undergoes analysis for budget approval, and compliance with the vendor before finalizing the purchase. This automation facilitates faster procurement and also decreases extra spending.

3. Expense Report Approval Workflow

Expense control can be very time-consuming for companies and organizations. Using this workflow, employees can fill the expense report directly to the specific manager, depending on the company’s expense policy for approval. It also eliminates the extra work of reviewing vouchers and also guarantees that only proper and policy-compliant expenses are paid.

4. Invoice Approval Workflow

This NetSuite Suiteflow helps expedite the entire accounts payable cycle because the vendor’s invoice is reviewed and approved automatically. It checks that invoices are validated, proved to correspond to purchase orders, and paid upon the authorization of an authorized officer. This also assists in excluding situations related to payments like repayment for the same order, payment of the wrong amount, etc., to the vendors. 

5. Lead Nurturing Workflow

This workflow can be a real game changer for businesses that are seeking to grow their sales. The lead nurturing workflow makes follow-up communications after a specific time and action for activities like website visits, email openings, or status changes. It allows real-time interaction with prospects as well as increases the chances of converting and sales expertise.

Understanding customer support refers to client support, which is important to retain loyal clients. This workflow activates the flow of difficulties reported by customers or requests and directs them to the correct department or employee to ensure a quick solution and happy customers.

6. Employee Onboarding Workflow

Onboarding can take quite some time especially when done manually, However, NetSuite has a streamlined employee onboarding process that supports the appointment of specific tasks, like sending an email, allocating necessary equipment, and granting access to systems and training resources. This eliminates the burden of paperwork as well as enhances the efficiency of conducting onboarding exercises for new joiners.

Key Benefits of Using NetSuite Workflows

SuiteFlow empowers you to set up, build, and monitor your advanced business processes inside NetSuite without coding. Here are some key benefits of NetSuite’s SuiteFlow:

• Elimination of SuiteScript requirements allows you to avoid complicated processes for modification.
• Ready Made Workflows enable NetSuite to meet your exact business processes. It can also be used to automate other parts of operations that need increased efficiency.
• Simple to scale, and you can easily adjust its flow structures and add new adjustments for the growing business.
• Reduce errors that are likely to occur in any environment that involves a manual input and processing of data.
• Increase awareness with each of the steps described more visually in the workflow.
• Personalize approvals and routing in order to enhance decision-making regarding approval processes.
• Keep track of the current status of tasks and processes with the help of instant notification features.
• Work well in conjunction with other NetSuite modules and other related third-party tools.

Steps to Follow for Creating a Workflow in NetSuite

The workflow tool in NetSuite effectively optimizes company operations and turns everyday activities, starting with approvals and ending with operational scenarios, into an automated procedure. It also guarantees that assigned tasks are implemented in the correct and efficient manner, minimizing mistakes. 

With such an introduction in mind let us now find out how you can develop this particular workflow:

Step 1: Accessing Workflow Manager

NetSuite Suiteflow ensures the smooth automation of business processes by following a few simple steps:

•  Log into your NetSuite account.
• Navigate to the Customization section.
• Select the appropriate “Workflow” option.
•  Choose “New Workflow” to create a new one.
• Enter the necessary properties and actions for the new workflow.

Step 2: Setting Basic Properties

Under the Basic Properties section, input the essential details of your workflow:

• Name: Select customer customer-friendly name that is no longer than 40 characters.
• ID: A string for the workflow definition; this is an optional script ID. It has to be in lowercase letters and not more than 26 characters.
• Record Type: Define the record type, whether the record type is standard or custom record type.
• Sub Type: For some of the records, you get to choose the subtype of the record type that you want to select.
• Description: However, it is also possible to include a description of the workflow, although it is not mandatory, and the description might help to define its aims.
• Owner: Assign the particular user account through which the particular designed workflow is to be carried out.

Step 3: Choosing Execution Settings

Choose to bypass the initiating user’s role with the Execute as Admin and make the Release Status to determine the users allowed to start the workflow. Do not forget to define either to retain or remove the instance and history record based on the status of the release of the workflow.

Step 4: Initiating the Workflow

Under Initiation, go for Event Based to activate the workflow by a particular event such as records creation or new record updates. This is an important decision for a situation to occur for the processes to be automated.

Step 5: Defining Event Triggers

Within the Event Definition, specify the conditions under which the workflow is initiated:

• On Create/On Update: Decides when to commence the workflow – whether it will be when a new record is created or the record is updated.
• Trigger Type: The server event that creates the initial occasion for the workings of the workflow.
• Event Types and Contexts: Even more development when the process of the work should begin, regarding activities and situations.

Step 6: Setting Conditions

Specify any conditions to limit the initiation of the workflow to certain circumstances through the Condition Builder or the Formula Builder. This step will ensure that the workflow can only start when certain conditions are met.

Step 7: Saving and Finalizing

When you are done creating your workflow, click on Save. NetSuite also generates a workflow having a start state and more states or actions can be incorporated further if necessary.

Advanced Workflow Features

Coming to the advanced workflow features, here are the list of common ones:

• Workflow triggers: These event-driven actions specify when during record processing a particular task occurs. 
• Sub-workflows: They can then be stacked in different sequences to accommodate or emphasize different workflow patterns, and be broken down to accommodate parallel processing as well as streamlining hierarchies. 
• Workflow execution contexts: A workflow can be run in several forms, which include CSV Import, User Event Script, Suitelet, and Mass Update. 
• Related records: The Status of a given workflow can therefore be affected by variations of records that are associated with the given workflow. 
• Exit trigger: This server trigger runs on the first transition of a record out of a state in a workflow. 
• Employee onboarding workflow: This workflow can be used in account management, equipment giving, and training schedule assignments. 

Workflow Automation Best Practices

You can consider applying the following best practices to optimize your workflow performance:

1. Conditions and Expressions

Organizational workflows can and should be designed to contain conditional branches that control what action should be taken next depending on record attributes or other predefined entity variables. Expressions will enable programmers to include logical constructs into conditions.

2. Record Types and Custom Records

The common options that refer to particular record types include customers, sales orders, invoices, and custom records as well as particular workflows. This makes it possible for Microsoft businesses to deploy workflows that are closely mapped with their operation and data formats.

3. Workflow Roles and Permissions

Establishing the role of workflow in defining an organization’s work structure is vital for the access rights of users to change, modify, or create a new workflow. It gives users individual or group roles which means only the ones who are supposed to undertake the particular work of a workflow action can do it.

4. Workflow Routing and Approval

Recording routed workflows helps to forward records that meet particular criteria to the approval authority. Users can receive notifications and make decisions right in the application and the approval process.

5. Workflow Testing and Debugging

NetSuite also offers facilities through which the establishment of a specific workflow can be first checked and then corrected if it does not operate. Testing can therefore encompass mimicking triggers, assessing conditions and even viewing the actions to follow during a workflow before it is taken online.

6. Workflow Management and Monitoring

Workflows enable organizations to view the status of an active workflow, the history of a specific workflow, and the movement of records through the workflow stage. Documentation tools allow observation of workflow’s performance, and in case of problem occurrence– consider such events significant.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Mistake 1: Lack of Planning

It is easy to construct certain workflows in NetSuite. Thus, users often start without a definite strategy. However, one drawback of this approach is that you can develop a set of tasks connected to a complex workflow without understanding the potential issues or inefficiencies during the planning phase. This can make it difficult to address as the workflow becomes complex. 

To do this, at the initial steps, show the full line from inputs to outcome, in an external tool or even on paper. Circulate this to the stakeholders to get their feedback as well as make sure it is as relevant to business as possible. 

Mistake 2: Building Overly Complex Workflows  

The routines involved in transactions can rapidly become intricate as business processes change. Usually, complex procedures like repair, sustainability, and flexibility get rigorously complicated. Thus, using similar approaches should be coupled with focusing to reduce and simplify as much as possible.  

To help with the issue, you can provide descriptive names and attach detailed descriptions in the “Description” fields. It will help explain how the workflow should be continued to other users.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Workflow Contexts  

When a workflow is set to run in all contexts, it is supposed to run even in areas where it is not necessary to increase the number of times executed workflows. For instance, a particular workflow is designed to run on the sales orders; but activities related to such workflows may also commence during CSV imports, slowing down the system. 

To minimize the number of executions, you can set contexts under which workflows, actions, and transitions should take place. This will eliminate poor performance and guarantee running only specific processes in workflows.

Mistake 4: Logging Everything

The use of a log is very important during the debugging phase of an application development. However, it is not fine when the application is deployed, especially as a system logs. 

So, you can provide logging during the evaluation of the workflows to identify problems but should not use it in production as it slows the system. Enable logging only if there is an active problem, and disable it as soon as the problem is fixed. It will help avoid waste of resources.

Mistake 5:  Forgetting Workflow Scheduling 

Not all business processes activated on record creation or modification need to be executed at equal time intervals. Some processes can be timed to perform at even 30 minutes a time, or during specific periods like evening-peak time, which sees an improvement in their performance. 

You can opt to Submit to the end users and discuss their activities to ascertain whether some of the activities may be performed at a later time after the system execution of repetitive activities.

Mistake 6: Running Workflows on Big Record Volumes  

Event-based workflows are real-time whereby the work is well done for small-scale records while the system may slow down when dealing with large records. For instance, the large number of records from the integration source can significantly strain the related workflows. 

You can discuss using SuiteScript or passing the logic to an earlier system to deal with the vast data whereas NetSuite can handle small quantum tasks.

Mistake 7: Multiple Workflows on the Same Record

Running multiple workflows on some given record type is not always good as it causes clashes, poor performance as well as system malfunctioning. Workflows defined on record can become a number, making the management of such processes complicated. 

You must prefer merging scans into 1 or fewer scans whenever possible to avoid inequality and improve solvable issues. To find out the number of active workflows that have been created on a particular record, go to the “Scripted Records” of NetSuite.

Mistake 8: Manual Workflow Migration

It involves using scripts to move resources such as workflow definitions from one environment to another, hence it arises with challenges like time-consuming and the possibility of human interference. 

For better and faster transfers between work environments, you can embrace tools such as SuiteBundler, Copy to Account, or SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF). These tools decrease the chances of having a shift in errors that are frequent during migration and foster better management of environment dependencies.  

Conclusion

SuiteFlow is a collection of business processes in NetSuite and is valuable in many areas including increasing efficiency, legal compliance, and reducing the time it takes to complete the workflow. From sales orders to purchase approvals to customer case management, SuiteFlow helps businesses become leaner and more scalable. Its flexibility makes NetSuite ERP a valuable tool for enhancing organizational activities. For expert guidance on optimizing SuiteFlow, consider VNMT’s NetSuite Implementation Services to streamline your business processes.