NetSuite Outlook Sync 2.0 Fundamentals

After working with NetSuite’s Outlook 2.0 Beta system, it became clear that some fundamental discussion of how the software works as it relates to synchronization would be helpful.  The documentation doesn’t do a good job and after numerous conversations with NetSuite Support, this article should help anyone learning how to leverage the tool.  We have provided a list of screen shots of key features that we recommend you activate in your environment while working with the software.  As a general rule, we start with the system being tight to prevent duplicates and lost data.  Once trust grows, we set options to allow the software to work in a more automated and looser fashion.

There are two key concepts to remember when working with synchronization:

1. Sharing: Pushing Outlook data to NetSuite
2. Synchronization Filters: Pulling NetSuite data into Outlook

Sharing

The way to push up Outlook information is to activate the Shared flag.  This flag does NOT control how information is pulled down from NetSuite. That is for the next  topic.  Keep this in mind as you work with synchronization.

The NetSuite Outlook 2.0 Client modifies the standard forms to express if an Outlook item is shared or not.   You may want to experiment with a few records before you turn them all on to be sure you are getting the expected behavior.    Remember, BACKUP your data often as you work with this software.   We recommend Outlook based exports to local copies of PST files.

Synchronization Filters

The way you pull down NetSuite information into your Outlook system is through the Synchronization Filter feature offered within the Options menu.  We believe that it is a good idea to set the filters narrowly so that you prevent duplicate entries into your Outlook system.  In our opinion, any record that you pull down into Outlook through Synchronization Filters should be Shared so these stay in sync.

Conflicts

Conflicts are bound to happen and you can setup rules for how to handle them.  Until you are confident that the system behaves and sychronizes as you expect, we recommend that you confirm any changes that the system wants to perform.

NetSuite Companies and Contacts

A key concern when using the synchronization is that you may lose the Company information when  synchronizing y our Outlook Contact data that is marked Shared.  See this article.   The key thing to understand is that you need to create a Company in NetSuite and then attach contacts to that Company.  When you do this, the sychronization will poplulate the Company field.  If the contact record is not attached to a company, Outlook will not hold information in the company field.