Looking to remove a large number of NetSuite records? Read on for some suggestions.

UPDATE: We offer a free Bulk Delete Utility for NetSuite users to delete records based on results of a Saved Search. More info and download instructions available on the NetSuite Bulk Utility post.

One question we hear periodically from NetSuite users is how to quickly delete multiple records. While NetSuite does not have a dedicated bulk delete utility, users do have some options when a large number of records are no longer needed.

One key differentiation is determining if the record is to be permanently deleted, or if setting to inactive will suffice. If setting records to inactive meets your needs, the Mass Update functionality provides the ability to define search criteria to build a population of records, and then set those records to inactive as part of the mass update. Mass Update also allows you to uncheck individual records you may not want included in your bulk action.

Bulk Update

  1. Navigate to Mass Updates: Lists > Mass Update > Mass Updates
  2. Expand General Updates and select the type of record you wish to inactivate.
  3. Apply the filters within the Criteria tab to identify the population of records.
  4. Under the Mass Update tab, check the Apply box next to the Inactive field and set its value to Checked.
  5. Click the Preview button to display the records returned from the search criteria.
  6. Uncheck the Apply button for any records you want excluded from the mass update.
  7. Click Perform Update.

While Bulk Update allows you to set records to inactive, and, in some cases such as Activities and Files, allows you to delete records, deleting most record types can be accomplished using a Saved Search. In order to enable deletions from a Saved Search, you’ll need to configure a few settings.

Saved Search

Ensure Allow Inline Editing is enabled in your company settings. (Setup > Company > Enable Features.)

  1. Create a new Saved Search: Lists > Search > Saved Searches > New
  2. Select the Search Type for the record type you wish to delete. Note: deleting records from within a saved search require the Inline Editing ability set above. Not all record types in NetSuite allow for inline editing.
  3. Save and Run your search or select Preview
  4. Ensure the Edit option is selected on the search results screen

Select rows to be deleted by clicking within any editable column. These columns are identified by the pencil icon indicated on the column header.

You can use standard selection methods such as holding the shift key while clicking an additional row to select all rows between the two selections, or holding the control key to select single additional rows.

Selected rows will contain dashed outlines around the selected column fields.

Delete the records by moving to the New column on the far left of one of the selected records, expanding the menu that appears and selecting Delete Record.

A message appears confirming you wish to delete multiple records.

Need to delete records that don’t allow inline editing or simply have too many records to select within a saved search result? Ask us about our batch deletion utility that allows you to submit batch deletion requests in bulk without having to select individual rows or deal with thousands of results.

Have other “How-To” questions? Drop us a message below. We are happy to help.

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