Groups in NetSuite are incredibly useful. Whether you’re managing employees, contacts, customers, or vendors, groups allow you to organize records and use them for various purposes—like marketing campaigns, assigning support cases, managing file cabinet security, and more.
Let’s dive into how to create an employee group using a dynamic saved search.
When Should You Use NetSuite Groups?
Groups come in handy when you need to:
- Assign file cabinet access
- Define sales territories
- Target specific users in marketing campaigns
- Control support case assignment
- Segment contacts and employees by role, region, or other criteria
You can create either:
- Static groups: where you manually add and remove members
- Dynamic groups: where members are automatically managed based on a saved search
Our Scenario: Securing Payroll Files with Role-Based Access
You’ve been asked to create a group consisting of only employees who are either Controllers or CEOs. This group will later be used to restrict access to sensitive payroll files in the File Cabinet.
This is a perfect use case for a dynamic employee group—especially since members may change as employees come and go.
Step 1: Create the Saved Search
Before creating the group, we need a saved search to dynamically pull in employees with the appropriate roles.
- Go to Employees and click Customize View.
- Under Criteria, set filters:
- Role is “CEO” or “Controller”
- Subsidiary is “Star Wars Fan (SWF)” (or your target subsidiary)
- Role is “CEO” or “Controller”
- Under Results, add relevant fields (e.g., Role) for easy reference.
- Uncheck “Available as List View” to limit visibility.
- Name your search something clear like:
Z Admin | SWF | CEO & Controller Payroll Group - Save your search.
Organize Smarter with NetSuite Groups
Step 2: Create the Dynamic Group
Now that the search is ready, let’s create the dynamic group:
- Navigate to Lists > Relationships > Groups > New.
- Choose Dynamic Group.
- Select Employee as the group type.
- Name your group something meaningful like:
Fast Five Payroll – Controller & CEO Group - Link it to the saved search you just created.
- Add any comments or notes using the enhanced text editor.
- Add a shared email, make the group private, restrict editing, or limit visibility to certain groups. (Optional)
- Click Save.
That’s it! You’ve created a dynamic employee group in NetSuite. You’ll now see it listed under your groups, and it’ll automatically update as employees gain or lose those specific roles.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Groups are collections of records like employees, customers, or vendors that you can use for permissions, campaigns, and workflow automation.
Static groups are manually maintained, while dynamic groups update automatically based on saved search criteria making them ideal for fast-changing data.
Use dynamic groups when the members frequently change, such as employees with specific roles, departments, or subsidiaries that need consistent access control.
Yes. You can link dynamic groups to folders in the File Cabinet to manage document permissions automatically.
First, create a saved search with your desired criteria (like employee role or subsidiary). Then, create a new group and set it to “Dynamic,” linking it to your saved search.
You can create groups for employees, customers, contacts, partners, and vendors—each serving unique operational or marketing purposes.
Yes. When creating or editing the group, you can restrict editing rights, visibility, and sharing options to maintain security.
Absolutely. Once linked to a saved search, the group automatically updates whenever an employee’s role or record data changes.
Yes. You can reference dynamic groups in workflows, approval routing, and scripts to streamline role-based automations.
Use clear, consistent naming conventions (e.g., “Payroll | CEO & Controller Group”) and include role or subsidiary identifiers for easy management.
