How to create custom forms in NetSuite

When printing a custom form in NetSuite, such as a Purchase Order or Sales Invoice, have you ever wanted it to look different? Maybe there is an additional field that you would like to be printed or you want the header to be a different color? Fortunately, NetSuite ERP is highly customizable and designed to work for your business. Advanced PDF/HTML Templates in NetSuite allow you to customize PDFs that are generated from the system based on what you need.

This post will cover the basics on how to customize a Purchase Order form using Advanced PDF/HTML Templates.

Before you can customize an Advanced PDF/HTML Template, a custom form must be created. We will walk through customizing a Purchase Order form, but the same process can be followed for other standard forms. This can be done by going to Customizations >> Forms >> Transaction Forms. Press ‘Customize’ next to the standard form you would like to customize.  If your company is already using a custom form, there is no need to create a new custom form. Verify that it is using Advanced PDF and not Basic PDF.

Enter a Name and ID for the new form. Make sure that “Advanced” is selected as the “Printing Type” and the form is marked “Preferred.”

Once these steps are completed you can begin customizing the Advanced PDF/HTML Template.

WYSIWYG stands for “What You See Is What You Get.” This template editor is more user friendly than source code mode. To open the Advanced PDF/HTML Templates page in NetSuite, go to Customization >> Forms >> Advanced PDF/HTML Templates. Then click “Customize” on the standard form you would like to customize.

The Advanced PDF/HTML Template will automatically open in WYSIWYG mode.  Press the “Template Setup” button to change the Name and ID of the PDF.

Template Setup not only allows you to change the Name and ID of the PDF, but you can also enter a description of what the PDF will be used for, mark the template as preferred, change the page orientation, and change the page size. After you enter the information needed, press the save button.

Before editing, it is important to know what each button in the toolbar does. The list below describes each button from left to right.

• Use the plus symbol to add another field to the PDF template
• Add a Text Box to the PDF template
• Add an image/company logo to the PDF template
• Insert a table to the PDF template
• The <2> and <#> can be used to add page numbers to the PDF
• The next two buttons can be used to mark the end of a page and add horizontal lines to the PDF
• The last two buttons can be used to insert a header and a footer in the PDF

In order to add a new field to a PDF template, a new table will need to be inserted, or a new column will need to be added to an existing table. To add a new column to an existing table, you can right click within the table and click on Column >> Insert Column Before (or Insert Column After). A new column will be created to the left of the selected column depending on the option chosen.

The size of columns can also be changed. This can be done by right clicking within the column and clicking Select Cell >> Cell Properties. If you are adding a new column to the PDF, you would typically reduce the column span for each field in the table to make room for the new column.

Press the field button and select the field you would like to add to the new column. You can add a label for the field by checking the “Include Label” box.

The styles tab of the tool bar looks similar to other tool bars. It can be used to change the font color, size and style of the text on the PDF.

To change the color of a field, you can select the field and select the color you want to change it to. This can be done by selecting the change text color button. You can preview your PDF by selecting the “Preview” button.

Once the PDF is saved, go to Customization >> Forms >> Transaction Forms. Press the edit button next to the custom form you created earlier. Under “Print Template” select the name of the Advanced PDF Template you created and save the form.

Print a transaction using the custom form and PDF Template to view your new field. An example of the added field is in the image below.

It is important for the forms that you send to your customers and vendors to look professional and to have all relevant information. Customizing NetSuite PDF templates allows you to customize your forms to meet your specific business needs.

Customizing Advanced PDF/HTML Templates allows you to do more than just adding a new field/column or changing the font color. Using the source code edit enables you to hide fields, conditionally display information, add bar codes, and much more.

For assistance with NetSuite forms, contact our experts who specialize in customizing NetSuite to specific business needs.