Address Tables

The most common confusion in NetSuite: "Why doesn't my transaction show the updated customer address?"

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Entity Address Tables (Master)

Addresses stored on Customer, Vendor, and Employee records.

ENTITY ADDRESS STRUCTURE
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Customer Record                Addressbook (Junction)           Address Data
┌───────────────────┐         ┌───────────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐
│ Customer ID: 100  │         │ CustomerAddressbook   │        │ EntityAddress   │
│ Name: Acme Corp   │────────▶│ entity: 100           │───────▶│ nkey: 5001      │
│                   │         │ addressbookaddress:   │        │ addr1: 123 Main │
│ defaultshipping ──┼────────▶│   5001                │        │ city: New York  │
│ defaultbilling  ──┼────────▶│ defaultshipping: T    │        │ state: NY       │
└───────────────────┘         │ label: "Headquarters" │        │ zip: 10001      │
                              └───────────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘

Entity Address Table Reference

Table	Entity Type	Key Columns
CustomerAddressbook	Customer	entity, addressbookaddress, defaultshipping, defaultbilling, label
VendorAddressbook	Vendor	Same pattern
EmployeeAddressbook	Employee	Same pattern
EntityAddress	All entities	nkey, addr1, addr2, addr3, city, state, zip, country, addressee, attention
CustomerAddressbookEntityAddress	Customer (alternative)	Same as EntityAddress
VendorAddressbookEntityAddress	Vendor (alternative)	Same as EntityAddress

Query: Customer with All Addresses

SELECT
    c.id AS customer_id,
    c.companyname,
    cab.label AS address_label,
    CASE WHEN cab.defaultshipping = 'T' THEN 'Yes' ELSE 'No' END AS is_default_ship,
    CASE WHEN cab.defaultbilling = 'T' THEN 'Yes' ELSE 'No' END AS is_default_bill,
    ea.addr1,
    ea.addr2,
    ea.city,
    ea.state,
    ea.zip,
    BUILTIN.DF(ea.country) AS country
FROM Customer c
LEFT JOIN CustomerAddressbook cab ON cab.entity = c.id
LEFT JOIN EntityAddress ea ON ea.nkey = cab.addressbookaddress
WHERE c.isinactive = 'F'
ORDER BY c.companyname, cab.label

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Transaction Address Tables (Snapshot)

Addresses stored directly on transactions - these are the snapshots that don't update.

TRANSACTION ADDRESS STRUCTURE
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Transaction Record                         Address Subrecords (SNAPSHOTS)
┌─────────────────────────────┐           ┌────────────────────────────┐
│ Transaction ID: 12345       │           │ TransactionShippingAddress │
│ Type: SalesOrd              │           │ nkey: 8001                 │
│                             │           │ addr1: 123 Main St         │
│ shippingaddress: 8001 ──────┼──────────▶│ city: New York             │
│ billingaddress: 8002  ──────┼───┐       │ state: NY                  │
│                             │   │       │ zip: 10001                 │
│ shipaddresslist: 5001       │   │       └────────────────────────────┘
│ (original reference)        │   │
│                             │   │       ┌────────────────────────────┐
└─────────────────────────────┘   │       │ TransactionBillingAddress  │
                                  └──────▶│ nkey: 8002                 │
                                          │ addr1: 456 Oak Ave         │
                                          │ city: Boston               │
                                          └────────────────────────────┘

Transaction Address Table Reference

Table	Purpose	Key Columns
TransactionShippingAddress	Shipping address snapshot	nkey, addr1, addr2, city, state, zip, country, addressee
TransactionBillingAddress	Billing address snapshot	Same structure

Query: Transaction with Addresses

SELECT
    t.id,
    t.tranid,
    t.trandate,
    BUILTIN.DF(t.entity) AS customer,
    -- Shipping Address (Snapshot)
    tsa.addressee AS ship_to,
    tsa.addr1 AS ship_addr1,
    tsa.city AS ship_city,
    tsa.state AS ship_state,
    tsa.zip AS ship_zip,
    -- Billing Address (Snapshot)
    tba.addressee AS bill_to,
    tba.addr1 AS bill_addr1,
    tba.city AS bill_city,
    tba.state AS bill_state,
    tba.zip AS bill_zip
FROM Transaction t
LEFT JOIN TransactionShippingAddress tsa ON tsa.nkey = t.shippingaddress
LEFT JOIN TransactionBillingAddress tba ON tba.nkey = t.billingaddress
WHERE t.type = 'SalesOrd'
ORDER BY t.trandate DESC

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The Three Address Types on Transactions

Type	UI Selection	Saved To	Updates When Customer Changes?
Entity Default	Select existing address	References addressbook	Yes, until transaction is saved
New	"New" option	Customer record + Transaction	No (becomes snapshot after save)
Custom	"Custom" option	Transaction ONLY	No (transaction-specific)

Automatic Conversion to Custom

When you modify an address on a customer record AFTER it was used on a transaction, NetSuite automatically converts the transaction's address to "Custom" to preserve the original. This is why old transactions keep the old address.

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Why Invoice Shows Old Address (Explained)

THE INVOICE ADDRESS INHERITANCE PROBLEM
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Step 1: Sales Order Created (Jan 1)
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Sales Order SO-001           │
│ Customer: Acme Corp          │
│ Ship To: 123 Main St ◄───────┼─── Copied from customer default
│                              │
└──────────────────────────────┘

Step 2: Customer Address Updated (Feb 1)
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Customer: Acme Corp          │
│ New Address: 999 New Ave ◄───┼─── Address changed in master
│                              │
└──────────────────────────────┘
         │
         ▼
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Sales Order SO-001           │
│ Ship To: 123 Main St ◄───────┼─── Auto-converted to CUSTOM
│ (Now marked as Custom)       │    to preserve original
└──────────────────────────────┘

Step 3: Invoice Created from SO (Mar 1)
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Invoice INV-001              │
│ Created From: SO-001         │
│ Ship To: 123 Main St ◄───────┼─── Inherited from SO's snapshot!
│                              │    NOT from current customer address
└──────────────────────────────┘

Result: Invoice shows OLD address (123 Main St)
        even though customer now has NEW address (999 New Ave)

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Query Examples

Compare Customer Address vs Transaction Address

-- Find transactions where address differs from current customer default
SELECT
    t.tranid,
    t.trandate,
    c.companyname,
    -- Current customer address
    cur_addr.addr1 AS current_customer_addr,
    cur_addr.city AS current_customer_city,
    -- Transaction snapshot address
    tsa.addr1 AS transaction_addr,
    tsa.city AS transaction_city,
    CASE
        WHEN cur_addr.addr1 != tsa.addr1 THEN 'ADDRESS CHANGED'
        ELSE 'Same'
    END AS status
FROM Transaction t
INNER JOIN Customer c ON c.id = t.entity
-- Current default shipping
LEFT JOIN CustomerAddressbook cab ON cab.entity = c.id AND cab.defaultshipping = 'T'
LEFT JOIN EntityAddress cur_addr ON cur_addr.nkey = cab.addressbookaddress
-- Transaction snapshot
LEFT JOIN TransactionShippingAddress tsa ON tsa.nkey = t.shippingaddress
WHERE t.type = 'SalesOrd'
  AND cur_addr.addr1 != tsa.addr1
ORDER BY t.trandate DESC

Get All Addresses for a Customer

SELECT
    c.companyname,
    cab.label,
    cab.defaultshipping,
    cab.defaultbilling,
    ea.addressee,
    ea.addr1,
    ea.addr2,
    ea.city,
    ea.state,
    ea.zip,
    BUILTIN.DF(ea.country) AS country
FROM Customer c
INNER JOIN CustomerAddressbook cab ON cab.entity = c.id
INNER JOIN EntityAddress ea ON ea.nkey = cab.addressbookaddress
WHERE c.id = 100
ORDER BY cab.label

Vendor Addresses with Transactions

SELECT
    v.entityid AS vendor_name,
    t.tranid AS bill_number,
    t.trandate,
    tba.addr1 AS bill_address,
    tba.city,
    tba.state
FROM Vendor v
INNER JOIN Transaction t ON t.entity = v.id AND t.type = 'VendBill'
LEFT JOIN TransactionBillingAddress tba ON tba.nkey = t.billingaddress
WHERE v.id = 500
ORDER BY t.trandate DESC

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Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Querying Wrong Table

-- ❌ WRONG: Getting customer's current address for transaction report
SELECT c.defaultshippingaddress
FROM Customer c
INNER JOIN Transaction t ON t.entity = c.id
-- This gives CURRENT address, not what's actually on the transaction

-- ✅ CORRECT: Get the actual transaction address
SELECT tsa.addr1, tsa.city
FROM Transaction t
INNER JOIN TransactionShippingAddress tsa ON tsa.nkey = t.shippingaddress
-- This gives the ACTUAL address stored on the transaction

Pitfall 2: Expecting Automatic Updates

❌ WRONG EXPECTATION:
"I updated the customer address, so all their invoices should show the new address."

✅ REALITY:
Existing transactions keep the original address.
Only NEW transactions use the new address.

Pitfall 3: Using Wrong Join Column

-- ❌ WRONG: Using entity ID to join addresses
LEFT JOIN EntityAddress ea ON ea.entity = c.id

-- ✅ CORRECT: Use addressbookaddress → nkey relationship
LEFT JOIN CustomerAddressbook cab ON cab.entity = c.id
LEFT JOIN EntityAddress ea ON ea.nkey = cab.addressbookaddress

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Quick Reference

Entity Address Join Pattern

FROM Customer c
LEFT JOIN CustomerAddressbook cab ON cab.entity = c.id
LEFT JOIN EntityAddress ea ON ea.nkey = cab.addressbookaddress

Transaction Address Join Pattern

FROM Transaction t
LEFT JOIN TransactionShippingAddress tsa ON tsa.nkey = t.shippingaddress
LEFT JOIN TransactionBillingAddress tba ON tba.nkey = t.billingaddress

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See Also

• Snapshot Tables Overview - Understanding the snapshot pattern
• BOM Tables - Similar pattern for BOM components
• Other Snapshots - Prices, rates, and other snapshotted fields