Creating Custom Segments

Complete guide to setting up custom segments for dimensional tracking in NetSuite.

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Prerequisites

1. Enable Feature: Setup → Company → Enable Features → Accounting → Custom Segments
2. Permissions: Administrator or role with Custom Segments permission
3. Planning: Segment name, values, and transaction scope defined

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Step 1: Create the Segment

Navigation

Customization → Lists, Records, & Fields → Custom Segments → New

Basic Configuration

Field	Description	Example
Label	Display name on forms	Project Code
ID	System identifier	cseg_project
Description	Purpose documentation	Track costs by project
Record Type	Underlying record	Custom Segment

Segment Settings

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  CUSTOM SEGMENT SETUP                                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Label: [Project Code                    ]              │
│  ID:    [cseg_project                    ]              │
│                                                         │
│  ☑ Has GL Impact                                        │
│     └── Creates segment-specific accounts               │
│                                                         │
│  ☑ Show in List                                         │
│     └── Appears in segment dropdown                     │
│                                                         │
│  ☐ Filtered By (optional)                               │
│     └── Limit values based on parent record             │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Step 2: Configure GL Impact (Optional)

If Has GL Impact is checked:

Account Numbering

Setting	Result
Account Suffix	Account numbers get segment value suffix
Separate Accounts	Creates new account for each segment value

Example: GL Impact ON

Base Account: 6000 - Operating Expenses

With Segment Values:
├── 6000:PRJ001 - Operating Expenses : Website Redesign
├── 6000:PRJ002 - Operating Expenses : Mobile App
└── 6000:PRJ003 - Operating Expenses : ERP Implementation

Journal Entry Posts to: 6000:PRJ002

Example: GL Impact OFF

Base Account: 6000 - Operating Expenses

All transactions post to: 6000
Segment value stored for reporting only

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Step 3: Define Segment Values

Navigation

Lists → Accounting → Custom Segments → [Your Segment] → Values

Or via the segment's custom list: Lists → Accounting → Segment Values → New

Value Configuration

Field	Description	Example
Name	Display name	Website Redesign
ID	Value identifier	PRJ001
Abbreviation	Short code	WEB
Is Inactive	Deactivate without deleting	☐
Parent	Hierarchy parent	(if hierarchical)

Bulk Value Import

For many values, use CSV Import:

Name,External ID,Is Inactive
Website Redesign,PRJ001,F
Mobile App Development,PRJ002,F
ERP Implementation,PRJ003,F
Data Center Migration,PRJ004,F

Import Path: Setup → Import/Export → Import CSV Records → Custom Segment Values

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Step 4: Apply to Transactions

Transaction Deployment

Customization → Lists, Records, & Fields → Custom Segments → [Segment] → Applies To

Transaction Type	Header	Lines
Journal Entry	☑	☑
Vendor Bill	☑	☑
Purchase Order	☑	☑
Expense Report	☑	☑
Sales Order	☐	☑
Invoice	☐	☑

Form Placement

Choose where the segment appears:

Setting	Behavior
Show on Header	Field appears in transaction header
Show on Lines	Field appears on each line item
Default Value	Pre-populate with default
Mandatory	Require value before save

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Step 5: Configure Permissions

Role Access

Setup → Users/Roles → Manage Roles → [Role] → Custom Segments

Permission Level	Access
None	Cannot see segment
View	Can see but not edit
Create	Can add new values
Edit	Can modify values
Full	Full access including delete

Value-Level Restrictions

Restrict access to specific segment values:

Role: Regional Manager - APAC
├── Can see: PRJ-APAC-001, PRJ-APAC-002
└── Cannot see: PRJ-AMER-001, PRJ-EMEA-001

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Step 6: Form Customization

Add to Transaction Forms

Customization → Forms → Transaction Forms → [Form] → Edit

Screen Fields Tab:
├── Main
│   └── [Drag Project Code field to desired location]
├── Lines
│   └── [Add to line item columns]
└── Related Records

Field Appearance

Option	Result
Normal	Standard dropdown
Inline Text	Display only
Hidden	Not visible but available
Disabled	Visible but read-only

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Hierarchical Segments

Create Parent-Child Structure

Project Code (Hierarchical)
├── Enterprise Projects
│   ├── PRJ-001 Website Redesign
│   └── PRJ-002 Mobile App
├── Internal Projects
│   ├── PRJ-003 ERP Implementation
│   └── PRJ-004 Data Center Migration
└── Customer Projects
    ├── PRJ-005 Client A Integration
    └── PRJ-006 Client B Portal

Configuration

1. Enable Is Hierarchical on segment
2. Create parent values first
3. Set Parent field on child values
4. Enable Include Children for reporting

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Filtered Segments

Filter by Another Field

Limit segment values based on a related field:

Segment: Cost Center
Filtered By: Department

When Department = IT:
  Show: CC-IT-001, CC-IT-002, CC-IT-003

When Department = Sales:
  Show: CC-SALES-001, CC-SALES-002

Configuration

1. Create filter source list
2. Add filter field to segment values
3. Set Filtered By on segment definition
4. Map filtering field on transactions

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SuiteScript Access

Reading Segment Values

// Get segment value from transaction
const projectCode = record.getValue({
  fieldId: 'cseg_project'
});

// Get text value
const projectName = record.getText({
  fieldId: 'cseg_project'
});

// Line level
const lineProject = record.getSublistValue({
  sublistId: 'item',
  fieldId: 'cseg_project',
  line: 0
});

Setting Segment Values

// Set on header
record.setValue({
  fieldId: 'cseg_project',
  value: '123' // Internal ID of segment value
});

// Set on line
record.setSublistValue({
  sublistId: 'item',
  fieldId: 'cseg_project',
  line: 0,
  value: '123'
});

Search by Segment

const results = search.create({
  type: 'vendorbill',
  filters: [
    ['cseg_project', 'anyof', ['123', '124']]
  ],
  columns: ['tranid', 'cseg_project']
}).run();

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Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Element	Convention	Example
Segment ID	cseg_[name]	cseg_project
Value Code	Short, meaningful	PRJ001
Value Name	Descriptive	Website Redesign Project

Performance Considerations

• Limit to < 10,000 values per segment
• Use hierarchies to group large value sets
• Inactivate obsolete values (don't delete)
• Index segment fields in saved searches

Governance

Practice	Reason
Document segment purpose	Future reference
Control value creation	Prevent duplicates
Regular value review	Clean up inactive
Training for users	Consistent usage

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See Also

• Custom Segments Overview - Introduction to segments
• Transaction Impact - How segments affect transactions
• Reporting & Analytics - Using segments in reports