Run Any NetSuite Saved Search in Excel
Type one formula and your Saved Search results appear in the sheet, with the criteria and columns you already set up in NetSuite. Refresh whenever you need current numbers.
Saved Search results, straight into your workbook
Finsyte runs the search in NetSuite and returns the results as an Excel dynamic array. The array grows and shrinks with the data, so the formulas, charts, and pivot tables that point at it stay current.
Here's the path from a Saved Search to a dashboard, in three steps.
Watch the narrated walkthrough on YouTube (opens in new tab)Run a Saved Search from a cell
Choose From List › Saved Searches on the Finsyte ribbon to see every search in your account with its ID and type. Enter =FSN.SavedSearch() with the search's ID, or its name if the name is unique, and the results spill into the sheet.
- Works with any record type, including transactions, items, customers, vendors, and custom records
- Uses the criteria, formulas, and joins already in the search
- Optional arguments drop the header row or return a set number of rows
Silent screen recording in Excel. On the Finsyte ribbon, From List › Saved Searches fills a sheet with every Saved Search in the NetSuite account, listing each one’s name, script ID, and record type. The name of the O2C Opportunity Statuses search is copied. On a new sheet, Functions › SavedSearch opens the Function Arguments dialog, the name is pasted in as the Saved Search Id, and OK enters =FSN.SavedSearch("**O2C Opportunity Statuses"). The cell shows #GETTING_DATA for a moment, then the results spill into the sheet as a dynamic array with columns for Internal ID, Date, Type, Document, Name, Amount, and Status, one row per opportunity.
Silent screen recording in Excel. Cell A1 is labeled Location, and the Finsyte Dropdowns menu adds a location dropdown to cell B1, set to Boston (Hierarchy). From Functions on the Finsyte ribbon, the registered function FSN.SavedSearch.SalesandMarginReport is inserted. Its Function Arguments dialog has one argument, Location, which is pointed at B1. The results list one row per item stocked in Boston, with on-hand, on sales order, and on purchase order quantities, sales for each of the last three months and month to date, a three-month average, average cost, average sales, and average margin. Changing B1 to San Francisco (Hierarchy) reruns the search and returns San Francisco’s items. Setting B1 to No Location returns every item across all locations.
Turn a Saved Search into its own Excel function
Register a Saved Search in Finsyte Preferences, pick the fields you want to filter on, and give it a name. Finsyte registers it as an Excel function under FSN.SavedSearch, so it shows up alongside every other function. Finsyte sends the argument values to NetSuite as filters, so pointing one at a cell lets a single search cover every location, customer, or date range.
- Filter on any field of the record type, even one the search doesn’t use yet
- Leave an argument blank to skip that filter
- The Saved Search in NetSuite stays exactly as it is
- Registered functions are shared with everyone at your company who uses Finsyte
Combine searches in Power Query and build the dashboard
Load two or more Saved Search results into Power Query, which comes with Excel, and merge them on a shared column. Here, a Work Order Production Activity search and a Manufacturing Cost & COGS search are merged into one table. KPI tiles, charts, and a summary table on top of the merged table turn it into a dashboard.
- Merge Saved Searches on any column they share
- Filter rows, reshape columns, and add calculated fields
- Build the dashboard with standard Excel charts and formatting
- Refresh Data › Data Connections on the Finsyte ribbon re-runs the queries
Screen recording with on-screen captions. In NetSuite, two Saved Searches are reviewed: FSN - Work Order Production Activity and FSN - Manufacturing Cost and COGS. In Excel, each search name is typed into FSN.SavedSearch on its own sheet, and the live results fill each sheet. Caption: “Utilize Power Query for easy merge of multiple Saved Searches.” Both result ranges are loaded into Power Query and merged into a Manufacturing Performance Report query. Caption: “Edit your data in Power Query.” Columns are filtered and adjusted in the Power Query Editor. Caption: “Close and Load to create a merged spreadsheet of data.” The merged table loads into a new sheet. Caption: “Turn Saved Searches into insightful dashboards.” A Manufacturing Performance Report dashboard shows total units completed, total production cost, and average cost per unit, with bar charts of quantity completed by finished good item and total production cost by department, and a line chart of production volume by period. Caption: “Easily refresh data to get the latest information immediately.” The Refresh Data menu on the Finsyte ribbon is opened to refresh the workbook.
Reports you can build from Saved Searches
If your team exports the same Saved Search to Excel every month, it can be a live report instead.
Sales and margin by location
Register the search with a Location filter and point it at a cell. Change the cell and the report reruns for that location.
AP aging as of any date
Pass a date range to an AP aging search. Enter -1 as the start date to include everything since inception.
Operations and cost side by side
Merge an operational search with a financial one in Power Query to see activity and cost in one table.
Refresh when NetSuite changes
Right-click a cell or range and choose Refresh Selection to re-run just those Saved Searches, or open Refresh Data on the Finsyte ribbon for the current sheet or the entire workbook. Data Connections then refreshes Power Query, so the merged table and the dashboard on top of it pick up the new numbers.
- Selection
- Current Sheet
- Entire Workbook
- Data Connections
NetSuite Saved Searches in Excel: FAQ
- QCan I run a NetSuite Saved Search in Excel?
- Yes. Enter =FSN.SavedSearch() in any cell with the search’s ID, or its name if the name is unique. Finsyte runs the search in NetSuite and returns the results as an Excel dynamic array.
- QHow is this different from exporting a Saved Search to Excel?
- An export is a snapshot of the data at the time you ran it. FSN.SavedSearch stays connected to NetSuite, so a refresh brings current results into the same cells, and the formulas, pivot tables, and charts built on them update too.
- QCan I filter a Saved Search from Excel?
- Yes. Register the search in Finsyte Preferences and choose which fields to filter on. It becomes its own Excel function under FSN.SavedSearch, and the values you pass are sent to NetSuite as filters. Leave an argument blank to skip that filter. The Saved Search itself isn’t changed.
- QWhich record types can I use?
- Any record type you can build a Saved Search on, including transactions, items, customers, vendors, and custom records.
- QWhat setup does it need?
- Saved Search functions use the Finsyte SuiteApp, which a NetSuite administrator deploys once during setup. No SuiteAnalytics Connect or other NetSuite modules are needed.
- QHow do I refresh the results?
- Right-click a cell or range and choose Refresh Selection to re-run just those Saved Searches, or use Refresh Data on the Finsyte ribbon for the current sheet or the whole workbook. If you’ve loaded the results into Power Query, Refresh Data › Data Connections refreshes those queries too.
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