The quick answer
Go to Setup > Support > Case Origin Types and click New. Enter a Case Origin name such as Chat, add an optional Description, and click Save. Leave Insert Before blank to add it at the end of the list, or pick an existing origin to place it in front of that one. The new origin then shows up in the Origin dropdown on case forms that include that field, which on the standard case form sits under Incident Information.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
Case origin records how a support request first reached you: by web, email, phone, or another channel. It's a separate case field from status, priority, and type, and it's what you filter or group case searches by when you want to compare channels. This example company answers customers in a website chat window, and none of the default origins describes that, so chat cases would end up as Other.
You need the Customer Support and Service feature, the Setup > Support Case Origin permission to add origins (the Administrator role has it), and a role that can create cases. The case form you use has to show the Origin field. A custom case form can hide it, default it, or make it required. The case in step 5 is for an existing customer, Brightwater Cafe Group, with an existing case profile, Retail Support.
Menu paths below are the ones in the account used for this example. If a page isn't where it says, search for its name in global search.
01. Review the case statuses
Go to Setup > Support > Case Statuses. In this account the Case Status List has the five standard statuses in Order 1 to 5: Not Started, In Progress, Escalated, Re-Opened, and Closed. The Stage column is what NetSuite uses to treat a case as open, escalated, or closed. Not Started, In Progress, and Re-Opened are Open, Escalated is Escalated, and Closed is Closed. If you add your own status later, you map it to one of those three stages. Statuses can be renamed or added, so check the stage of each one in your account before relying on it in reports or automation. The defaults fit a simple support process, so nothing changes here.
02. Review priorities, types, and issues
Go to Setup > Support > Case Priorities. The Case Priority List shows the standard High, Medium, and Low in Order 1, 2, and 3.
Go to Setup > Support > Case Types. The Case Type List shows the standard Question, Concern, and Problem. Your account may have different values in either list.
Then go to Setup > Support > Case Issues. In this account the list is empty. Case issues are optional and separate from case types, so it can stay that way. Keep all three lists as they are.
03. Check the case origins
Go to Setup > Support > Case Origin Types. This account has Web (Order 1), E-mail (2), Phone (3), Other (4), and Customer Center (5). The standard origins are Web, E-mail, Phone, and Other. Customer Center isn't part of that standard set; it's in this account, and origins can be renamed, added, or inactivated, so check your own list.
NetSuite can fill in the origin for some channels. Email case capture usually sets E-mail, and cases from the Customer Center or an online case form get whatever origin that channel or form is set up to use. A case a rep enters by hand usually has no origin unless the rep picks one or a form default or workflow sets it.
04. Add the Chat origin
On the Case Origin Types list, click New. Enter Case Origin Chat. Leave Insert Before blank so Chat goes to the end of the list. To place it in front of an existing origin instead, pick that origin in Insert Before. Enter the Description "Customer started the conversation in the website chat window", leave Inactive cleared, and click Save.
NetSuite returns to the list. Chat is the last row, with Order 6 and its description.
To retire an origin later, check Inactive instead of deleting it. An inactive origin drops out of the Origin dropdown for new cases, existing cases keep showing it, and Show Inactives on the list still shows it. Before you change or delete an origin that cases already use, check your saved searches, case rules, workflows, scripts, integrations, and online case forms for it.
05. Choose Chat on a new case
Go to Lists > Support > Cases and click New Case. Enter the Subject "Grinder order shows the wrong ship date", then choose Company Brightwater Cafe Group and Profile Retail Support. In this example Status is already Not Started and Priority is Medium. Those are this account's defaults for new cases. They usually come from Support Preferences, but a form, profile, workflow, or script can set them too, so check them in your account.
In Incident Information, open the Origin dropdown. In this account it lists the active origins after a blank first row, in the same order as the Case Origin Types list, so Chat is last, after Customer Center. Choose Chat, then click Save. If Chat isn't in the list, reload the case form, check that the origin isn't marked Inactive, and check whether the form you're using restricts the field.
06. Check the saved case
NetSuite saves the case as CASE214 and opens it. Case numbers depend on your account's numbering.
Check the result
- Case Origin Types lists Chat with Order 6 and its description.
- The new case's Origin dropdown offers Chat after Customer Center.
- Saved case CASE214 shows Origin Chat under Incident Information.
- The case is Not Started with Medium priority, for Brightwater Cafe Group.
Chat can now be used as a filter or grouping value in case searches and reports that include Origin, and as a criterion in case rules that support it, for example to route chat cases to the team that staffs the chat window.
Common questions
What does Insert Before do when I add a case origin?
It sets where the new origin goes in the list. Pick an existing origin and the new one is placed right before it. Leave it blank and the new origin goes to the end, which is how Chat ended up as Order 6 here.
Should I delete or inactivate a case origin that cases already use?
Inactivate it. Existing cases keep the value, and it stops showing in the Origin dropdown for new cases. Deleting an origin that cases use can break the history your searches and reports rely on.
How is Origin set on cases from email, the Customer Center, or an online case form?
Email case capture usually sets E-mail on its own. Customer Center and online case form submissions get whatever origin that channel or form is set up to use, often a web value. Check the form's settings instead of assuming every channel sets the same origin.
Why doesn't my new case origin show up in the Origin dropdown?
Check that you saved it with Inactive cleared, then reload or reopen the case form. If it's still missing, check that the case form you're using shows the Origin field and doesn't restrict its values.
How do I report on support cases by origin?
Create a case saved search and use Origin as a filter or a grouping field. Filter Origin to Chat to list chat cases, and add columns such as case number, status, company, and date created.
What does Stage mean on a case status?
Stage is the lifecycle category behind a status: Open, Escalated, or Closed. In this example Not Started, In Progress, and Re-Opened are all Open, while Escalated and Closed have their own stages. A status you add has to map to one of the three.