The quick answer
Go to Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Tabs > New, enter a Label, pick the Center your users are on, such as Classic Center, and save. The tab shows up in the navigation bar right away, but it's empty. To give it a menu, create a Center Category under Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Categories > New, point it at your tab, and add the reports you want on its Values subtab. To put the same links on the tab's own page, edit the tab and add a Links portlet on the Portlets sublist. The tab adds navigation and, if you give it portlets, a page. It doesn't give anyone permission to run the reports behind it.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own labels and reports when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan is the NetSuite administrator at Example Supply Co. The controller's team opens the same three reports at every month-end: Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Trial Balance. Each time, they point to Reports > Financial and hunt through a long flyout. Alex gives those reports their own tab, called Close Reports.
Custom center navigation is built from three record types under Customization > Centers and Tabs:
- A Center Tab is the top-level tab in the navigation bar.
- A Center Category is a group of links under a tab, like Month-End.
- A Center Link is a reusable custom destination, such as a URL or a Suitelet. You don't need one here because standard reports are already available as links.
A center tab belongs to one Center, and only roles that use that center see it, subject to the tab's audience. This example uses Classic Center. Creating the tab needs the Custom Center Tabs permission, and creating the category needs Custom Center Categories. Some accounts also need the Custom Records feature, under Setup > Company > Enable Features. Custom tabs are classic-center navigation, so test the target role in the interface it actually uses.
This is a different tool from a couple of nearby options. A Custom Search portlet puts saved search results on a dashboard, and Show In Menu lists a saved search under Reports > Saved Searches. A center tab gives every eligible user on a center the same configured links, and an administrator maintains them in one place. Each user can still open only what their role allows.
01. Find the reports today
Point to Reports, then Financial. Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Trial Balance are in there, spread through a long flyout of financial reports. That's the trip the team makes every month.
The navigation bar has no tab for them. At this screen width, the tabs that don't fit are under the overflow (...) menu at the right end of the bar.
02. Create the center tab
Go to Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Tabs > New. In Label, enter Close Reports. In Center, select Classic Center. Leave the ID blank and NetSuite generates one when you save.
The Content subtab has two sublists, Categories and Portlets. Leave both empty for now.
Click the Audience subtab. This decides who sees the tab. On a new center tab, Select All next to Internal roles is already checked, so every eligible internal role that uses Classic Center will see Close Reports. Leave it checked for this example. In a real account, only leave it checked if every internal role on that center should see the tab. To show it only to the close team, clear Select All and pick their roles instead. External roles, departments, subsidiaries, employees, customers, vendors, and partners have their own selections.
Click Save. The Center Tab record opens in view mode with Label Close Reports, Center Classic Center, and a generated ID that starts with custcentertab. Here it's custcentertab231; yours will differ. The Categories sublist says "No records to show."
03. Open the empty tab
The new tab shows up in the navigation bar as soon as it's saved. In this account it lands near the end, before SuiteApps and Support, and because the bar is full, Close Reports is in the overflow (...) menu. If you don't see it, refresh the page.
Click Close Reports. The page is titled Close Reports and has nothing on it except Edit Custom Tab, Personalize, and Layout.
04. Create a category of report links
Go to Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Categories > New.
- In Label, enter Month-End.
- In Center Type, select Classic Center. It has to match the center of the tab.
- In Center Tab, select Close Reports.
- Leave Insert Before blank for the default placement. Set it when the category should appear before a specific existing category on the tab.
On the Values subtab, select Income Statement in the Link column and click Add. Do the same for Balance Sheet and Trial Balance. Link is required on each row. Label is optional and overrides the name users see.
Click Save.
05. Check the hover menu
Point to Close Reports in the navigation bar, or in the overflow menu if that's where it is. Its menu now shows Close Reports Overview and Month-End. Point to Month-End and the flyout lists Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Trial Balance.
06. Add a Links portlet
The hover menu has the links, but clicking Close Reports still opens a blank page. Categories feed the menu. The tab's page only shows them after you add a Links portlet.
Open the Close Reports page and click Edit Custom Tab. You can also go to Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Tabs and click Edit next to Close Reports. On the Content subtab, the Categories sublist now lists Month-End. Click Portlets, then select Links in the Type list.
Leave Column as Left and Show as Yes. Click Add, then Save.
07. Open a report from the tab
Click Close Reports again. The page now has a Close Reports Links portlet with a Month-End group. Expand Month-End and it lists Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Trial Balance. In this account, Income Statement and Balance Sheet also have a Detail link under them.
Click Income Statement. The report opens straight from the tab, without the trip through Reports > Financial.
Check the result
- Close Reports is in the navigation bar, or in its overflow (...) menu.
- Pointing to Close Reports shows Close Reports Overview and Month-End, and Month-End lists Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Trial Balance.
- Clicking Close Reports opens a page with a Close Reports Links portlet that has the same Month-End group.
- Clicking Income Statement in the portlet opens the Income Statement report.
- A user in one of the target roles sees the same tab. Check it as that role before telling the team.
Seeing a tab or a link doesn't give anyone permission to run the report behind it. If someone on the close team can't open a report from the tab, check their role's report permissions, not the tab.
Common questions
How do I add a custom tab to the NetSuite navigation bar?
Go to Customization > Centers and Tabs > Center Tabs > New, enter a Label, pick the Center your users are on, and save. The tab shows up in the navigation bar, or its overflow menu, right away. Then create a center category for its menu and add a Links portlet if you want the links on the tab's page too.
Why is my new custom center tab blank when I click it?
A new tab has no content until you give it some. Categories fill its hover menu, and a Links portlet on the tab's Portlets sublist puts those links on its page. Until then, the page only has Edit Custom Tab, Personalize, and Layout.
Why doesn't my center category show up on my custom tab?
Open the category and check two fields. Center Tab has to be your tab, and Center Type has to match the tab's center, Classic Center in this example. Also make sure the category has at least one row on its Values subtab.
Which roles can see a custom center tab?
Roles that use the tab's center and are included on its Audience subtab. On a new tab, Select All for internal roles is checked, so every eligible internal role on that center sees it. Clear it and pick roles if only one team should.
Does adding a report to a center tab give users permission to run it?
No. The tab only adds a link. Someone whose role can't run the Income Statement will still see the link and still get stopped when they click it, so fix the role, not the tab.
What's the difference between a center tab, a center category, and a center link?
The center tab is the top-level tab, like Close Reports. A center category is a group of links under it, like Month-End. A center link is a reusable custom destination, such as a URL or a Suitelet. Standard reports like Income Statement are already available on the category's Values subtab, so you don't need a center link for them.
Should I use a custom center tab, a dashboard portlet, or Show In Menu?
It depends on what people need. A Custom Search portlet shows saved search results on a dashboard. Show In Menu lists one saved search under Reports > Saved Searches. A Shortcuts portlet helps one user. A center tab gives everyone on a center the same set of links in its own spot in the navigation bar.
I saved the tab but can't find it. Where is it?
Check the overflow (...) menu at the right end of the navigation bar. That's where it lands when the bar is full. If it isn't there, confirm your role uses the tab's center and is in its audience, then refresh the page.