The quick answer
With Knowledge Base enabled on the CRM subtab of Setup > Company > Enable Features, go to Lists > Support > Topics and click New. On the standard form a topic only needs a Title. Leave Subtopic Of blank for a top-level topic, or pick a parent to nest it. Then go to Lists > Support > Solutions and click New Solution. Enter a Title, an Abstract and a Description, set Status to Approved once the answer is reviewed, and on the Topics subtab add the topic it belongs under. After you save, the topic's # of Solutions goes up and its Solutions subtab lists the new solution.
The example is an appliance service company that answers the same billing questions every day. Nadia Ferreira, an administrator, adds a Billing & Payments topic, nests Card Payments under it, and writes one approved answer for declined card payments. Every person, company and record in the screenshots is fictional example data.
Before you start
You need the Knowledge Base feature and a role with the Knowledge Base permission at the Full level. The example uses Administrator. In this account Customer Relationship Management and Customer Support and Service are already checked on the same CRM subtab.
Plan the topic structure before you write solutions. Topics are the shelves. Organize them by product, by type of request or by area of service. Organizing by customer rarely scales. If you find yourself filing the same solution under many topics, the structure needs another look.
Solution codes like SOL-0423 come from Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers, CRM subtab, where you set the prefix and starting number for solutions. The walkthrough doesn't open that page. This account already numbers its solutions SOL-0418 and up. Your prefix and next number depend on that setup.
01. Confirm that Knowledge Base is enabled
Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features and click the CRM subtab. In the Support group, Knowledge Base ("Create a knowledge base for FAQs, publishing support cases and more.") is checked. If it isn't in your account, check it and click Save.
02. Review the current topic structure
Go to Lists > Support > Topics. Top-level topics sit flush left and subtopics are indented under their parent. Getting Started has the subtopics Installation and Product Registration. Repairs & Service has the subtopic Error Codes.
# of Solutions counts the solutions filed directly under each topic. Error Codes has 2. Getting Started shows 0, because its solutions are filed under its subtopics rather than under Getting Started itself. Nothing covers billing yet.
03. Create a top-level topic
Click New. In Title, type Billing & Payments. Leave Subtopic Of blank, which makes it a top-level topic. In Brief Description, type Invoices, payment options and account balances. Detailed Description is optional. Brief and detailed descriptions help readers once the topic is published.
Click Save. The Topics list shows Confirmation: Topic successfully Saved. Billing & Payments sits flush left at the bottom with 0 solutions.
04. Create a subtopic under it
Click New again. In Title, type Card Payments. Open Subtopic Of. The list shows every topic, with subtopics indented under their parents. Choose Billing & Payments.
In Brief Description, type Paying an invoice by credit or debit card.
Click Save. Card Payments appears indented under Billing & Payments, with 0 solutions. To move a topic later, edit it and change Subtopic Of.
05. Write the solution and file it under the subtopic
Go to Lists > Support > Solutions. Five solutions are listed, SOL-0418 to SOL-0422, Total: 5. Click New Solution.
Code reads To Be Generated with Auto checked, so NetSuite numbers the solution when you save. Clear Auto if you want to type your own code. Status starts at Unapproved.
In Title, type Card payment declined at checkout. In Assigned To, choose Tomas Lindqvist, the employee responsible for keeping this answer up to date. In Status, choose Approved. Use Unapproved when someone still has to review the answer, because unapproved solutions can't be published. Check Display Online. That lets the solution appear when the knowledge base is published. It doesn't publish anything by itself. The solution also has to be approved and filed under a topic that is published to an audience.
In Abstract, type Why a card payment is declined and how to retry it. That's the short summary shown next to the title, for example in the Solutions list and on a topic's Solutions subtab. In Description, type the answer: Check that the billing ZIP code and expiry date match the card, then retry the payment or use another card. Description has a formatting toolbar, so it can hold formatted text and links. Write it for whoever will read it, since solutions can go to customers.
On the Topics subtab, choose Card Payments in Topic and click Add. A solution can sit under more than one topic. Add a row for each.
Click Save. The Solutions list shows Confirmation: Solution successfully Saved and Total: 6. The new row is SOL-0423 Card payment declined at checkout, Approved, with Case Count 0.
06. See the solution filed under its topic
Go to Lists > Support > Topics. Card Payments now shows 1 under # of Solutions. Billing & Payments still shows 0, the same way Getting Started did in step 2. A 0 on a parent doesn't mean that branch is empty.
Click Card Payments and open its Solutions subtab. It lists SOL-0423 Card payment declined at checkout with its abstract.
You're done when:
- Knowledge Base is enabled and the new topics appear on Lists > Support > Topics with the right indentation;
- the solution has a generated code, the right Assigned To and Status, and Display Online set the way you want;
- the topic you filed it under shows it in # of Solutions and on its Solutions subtab.
Publishing the topic so employees or customers can browse it is a separate step under Lists > Support > Knowledge Base, with its own destination and audience. See how to publish the knowledge base to its own center tab.
Common questions
What's the difference between a topic and a solution?
A topic is a shelf. It can hold subtopics and solutions, and it's how readers browse the knowledge base. A solution is the answer itself, with an abstract, a description and a status. In the example, Billing & Payments holds the subtopic Card Payments, and Card Payments holds the solution Card payment declined at checkout.
Why does a parent topic show 0 under # of Solutions?
The column counts only solutions filed directly under that topic. Getting Started shows 0 because its solutions are filed under Installation and Product Registration, and Billing & Payments stays at 0 after the new solution goes under Card Payments. Open a subtopic to see what's filed there.
What do Approved and Unapproved mean on a solution?
New solutions start as Unapproved, which means nobody has signed off on the answer yet. Set Status to Approved once it's reviewed. An unapproved solution can't be published, so leave it Unapproved while someone else still has to check it.
What does Display Online do on a solution?
It makes the solution eligible to show when the knowledge base is published. It doesn't publish anything on its own. The solution also has to be approved and filed under a topic that's published to an audience, and what that audience sees depends on your account's publishing setup.
How are solution codes like SOL-0423 generated?
With Auto checked, Code reads To Be Generated and NetSuite assigns the next number when you save. The prefix and starting number come from Setup > Company > Auto-Generated Numbers, CRM subtab, so yours may look different. Clear Auto if you want to type the code yourself.
Can a solution sit under more than one topic, and how do I move a topic?
Yes. Add a row for each topic on the solution's Topics subtab. To move a topic, edit it and change Subtopic Of to the new parent, or clear it to make the topic top level.
How do support reps use a solution on a case?
On the case's Communication subtab, the Insert Solution field adds the solution's description to the message. The Solutions list's Case Count then shows how often a solution has been used on cases. The walkthrough doesn't attach the solution to a case, so check how your account counts it.