How to create matrix items for size and color variants in NetSuite

The quick answer

Go to Lists > Accounting > Items > New and click Create Matrix Items on the item type you want, here Inventory Item. Name the parent. On the Accounting subtab, open Matrix Items and Ctrl-click (Cmd-click on a Mac) the values you sell in each option list, like two colors and three sizes. Build the Matrix Item Name Template from the Insert Item Attribute and Insert Matrix Option lists. Then choose Actions > Create Matrix, check the combinations NetSuite lists, and click Submit. In this example, 2 colors x 3 sizes gives 6 child items, named like Trail Tee-Charcoal-S.

The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own item, option fields and values when following the steps.

Before you start

A new T-shirt, the Trail Tee, comes in two colors and three sizes. That's six items, and each one needs its own stock and sales history. You could create six inventory items by hand and hope the names and settings match. A matrix parent lets you define the colors and sizes once and have NetSuite generate the six children with consistent names and the parent's settings.

The account needs the Matrix Items feature, under Setup > Company > Enable Features > Items & Inventory. With it on, the New Item page shows Matrix Item Assistant and Create Matrix Items next to each item type that supports matrix items.

Each variant dimension is a custom item field marked as a matrix option and sourced from a custom list of its values. Here that's Color (Charcoal, Forest, Sand) and Size (S, M, L, XL). For this path, the fields and lists have to exist, be applied to the item type, and show on the item form you use before you create the parent. Your role needs permission to create items and access to those fields and lists.

If the children will sell on a web store, you'll also need matching transaction item options so shoppers can pick a color and size. That setup isn't covered here.

01. Start a matrix parent

Go to Lists > Accounting > Items > New. The New Item page lists each item type with a Matrix Item Assistant link and a Create Matrix Items link. Click Create Matrix Items on the Inventory Item row.

The New Item page with columns Item type, Matrix Item Assistant and Create Matrix Items. Assembly, Inventory Item and their Lot Numbered and Serialized subtypes each have both matrix links. An arrow points to Create Matrix Items on the Inventory Item row. — Create Matrix Items on the Inventory Item row.

The Matrix Item Assistant is a separate step-by-step path to the same result, and it can create the option lists along the way. This guide uses Create Matrix Items, which opens the normal item form and expects the option fields to be set up already.

02. Name the parent item

An Inventory Item form opens with a Matrix tag under the title. That tag marks the record as the matrix parent. Enter Trail Tee in Item Name/Number and in Display Name/Code.

A new Inventory Item form with a Matrix tag under the title and an Actions button. Subsidiary has Juniper Ridge US selected. Item Name/Number and Display Name/Code both read Trail Tee. — The matrix parent form: Matrix tag under the title, Trail Tee in both name fields.

Subsidiary (Juniper Ridge US), Cost Category and the accounts are already filled in from the account's defaults. Check them and fill in anything else your form requires. The children are created from the parent's values, so a wrong account here ends up on every child.

03. Choose the colors and sizes

Open the Accounting subtab and scroll down to the Matrix Items subtab. On a different item form, the matrix fields can sit somewhere else. A notice explains that the Matrix Item Name Template controls how new matrix items are named. There's one selection box per matrix option field. Before you touch anything, nothing is selected, the template is empty, and the parent has no children.

The Matrix Items subtab with the name template notice, empty Insert Item Attribute and Insert Matrix Option lists, an empty Matrix Item Name Template, a Color box showing Charcoal, Forest and Sand, and a Size box scrolled to M, L and XL. Nothing is selected. — Before: Color offers Charcoal, Forest and Sand, Size offers S through XL, and nothing is selected.

Here each box shows three rows at a time, so scroll it to see every value. Size also has S above M.

In Color, click Charcoal, then hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) and click Forest. In Size, click S, then Ctrl-click M and L. A plain click replaces the selection, so keep the modifier held after the first value. Sand and XL stay unselected, and NetSuite creates no items for them.

The Color box with Charcoal and Forest selected and the Size box with S, M and L selected. Selected values are filled light blue with a dark underline. — Charcoal and Forest in Color. S, M and L in Size.

That's 2 colors x 3 sizes, so 6 combinations.

04. Build the name template

The template decides what each child is called. You build it from tags rather than typing the field IDs.

In Insert Item Attribute, choose Item Name/Number. The template shows {itemid}, the parent's Item Name/Number. Click at the end of the template and type a hyphen.
In Insert Matrix Option, choose Color. NetSuite adds {custitem_color} on a new line. Type a hyphen after it.
In Insert Matrix Option, choose Size. NetSuite adds {custitem_size} on a new line.

The Matrix Item Name Template reads {itemid}-, {custitem_color}- and {custitem_size} on three lines. Color still has Charcoal and Forest selected and Size has S, M and L. — The finished template: {itemid}-, {custitem_color}- and {custitem_size} on three lines.

The hyphens you typed become separators in the name. In this example, the generated names come out as parent name, color and size with no line breaks, like Trail Tee-Charcoal-S. If you'd rather not rely on that, delete the line breaks so the template reads on one line. Either way, the next page shows every generated name before anything is created.

The template must include a tag for every matrix option you selected values for. The tags use your own custom field IDs, so yours won't say custitem_color unless that's what you named the field.

05. Review and create the combinations

At the bottom of the form, click Actions and choose Create Matrix. NetSuite saves the parent and opens the Create Matrix Items page.

The bottom Actions menu is open below the finished name template. Its one entry, Create Matrix, is highlighted. — Actions > Create Matrix at the bottom of the form.

The page lists one row per combination with its generated name, Color and Size, and an Include box. Here that's six rows, Trail Tee-Charcoal-S through Trail Tee-Forest-L, all included. Clear Include on any row you don't want. Then click Submit.

The Create Matrix Items page with Back, Mark All, Unmark All and Submit buttons. Six rows, each with Include checked: Trail Tee-Charcoal-S, -M and -L with Color Charcoal, and Trail Tee-Forest-S, -M and -L with Color Forest, each with its Size. — Six combinations with their generated names, all included.

This is the place to catch a bad template or a stray value. Names have to be unique, so check for duplicates too. A matrix parent tops out at 2,000 combinations, so multiply your selected values before you build anything big.

06. Confirm the child items

The Mass Update Performed page reports Matrix Item Creation: the mass update was performed on 6 records.

The Mass Update Performed page with an OK button. Matrix Item Creation: Your mass update is complete, and has been successfully performed on 6 records. — Matrix Item Creation, performed on 6 records.

Click OK. You're back on Trail Tee, which now has a Matrix tag next to its name.

The saved Inventory Item Trail Tee with a Matrix tag beside the name and Edit, Back and Actions buttons. Primary Information shows Internal ID 3401, Subsidiary Juniper Ridge US, and Item Name/Number and Display Name/Code Trail Tee. — The saved parent, Trail Tee, tagged Matrix.

Open the Accounting subtab and scroll to Matrix Items. The template is saved, Color shows Charcoal and Forest, and Size shows S, M and L. The list below has the six child items with their generated Name/Number, Color and Size, and Inactive and Display in Website both No.

The Trail Tee Accounting subtab. Matrix Items shows the template, Color Charcoal and Forest, and Size S, M and L. The list has Trail Tee-Charcoal-L, -M and -S and Trail Tee-Forest-L, -M and -S with their Color and Size, Inactive No and Display in Website No. — The six children: Charcoal and Forest in S, M and L.

Check the result

Create Matrix Items listed 6 rows, one per color and size combination.
Mass Update Performed reports Matrix Item Creation on 6 records.
Trail Tee shows the Matrix tag, and its Matrix Items subtab keeps the template, Charcoal and Forest, and S, M and L.
The child list shows Trail Tee-Charcoal-L, -M and -S and Trail Tee-Forest-L, -M and -S, each with one color and one size.

Each child is its own inventory item and a subitem of the parent. It picks up the parent's values, like subsidiary, accounts, cost category and tax schedule. Exactly which fields copy depends on the item type and form. Creating the children doesn't receive any stock or create a transaction. Check pricing and web store settings on the children before you sell them. Here they show Display in Website No.

07. Add a size or color later

The walkthrough stops after the six children are created. Later changes to the parent don't flow to existing children by themselves. To add XL, edit Trail Tee, select XL in Size on the Matrix Items subtab, and choose Actions > Update Matrix. The Update Matrix Items page lists the matrix items with an Include box. Submitting creates the missing combinations and pushes supported parent field changes to the included children, which can overwrite values you set on a child. Clear Include on any child you don't want touched. Adding values to an existing option is the normal case. Adding a whole new dimension, like Material, after the children exist is a bigger change and may not be supported.

Common questions

How do I create matrix items in NetSuite?

Turn on the Matrix Items feature and set up a custom item field and list for each variant, like Color and Size. Then go to Lists > Accounting > Items > New, click Create Matrix Items on the item type, name the parent, select the values on the Matrix Items subtab, build the name template, and choose Actions > Create Matrix. Submit the Create Matrix Items page. In this example, that creates six Trail Tee children.

What's the difference between a matrix parent and a child item?

The parent, Trail Tee here, holds the product family: the option values it comes in and the name template. Each child is one sellable combination, like Trail Tee-Charcoal-S, with exactly one color and one size. Children are the items you stock and put on transactions.

Where do I select the matrix options on a parent item?

In this account, on the parent's Accounting subtab under Matrix Items. Each matrix option field gets its own selection box, here Color and Size. Another item form can place the fields differently.

How does the Matrix Item Name Template work?

It's built from tags and the text you type between them. Insert Item Attribute adds {itemid}, the parent's Item Name/Number, and Insert Matrix Option adds the tag of each option field, here {custitem_color} and {custitem_size}. With hyphens between them, the children come out as names like Trail Tee-Charcoal-S.

Why were only some size and color combinations created?

NetSuite only builds combinations from the values you selected. Two colors and three sizes give 2 x 3 = 6 children, and Sand and XL get none because they weren't selected. If a combination you wanted is missing, check whether its Include box was cleared on the Create Matrix Items page.

How do I select more than one value in a NetSuite multi-select field?

Click the first value, then hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) and click the others. A plain click replaces whatever was selected.

How many child items will a matrix parent create?

The product of the values you select in each option, minus any rows you uncheck before submitting. A parent can have up to 2,000 combinations, so do the multiplication before you select a long list of values.

How do I add a new size to an existing matrix item?

Edit the parent, select the new value, like XL, and choose Actions > Update Matrix. Review the Update Matrix Items page and submit to create the missing combinations. The walkthrough doesn't show this step.

Do changes to a matrix parent update the child items?

Not on their own. Existing children only get parent changes when you run Update Matrix and include them, and then only for fields that support it. That can overwrite values you set on a child, so clear Include on any child you want left alone.

Should I use the Matrix Item Assistant or Create Matrix Items?

The Matrix Item Assistant walks you through the parent, option lists and combinations in steps, and can create the lists for you. Create Matrix Items opens the normal item form as a new parent and expects the option fields to exist already. Both end with child items under one parent.