The quick answer
Use a Transaction saved search with Type is Invoice and Main Line is true. On its Email subtab, check Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated and add the person under Specific Recipients. Leave Send on Update clear if they only care about new invoices. Set the sender, subject, and introduction on Customize Message, then save the search. When someone creates an invoice that matches the criteria, the recipient gets an email with that invoice's result columns and a View Record link.
The screenshots use sample data. Person and company names are fictional. The last image is a representative email built from the saved settings, not a message NetSuite delivered.
Before you start
This example uses a saved search called New Invoice Alert that already exists in the account. The billing lead, Sam Ortega, wants an email whenever someone creates an invoice. You need a role that can edit the saved search. Keep the search unsummarized, and make sure the recipient has a working email address on their employee record. Menus, subtabs, and recipient options can vary with your role and account.
If you want the difference between record alerts and scheduled emails first, read saved search alerts vs scheduled emails. This guide covers the alert side only.
01. Check which invoices the search covers
Go to Reports > Saved Searches and open New Invoice Alert. In this account it's listed right in the menu. You can also find it in the full list at Lists > Search > Saved Searches.
The criteria decide which new records send an alert. On Criteria, the search has two rows: Type is Invoice and Main Line is true. Main Line keeps one row per invoice instead of one per item line, so each new invoice produces one set of values in the email.
Open Results. The columns here are the fields the alert lists for the invoice: Document Number, Date, Name, Type, and Amount. To show something else in the email, change these columns.
02. Turn on the alert and add a recipient
Open the Email subtab and check Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated. Leave Send Emails According to Schedule alone. That one emails the full result set on a recurrence, which is a different job.
On Specific Recipients, pick Sam Ortega in Recipient. Leave Send on Update clear, then click Add. With it clear, Sam gets the alert when a matching invoice is created but not the alerts for later edits to existing invoices. Sam Ortega now shows as a row in the sublist.
03. Customize the message
Open Customize Message. These fields apply to all of this search's alerts.
- From:
"Billing Alerts" <billing-alerts@lakeviewtools.example>(a placeholder address; use your own approved sender) - Subject: New invoice created
- Introduction: A new invoice was created. Review it below.
Enter From as a display name in quotes followed by the address in angle brackets. In the account where this was tested, NetSuite rejected a From value in any other form with the message that it must be of the form "Name" <Email Address>. A valid format doesn't guarantee delivery. Use a sender domain your account is set up to send from.
Leave Single-Record Results blank to keep NetSuite's default layout of the result columns. Further down, under Summarized Results, keep Send within Message selected and Include View Record Link checked. The link opens the invoice in NetSuite, so it only works for a recipient who can log in and see that record.
04. Save the search
Click Save & Run. NetSuite saves the search and opens its results, here two existing invoices, INV-3101 and INV-3104. Save & Run doesn't send an alert, and the invoices already in the results don't trigger one either. The alert waits for the next new invoice that matches. Don't use Save & Email for this; it sends the current results right away.
The search needs to stay saved and active for alerts to go out.
05. Create a test invoice
Go to Transactions > Sales > Create Invoices. Choose Granite Bay Contractors as Customer and add two lines: Impact Driver Kit at 189.00 and Hex Bit Set at 24.50. The total is 213.50.
Click Save. In this example the invoice saves as INV-3107 with a Total of 213.50. Your document number depends on your numbering setup. Creating a new invoice that meets the criteria is the event the alert is set up for.
06. Check the alert
The view below is a representative inbox view built from the saved settings. It shows what Sam's alert for INV-3107 would contain. The walkthrough didn't send or receive a real email.
It's from Billing Alerts with the subject New invoice created. The introduction comes first, then the invoice's result columns: Document Number INV-3107, Date 09/23/2026, Name Granite Bay Contractors, Type Invoice, and Amount 213.50. A View Record link follows. NetSuite's actual labels, layout, and footer text can differ.
Check the result
- New Invoice Alert is saved with Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated checked.
- Sam Ortega is under Specific Recipients with Send on Update clear.
- From, Subject, and Introduction match what you entered, and Include View Record Link is checked.
- A new matching invoice created in the UI produces one alert for Sam with its result columns and a View Record link.
Before you rely on the alert, create a test invoice in an approved environment and confirm the email reaches an internal recipient. If nothing arrives, check the recipient's address, the sender, the account's email preferences, and whether the invoice meets the criteria. A sandbox may redirect or hold outbound email. Invoices created by CSV import or web services send alerts only when the account has Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports turned on. Test those, and any scripted or integration-created invoices, separately.
Common questions
What does Send on Update do?
It sends that recipient an alert when an existing record is edited and still meets the search criteria. Sam's is clear here, so Sam hears about new invoices that match Type is Invoice and Main Line is true, not later edits to them. You set it per recipient on Specific Recipients.
What's the difference between an alert and a scheduled email?
An alert fires when a matching record is created, or updated if Send on Update is on. A scheduled email runs the search at a set time and sends whatever matches then. They're separate checkboxes on the Email subtab, and you can turn on both.
Does Save & Run send the alert?
No. It saves the search and shows the current results, and the invoices already in those results don't trigger anything. The alert goes out when a new matching invoice is created, like INV-3107 here. Save & Email is a different button that sends the current results right away.
Why didn't the alert fire for invoices from a CSV import?
Saved search alerts don't go out for records created by CSV import or web services unless the account has Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports turned on. An administrator usually controls that preference. Scripts and other integrations can behave differently, so test each way invoices get into your account.
Why does NetSuite reject my From address?
Enter it as a display name in quotes followed by the address in angle brackets, like "Billing Alerts" and then the address. In the account where this was tested, NetSuite rejected any other form. A correctly formatted From still has to use an address your account is set up to send from.
What's in the alert email? Does it attach the invoice PDF?
With these settings, the email has your introduction, the new invoice's Document Number, Date, Name, Type, and Amount, and a View Record link. It doesn't attach the invoice PDF. Send within Message puts the search results in the body of the email. To send the invoice document itself, email it from the invoice.