The quick answer
By default, NetSuite doesn't send saved search email alerts for records created or updated by CSV imports or SOAP web services. Go to Setup > Company > Email Preferences, check Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports in the General section and click Save. You need the Administrator role or the Set Up Company permission. From then on, each imported record that meets the search criteria normally sends its own alert to each recipient. Records imported before you saved the preference never get a record-created alert. The CSV import notification email is a separate message that this preference doesn't control, so getting it doesn't mean the alerts ran.
A saved search alert that works when someone adds a record by hand can go quiet when the same records come in through an import or an integration. The search isn't broken. NetSuite skips alerts for imports and SOAP web services unless one company-wide preference is on, which keeps big imports fast and stops them from flooding inboxes.
In the example, Tallgrass Equipment Rental has a saved Case search, New Case Alert, that should email Nadia Ferreira whenever a case with Status Not Started is created. She imports two cases with the preference off, then two more with it on. All people, companies and cases in the screenshots are fictional example data, and the inbox is an illustration: no email was sent.
Before you start
Changing Email Preferences needs the Administrator role or a role with the Set Up Company permission. The example uses Administrator. You also need to be able to edit the saved search and its recipients, and for the import, a role with CSV import access and permission to create the record type you're importing. Exact permissions and import options vary by account and role.
The alert search has to be able to fire at all. It has to be active and unsummarized, on a record type that supports email alerts, with Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated checked on its Email subtab and at least one recipient with a working email address. Create one matching record by hand to prove the search and recipients work, then test the import separately.
The preference covers saved search alerts for CSV imports and SOAP web services. It doesn't turn workflow Send Email actions or script-generated email on or off. For records created through REST web services, RESTlets or SuiteScript, test in your own account rather than assuming they follow this setting.
01 · Review the alert search
Go to Reports > Saved Searches and open New Case Alert. You can also find it under Lists > Search > Saved Searches. The page title is Saved Case Search. On Criteria, the only filter is Status is Not Started, so every newly created case qualifies.
Open the Email subtab. Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated is checked. Under Specific Recipients, Nadia Ferreira is listed with Send on Update No, so she hears about new cases, not edits.
02 · Check the company email preference
Go to Setup > Company > Email Preferences. In the General section, Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports is clear. That's the default unless someone has already changed it.
Leave it alone for now. The first import shows what happens without it.
03 · Import the first batch of cases
The file rental-cases-batch-1.csv has two rows with Subject, Company, Status, Priority, Assigned To and Incident Date. Both have Status Not Started, so both meet the search criteria.
Go to Setup > Import/Export > Import CSV Records. Set Import Type to Support and Record Type to Support Cases, select the file and click Next.
Keep Data Handling on Add and click Next. On Field Mapping, each column maps to the Case field with the same name. In this account, Company, Incident Date, Status and Subject are marked (Req). Click Next, then choose Run from the Save & Run menu.
Open Import Job Status. The job for rental-cases-batch-1.csv says 2 of 2 records imported successfully.
04 · Check what arrived
Go to Lists > Support > Cases. CASE25 and CASE26 are on the list with Status Not Started. They meet the search criteria.
Now check the inbox. The only new message is the CSV import notification: "The status of your import is Completed." No "Alert: New Case Alert (Record Created)" message arrived for either case.
This is the moment people start rebuilding the search. The import notification is a separate message about the import job, and this preference doesn't control it, so it proves the import finished, not that alerts were checked.
05 · Turn on alerts for imports
Go to Setup > Company > Email Preferences again. Check Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports and click Save. In the example, NetSuite returns to Setup Manager.
The setting is company-wide. Once it's saved, every saved search alert in the account can fire for imported and SOAP records, not only this one.
06 · Import the second batch
Repeat the import with rental-cases-batch-2.csv: Import Type Support, Record Type Support Cases, Add, the same mapping, Run. Import Job Status shows the new job above the first one, again with 2 of 2 records imported successfully.
07 · Confirm the alerts
Check the inbox again. Besides the second import notification, there's one "Alert: New Case Alert (Record Created)" message for each new case, CASE27 and CASE28.
Open the CASE27 alert. It lists the search's result columns for that case, including Number CASE27, Subject Excavator thumb hydraulic leak, Company Cobalt Ridge Excavation, Status Not Started, Assigned To Owen Pratt and Priority High, with a View Record link and a footer link to modify your email alerts. The View Record link appears when the search's Include View Record Link option is on. There's still no alert for CASE25 or CASE26. They were imported before the preference was saved, and turning it on doesn't go back for them.
Check the result (example values)
- Before the preference: CASE25 and CASE26 imported 2 of 2, and only the import notification arrived.
- Preference: Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports is checked and saved.
- After the preference: CASE27 and CASE28 each sent Alert: New Case Alert (Record Created).
- Not retroactive: CASE25 and CASE26 still have no alert.
Alert email goes out asynchronously and delivery time isn't guaranteed, so give it a few minutes before deciding it didn't arrive. If it still doesn't, check that the search is active and unsummarized, that the record met the criteria when it was created, and that the recipient's address works and isn't on the bounced email list. Your alert can look different from the example. The search's Customize Message subtab controls the sender, subject, introduction and View Record link, and NetSuite uses its default format for anything left blank.
Before the next big import, count how many records will qualify. Each one sends its own alert to each recipient, so, for example, a 2,000-row import into a search with three recipients can mean up to 6,000 emails. For more on alert setup, see how to email an alert when a new invoice is created and saved search alerts vs scheduled emails. For the import itself, see how to prepare a CSV import and how to share a saved CSV import with other users.
Common questions
Why doesn't my saved search alert fire for records created by CSV import?
NetSuite doesn't send saved search alerts for records created or updated by CSV imports or SOAP web services until someone turns that on. Check Enable Email Alerts for WS and CSV Imports on Setup > Company > Email Preferences and save.
Who can turn on email alerts for CSV imports?
An Administrator, or anyone whose role has the Set Up Company permission. The saved search still needs Send Email Alerts When Records are Created/Updated checked and at least one recipient.
I got the CSV import completion email but no alert. Why?
They're different messages. The import notification tells you the job finished, and this preference doesn't control it. The alert only goes out when the preference is on and the imported record meets the search criteria.
Does turning it on send alerts for records I imported earlier?
No. Records imported before you saved the preference never get a record-created alert. A later change to one of them can still send an update alert if the recipient has Send on Update and the change meets the search's rules.
Does Run Server SuiteScript and Trigger Workflows make alerts fire on import?
No. That option in the import's Advanced Options decides whether scripts and workflows run during the import. Saved search alerts depend on the Email Preferences check box.
Do saved search alerts fire for records created by SOAP web services?
Yes, once the same preference is on. It covers CSV imports and SOAP web services. For records created through REST web services, RESTlets or SuiteScript, test in your own account.
Will a large CSV import send one alert per record?
Yes. Each qualifying record sends its own alert to each recipient, not one summary. Check the criteria and the recipient list before a big import.
How do I get alerts when a CSV import updates existing records?
Give the recipient Send on Update on the search's Email subtab. The updated record has to meet the criteria after the import, and if you've set Updated Fields, the import has to change one of those fields.