SuiteTalk (Web Services) Platform Guide - NetSuite

Records, Fields, Forms, and Sublists in Web ServicesWorking with Records in Web Services48In cases where a client application already maintains references between records, setthe externalId attribute for each record during imports. In subsequent API calls, youcan then reference associated records by the known external ID.• Establishing relationships during a single import operationFor example, suppose you want to import customer records with references to salesreps into NetSuite. If no external ID is used, you would need to import the customerrecords, determine the IDs of the related sales reps’ employee records, and then reimportthe customer records with the sales reps ID references. By providing anexternal ID you can import the customer records in a single API call using the externalID references to the sales reps.Important: External IDs can be updated through CSV or Web services. Therefore, it isrecommended that your organization use a single approach for maintainingexternalIds so that externalIds are not unknowingly updated using twoseparate methods.Although records of a particular type may be used in multiple integrationscenarios, each record instance can only have a single external ID value. Inorder to maintain data integrity, only a single integrated application can setand update external ID values for each record type. External ID values for allrecords of a particular type must all come from the same externalapplication.Copying smbXML Handles into ExternalIDsTo facilitate migrations from smbXML to Web services, NetSuite copies over the handles of allnew and existing records that were created using smbXML into Web services externalId fields.Existing handles will not be copied if there is already a value in the externalId field.It is important to note that externalIds in Web services can be edited. Therefore, it isrecommended that once you migrate your data from smbXML to Web services, you shouldmaintain the data using Web services.Important: Updating an externalId in Web services does not update its correspondingsmbXML handle.Note that you cannot copy the value of an external ID into an smbXML handle.NetSuite Record Types that Support External IDNot all NetSuite record types support the use of external ID values. The following table lists theNetSuite record types that support external ID.Record TypeAccountAssembly BuildAssembly ItemAssembly UnbuildCampaignSuiteTalk Platform Guide