Best Alternatives to record.load for Optimized NetSuite Scripting

1. Use search.lookupFields (Best for Fetching a Few Fields)

• When to use: You only need to retrieve a few fields from a record (without modifying it).
• Governance Cost: 2 units (compared to 10+ for record.load).
• Limitation: Cannot access sublists or make updates.

• Example (Fetching Customer Name & Email)

let customerData = search.lookupFields({
    type: search.Type.CUSTOMER,
    id: 12345,
    columns: ['entityid', 'email']
});

log.debug('Customer Name', customerData.entityid);
log.debug('Email', customerData.email);

2. Use search.create (For Bulk Lookups)

• When to use: Need to fetch multiple fields from multiple records efficiently.
• Governance Cost: 10 units per search execution (better than multiple record.load).
• Limitation: Cannot modify records directly.

• Example (Fetching Email & Status for Multiple Customers)

let customerSearch = search.create({
    type: search.Type.CUSTOMER,
    columns: ['entityid', 'email', 'status'],
    filters: [
        ['status', 'anyof', 'ACTIVE']
    ]
});

customerSearch.run().each(function(result) {
    log.debug('Customer', result.getValue('entityid') + ' - ' + result.getValue('email'));
    return true; // Continue iteration
});

3. Use N/query (For Large Datasets & Joins)

• When to use: Fetching data from multiple related records (like a SQL query).
• Governance Cost: 10 units per query execution (scalable for large data).
• Limitation: Read-only access, cannot update records.

• Example (Fetching Customers & Their Sales Reps Efficiently)

let query = query.runSuiteQL({
    query: "SELECT id, entityid, email FROM customer WHERE isinactive = 'F'"
}).asMappedResults();

log.debug('Customers', query);

4. Use a Saved Search (If Reusable by Other Users/Scripts)

• When to use: If the lookup needs to be used in multiple scripts or UI dashboards.
• Governance Cost: Depends on usage, but avoids excessive script execution.
• Limitation: Needs to be maintained in NetSuite UI.

• Example (Loading a Predefined Saved Search in a Script)

let savedSearch = search.load({ id: 'customsearch_active_customers' });

savedSearch.run().each(function(result) {
    log.debug('Customer Name', result.getValue('entityid'));
    return true;
});

5. Use N/record.submitFields (For Direct Field Updates Without Loading)

• When to use: You need to update a few fields without loading the full record.
• Governance Cost: 10 units (same as record.load, but avoids unnecessary data loading).
• Limitation: Cannot update sublists.

• Example (Updating a Customer’s Email Without record.load)

record.submitFields({
    type: record.Type.CUSTOMER,
    id: 12345,
    values: { email: 'newemail@example.com' }
});