ANS-0900 · CUSTOMER & CRM RECORDS
How to Add or Import a NetSuite Contact with an Existing First and Last Name?
NetSuite prevents adding contacts with identical first and last names for the same customer, but a manual adjustment to the Contact ID field provides a simple workaround.
Short answer
NetSuite does not allow adding contacts with the same first and last name for the same company by default. To bypass this, manually set a unique value for the 'Contact ID' field. This field, usually auto-populated, must be differentiated from existing duplicates, for example, by appending a number or identifier.
Scenario
By default, NetSuite prevents users from adding or importing a new contact if another contact with the exact same first name and last name already exists for the same customer record. This restriction applies even when there are genuinely two different individuals with identical names working for the same company.
Solution
To successfully add or import a contact with a first name and last name that already exists for another contact on the same company, the 'Contact ID' field must be manually set to a unique value.
When creating or importing the new contact, enter the desired 'First Name' and 'Last Name'.
Manually input a unique identifier into the 'Contact ID' field. This field is typically auto-populated with the first name and last name, but for duplicate names, it must be explicitly different from any existing contact IDs.
For example, if "Olivier Simard" already exists as a contact for "ERP Guru" and a second "Olivier Simard" needs to be added, set the fields as follows:First Name: "Olivier"Last Name: "Simard"Contact ID: "Olivier Simard 1"This manual adjustment allows NetSuite to process the new contact entry.
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