What is NetSuite Sandbox?
The NetSuite Sandbox is a test account which has been designed to facilitate its potential users. After subscribing, we will get an account where we can allow you to create and configure the NetSuite business management software. We will be provided a replica of our firm’s current database where we are permitted to make any kind of changes. All the changes appear the same to the modifications of the actual database but are not real in nature. However, the external transactions like emails and payments will not be processed.
The NetSuite Sandbox is an ideal option for those who wish to design the preferred customizations for their systems. It can be done with the help of Java Scripting modes (SuiteScript), workflows (SuiteFlow), or any other part features of NetSuite.
Benefits of a NetSuite Sandbox
- Use the sandbox to test the customizations early in the development to avoid the expensive application rewrites later on.
- Take the troubled customizations from the production and move them to the sandbox to work the bugs out.
- Try the third-party bundles especially ones that are not explicitly “Made for NetSuite” before they mess with production data
- Test the custom transactions before they impact the GL and reports
- Check the consequences of deleting old records before you find out they were important
- Share a copy of your environment with the consultants so that they can see for themselves, make suggestions, and test improvements, without hindering production
NetSuite Sandbox Accounts
We can have one or more sandboxes provisioned for each production account. Each sandbox account has the same configuration, data, and the customization as your production account. Sandbox accounts provide ideal places for:
- Testing the customization elements before deployment.
- Fixing issues with the existing customizations.
- Trying out the third-party integration features.
- Training the employees in existing and new business practices in an account identical to your production account.
Actions we take in sandbox accounts, such as transaction entries, record deletions, and form customizations, have no effect on your NetSuite production account. We can feel free to make changes in the sandbox account without disturbing the production data.
Types of NetSuite Sandbox Accounts
There are 3 types of NetSuite Sandbox accounts available to the all-NetSuite users.
Standard Sandbox Account – This is a Single environment with a copy of customizations, configurations, and the data designed to test, train, and optimize your configuration hindering production
Premium NetSuite Sandbox Account – This is the same concept as the standard NetSuite Sandbox except optimized for larger businesses with higher volumes
Development Account – It is mostly the same idea as standard NetSuite Sandbox except it is not populated with the data from your production account. This is used more strictly for the testing customizations, integrations, and new Suiteflows that do not need customer data. You can also just share your development account with the outside developers to provide a staging area for them to develop and keep sensitive data hidden.
Different Sandbox Accounts and its purpose
Development Account
This is used for the custom-building SuiteFlows, basic SuiteScripts and testing new features. we can also use this account to collaborate on projects with an external NetSuite partner.
Sandbox
This is a single sandbox account which is geared for the customers and consultants to work on specific customizations with SuiteFlow and SuiteScript.
Multiple Sandboxes
This is meant for the bigger projects with a litany of complexities – where your NetSuite consultants are going to be developing large SuiteScipt applications at the same time. You need to have several sandboxes to build the new functionalities simultaneously.
Sub-account types of NetSuite Sandbox
The sandbox account purchases have come up with the three different sub-account types used for many purposes.
1. Development account:
With this sub-account premium, user can perform different activities such as,
- SuiteFlow building customization,
- Performing Suite Script,
- And testing where no need to provide the customer data.
2. Single sandbox Account:
Single sandbox Account is well suited for those who want to develop customized products with SuitScript or SuitFlow.
3. Multiple Sandboxes:
The Multiple Sandboxes account is suitable for the organizations, where they need to work on the larger and complex projects. For example, building multiple customized pages with the SuiteScript parallel application. In addition to that multiple sandboxes will enable the developers to work with the spreadsheet data sets and testing the customized data on their own.
Accessing After Sandbox Refresh
From the production account, an Administrator can set who has access to this sandbox account like this Setup > Company > Sandbox Accounts.
There is one option where we can select between All Users or Administrators Only.
- If you selected the Administrators only option, then only the Administrator role is copied to the sandbox. That means, for a user with multiple roles, only the administrator role for that user is copied to the sandbox.
Granting Sandbox Access to Individual Users:
- Customer Center and Partner Center roles are never allowed the access to the sandbox accounts.
Follow the below steps carefully
- First, Log in to the sandbox account in an Administrator role with the following URL https://system.sandbox.netsuite.com.
- Then, Go to Lists > Employees > Employees and select the employee record on the sandbox.
- Next, On the Access subtab in the employee record, check the Grant Access box and enter any required information.
- Finally, Click on Save. The employee to whom we have granted access can now log in to our sandbox account.
To grant sandbox access to the all users of our production account, we must go to the Sandbox Accounts page in our production account, select the All-Users option for Access After Sandbox Refresh, and click Refresh Sandbox to request a refresh of our sandbox account.
Removing Sandbox Access from Individual Users:
Following the below steps will help us to remove sandbox access from the individual Users.
- Firstly, Log in to the Sandbox Account in an Administrator role with the following Link https://system.sandbox.netsuite.com.
- Then, go to the Lists > Employees > Employees and select the employee record on the sandbox.
- Then, On the Access subtab in the employee record, clear the Grant Access box.
- Finally Click on Save. The employee to whom we have removed the access can no longer log in to our sandbox account.
Refreshing the Sandbox Account
Navigate to the Sandbox Accounts page in the production account from
Setup > Company > Sandbox Accounts and click on Refresh Sandbox to request a refresh of the sandbox account.
- Please check with all colleagues first as any customizations or records created in the existing Sandbox environment will be lost after the refresh. The refresh will be a recent copy of your production account data, settings and customizations.
Conclusion
NetSuite sandbox is essential for the companies to produce innovative technologies and deliver services. This is also helping to expand the market and helps to increase the number of customers globally. NetSuite sandbox tool has come up with the advanced features and capabilities to help the organizations in training and testing the employees. This is also cost-effective, saves time, and fewer errors in the production process. Users can also work on a new project without changing any modification to the existing projects.
I hope this tutorial may help a few of the social community forums and NetSuite organizations to learn and grow.