System Notes and System Notes v2

NetSuite uses system notes to track changes made to a record. A system note for a change on a record captures the date and time when the change was made, who made the change, the interface from which the change was initiated, the type of change, the field that was changed, and the old and new value in the record.

There are two systems that you can use within NetSuite to track changes made to records: System Notes and System Notes v2. Both systems serve the purpose of capturing audit trail information, however there are significant differences between them in terms of functionality, scope, and user experience.

System Notes are the original NetSuite system notes used to track changes made to a record. These system notes are available for records or groups of configuration settings where a System Notes subtab is available on the NetSuite page. For more information about System Notes, see System Notes Overview.
System Notes v2 is a newer version of system notes. On supported records, you can access System Notes v2 using the System Notes link located on the upper right of the page. System Notes v2 captures audit trail information for specific record types. For more information about System Notes v2, see System Notes v2 Overview.

The following table outlines the main similarities and differences between System Notes and System Notes v2.

	System Notes	System Notes v2
Access	Available for records or configuration settings where a System Notes subtab is available on the NetSuite record page at System Information > System Notes. For more information, see Viewing System Notes.	Captures audit trail information for records supported in System Notes v2. System Notes v2 are available through a link available on the upper right of the page. For more information, see Viewing System Notes v2.
Functionality	Captures changes made to a record. For transactions, the System Notes subtab also shows system logs.	Captures detailed changes and groups the changes under high-level actions. You can expand a change to see more details about the change, including the level of actions that have been performed. These actions include create, change, delete, set, update, unset.
Tracks the date and time when the change was made, who made the change, the interface from which the change was initiated, the type of change, the field that was changed, and the old and new values in the record.	Tracks the date and time when the change was made, who made the change, the role of the user who made the change, the interface from which the change was initiated, the action performed, the object that was changed, and the old and new values in the record.
Changes to configuration settings	System notes are logged on changes to general configuration settings that have a financial impact (company information, general preferences, enable features, accounting lists, tax setup).	Currently, System Notes v2 is not used to log changes to general company settings.
Filtering	When viewing system notes for a record, you can use the Field dropdown list on the System Notes subtab to see changes for a certain field.	When viewing system notes v2 for a record, you can use the search and filter options to search all data in the record history. While you type your search term, the filtered results display in real time as prominent text. Matching records populate while the query continues to run in the background. For more information, see Searching and Filtering System Notes v2.
Searching	When searching system notes, you can search for certain records, use advanced search filters, create a saved search, or export information for additional analysis. Search system notes to retrieve system notes data by going to Reports > New Search and clicking System Note. For more information, see Searching System Notes and Auditing Data Changes using Searches. You can also search system notes information using SuiteAnalytics Workbook. For more information, see SuiteAnalytics Workbook Overview.	For System Notes v2, use the System Notes v2 workbook to search all System Notes v2 records. For more information, see System Notes v2 Workbook.
Deleted records	In System Notes, deleted transactions and records are lost. For some record types, a log is created that provides general information about the deleted transaction or record, such as key, name, deletion date, and deleted by. The deleted record log is searchable. To use this search type, go to Reports > New Search and click Deleted Record. For more information, see Searching for Deleted Records	System Notes v2 retains information for deleted transactions and records. The deleted information appears in System Notes v2 with a Delete action. For more information, see Viewing System Notes v2

System Notes

System Notes v2

Access

Available for records or configuration settings where a System Notes subtab is available on the NetSuite record page at System Information > System Notes. For more information, see Viewing System Notes.

Captures audit trail information for records supported in System Notes v2. System Notes v2 are available through a link available on the upper right of the page. For more information, see Viewing System Notes v2.

Functionality

Captures changes made to a record. For transactions, the System Notes subtab also shows system logs.

Captures detailed changes and groups the changes under high-level actions. You can expand a change to see more details about the change, including the level of actions that have been performed. These actions include create, change, delete, set, update, unset.

Tracks the date and time when the change was made, who made the change, the interface from which the change was initiated, the type of change, the field that was changed, and the old and new values in the record.

Tracks the date and time when the change was made, who made the change, the role of the user who made the change, the interface from which the change was initiated, the action performed, the object that was changed, and the old and new values in the record.

Changes to configuration settings

System notes are logged on changes to general configuration settings that have a financial impact (company information, general preferences, enable features, accounting lists, tax setup).

Currently, System Notes v2 is not used to log changes to general company settings.

Filtering

When viewing system notes for a record, you can use the Field dropdown list on the System Notes subtab to see changes for a certain field.

When viewing system notes v2 for a record, you can use the search and filter options to search all data in the record history. While you type your search term, the filtered results display in real time as prominent text. Matching records populate while the query continues to run in the background. For more information, see Searching and Filtering System Notes v2.

Searching

When searching system notes, you can search for certain records, use advanced search filters, create a saved search, or export information for additional analysis. Search system notes to retrieve system notes data by going to Reports > New Search and clicking System Note. For more information, see Searching System Notes and Auditing Data Changes using Searches.

You can also search system notes information using SuiteAnalytics Workbook. For more information, see SuiteAnalytics Workbook Overview.

For System Notes v2, use the System Notes v2 workbook to search all System Notes v2 records. For more information, see System Notes v2 Workbook.

Deleted records

In System Notes, deleted transactions and records are lost. For some record types, a log is created that provides general information about the deleted transaction or record, such as key, name, deletion date, and deleted by. The deleted record log is searchable. To use this search type, go to Reports > New Search and click Deleted Record. For more information, see Searching for Deleted Records

System Notes v2 retains information for deleted transactions and records. The deleted information appears in System Notes v2 with a Delete action. For more information, see Viewing System Notes v2

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