NetSuite OCR Quote Intake

This walkthrough covers the common AR automation pattern:

A NetSuite scheduled script finds inbound email/custom-record rows that need processing.
NetSuite sends email metadata, body text, and optional file content to an Erstan OCR agent.
Erstan extracts and validates the quote/order request.
NetSuite polls for a structured result.
NetSuite creates a pending quote/estimate or alerts a user when required fields are missing.

Recommended agent setup

Create or install a published OCR quote-intake agent. Recommended form fields:

Field key	Type	Required	Purpose
`sourceRecordType`	text	Yes	NetSuite custom record type, such as `customrecord_email_plugin_message`.
`sourceRecordId`	text	Yes	NetSuite internal ID of the source record.
`senderEmail`	text	No	Email sender.
`emailSubject`	text	No	Email subject.
`emailBody`	long text	No	Plain text or HTML-stripped email body.
`receivedAt`	datetime/text	No	Source email timestamp.
`customerHint`	text	No	Customer name, email domain, or known NetSuite customer ID if available.
`contactHint`	text	No	Contact name or email if available.

The agent should be instructed to return JSON. A practical output contract is shown below.

Discover the OCR lane

Use the agent detail endpoint to confirm the lane ID, input schema, and attachment support.

curl "https://api.erstan.com/v1/public/agents/$OCR_AGENT_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ERSTAN_API_KEY"

If the response includes defaultLaneId, NetSuite can omit laneId when starting a run. If the agent has multiple lanes, send the selected lane ID in the run request.

POST with email body only

Use this shape when there is no attachment, or when the email body contains enough detail.

curl "https://api.erstan.com/v1/public/agents/$OCR_AGENT_ID/runs" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ERSTAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "idempotencyKey": "netsuite-email-plugin-quote-98342",
    "input": {
      "sourceRecordType": "customrecord_email_plugin_message",
      "sourceRecordId": "98342",
      "senderEmail": "orders@examplecustomer.com",
      "emailSubject": "RE: Quote request - urgent",
      "emailBody": "Please quote 12 of competitor part ABC-100 and 6 green valves. Need delivery next week.",
      "receivedAt": "2026-05-26T10:15:00+10:00",
      "customerHint": "Example Customer",
      "contactHint": "orders@examplecustomer.com"
    },
    "metadata": {
      "sourceSystem": "netsuite",
      "automation": "ar_quote_intake"
    }
  }'

POST with optional attachment

Use attachments when NetSuite has an attached PDF, image, spreadsheet, or email body export. Each attachment needs name, type, and base64.

curl "https://api.erstan.com/v1/public/agents/$OCR_AGENT_ID/runs" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ERSTAN_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "laneId": "start_ocr_quote_intake",
    "idempotencyKey": "netsuite-email-plugin-quote-98342",
    "input": {
      "sourceRecordType": "customrecord_email_plugin_message",
      "sourceRecordId": "98342",
      "senderEmail": "orders@examplecustomer.com",
      "emailSubject": "PO request attached",
      "emailBody": "Hi, quote attached. The customer uses our old part codes.",
      "customerHint": "Example Customer",
      "contactHint": "orders@examplecustomer.com"
    },
    "attachments": [
      {
        "name": "customer-request.pdf",
        "type": "application/pdf",
        "base64": "JVBERi0xLjQK..."
      }
    ],
    "metadata": {
      "sourceSystem": "netsuite",
      "sourceRecordUrl": "https://ACCOUNT.app.netsuite.com/app/common/custom/custrecordentry.nl?rectype=123&id=98342"
    }
  }'

The public API request body limit is 25 MB. For larger files, store the file in a place the agent can access and pass a reference in input or metadata.

Poll until complete

curl "https://api.erstan.com/v1/public/runs/$RUN_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ERSTAN_API_KEY"

Expected structured result

For automation, configure the OCR agent to return a single JSON object in finalResponse.

{
  "classification": {
    "is_quote_request": true,
    "confidence": "medium",
    "reason": "The email body and attached PDF include requested items and quantities."
  },
  "source": {
    "sourceRecordType": "customrecord_email_plugin_message",
    "sourceRecordId": "98342",
    "senderEmail": "orders@examplecustomer.com",
    "emailSubject": "PO request attached",
    "hasAttachments": true
  },
  "extractedQuote": {
    "customerName": "Example Customer",
    "customerEmail": "orders@examplecustomer.com",
    "customerPoNumber": null,
    "requestedShipDate": "2026-06-02",
    "currency": "AUD",
    "notes": "Customer used competitor part code ABC-100.",
    "lineItems": [
      {
        "lineNumber": 1,
        "inputSku": "ABC-100",
        "description": "competitor part ABC-100",
        "quantity": 12,
        "unitRate": null
      },
      {
        "lineNumber": 2,
        "inputSku": null,
        "description": "green valves",
        "quantity": 6,
        "unitRate": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "netsuiteMatches": {
    "customer": {
      "matched": false,
      "customerId": null,
      "confidence": "low",
      "reason": "Email domain did not map to exactly one active customer."
    },
    "contact": {
      "matched": false,
      "contactId": null,
      "action": "review_required"
    },
    "items": [
      {
        "lineNumber": 1,
        "matched": true,
        "itemId": "28322",
        "itemName": "Replacement Part ABC-100",
        "confidence": "high",
        "reason": "Competitor code mapped to internal replacement part."
      },
      {
        "lineNumber": 2,
        "matched": false,
        "itemId": null,
        "confidence": "low",
        "reason": "Multiple valve items matched the description."
      }
    ],
    "duplicate": {
      "status": "skipped",
      "matches": []
    }
  },
  "decision": {
    "readyToCreatePendingQuote": false,
    "recommendedAction": "alert_user",
    "blockingIssues": [
      "Customer could not be identified",
      "Contact could not be identified",
      "Line 2 item is ambiguous",
      "Customer PO number is missing"
    ],
    "warnings": [
      "Source may mention accounts rather than a quote; classification confidence is medium."
    ]
  }
}

NetSuite scheduled script outline

Use idempotencyKey to make retries safe. A good key is the source custom record ID plus the attachment ID or last modified timestamp.

/**
 * SuiteScript 2.x outline only. Replace sourceRecord fields with your custom record fields.
 */
define(['N/https', 'N/runtime'], function (https, runtime) {
  const API_BASE = 'https://api.erstan.com';

  function apiKey() {
    return runtime.getCurrentScript().getParameter({ name: 'custscript_erstan_api_key' });
  }

  function postJson(url, payload) {
    const response = https.post({
      url,
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey()}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(payload)
    });

    const body = response.body ? JSON.parse(response.body) : {};
    if (response.code < 200 || response.code >= 300) {
      throw new Error(body.error && body.error.message ? body.error.message : `Erstan API failed: ${response.code}`);
    }
    return body;
  }

  function getJson(url) {
    const response = https.get({
      url,
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey()}`
      }
    });

    const body = response.body ? JSON.parse(response.body) : {};
    if (response.code < 200 || response.code >= 300) {
      throw new Error(body.error && body.error.message ? body.error.message : `Erstan API failed: ${response.code}`);
    }
    return body;
  }

  function submitQuoteIntake(sourceRecord) {
    const agentId = runtime.getCurrentScript().getParameter({ name: 'custscript_erstan_ocr_agent_id' });
    const laneId = runtime.getCurrentScript().getParameter({ name: 'custscript_erstan_ocr_lane_id' });

    const payload = {
      laneId: laneId || undefined,
      idempotencyKey: `netsuite-email-plugin-quote-${sourceRecord.id}`,
      input: {
        sourceRecordType: sourceRecord.type,
        sourceRecordId: String(sourceRecord.id),
        senderEmail: sourceRecord.senderEmail,
        emailSubject: sourceRecord.subject,
        emailBody: sourceRecord.bodyText,
        receivedAt: sourceRecord.receivedAt,
        customerHint: sourceRecord.customerHint,
        contactHint: sourceRecord.senderEmail
      },
      attachments: sourceRecord.attachmentBase64
        ? [
            {
              name: sourceRecord.attachmentName,
              type: sourceRecord.attachmentContentType,
              base64: sourceRecord.attachmentBase64
            }
          ]
        : [],
      metadata: {
        sourceSystem: 'netsuite',
        automation: 'ar_quote_intake'
      }
    };

    const startBody = postJson(`${API_BASE}/v1/public/agents/${agentId}/runs`, payload);
    return startBody.runId;
  }

  function pollRun(runId) {
    return getJson(`${API_BASE}/v1/public/runs/${runId}`);
  }

  return {
    submitQuoteIntake,
    pollRun
  };
});

After polling returns completed, NetSuite can:

Result	NetSuite action
`decision.readyToCreatePendingQuote = true`	Create a pending estimate/quote record and attach the source file.
Missing customer/contact/item/PO	Alert the responsible user or route to a review queue.
`classification.is_quote_request = false`	Mark the source record as not actionable and store the reason.
Duplicate found	Link to existing transaction and stop automated creation.

This keeps the risky decisions visible while still automating the expensive OCR, parsing, and matching work.

Developer API

Partners

API Reference

NetSuite OCR Quote Intake

Recommended agent setup

Discover the OCR lane

POST with email body only

POST with optional attachment

Poll until complete

Expected structured result

NetSuite scheduled script outline

​Recommended agent setup

​Discover the OCR lane

​POST with email body only

​POST with optional attachment

​Poll until complete

​Expected structured result

​NetSuite scheduled script outline

Recommended agent setup

Discover the OCR lane

POST with email body only

POST with optional attachment

Poll until complete

Expected structured result

NetSuite scheduled script outline