Wondering why you sometimes see duplicate emails attached to parent records in NetSuite?
This usually happens because of how NetSuite’s default email rollup behavior works or because multiple users have attached or synced the same email thread through ExtendSync.
Common Causes of Duplicate Emails
Saving the Same Email to Both a Contact and Customer Record
NetSuite automatically rolls up emails saved to child records (like Contacts) to their parent record (like Customers).
So if you attach the same email to both the Contact and the Customer:
NetSuite rolls up the Contact’s email to the Customer.
You also directly saved the same email to the Customer.
The result → two identical emails now appear on the Customer record.
Multiple Users Placing the Same Email Thread on Autopilot
If multiple users set the same email thread to Autopilot, ExtendSync saves the same thread multiple times under different users’ accounts, creating duplicates in NetSuite.
How to Identify Duplicate Emails
To ascertain who attached the email and if it is unique, you can:
Expose the ExternalID field in your message view
Check the message ID for uniqueness
Check to see who attached the email and follow up with them
💡 Tip:
You can create a Saved Search in NetSuite including the External ID field, then export the results to Excel to easily filter and detect duplicate entries.
✅ Best Practice: Let ExtendSync and NetSuite do the work for you
NetSuite automatically rolls up emails from child records (like Contacts) to their parent Customer so there’s no need to save the same email twice.
Follow these guidelines:
If the Contact has a Parent Company, save the email only to the Contact record, NetSuite will automatically display it under the Customer record too.
If you don’t need the email linked to the Contact, save it directly to the Customer record instead.
👉 Learn which child records will automatically roll up emails to parent records.
Example Scenarios
❌ Incorrect (Creates Duplicates)
You save an email to Astrid’s Contact Record
AND also save it to the Customer Record (Big 5 Auto Group).
Result:
Two identical emails appear on the Customer record, one rolled up from the Contact and one you attached manually.
✔️ Correct (No Duplicates)
If you want the email visible under both the Contact and Customer:
Save the email only to the Contact Record.
Result:
NetSuite automatically rolls it up to the Customer record. No duplicates, no extra steps.
Quick Summary
Cause | Why It Happens | How to Fix It |
Saved email to both Contact & Customer | NetSuite rolls up child emails automatically | Save to only one record (preferably the Contact) |
Multiple users using Autopilot on same email | Same thread saved by multiple users | Coordinate with team before setting Autopilot |
Duplicate detection in NetSuite | Same External ID or Message ID | Expose External ID field or run Saved Search |