# Catalogs

A catalog is a filtered, structured snapshot of your NetSuite items — the data backbone every portal uses to display products. Every portal page that shows items, lets users search, or allows ordering pulls from a catalog. You build and manage those catalogs here.

## When you'd use this

* Creating the first catalog for a new portal or subsidiary.
* Refreshing a catalog after NetSuite item data changes (new products, updated prices, restructured categories).
* Checking build status when a Client Admin reports items are missing or stale.
* Deciding which catalog to set as the default for a subsidiary.

## Before you start

* You're signed in with a **NetSuite Admin** account.
* The subsidiary selector in the top bar is set to the right subsidiary.
* Set up [Catalog Restrictions](/netsuite-admin-guide/catalog-restrictions.md) before building catalogs — those global filters apply to every catalog on the subsidiary and determine which NetSuite items are available at all.
* If creating a new catalog, confirm with your Client Admin which NetSuite categories and pricing fields they need included.

## Accessing Catalogs

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open the NetSuite Admin view

Switch to **NetSuite Admin** in SphericalBRM.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Click Catalogs

**Catalogs** is in the left sidebar.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

![Catalogs list page with status badges and row actions](/files/hTl58agUGld5PPQbqzqk)

## Catalogs list

| Column           | Description                                                       |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**         | The catalog name                                                  |
| **Description**  | A short description of what the catalog contains                  |
| **Status**       | Where the catalog is in its build cycle (see Status badges below) |
| **Item Count**   | The number of items in the last completed build                   |
| **Last Updated** | When the catalog was last built                                   |
| **Actions**      | Edit, refresh status, reprocess, or delete                        |

### Status badges

| Badge          | Meaning                                                                                                                                          |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Ready**      | Idle — the catalog exists but hasn't been built yet.                                                                                             |
| **Pending**    | Queued for processing.                                                                                                                           |
| **Processing** | Build is in progress. Portals continue serving the previous completed version during this time — no downtime, but the data is temporarily stale. |
| **Completed**  | Built successfully. Portals will serve this version on the next page load.                                                                       |
| **Failed**     | The build errored. Hover the badge for the error message.                                                                                        |

## Creating a new catalog

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Click + New

The button is at the top right of the page.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Enter name and description

Give the catalog a name and a short description.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Define the criteria

Choose which categories to include and add any catalog-specific filter rules.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Click Save & Update

The catalog enters **Processing** and rebuilds. Once it shows **Completed**, portals can use it.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Catalog actions

| Action                       | Description                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Edit** (pencil)            | Open the catalog configuration to change name, description, criteria, fields, or settings.                                                                                                              |
| **Refresh** (circular arrow) | Re-fetches the catalog's current build status from the server without triggering a rebuild. Use this if the status badge looks stuck.                                                                   |
| **Reprocess** (play)         | Triggers a full rebuild using the latest data from NetSuite. Use this after item data, categories, or pricing have changed in NetSuite. A confirmation dialog appears — click **Reprocess** to confirm. |
| **Delete** (trash)           | Permanently removes the catalog. Any portal pages referencing it will stop returning product data.                                                                                                      |

{% hint style="warning" %}
Avoid editing a catalog while its status is **Processing**. Wait for it to reach **Completed** before making further changes.
{% endhint %}

## How catalogs connect to the rest of the product

| Where catalogs are used              | What happens when you change or rebuild a catalog                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Client Admin catalog builder**     | Client Admins see and build from the catalogs listed here. They can narrow a catalog further using category selection and criteria, but they cannot see items that Catalog Restrictions have already excluded.                                                                                           |
| **Portal pages and Page Builder**    | Every portal page that shows products — catalog views, category sidebars, filter bars, item detail pages — pulls from a catalog. While a catalog is **Processing**, portals serve the last completed version. Once the status reaches **Completed**, portals pick up the new data on the next page load. |
| **Shopping cart and orders**         | If a catalog has its Shopping Cart setting enabled, end users on portal pages linked to that catalog can add items to a cart and submit orders. Rebuilding a catalog doesn't interrupt in-progress carts, but removing items from a catalog will make those items unavailable for new orders.            |
| **Default catalog for a subsidiary** | In [Configurations → Subsidiary Branding](/netsuite-admin-guide/overview-1/subsidiary-branding.md), you assign a default catalog to a subsidiary. This is what end users see when they first load the portal.                                                                                            |

## What success looks like

* The catalog shows **Completed** with an item count that matches your expectation.
* A Client Admin building from this catalog sees the right items in their criteria preview.
* Portal pages linked to this catalog display the correct products to end users.

## Common issues

* **Processing status is stuck for a long time** — large catalogs with thousands of items take longer to rebuild. The page auto-refreshes status every few seconds. If a catalog has been Processing for hours, check [Catalog Restrictions](/netsuite-admin-guide/catalog-restrictions.md) for a misconfigured rule that may be causing a build error.
* **Catalog shows Failed** — hover the status badge for the error message. Common causes: a custom field referenced in the catalog was renamed or deleted in NetSuite, or a selected category no longer exists. Open the catalog, fix the configuration, and trigger a Reprocess.
* **Items a Client Admin expects to see are missing** — check [Catalog Restrictions](/netsuite-admin-guide/catalog-restrictions.md) first. The global filter may be excluding those items before the catalog even builds. Then check the catalog's own category selection and criteria.
* **Portal shows stale data after a rebuild completes** — confirm the catalog status is **Completed**. Portals pick up the updated catalog on the next page load. If it still looks stale, ask the Client Admin to do a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) in their browser.

## Related Pages

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Catalog Restrictions</strong></td><td>Global item filters applied before catalogs are built. Set these up first.</td><td><a href="/pages/jExGcss3ADLKBe5npzoI">/pages/jExGcss3ADLKBe5npzoI</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Categories</strong></td><td>Which categories Client Admins can include in catalogs for this subsidiary.</td><td><a href="/pages/NLvgHWsKNUjEv3EYKqzr">/pages/NLvgHWsKNUjEv3EYKqzr</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Subsidiary Branding &#x26; Default Catalog</strong></td><td>Assign a default catalog to a subsidiary so portals have a starting point.</td><td><a href="/pages/znP7xIUHgURPNTO1TQ6L">/pages/znP7xIUHgURPNTO1TQ6L</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Creating a Catalog (Client Admin)</strong></td><td>How Client Admins configure and fine-tune catalogs on the client-facing side.</td><td><a href="/pages/sqKV6Gm0WqBRQeT9aFbs">/pages/sqKV6Gm0WqBRQeT9aFbs</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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