Customer type or linked contact data needs attention
Distinguish a customer-only import from a combined customer or prospect and contact import.
- Customers with contacts reports Illegal ID (Customers with contacts)
- The linked company cannot be matched (Customers with contacts)
- The customer form requires Type (Customers)
- The individual or company choice is missing (Customers)
- Customer-only import reports Illegal ID (Customers)
- Prospects with contacts reports That Record Does Not Exist (Prospects with contacts)
Customers with contacts reports Illegal ID
Message looks like
Illegal ID. Please enter a name.
What it means
The combined customers-and-contacts import only accepts company customers. This appears when a row tries to add an individual customer together with a contact.
Import context: Customers with contacts.
Check this first
Check whether the failing rows are individuals. Import those with Customers Only and add their contacts separately.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- Check the three documented conditions together: the customer type is Individual, the file also adds a contact, and the record type is Customers and Contacts Together.
- Individual customers cannot import together with contacts. Import them with Relationships as the import type and Customers Only as the record type.
- Keep Customers and Contacts Together for customers with the Company type.
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
The linked company cannot be matched
Message looks like
Invalid company reference key ***.
What it means
The company this contact should attach to exists but is inactive, so the import cannot reference it.
Import context: Customers with contacts.
Check this first
Check the linked customer for an inactive flag before assuming the reference value is wrong.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- Check whether the linked customer is inactive. This message appears when the company being referenced is an inactive record.
- Make the customer active, import the customers and contacts, and then inactivate the customer again afterward, for example with a mass update.
- Retry one row.
If that looks right
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
The customer form requires Type
Message looks like
Please set value for Type
What it means
The customer form used by the import marks Type as mandatory, and the rows do not supply a value for it.
Import context: Customers.
Check this first
Decide whether to supply a Type value in the file or to clear the Mandatory box on the entry form.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- Open Setup > Customization > Entry Forms and edit the preferred Customer, Lead, or Prospect form.
- On Fields > Main, find the Type field and clear its Mandatory box, then save.
- If Type should stay mandatory for your account, supply a value for it in the file and mapping instead of changing the form.
- Retry one row.
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
The individual or company choice is missing
Message looks like
Invalid isperson reference key (customer name)
What it means
NetSuite needs to know whether each customer is an individual or a company, and the isperson field, which is the Company Type, is not receiving that answer.
Import context: Customers.
Check this first
Map the Individual field and give every row a Yes or No value.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- The isperson field is the Company Type. Each row should state whether the customer is an individual or a company.
- Import with Relationships as the import type and Customers as the record type, set Data Handling to Add, and map Individual to Yes or No.
- Retry one row and confirm the created customer’s type.
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
Customer-only import reports Illegal ID
Message looks like
Illegal ID. Please enter a name.
What it means
Oracle documents this on a customer-only import when two settings combine: the account's Default Customer Type is Individual, and the form selected for the import does not show the Type field.
Import context: Customers.
Check this first
Check the Default Customer Type under General Preferences, and whether the form chosen on the import's Advanced Options shows the Type field.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- Check Setup > Company > General Preferences for a Default Customer Type of Individual, and whether the form selected on the import’s Advanced Options exposes the Type field.
- Edit that form and check the Show box for the Type field on Fields > Main, then save.
- Retry one row.
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
Prospects with contacts reports That Record Does Not Exist
Message looks like
That Record Does Not Exist
What it means
On the combined prospects-and-contacts import this error usually means the prospect's and the contact's fields, often phone numbers, are mapped into each other.
Import context: Prospects with contacts.
Check this first
Keep the prospect's identifiers and phone separate from the contact's in both the file and the mapping.
Show the steps
Steps for this error
- Export the affected prospects with a customer saved search filtered to Stage is Prospect, including the prospect name and phone plus the contact name and internal ID.
- Edit the exported file, keeping the prospect’s identifiers and phone separate from the contact’s.
- Map the prospect fields to the prospect folder and the contact fields, including the contact internal ID, to the contact folder, then retry.
If that looks right
To prepare an update, use a customer search filtered to the prospect stage. Include the prospect identity and phone, plus the contact’s name and internal ID. Keep the two records’ identifiers and phone mappings separate. The broad error text alone does not prove that phone mapping is the cause.
Documentation checked September 16, 2026.
Related errors
- A required field is missing or cannot be written
- NetSuite cannot read the CSV file or its columns
- Item or custom list translations cannot be imported
- Sales order terms and payment method conflict
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