Question from Reddit user:
We are using the official NetSuite integration to sync Inventory Items and Non-Inventory Items to HubSpot Products
While I see it is possible to sync Assembly Items and Kit/Package Items, I do NOT see an option for Item Groups, which are very important for us to synchronize.
Item Groups are very similar to Assembly Items and Kit/Package Items, so I’m not sure why they aren’t an option when configuring a data sync from NetSuite to HubSpot.
Can anyone confirm that this is, in fact, correct?
It seems strange to include support for syncing Assembly Items and Kit/Package Items, which are nearly identical object types in NetSuite with only a couple of functional differences.
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Source: https://knowledge.hubspot.com/integrations/use-hubspots-integration-with-netsuite#configure-your-syn…
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Source: https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/netsuite/ns-online-help/section_N2318089.html
Unfortunately, this means that we are forced to develop a completely separate, custom integration using the NetSuite and HubSpot APIs to sync Item Groups, which is is time consuming and expensive.
Answer from Nabil:
The short answer is:
You are correct that the native HubSpot and NetSuite integration does not support Item Groups, even though it supports the seemingly similar Assembly Items and Kit/Package Items.
The reason for this omission likely stems from the fundamental difference in how NetSuite handles Item Groups versus the other two item types.
Item Groups are functionally just a shortcut for adding multiple individual line items to a transaction and they don’t exist as a single, sellable product entity with its own cost of goods sold or stock level like Assemblies and Kits do.
Because an Item Group is more of a transactional helper than a distinct product, translating its behavior reliably into a single HubSpot Product record is challenging for a native integration, forcing you toward a custom API solution to handle the component-level data sync.
The long answer is:
The distinction between NetSuite’s Item Group, Kit/Package Item, and Assembly Item, while subtle to the sales team, is critical to the accounting and inventory systems, and this is why the native integration likely excludes Item Groups.
An Assembly Item is a single inventory item that you actually manufacture and stock, and a Kit/Package Item is a single unit that you sell with its own price, even though it consumes multiple components from stock upon fulfillment.
Both of these are treated as unique, sellable products that fit neatly into the HubSpot Products object.
An Item Group, however, is simply a convenience feature on the sales order that explodes into its individual component items on the line level.
It does not have an independent price because its price is the sum of its components, and it has no unique inventory impact.
This “exploding” or non-consolidated nature makes it a poor fit for a one-to-one sync to a single HubSpot Product record without complex custom logic to handle its components.
Instead of relying on a fragile native sync, the approach of developing a custom solution using the HubSpot API and the NetSuite API is an excellent and, surprisingly, often cheaper solution in the long run compared to the continuous troubleshooting of a limited native connection.
By using the APIs, you can program a simple cloud function, hosted cheaply on a platform like Google Cloud Platform, that queries your Item Groups from NetSuite, then writes a single consolidated record to HubSpot Products, while also pulling in the component list into a custom property for visibility.
You can use Google Tag Manager not in its traditional sense, but as a lightweight, secure endpoint (when paired with a service like Stape) to trigger or receive updates via webhooks, acting as a flexible middleware layer without the heavy cost of a traditional iPaaS platform.
While the initial setup has a cost, the maintenance for a focused custom script that only handles Item Groups will be minimal, offering a reliable, tailored, and secure solution that bypasses the native integration’s limitations entirely.
This custom API approach gives you total control over the data mapping and logic, ensuring your sales team gets exactly the product visibility they need without compromising the integrity of your ERP data in NetSuite.
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