# Fix NetSuite CANNOT_CONVERT Error

> Source: https://netray.co/erp-help/netsuite-cannot-convert-error-fix
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: ERP Help

## Short answer

CANNOT_CONVERT is thrown when SuiteScript tries to coerce a value into a data type the target field or API call does not accept, most often a text string passed to a date or numeric field, or a value passed to N/format.parse() with a type parameter that does not match the string's actual format. Fix it by matching the value's JavaScript type and format string exactly to what the field or format.parse() call expects before passing it in.

## Kind

error

## System

netsuite

## Erp

Oracle NetSuite

## Module

SuiteScript / Field Types & N/format

## Query

NetSuite CANNOT_CONVERT error SuiteScript

## Alternate Queries

- NetSuite Cannot convert value error
- CANNOT_CONVERT fix SuiteScript
- NetSuite format.parse type mismatch error
- NetSuite setValue wrong data type error

## Applies To

NetSuite SuiteScript 1.0 and 2.x, N/record field APIs and the N/format module, all standard and custom field types

## Steps

### How to fix CANNOT_CONVERT

**Items:**

Read the error text and note which value and target it names; the Script Execution Log line immediately before the error shows the setValue or format.parse call that triggered it.

For record fields, check the field's actual type under Customization > Lists, Records & Fields > the field record; date fields need a JavaScript Date object or a correctly parsed value, not a raw string.

For N/format.parse(), confirm the type option (format.Type.DATE, format.Type.CURRENCY, format.Type.INTEGER, and so on) matches the actual shape of the string you are passing, since a mismatched type is the single most common cause.

When the source value comes from a CSV import, saved search result, or external API, log its typeof and raw content before the conversion call, since a numeric-looking value can still arrive as a string with extra whitespace or currency symbols.

For currency and float fields, strip formatting characters (currency symbols, thousands separators) before parsing; NetSuite's format.parse does not strip these for you.

For date fields fed by an integration, normalize the incoming date string to the account's date format under Setup > Company > General Preferences before calling format.parse, or use format.parse with an explicit format.Type rather than relying on the browser locale.

Wrap the conversion in a try/catch during development and log the raw input value on failure, so a bad upstream value produces a clear diagnostic instead of a bare CANNOT_CONVERT.

## Sections

### Where the type mismatch actually originates

**Body:**

CANNOT_CONVERT almost never originates from a value you typed directly into a script; it originates from a value that traveled through a search result, a CSV row, or an external API payload and arrived as the wrong JavaScript type by the time it reached a setValue or format.parse call. A saved search formula column, for example, can return a value as a string even when the underlying field is numeric.

The error is NetSuite's type system refusing a coercion it cannot safely perform, which is a good thing: it stops a malformed date or amount from being silently saved as garbage data, at the cost of an error you now have to trace back to its source.

### format.parse is the most common trigger

**Body:**

N/format.parse() requires both the value and an explicit type, and it throws CANNOT_CONVERT when the string does not match the shape that type expects. Passing a date string in dd/mm/yyyy format to a parse call expecting the account's mm/dd/yyyy default is a very common cause, especially when integration payloads come from a system in a different locale.

**Code:**

var parsedDate = format.parse({
  value: '2026-09-28',
  type: format.Type.DATE
});
// If the account or field expects a different locale format,
// normalize the string before calling format.parse rather than after.

### Record field type mismatches

**Body:**

Setting a date field with rec.setValue({fieldId: 'startdate', value: '09/28/2026'}) instead of a Date object is a common mistake carried over from older SuiteScript 1.0 patterns; 2.x record field APIs are stricter about accepting a native Date object for date fields rather than a formatted string.

For currency and decimal fields, passing a string containing a currency symbol or thousands separator, for example a raw value straight out of a CSV export, fails the same way; strip non-numeric characters and parseFloat or use format.parse with format.Type.CURRENCY first.

### Debugging pattern that isolates the source

**Body:**

Log the raw value and its typeof immediately before the conversion call rather than after the error occurs, since the stack trace itself often does not show the offending value clearly. This turns a one-line CANNOT_CONVERT into a clear log entry naming the exact string and its source field.

## Pitfalls

- Passing a raw string to a date field instead of a parsed Date object or a value run through format.parse with the correct type.
- Assuming a saved search formula column returns the same JavaScript type as the underlying field.
- Not stripping currency symbols or thousands separators before parsing numeric fields.
- Using the wrong format.Type in format.parse for the actual shape of the input string.
- Ignoring locale differences between an external system's date format and the NetSuite account's configured date format.
- Only testing with clean, hand-typed sample data instead of real integration payloads that include whitespace or unexpected formatting.

## Ai Angle

ERPray, grounded on your account's field definitions and your integration payload history, can trace a CANNOT_CONVERT back to the specific upstream field or CSV column that is supplying the wrong type, instead of you manually tracing typeof through several functions. Ask it what format a given date or currency field expects on your forms, and it answers against your account's actual configuration rather than generic documentation.

## Faq

### Is CANNOT_CONVERT the same as INVALID_FLD_VALUE?

**Answer:** No. INVALID_FLD_VALUE means the value's type was acceptable but failed reference or list validation. CANNOT_CONVERT means the value's basic type or format could not be coerced into what the field or format.parse call expects at all, a step earlier in validation.

### Why does the same integration fail only on some records?

**Answer:** Usually because most incoming values happen to be clean, and a minority contain extra formatting, a different date locale, or an unexpected type from the source system, for example a numeric field arriving as null versus a properly formatted zero.

### Do I need format.parse for every field, or can I use setValue directly?

**Answer:** Standard body fields on a record generally accept native JavaScript types directly, such as a Date object for date fields. format.parse is most useful when you have a raw string, from a CSV, form input, or external API, that needs to become that native type first.

### Can locale settings on the account cause this?

**Answer:** Yes. If the account's date format preference differs from the format of the string you are parsing, format.parse can fail or misinterpret the value. Explicitly specifying format.Type avoids relying on ambient locale assumptions.

## Search terms

CANNOT_CONVERT NetSuite, NetSuite format.parse error, NetSuite setValue date field error, NetSuite type conversion error, NetSuite currency field parse error, SuiteScript field type mismatch, NetSuite CSV import type error, NetSuite date locale error

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