FSM Recurrence Changes and Forward Propagation
Field Service Management (FSM) applies individual exceptions and forward changes to recurring cases and CRM tasks. For recurrence concepts and constraints, see FSM Case and Task Recurrence.
Individual Changes and Forward Propagation
When an edit changes fields eligible for propagation, saving the recurring record can display a prompt to update the 'entire series.' The changes apply to the edited occurrence and following occurrences. Earlier occurrences remain unchanged.
Choosing No keeps the edit on that record. FSM records the changed eligible fields as exemptions so later series updates do not overwrite those individual values. An individually changed start date is also exempted.
Choosing Yes requests propagation. For a later occurrence, FSM ends the preceding series before that occurrence's start date. The edited occurrence becomes the primary of a separate forward series. Following records are associated with that series, and their indexes are adjusted.
For an eligible field edit on the current primary, Yes updates the existing series template rather than creating a separate forward definition.
FSM propagates field values and calculated dates only to existing tasks whose status is Not Started and cases whose status internal ID is 1. Individual field exemptions are respected. Association and index changes during a series split are separate from these field and date updates. A record outside those statuses can still be associated with the separate forward series.
Assignment and Referenced Data
Assignment is part of the stored values used to create later occurrences. Making the assigned employee inactive does not automatically replace that employee in the series template. If NetSuite rejects the stored assignment or another copied reference, the affected background action fails.
After successful processing, a propagated assignment change updates the template used for subsequent creation. Existing occurrences can retain an earlier assignee because their status prevents an update or their assignment is exempt from series changes. Forward-series reassociation preserves those individual exemptions. Changing the primary alone or seeing a different assignee on one occurrence does not establish that every future record has changed.
An assignment change does not inherently require deleting and rebuilding the series. The forward-edit behavior provides a way to change eligible future occurrences. Where a recurring case has Program tasks, the task assignment must also be checked against the separate Program rules and existing tasks.
Pattern and Start-Date Changes
Saving the recurrence controls requires the inputs for the selected pattern and end condition. For a dated end, the End Date must be later than the Start Date. Missing required values or an invalid day of the month prevent the save.
Changing recurrence parameters requests background reconciliation of the expected series with its existing records. A change made on the primary updates that series. A change made from a later occurrence can start a separate forward series, leaving earlier occurrences with the preceding definition.
Reconciliation can create missing occurrences, adjust eligible existing occurrences, and remove excess occurrences. A start-date change can display a warning that future instances will be replaced and saved modifications lost. Treat pattern changes as changes to future service records, rather than changes only to a displayed calendar rule.
Ordinary pattern reconciliation retains the primary of the current or separate forward segment. It does not replace the already-created Program tasks of retained cases. Changing case dates or copied details therefore needs a separate review of those tasks.