Issue
You have configured ZoneApprovals to send approval emails, but approvers are not receiving them. This can occur for several reasons, including misconfigured settings, environment limitations, or oversized attachments.
Solution
Work through each check below in order to identify and resolve the cause.
Check 1: Verify approval-by-email settings
Three settings must all be correctly configured for approval emails to send. Verify each of the following:
- Go to Setup > ZoneApprovals Setup > Approval Configuration.
- Confirm the Enable Approval by Email checkbox is selected.
- Open the approver's Employee record and go to the ZoneApprovals tab.
- Confirm the Enable Approval by Email checkbox is selected on the employee record.
- Verify that the Email field on the employee record is populated with a valid email address.
All three settings must be correct for approval emails to send successfully.
Check 2: Check for sandbox or demo environment limitations
In sandbox and demo environments, NetSuite does not deliver emails to real recipients. If you are testing in one of these environments, follow the steps in the Test Approval by Email article to configure testing correctly.
💡 Tip: If approval emails work in production but not in your sandbox, this environment limitation is the most likely cause.
Check 3: Check for attachment size errors
If the approval request includes large files — such as OCR-processed PDFs or additional documents — the message may exceed NetSuite's 15 MB outbound email limit. If this is the cause, you will see the error code ATTACH_SIZE_EXCEEDED.
- Review the files attached to the record being approved.
- Compress or reduce the size of any large files, particularly OCR-processed PDFs.
- Remove any attachments not required for the approval decision.
- Confirm the total message size, including all attachments, is below 15 MB.
- Retry the approval.
Why this happens
ZoneApprovals sends approval notifications through NetSuite's email system, which means both the ZoneApprovals configuration and the individual employee record must have approval-by-email enabled. Sandbox and demo environments suppress outbound emails to real recipients by design, so testing requires a specific setup. NetSuite also enforces a 15 MB limit on outbound messages, and approval emails that include large attachments — particularly OCR-generated documents — can exceed this threshold and fail to send.