Custom fields

You can add custom fields to NexJ CRM so they are available for users.

Custom fields are user-defined fields that store information not otherwise provided in an entity's Detail tab on the Contacts workspace. Custom fields differ from user fields because custom fields are designed to hold specific types of structured data while user fields are designed to hold unstructured data. You can add text, number, currency, convertible currency, date, and relationship custom fields to the system. For example, you can add a custom date field that only accepts date values or a custom relationship field that accepts contacts or users as values.

Custom field groups enable you to group related custom fields together. They also define the types of entities that you can add the custom field to. For example, a custom field group can make a custom field available only for companies. A custom field can belong to only one group. When you add a new custom field to the system, you select a custom field group for the new custom field.

System administrators, business administrators, and users can use and manage custom fields in the following ways:

• System administrators
  In NexJ Admin Console, system administrators can create, modify, and delete custom fields and custom field groups.
• Business administrators
  On the Customize workspace, in the Custom fields tab, business administrators can and add custom fields to the system, and modify custom fields properties and contact types. A business administrator is a NexJ CRM user who gathers business requirements and configures the application.
• Users
  In the Custom Fields card on the Contacts workspace, users can add and remove custom fields for individual entities, and modify custom field values. Users can click the Sort by button

  

  on the Custom Fields card and sort the custom fields by Name or Group.

Best practices for creating custom fields

While you can allow users to manage their own custom field types, doing so can result in duplication of custom field types over time. Avoid duplication of fields to ensure that the number of custom field types does not grow beyond system limits.

NexJ recommends that a central team, such as a business administration group, manages custom field types. This group should have responsibility for:

• Collecting requests for new custom field types from users or teams
• Configuring new custom fields or leveraging existing custom fields
• Providing recommendations for the use of existing custom fields

Ensure that only the centralized team has create and edit privileges for custom field types. Custom field types can be made visible to other specific groups as needed.

Best practices for using custom fields

Custom field data is useful because it becomes available for filtering, searching, and reporting as soon as it is added to the system.

Consider using custom fields to:

• Store optional data used by a limited number of entities in the system.
• Store contact-level information, for example, interests, demographics, and financial information.
• Track relationships.

Avoid using custom fields to:

• Store business-critical data that:
  • Is frequently used for the majority of entities in the system.
  • Is used by NexJ CRM business logic or that is integrated with other functionality in NexJ CRM.
• Track aggregate account-level information, such as products and services, or restrictions. Custom fields do not aggregate at the household-level.

Some examples of custom fields include:

• Referral Source
• Favorite Sports Team
• Lawyer

Adding custom fields to the system

Before you create custom fields, you can filter the information in the data table in the Custom Fields tab on the Customize workspace in order to show only those custom fields that meet specific criteria. Additionally, you can search for specific custom fields by entering a full or partial name in the text search field. For information about searching, see Searching and filtering in NexJ CRM.

For information about sorting the data table and selecting columns to display in the data table, see Navigating the NexJ CRM user interface.

To add a custom field to NexJ CRM, click the Add button 

• Text
  Accepts text values.
• Number
  Accepts numerical values.
• Currency
  Accepts and formats numerical values using the currency defined when the field is created.
• Convertible Currency
  Accepts and formats numerical values into the currency that other users select. Your system must also be configured for currency conversion.
• Date
  Accepts and formats date values.
• Relationship
  Accepts a contact as a value and defines the contact as a relationship in the contact's hierarchy.

The Create a custom field type dialog includes the following fields and checkboxes:

Tab	Field or checkbox	Description	Required field
Contact Types	Not applicable	The contact types for which to make the custom field available. By default, all contact types are selected. To individually remove contact types from the list, click the Delete button beside the contact type you want to remove from the list. To remove multiple contact types from the list at the same time, click the Select button and clear the corresponding checkboxes. To add a removed contact type back to the list, click the Select button and select the contact type you want to add.	Not applicable
Detail	Allow Quick Pick Only	Available for text custom field types only. Select it to allow users to add values to a custom text field that contains quick picks by selecting from a drop-down list. Otherwise, users can enter a text value in the custom field. An administrator defines quick pick values for a custom field.	No
	Edit Security	Define edit security for the custom field. You cannot modify edit security settings for the custom field after it has been created. If you want to restrict edit access to this custom field, you must set it now. The default edit setting is Public. For more information, see Security settings for objects in NexJ CRM.	Yes
	Group	Groups related custom fields together. It also defines the types of entities that you can add the custom field to. For example, a custom field group can make a custom field available only for companies. A custom field's group defines the contact types that are available for you to add to the custom field. The Contact Types tab only contains the contact types that belong to the corresponding custom field group.	Yes
	Hierarchy Only	Available for relationship custom field types only. Specifies that custom relationship fields should not display in a contact's Detail tab, but only as relationships in the contact's hierarchy. Consider naming the custom field using the title of the position that you want to represent in the relationship hierarchy. For example, for a custom field that represents a lawyer-client relationship, name the field Lawyer.	No
	Show in Rule Conditions	Only active if you select the Unique checkbox. If checked, the custom field can be used to set rule conditions.	No
	Unique	Allows users to only add one custom field of this type to an entity.	No
	Unit	Only applies to currency and convertible currency custom fields. Select the currency to apply to the custom field. Users cannot change the currency in NexJ CRM.	No
	View Security	View security for the custom field. Select Public to make the custom field visible to all users, or select a user or group to restrict visibility to that user or group.  You cannot modify view security levels for the custom field after it has been created. If you want to restrict view access to this custom field, you must set it now. The default view setting is Public. For more information, see Security settings for objects in NexJ CRM.	Yes

You can modify a custom field's properties, for example, you can edit the name and description that display in NexJ CRM. Select the custom field record in the data table that you want to modify and click the Edit button 

To delete custom fields that you no longer require, select the custom field that you want to delete in the data table, and click the Delete button 

You cannot delete a custom field if it is used by an entity in NexJ CRM.