Custom Fields Guide

Custom fields hold the information your business tracks that Insightly’s standard fields don’t cover: billing IDs, contract renewal dates, project types, referral sources.

On this page:

• What custom fields are
• Fields, tags, or categories?
• Anatomy of a field
• Field types
• Creating a field
• Cloning a field to another object
• Mapping fields from opportunities to projects
• Deleting a field
• Calculated fields

What custom fields are

Insightly ships with standard fields like name, phone number, and email address. Custom fields are the ones you add for information specific to how your business works. Fields can be grouped into their own expandable sections on a record.

Once a field exists you can clone it onto other objects, and by mapping custom lead fields and custom opportunity fields, values carry across to the records Insightly creates on conversion.

Only Insightly administrators can create custom fields.

Where custom fields can be created

Application	Objects
CRM	Contacts, Events, Leads, Opportunities, Opportunity Projects, Organizations, Price Book Entries, Products, Projects, Quotes, Quote Products, Tasks, Custom Objects
Marketing	Lists, Prospects, Custom Objects
Service	Contacts, Knowledge Articles, Organizations, Tasks, Tickets, Custom Objects

Limits by plan

Subscription plan	Standard objects	Custom objects
Free	2 custom fields per object	Not available
Plus	50 custom fields per object	Not available
Professional	100 custom fields per object	100 custom fields per object
Enterprise	200 custom fields per object	500 custom fields per object

Enterprise plans can create up to 25 multi-line text fields per object. Custom fields also count toward your storage limits.

Fields, tags, or categories?

Insightly offers several ways to group records, and they can be used together. The choice depends on whether you’re storing a value (a field), applying a flexible label (a tag), or sorting into a fixed set (a category).

All three work alongside reports and custom filters for segmenting lists.

Custom fields

For standardized information that doesn’t fit an existing field. The field appears on the data-entry form, which is what makes it hard to skip.

Available on leads, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects, tasks, events, products, price book entries, quotes, and custom objects.

Good because they give uniformity to data entry, sit right in the form, are controlled by administrators, and are restricted to a chosen format. Less good because they lengthen the record’s field list, because deleting a field deletes every value in it, and because the number available is capped by plan.

Typical uses: reference numbers from other systems such as a Billing ID, dates such as Anniversary Date or Contract Renewal Date, markers such as a VIP Status checkbox, and single-select lists such as Contact Type.

Real Estate Custom Fields Configuration Panel

Tags

Labels added and removed without editing the record. Suited to things that change often and don’t need standardizing.

Available on leads, contacts, organizations, opportunities, projects, and emails.

Good because they change on the fly, because one record can carry several at once (a contact who is both supplier and customer), because they’re listed in an index, and because one click in that index filters a list. Less good because each user can create their own, because spelling and terminology drift, because a tag only exists while at least one record uses it, because they don’t allow spaces, and because they sit outside the field list and get missed on data entry.

Typical uses: ratings such as Hot and Cold, personal follow-up markers such as “Melissa’s Calls”, and campaign or event names.

Contact Tags Organized Alphabetically by Number/Letter

Categories

A built-in dropdown whose values and colors administrators can change. Effectively a custom dropdown field that ships with the product.

Available on opportunities, projects, tasks, and files, and nothing else.

Good because they sit in the form and are administrator-controlled. Less good because of that narrow object list, because only administrators can set them up, and because a category cannot be removed while a record is using it.

Typical uses: opportunity types such as Product Sales and Service Sales, task groups such as To Do and Phone Call, and project types such as Maintenance or Installation.

Selecting a Category from Dropdown Menu

Or none of the above

Sometimes the grouping already exists in data you hold. Reports and custom filters can group by existing fields without adding anything: leads by region, projects without a Completed status, opportunities above a minimum value.

If a tag or custom field would hold information already stored in another field, such as customer name or state, use a report or filter instead.

Anatomy of a field

Field types differ, but most share the same details:

• Field Label. The name shown on the page.
• Field Name. The database name used by the API and elsewhere. It fills automatically from the label and can be changed. Field names end in __c, two underscores then c.
• Default Value. What appears automatically.
• Description. Shown on the settings page, to clarify what the field is for.
• Help Text. Shown on hover on the record.
• Hidden. Hides the field rather than deleting its values.
• Read-only. Prevents users editing it.

Field types

• Auto Number. A system-generated sequence number, incremented per record. Display Format sets the pattern, so IN-000 for invoices or SHIP-00000 for shipments. Starting Number sets where the sequence begins.
• Lookup Relationship. A one-way link to another object, searched and selected by the user. It also links to events and tasks, which standard Insightly linking cannot do. Related To picks the target object, so a Manager field points at Contact and a Networking Event field points at Event.
• Calculated Field. Read-only, derived from a formula. Covered below.
• Checkbox. True or false.
• Date and Date/Time. Entered manually or picked.
• Number. Leading zeroes are removed. Length caps digits at 12, and Decimal Places sets digits after the point.
• Percent. A number with a percent sign appended, so 10 displays as 10%. Same Length and Decimal Places options.
• Dropdown. One value from a list you define. Enter values separated by Enter or Return.
• Multi-Select Dropdown. One or more values. # of Visible Lines sets how many show before scrolling, so a 20-value list can display 3 at a time.
• Text. Letters and numbers up to 255 characters.
• Multi-Line Text. Up to 4,000 characters across multiple lines.
• Website. A URL, displayed as a link.
• Telephone Number. A phone number.
• Email Address. An address, displayed as a mail link.
• Image. For uploading images.

Both dropdown types share three checkboxes: Sort values alphabetically, rather than the order entered, which applies everywhere the values appear; Always use the first value as the default value; and Allow searching through options in dropdown, which adds a search box and is off by default.

Multi-Select Dropdown Field Configuration in Insightly

⚠️ Auto Number back-fill cannot be undone. Checking Auto-generate values for existing records makes Insightly generate values for records that already exist. Changing your mind afterwards means deleting the field.

ℹ️ A Lookup Relationship needs two steps. Create the field and add it to the details tab of its object, then add the field to the related tab of the object being linked to.

Creating a field

1. Go to System Settings > Objects and Fields.
2. Select the object. Fields can be created for Contacts, Organizations, Opportunities, Leads, Projects, Tasks, Events, Products, Price Book Entries, Quotes, and custom objects.
3. Select Object Fields from the Object Management menu.
4. Click New Field.
5. Choose a field type and click Next.
6. Complete the details. Field Label is the displayed name and cannot duplicate an existing one. Field Name fills automatically and can be edited. On numeric fields, Apply Formatting displays commas in values where applicable.
7. Click Save Custom Field.
8. Add the field to a Page Layout. Until you do, it will not appear on records.

1 System Settings Navigation Menu in Insightly	2 System Settings Objects and Fields List
3 Adding a New Custom Field in Insightly	4 Choosing a Custom Field Type in Insightly

ℹ️ If the field already exists on another object, clone it from there instead of rebuilding it.

System Administrators can also follow an in-app step-by-step walkthrough for creating a custom field.

Cloning a field to another object

Cloning copies the field’s configuration, not the values in it.

1. Go to System Settings > Objects and Fields.
2. Select the object holding the field.
3. Click Object Fields.
4. Click the three-dot menu beside the field and select Clone this Field.
5. Choose the target object type and click Next.
6. Fill out the field details. The clone needs a unique field name, so Type_of_Car_Opportunities becomes Type_of_Car_Projects.
7. Click Save Custom Field.

A confirmation appears and the cloned field is available on the target object.

Field Options Dropdown Menu in Insightly

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Clone Custom Field Step 1 Dialog Box

Mapping fields from opportunities to projects

Converting an opportunity into a project copies its links automatically. Custom field values need mapping first.

1. Confirm the custom fields are configured the same way on Opportunities and Projects. Cloning the opportunity field is the reliable way to do this.
2. Go to System Settings.
3. Select Opportunity Conversion in the left menu.
4. Find the Opportunity field to map.
5. Choose the matching custom Project field from the dropdown. Each Project field can take only one Opportunity field.
6. Click Save Custom Field Mappings.

Converted opportunities then carry their custom field values into the matched project fields.

Data Administration Menu with Opportunity Conversion

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Mapping Region Field in Dropdown Menu

ℹ️ To map Bid Amount from an opportunity to a project, create a number custom field with Length set to 19 and Decimal Places set to 2.

Deleting a field

⚠️ Deleting a field deletes its data, permanently. Every value entered in that field, on every affected record, goes with it, and cannot be recovered.

⚠️ Deletion silently breaks anything built on the field. Custom rules, actions, and filters referencing a deleted field will not work correctly. Adjust them before deleting.

1. Click the profile icon and go to System Settings.
2. Select Objects and Fields.
3. Select the object.
4. Select Object Fields from the Object Management menu.
5. Click the three-dot menu beside the field.
6. Select Delete this field.
7. Click Delete Custom Field to confirm.

Delete Custom Field Confirmation Dialog in Insightly

Calculated fields

A calculated field derives its value from a C# formula, which makes it read-only. Formulas can use IF statements but cannot contain for loops, do while loops, or method declarations. Calculated fields are available on the Enterprise plan only.

Availability and limits: Calculated fields are Enterprise plan only. 20 calculated fields per object.

Calculated fields can be created on contacts, organizations, opportunities, leads, projects, and custom objects.

Saving a calculated field starts a background process a few seconds later that computes values across new and existing records. Saving the field again cancels the running process and restarts it with the new definition. Record change notifications are suppressed during recalculation, so a new or edited formula does not flood users with notifications.

Creating a calculated field

Calculated fields require the Enterprise plan.

1. Click the profile icon and select System Settings.
2. Click Objects and Fields.
3. Select the object.
4. Select Object Fields from the Object Management menu.
5. Click New Field.
6. Choose Calculated Field.
7. Enter the Field Label, which must be unique. Field Name fills automatically and ends in __c.
8. Select the Field Type for the returned value. Formulas mixing field types return text strings when saved.
9. Enter the formula in Field formula. Helpers opens the Object Fields and Functions lists; add items by double-clicking, dragging, typing, or pasting. Object Fields are sorted by type, Functions by return type such as Boolean, DateTime, and Decimal. IntelliSense offers completions as you type, and clicking a function shows its description.
10. Click Validate Formula. Failures are explained above the formula field.
11. Click Save Custom Field.

A calculated field cannot be saved unless it returns a value and the formula validates.

Calculated Field Formula Setup for Net Profit

Editing a calculated field

Click the edit icon, or use Edit this field from the actions menu. The edit screen carries a trigger any related workflow automation processes checkbox, unchecked by default. Check it before saving if the recalculation should fire workflows.

Division

Dividing by a field that can hold zero needs guarding, because numeric fields default to 0.

Correct:

if ( Record.Hour3__c == 0) { return 0; } return (Record.Hour1__c -
Record.Hour2__c) / Record.Hour3__c;

Incorrect, and will error:

return (Record.Hour1__c - Record.Hour2__c) / Record.Hour3__c;

Starter formulas

return DateTime.Now;
return Record.Revenue__c - Record.Cost__c;
return CurrentUser.FIRST_NAME + " " + CurrentUser.LAST_NAME;

Worked examples

Days from forecast close date.

return (DateTime.Today - Record.FORECAST_CLOSE_DATE).TotalDays;

Target completion date. Adds 30 days to the creation date.

return Record.DATE_CREATED_UTC.AddDays(30);

Time tracking examples

Days between Start Date and Due Date.

DateTime start=(Record.START_DATE).ToUniversalTime();
DateTime due=(Record.DUE_DATE).ToUniversalTime();
TimeSpan dt=(due.Subtract(start));
var TotalDays=(int)dt.TotalDays;
return (int)dt.TotalDays;

Calculated Field Formula for Date Difference

Related videos

• Custom fields and custom layouts