Introduction

Custom fields play an important role in Neon CRM because each organization delivers its own specific services to its members and supporters. You may need to collect specific data that is not reflected in the standard Neon CRM data fields. Some examples of custom fields could include, "Where did you hear about our organization?", "Which committee does this person belong to?", or "What is their favorite color?".

Types of Custom Fields

There are three types of custom data that appear on Neon CRM accounts. To access and configure Custom Fields, navigate to:

Global Settings cog > Global Settings > Accounts > Custom Fields

All Account Custom Fields appear on both Individual Accounts and Company Accounts. Account Custom Fields should be used for most custom fields because they are available in reports, they can be imported, and they are available for use on front-end web forms. You can manually add them to specific forms using configure fields & sections.
Individual Custom Fields appear on Individual Accounts only and are available on front-end forms and pages.
Company Custom Fields appear on Company Accounts only.

In addition, several Neon CRM modules have their own custom fields. These custom fields apply only to the specified type of record.

Event Custom Fields allow you to add custom fields to forms for any event (General Event Custom Fields) or one specific event (Event-Specific Custom Fields).
Donation Custom Fields allow you to collect and track custom data related to donations through donation forms. Donation Custom Fields are configured exactly the same way as Account Custom Fields.
Membership Custom Fields allow you to collect and track custom data related to memberships through membership forms. Membership Custom Fields are configured the exact same way as Account Custom Fields.

All custom field types except for Event-Specific Custom Fields are configured under Global Settings.

Display Types

Neon CRM supports five Display Types for collecting custom data: One-Line Text, Drop Down, Checkbox, Radio, Multi-Line Text and File.

One Line Text - A single line of free-entry text

If you select One Line Text, you can further specify the type of information you want to be entered into the field. This is accomplished with the Data Type field. Data Type validation for custom fields only applies to data entered by system users from the back end of Neon. If left empty, your custom field will accept any text. If you specify a Data Type, then users must enter information that fits a specific format. These include:

Integer - A whole number
Float - A number with decimal points
Amount - An amount of currency
Date - Will appear with a calendar icon and be searchable by date range on Standard Neon Forms
Time
Boolean - 1 or 0, use for Yes or No questions.
Text
Email
Phone
Area Code
Name

Multi-Line Text - A paragraph of free-entry text

By default, Multi-Line Text fields have a 1024 character limit:

Check Box - A group of options, where you may select any, all, or none of the answers

Check Box Example
Check Box Example #2

Drop Down - A drop-down menu with pre-defined options
Example #1Example #2Example #3

File - A file prompts you to upload a file from your device.

Radio Button - A group of options, where you must select only one answer
Radio Example #1
Radio Example #2

If you select Check Box, Radio Button, or Dropdown as your Display Type, a second menu will appear at the bottom of the screen where you define the available field choices.

To add field options, click the Add button and specify where this option will be visible if added to a front end form.

Grouping Custom Fields

Additionally, you can organize your custom fields into custom field groups. Custom field groups allow you to organize custom fields. Custom field groupings allow you to specify the order that custom fields appear in groups in the back-end. This is useful for grouping fields that have something in common with each other. A custom field can only belong to one group.

Create a custom group

From the Global Settings, find the category of custom fields you want to group (Account, Individual, Company, Donation, Event), and click Edit.

At the top, click New Custom Group.

Name your custom group, and add a description (optional). The column of fields on the right is the list of available fields that are not already in a group. The column on the left is the list of fields in this group. Drag and drop the fields from the right to the left column to add them to this group.

When you are done click Save.

Rearrange Group Order

You can also rearrange the order that the groups display on this page and the Account Detail page. By default they display in the order they were created.

Click Edit Order of Groups on the Account Custom Fields page.

Drag and drop your groups until they are in the order you prefer, then click Submit.

Order changes will affect the system user view of the About section of the Account Detail Page. They will not affect front end forms.

Articles in this section

Configuring Custom Fields