When it comes to CRM (Customer Relationship Management), there is a lot of confusion and debate surrounding the choice between a Custom Field and a Custom Entity. Many people don’t know when one should be more preferred than the other, or what the differences between them really are.
So we’re here to help!
What is a Custom Field/Entity?
A Custom Field is simply a value field that did not come out-of-the-box with your CRM solution. You should use a custom field in any instance where you would want to add a manual text input area or drop-down menu to fill in the value you are looking for.
A Custom Entity is entirely different in that you are creating a new table that contains data about data (or meta data). In simplified terms this means you are given a new way to segment information (such as modified date vs created date). The complex explanation is that you are creating a new SQL table, enabling your CRM to now track data about data.
When to use a Custom Field/Entity
CRM is somewhat of an art form; it all depends on what level of information you are looking for. Sometimes you simply want to input a value that doesn’t currently exist, other times you may need an entire table filled with data about a specific value to feed into other fields.
Typically if all you want is a new value, then you should use a custom field. This can either be a text area where you type in the value itself or a drop-down menu where you choose from a few selections. However, if you want more information about that value then creating a custom entity filled with data and linking it to your fields would be preferred. Examples of this would be using a custom entity to check on created dates versus modified dates to view an audit history, or relating a record to other records so as to view multiple opportunities within a single account. This would prevent the need to create a new custom field for every single value you want to know about.
At the end of the day, the person implementing your CRM is best suited to decide whether you need a custom field or custom entity. Depending on the level of data you need access to, they will be able to determine if a simple field will suffice or whether a table filled with data is needed.
Contact an ECI representative today to learn how we can implement your CRM solution with ease!
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