Custom objects

A custom object is a record type of your own, such as Campaigns, Vendors or Properties, that sits alongside accounts, contacts and opportunities. Use one when you need to track something the built-in records don’t represent.

For example:

• Campaigns, to track marketing efforts across many accounts
• Vendors, to keep suppliers separate from customer accounts
• Properties, for real estate teams tracking listings
• Projects, to organize work that spans several accounts

Once it’s created, a custom object works like a built-in one. You can add records and fields, link it to other objects, filter and sort its table, add its records to lists, attach files, and give it a pipeline with its own stages.

Who can use it

Custom objects are on every plan. Owners and admins create and edit custom objects, their fields and their relationships. Other roles don’t see Create new, and the edit and archive actions are turned off for them.

Everyone in the workspace can see a custom object and its records by default. On Enterprise, admins can set who can create, edit or delete its records on the object’s Permissions tab. Do not use an edit restriction as a privacy setting. See Groups and permissions and Privacy and access.

Formula fields are on Enterprise. Dashboards are on Pro, Growth and Enterprise.

Earlier plans can differ. Check your workspace’s available features.

Choose an object, field or list

• Use a field for one value on a record, such as an account’s campaign source.
• Use a list for a group of existing records, such as webinar attendees.
• Use a custom object for something with its own fields and relationships, such as a campaign with a budget, dates and target accounts.

Create a custom object

1. Go to Settings → Data model and select Create new.
2. Enter the Singular label, such as Campaign. It’s required. Select the icon next to it to choose how the object looks across the app.
3. Check the Plural label, filled in from the singular label, such as Campaigns. Change it if the automatic plural is wrong.
4. Optionally add a Description of what the object is for.
5. Check the Slug (used to identify your objects in the URL), generated from the singular label, such as campaign. You can’t change the slug after the object is created, so fix it now if you need to.
6. Select Create.

The new object appears in the Data model list, ready for fields and relationships.

Or ask the agent in chat: “Create a Vendors object with a contract end date field.” The agent shows you what it plans to create before anything changes.

What every custom object includes

Each custom object starts with a Name field and system fields such as Created at and Last interaction.

It also has built-in relationships to Notes, Tasks, Files and Lists, and an owner. Lightfield manages these relationships, and they can’t be removed. To connect the object to accounts, contacts or other custom objects, see Custom object relationships.

Set up the object

Open the object in Settings → Data model. Its settings are split into tabs:

• Fields: add and edit fields, the same way as on a built-in object. See Data model.
• Relationships: link it to other objects. See Custom object relationships.
• Display: arrange how fields appear on records, and use Sidebar menu visibility to show or hide the object in the sidebar. See Display.
• Permissions: shown on Enterprise, to control who can create, edit or delete the object’s records.

Example: track campaigns

Ask the agent: “Create a Campaign object with Channel, Budget, Start date and End date, linked many to many to accounts.” Review its proposal before approving.

For manual setup, create Campaign using the steps above, then use Fields for Channel (Single select), Budget (Currency), and the two dates (Date & Time). Use Relationships to link campaigns to accounts and Display to show Campaigns in the sidebar. The linked articles above explain each setting.

Create a few records to check the model, then attach a spreadsheet in chat and ask the agent to import the rest and link their target accounts. Each account should show its campaigns.

Edit or archive a custom object

You can edit a custom object’s labels, description and icon at any time. The slug is permanent.

If you no longer need an object, archive it from Settings → Data model. Archiving hides the object and its records from the app. You can restore the object later.

Related documentation

After configuring the object in the app, follow Object types to use its slug and Fields and relationships to read and write values. See the custom-object reference.

Common questions

Can I import records into a custom object? Yes. Attach your spreadsheet in chat and ask the agent to import it into the object. It maps your columns and links records to related accounts or contacts. See Import history.

Can I merge duplicate custom object records? Yes. Ask the agent in chat to merge them. See Merge duplicate records.

Can I change a custom object’s URL slug? No. The slug is set when you create the object. You can still change its labels, description and icon.

Can I read and write custom object records through the API? Yes. Use the object API with the custom object’s slug.