Custom Fields

The Custom Fields page lets you define additional fields for any entity in the system. This allows you to capture data specific to your organisation without modifying the core application.

Navigation: Administration → Fields → {Entity} Field Controller

What Are Custom Fields?

Custom fields are user-defined data fields that extend the standard fields on an entity. For example, if the standard client form captures name, email, and phone, you can add custom fields for:

• National ID number
• Occupation
• Monthly income
• Number of dependents
• Any other data specific to your business needs

Supported Entities

Custom fields can be added to the following entities:

Entity	Description
Clients	Individual client records
Groups	Client groups
Loan Accounts	Loan account records
Deposit Accounts	Deposit account records
Credit Arrangements	Credit arrangement records
Guarantors	Guarantor records
Assets	Fixed asset records
HR	Employee and HR records
Shares	Share account records
Deposit Products	Deposit product definitions
Transactions (by Channel)	Transaction records filtered by channel
Transactions (by Type)	Transaction records filtered by type
Users	User profile records

Field Types

When creating a custom field, you choose from these field types:

Type	Description	Example
Text	Single-line text input	National ID number
Text Area	Multi-line text input	Notes, comments
Number	Numeric input	Monthly income
Date	Date picker	Date of birth
Dropdown	Single selection from a list	Marital status
Checkbox	Boolean yes/no	Has insurance?
Radio	Single selection from radio buttons	Gender
Multi-Select	Multiple selections from a list	Languages spoken

Creating a Custom Field

1. Navigate to the entity's field controller page (e.g., Fields → Clients Field Controller)
2. Click Create Custom Field
3. Fill in the form:

Field	Description	Required
Field Name	The label displayed on the form	Yes
Field Key	System identifier (auto-generated from name)	Auto
Field Type	The input type (text, number, dropdown, etc.)	Yes
Required	Whether this field is mandatory	No
Default Value	A pre-filled default value	No
Options	For dropdown/radio/multi-select — the list of choices	Conditional
Validation Rules	Any validation constraints (min/max length, regex pattern)	No
Display Order	The position of this field relative to other custom fields	No

4. Submit the form

How Custom Fields Appear

Custom fields appear automatically on:

• Create forms — When creating a new record of the entity type
• Edit forms — When editing an existing record
• Detail views — When viewing record details
• Data tables — As additional columns (when configured to show)

Custom field values are stored in a dedicated custom_field_values JSON column on the entity record, keeping them separate from core fields.

TIP

Custom fields integrate seamlessly with the form engine. When you open a create or edit form, custom fields for that entity are automatically loaded and displayed in a dedicated section.

Managing Custom Fields

• Edit — Change the label, type, validation, or options of an existing field
• Delete — Remove a custom field (existing data for that field will be preserved in the database but no longer displayed)
• Reorder — Change the display order of fields

WARNING

Changing a field's type (e.g., from Text to Number) after data has been collected may cause display issues for existing records. Consider creating a new field instead.

Next Steps

• Users — Manage user accounts
• Roles — Configure roles and permissions