> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.qwoty.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a Customer custom field

> Add a custom field to customers — for segmentation, regulatory IDs, or CRM-synced attributes.

A Customer custom field captures attributes specific to your account base — for example, a customer type, a regulatory ID, an account manager assignment, or a sales region. The field appears on every customer record, can be filtered in customer views, and most importantly, syncs to your CRM, where customer master-data typically lives.

This guide walks through the full lifecycle in three steps.

<Note>
  You must have the **Admin** role with **Data → Read & Write** authorized. CRM mapping additionally requires **Developers** access.
</Note>

## What you'll build

In this example, you'll add two custom fields used to qualify customers:

| Field             | Type | Purpose                                          |
| ----------------- | ---- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Customer type** | Text | `Prospect`, `Key Account`, `Partner`, `Reseller` |
| **VAT number**    | Text | Legal tax ID for cross-border invoicing          |

Both will be **editable by sales reps**, **not displayed to the customer** (these are internal qualifiers, not buyer-facing data), and **synced bidirectionally with your CRM** since customer master-data is shared across both systems.

## Step 1: Create the field in the Data model

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Data model">
    Go to **Settings → Data → Data model** and click the **Customer** object.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click + New">
    In the top right of the field list, click **+ New** to open the field creation form.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in General Information for Customer type">
    * **Name**: `Customer type`
    * **API Name**: Qwoty generates `customer_type`. Edit if you need a different identifier.
    * **Data Type**: pick `Text`
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and repeat">
    Click **Save**, then create `VAT number` with type `Text` the same way.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Check>
  Two new fields appear in the Customer object's field list with the **Custom** badge.
</Check>

## Step 2: Configure the field on the customer

Like Product, Customer custom fields appear on every customer record once enabled — they're not gated by a template.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open a customer">
    Navigate to **Customers** and open any customer record (or create a new one). The new fields appear in the customer's detail view.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the Custom Fields section">
    Scroll to the **Custom Fields** section. Both fields appear with a toggle and three checkboxes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate the toggle">
    Click the toggle for each field to turn it on.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the properties">
    For our customer-qualification use case:

    * **Mandatory**: check for `Customer type` (segmentation should always be filled), uncheck for `VAT number` (only relevant for B2B / cross-border)
    * **Editable by sale** ✓ — sales reps maintain customer qualifications during onboarding
    * **Display for customer** — leave **unchecked**. These are internal — the customer doesn't need to see how you qualify them
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set values per customer">
    Enter the values for existing customers, or import the data via CSV if you have many. Customer fields are commonly bulk-populated when migrating from a legacy CRM.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the customer">
    Click **Save**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Check>
  Your customers carry the new fields. They flow into reporting (filterable in customer views) and become available for CRM sync.
</Check>

## Step 3: Sync with your CRM (recommended)

Customer custom fields are the **#1 use case for CRM sync**. The CRM is typically the source of truth for customer master-data, and Qwoty needs the same view to make smart quoting decisions.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your CRM integration">
    Go to **Settings → Developers → Integration** and click your connected CRM.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the custom fields mapping section">
    Scroll to the customer mapping. The fields appear as `Custom: Customer type` and `Custom: VAT number`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a sync direction">
    For customer master-data, we strongly recommend:

    * **Customer type** → **Bidirectional** — both systems need the same segmentation, and either may be edited
    * **VAT number** → **CRM → Qwoty** — typically maintained by sales-ops in the CRM; Qwoty just needs to read it

    Avoid **Qwoty → CRM** for customer master-data unless Qwoty really is the source of truth for that field (rare).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the matching CRM field">
    Pick the matching field on the CRM:

    * HubSpot: a Single-line text or Dropdown property on the Company object
    * Salesforce: a Picklist or Text field on Account
    * Pipedrive: a Single-option or Free-form field on Organization

    Compatible types: Text → Text, Picklist, Dropdown.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save changes">
    Click **Save changes** at the bottom of the page. Sync starts at the next cycle.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Check>
  Customer types and VAT numbers now sync between Qwoty and your CRM. New customers added in either system appear in the other within seconds.
</Check>

## Common Customer custom fields

Beyond type and VAT, here are fields that come up often:

| Field                  | Type                      | Sync direction (typical) |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| **Account manager**    | Text (or future relation) | Bidirectional            |
| **Industry**           | Text                      | CRM → Qwoty              |
| **Annual revenue**     | Number                    | CRM → Qwoty              |
| **Region / Territory** | Text                      | Bidirectional            |
| **NAICS / SIC code**   | Text                      | CRM → Qwoty              |
| **Strategic flag**     | Text (or future boolean)  | Bidirectional            |
| **Last QBR date**      | Date                      | CRM → Qwoty              |

<Tip>
  When migrating from another CRM, first list every custom property on the customer/company object in that CRM, then create matching fields in Qwoty before importing customer data. The import will populate the fields automatically. See [Import customers](/user-guide/customers/how-tos/import-csv).
</Tip>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The field doesn't appear on the customer detail view">
    Refresh the page. If still missing, check that the toggle is **on** in the Custom Fields section.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The CSV import didn't populate my customer custom field">
    Check that the column header in your CSV matches the field's **API Name** exactly (case-sensitive). See [Import customers](/user-guide/customers/how-tos/import-csv) for the full column reference.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My CRM field type is 'multi-select' but Qwoty's Text doesn't accept the comma-separated values">
    Qwoty's Text type stores the value as-is. If your CRM sends `Strategic, Renewal, Risk`, Qwoty stores that whole string. Either parse the values in your CRM workflows before sync, or open multiple Text fields in Qwoty for each tag.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bidirectional sync sometimes overwrites changes">
    Bidirectional uses last-write-wins. If two users edit the same field in both systems within a sync window, the latest write wins. To avoid conflicts, decide which system is canonical for high-stakes fields and use one-way sync (CRM → Qwoty or Qwoty → CRM) instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A customer was created in the CRM but doesn't appear in Qwoty">
    Verify that **CRM → Qwoty** sync is active, that the CRM webhook fires (visible in **Settings → Developers → Webhook**), and that the integration has read access to the Company / Account object. New records typically appear within seconds.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Customers" icon="users" href="/user-guide/customers/introduction">
    Manage your customer base.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Import customers" icon="file-import" href="/user-guide/customers/how-tos/import-csv">
    Bulk-populate custom fields via CSV.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CRM mapping" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/user-guide/data-model/reference/crm-mapping">
    All sync directions and compatibility rules.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CRM integration" icon="plug" href="/user-guide/settings/integrations/crm">
    Connect HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>