Custom fields in TatvaCRM — overview

Updated 31 May 2026·6 min read

How to add custom fields to contacts, companies, deals, leads, and tasks in TatvaCRM. Field types, required vs optional, picklist values, validation, and the discipline to avoid field bloat.

Custom fields let you add the data points your business actually tracks — without writing any code. Every Indian SMB uses different fields: a coaching centre tracks target college, a debt advisor tracks credit rating, a B2B SaaS tracks ICP fit score. This page covers field types, configuration, and the discipline to avoid bloat.

The 30-second answer

Start with 3-5 custom fields per module. Add more only when there’s real demand. 50 custom fields on day one is a graveyard your team will never populate. Quality > quantity.

Where to add custom fields

Go to Settings → Custom fields. Pick the module to add fields to (Contacts, Companies, Deals, Leads, Tasks). Click + New field.

Field types

Type	Use for
Text (short)	Up to 255 characters. Names, references, codes.
Text (long)	Up to 10,000 characters. Descriptions, notes.
Number	Integers or decimals. Counts, scores, distances.
Currency (₹)	Amounts in INR. Budgets, deal values, fee quotes.
Date	Specific date. Birthdays, target dates, expiry dates.
Date and time	Date + time. Scheduled appointments, exact timestamps.
Single-select picklist	Pick one from a list. Stage, industry, segment.
Multi-select picklist	Pick many from a list. Tags, interests, capabilities.
Checkbox / Boolean	Yes/No fields. KYC complete? GST registered?
Email	Validated email address. Secondary email, alternate contact.
Phone	Validated phone number. Alternate phone, WhatsApp number.
URL	Web link. LinkedIn, website, document link.
User picker	Pick a team member. Secondary owner, escalation contact.
Lookup	Reference another record. Primary contact at a company.

Field configuration options

Required / Optional — Required fields must be filled before saving the record. Use sparingly — too many required fields kills adoption.
Default value — Pre-fill the field on new records.
Help text — Tooltip shown to users when they hover the field. Use it to explain what to enter.
Validation rules — “must be between 0 and 100”, “must match this pattern”.
Visible to roles — Hide a field from certain roles (e.g. hide cost data from non-finance users).
Editable by roles — Allow some roles to see but not edit (e.g. credit score is read-only for sales).

Managing picklist values

For picklist fields, edit the value list anytime: Settings → Custom fields → [Field name] → Edit values. Adding values is safe. Removing values: TatvaCRM warns you which records use that value and asks what to do (delete those records’ value, or replace with another).

Example custom fields by business type

B2B SaaS (like Aditya at StoreWorks)

Company: ICP fit (single-select: Strong / Medium / Weak)
Contact: Decision-maker role (picklist)
Deal: Competitor evaluated (multi-select)
Deal: Trial extension granted (checkbox)

Debt advisory (like Rajiv at Pragati)

Company: Credit rating (single-select)
Company: Last debt raised (date)
Company: Refinancing window (date)
Deal: Mandate fee (currency)
Deal: Success fee % (number)

Discipline — when to add a field, when to resist

Add a custom field when:

You need to filter or report by this dimension
The data point matters for multiple records, not just one
Someone on the team will reliably populate it

Resist when:

The information could be a free-text note instead
Only one rep cares about it (use their personal notes)
You’ve already added 30+ fields to that module

Common questions

“What happens to data when I delete a custom field?”

TatvaCRM warns you. Confirming the delete removes the field and any data in it across all records. There’s no recovery beyond restoring from a backup. Be careful — export records first if you’re unsure.

“Can I rename a custom field?”

Yes — it’s safe. The internal identifier is preserved; only the display name changes. No data loss.

“Can I change a field’s type (e.g. text to picklist)?”

Not directly — but you can create a new field of the new type, migrate the data with bulk update, then delete the old field. Plan this when usage is still low.

“Can I import custom field values from CSV?”

Yes — create the custom field first, then include matching column headers in your CSV import. See Import existing data.