--- title: What Are Custom Fields? description: Custom fields let you add your own metadata to documents beyond the built-in fields (title, date, correspondent, type, tags). They give you a structur... --- [Skip to content](https://help.essal.cloud/en/article/1456-#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets?hsLang=en) [![logo](https://help.essal.cloud/hubfs/logo.svg)](https://help.essal.cloud/?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) - English Show submenu for translations - [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new) - [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) [Home](https://essal.cloud/) Essal Help Center - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://help.essal.cloud/en?hsLang=en) 2. [Essal Office](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en) 3. [Custom fields](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#custom-fields) # What Are Custom Fields? **Custom fields** let you add your own metadata to documents beyond the built-in fields (title, date, correspondent, type, tags). They give you a structured place to record information that is specific to your organisation or workflow. For example, you might want to record the invoice amount on each invoice, the expiry date on contracts, or an internal reference number on supplier documents. Custom fields make this possible without resorting to putting everything in the document title or relying on full-text search to find specific values. --- ## What You Can Store in Custom Fields Custom fields support a range of data types, each designed to hold a specific kind of value: - **Data Type**: \*\*Text (short)\*\* - **Use it for**: Single-line text, reference codes, names - **Data Type**: \*\*Text (long)\*\* - **Use it for**: Multi-line notes or descriptions - **Data Type**: \*\*Number (integer)\*\* - **Use it for**: Whole numbers: quantities, item counts - **Data Type**: \*\*Number (decimal)\*\* - **Use it for**: Amounts: prices, totals, percentages - **Data Type**: \*\*Monetary\*\* - **Use it for**: Currency amounts; stores value and currency - **Data Type**: \*\*Date\*\* - **Use it for**: Due dates, expiry dates, signing dates - **Data Type**: \*\*Boolean (yes/no)\*\* - **Use it for**: Flags: paid/unpaid, signed/unsigned, reviewed - **Data Type**: \*\*URL\*\* - **Use it for**: Links to related web pages, portals, or systems - **Data Type**: \*\*Document link\*\* - **Use it for**: A reference to another document in your archive --- ## How Custom Fields Appear on Documents Once you create a custom field and assign it to a document, it appears in the metadata panel alongside the built-in fields. You fill it in or edit it the same way you would any other field. Unlike tags, custom field values are per-document — each document stores its own value for a field. For example, two invoices both have the "Invoice Amount" field, but each stores a different number. --- ## Custom Fields Are Global Custom fields are defined once and available on any document. There is no requirement to assign a field to every document — it simply appears empty on documents where you haven't filled it in. You can filter and search by custom field values across all documents that have been given a value. --- ## Custom Fields vs. Tags Both custom fields and tags add metadata to documents, but they serve different purposes: - **Feature**: Tag - **Best for**: Categorising and filtering by state or topic (binary — present or not) - **Feature**: Custom field - **Best for**: Storing a specific typed value unique to each document Tags are ideal for "this document is an Invoice" or "this document is Pending". 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