How to Create Custom Fields in Zoho CRM

Creating custom fields in Zoho CRM

The standard fields Zoho CRM ships with cover most sales, marketing, and support scenarios, but custom fields let you capture the data points that are specific to how your own business works.

How to create a custom field

  1. Log in as an administrator. You'll need administrative privileges in Zoho CRM.
  2. Open Modules and Fields. Go to Setup, then Customization, then Modules and Fields.
  3. Choose the module. Select the module you want to add the field to, such as Leads, Contacts, Deals, or a custom module. This opens the layout editor.
  4. Drag the field type into the layout. Using the tray of field types on the left, drag the type of field you need, such as Single Line, Picklist, Date, Currency, or Lookup, into the section of the layout where it should appear.
  5. Configure the field. Give it a label, and set any relevant properties, such as making it mandatory, setting a character length, or defining picklist values.
  6. Save the layout. Click Save Layout to commit your changes.
Note: Once a field type is chosen and a record has used that field, the field type cannot be changed, so it's worth being deliberate about the type before saving. Custom fields are not available on the Free edition, and Lookup and Formula fields specifically are not available on the Standard edition.

Choosing the right field type

Zoho CRM offers more than a dozen field types, including Text, Number, Currency, Date and Date/Time, Checkbox, Picklist, Multi-Select Picklist, Lookup, and Formula. Choosing the right type matters for data quality, since each type restricts what can be entered, much like formatting a spreadsheet column. For example, a Currency field won't accept letters, and a Picklist only allows values from a defined list, which keeps your data consistent without relying on everyone remembering to type things the same way.

How many you can create

The number of custom fields you can create per module depends on your edition. For the full current breakdown by edition and by field type, see our article on how many custom fields you can add in Zoho CRM.

Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you design a custom field structure that captures the data your business actually needs, without overwhelming your users. Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.