Custom Fields let you add your own fields to Projects and Tasks so you can capture information that doesn’t fit Avaza’s standard fields — client references, delivery risk, story points, go-live dates and anything else your business tracks. Once created, custom fields appear on project and task forms, and can be shown as columns, filtered, sorted and grouped on your task and project views.
Custom Fields are currently available for Projects and Tasks, with more of Avaza to follow.
Permissions: You need to be an account Administrator to turn the feature on and manage field definitions. All team members can view and enter values on the records they can access.
1. Turning Custom Fields On
- Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
- Flick the toggle at the top right to On.
That’s it — you can now create your first field. Turning the toggle Off later hides all custom fields and their values across Avaza, but deletes nothing: switch it back on and everything returns exactly as it was.
2. Creating a Custom Field
- Go to Settings > Custom Fields and click + Create.
- Name your field (e.g. “Risk Level”). Names must be unique.
- Choose a Type (see the full list below). The type can’t be changed after the field is created, so choose carefully.
- Optionally add a Description — this appears as helper text on forms so your team knows what to enter.
- Under Show on, select the modules the field applies to: Project, Task, or both.
- Optional or Required: next to each selected module you’ll see an Optional tag. Click it to flip that module to Required. A field can be required on Projects but optional on Tasks. Required fields must be filled in when the record is created or saved.
- Project scope: choose All projects, or Only selected projects to limit the field (and any task-level use of it) to specific projects.
- Visibility: choose Internal (visible to team members only — never shown to customer contacts in the client portal) or Everyone.
- Default value (optional, most types): the value the field automatically receives on every newly created record. Users can change or clear it. Pairing Required with a default is recommended — the field is always populated without slowing anyone down.
- Behaviour: tick Available in Filters, Available in Sorting and Available in Grouping to control where the field can be used on views. Grouping and sorting aren’t available for multiple-selection fields.
- Click Create.
Field types
- Short Text — a single line, e.g. a reference code
- Long Text — multi-line notes
- Number — with configurable decimal places, thousands separator and an optional unit label
- Percentage — a number displayed with %
- Currency — an amount; the currency symbol displays next to the field name
- Duration — hours and minutes; enter 1:30 or 1.5, displayed as 1:30
- Date — picked from a calendar, displayed in your account date format
- Checkbox — a simple on/off flag
- Dropdown — your own list of options, each with an optional colour; tick Allow multiple selections to let users pick more than one, and mark an option as default if you want it pre-selected
- User — pick a team member (or several, with multiple selections on). Active and invited team members are selectable; setting a user here does not assign the task or notify them
- Location — a place, stored as latitude and longitude coordinates
3. Editing a Field
- In Settings > Custom Fields, click the field (or its ⋮ menu > Edit).
- You can change the name, description, default value, module mapping, required tags, project scope, visibility, behaviour settings and dropdown options. The data type is locked.
- Click Save changes.
Changes apply everywhere immediately. Renaming a field or an option updates it on every record; changing a default only affects records created afterwards.
Dropdown options: add, rename, reorder or archive options at any time. Archiving an option removes it from the picker for new selections, but records already using it keep displaying it.
4. Filtering and Managing Your Field List
The settings list shows every field with its type, the modules it’s shown on, visibility, and how many records currently use it. Use the Status, Module and Type dropdowns or the search box to narrow the list, and drag the handle on the left of a row to reorder fields — this order controls how fields appear on forms and in column pickers.
5. Archiving, Restoring and Deleting
Archive a field (⋮ menu > Archive) to retire it without losing data: it disappears from forms, columns and filters, but every stored value is kept.
Restore an archived field by switching the Status filter to Archived and choosing Restore from the ⋮ menu — the field and all its values return.
Delete a field (⋮ menu > Delete) to remove it permanently. If the field has no values, you’ll get a simple confirmation. If it’s in use, you’ll be asked to type the field’s name to confirm — deleting it permanently removes all its values from every record. This cannot be undone; archive instead if you might need the data again.
6. Using Custom Fields on Tasks
When creating a task: the Create Task popup shows a Custom fields section below the standard fields, collapsed by default. Click Show N empty fields to expand it and enter values. Fields with defaults are filled in automatically — even if you never expand the section. If a required field needs your attention, the section opens automatically when you save.
When editing a task: open the task and find the Custom fields panel. Fields that have values show first; click Show N empty fields to reveal the rest. Changes save as you make them, just like standard task fields. Required fields can’t be cleared.
7. Using Custom Fields on Projects
Project custom field values live in the Project Settings modal:
- Open the project and go to Project Settings (⋮ menu on the project).
- Select the Custom Fields tab in the left rail (the tab appears once project fields exist).
- Enter or change values and click Save changes.
Fields with defaults are populated automatically when the project is created.
8. Custom Fields in Your Views
Custom fields integrate with the view controls on All Projects, All Tasks, Project View and My Tasks:
Columns: open Fields (Manage Columns), tick the custom fields you want, drag to reorder, and save. Custom fields are marked with their data-type icon so you can tell them apart from standard columns. Values render with their formatting — coloured chips for dropdown options, formatted currency and durations, ticks for checkboxes.
Filters: fields with Available in Filters appear in the filter list with operators suited to their type — “is any of” for dropdowns, date ranges for dates, and so on.
Sorting: fields with Available in Sorting appear in the Sort dropdown. Records without a value sort last.
Grouping: dropdown, checkbox and single-user fields with Available in Grouping appear in the Group dropdown. Groups follow your option order, with a “No value” group at the end.
Boards: cards display their custom field values as label: value lines, with +N more when there are several. Group a board by a dropdown field and the field’s options become the columns — drag a card between columns to change its value.
9. Visibility and the Client Portal
Fields set to Internal are only ever visible to your team members. Customer contacts viewing shared projects or tasks in the client portal see fields set to Everyone only. You can spot shared fields by the globe icon next to their name.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change a field’s type after creating it? No — the type is locked at creation. Create a new field with the right type instead, and archive the old one.
What happens to values if I archive a field? Nothing is lost. The field is hidden everywhere, and restoring it brings every value back.
What happens if I turn the whole feature off? All custom fields and values are hidden across Avaza but fully preserved. Turning it back on restores everything, including your view columns and filters.
Why doesn’t my field appear on a task? Check the field’s Show on includes Task, the task’s project is within the field’s Project scope, and the field isn’t archived.
Why can’t I tick Available in Grouping? Grouping (and sorting) aren’t supported for multiple-selection fields — a record with two values can’t sit in one group. Use a single-selection dropdown or user field for grouping.
Who can create and edit field definitions? Account Administrators only, via Settings > Custom Fields. Values on records can be entered by anyone who can edit the record.
Need help setting up your fields? Reach out via the in-app chat — we’re happy to suggest a field set for your workflow.