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Looking for a specific section? Use the table of contents below to jump straight to it!

• Standard Objects vs Custom Objects
• Standard Objects
• Creating Custom Fields in a Standard Object
• Creating Custom Objects and Custom Fields
• Deleting Custom Fields and Custom Objects
• Adding Custom Fields to Reports
• How to review Custom Fields added to a Loan Type

You can create custom fields for your loans. You can choose to add your custom field to a standard object or to a custom object. It is important to understand the differences between the two.

Standard Objects vs Custom Objects

• Standard objects refer to menus and sections of Ventures where you can choose to add your custom fields. These are predefined and the same for everyone. We will cover them shortly.
• If the field you are creating does not fit into one of the nine standard objects, you can create your own. These are custom objects. Custom objects will appear under the Custom Data menu option in the menu on the left side of the screen. Once you have created your custom object you can add custom fields to it.

To summarize, a standard object is a predefined screen in Ventures where you can add a custom field.

A custom object is a user created menu option where you can add a custom field. Custom objects can be accessed from the Custom Data menu.

Standard Objects

The following are standard objects that you can add custom fields to:

• The Loan General page

• The Loan Entity page

• The Loan Entity Contact page

• The Loan Eligibility page

• The Loan Collateral page

• The Payments Loan Details page

• The Company Record page

• The Contact Record page

• The Loan Financing Source

 

• And the Loan Log

Notice the Custom Fields tab in each of the standard objects. This tab will appear if there are any custom fields created for the object. If there are none, you will not see the Custom Fields tab. 

This applies to all standard objects except the Loan Log. The Loan Log does not have a Custom Fields tab. Any custom fields added to the Loan Log will appear directly in the Loan Log tab.

Creating Custom Fields in a Standard Object 

You will need to be an administrator to create custom fields. 

• From the home page of Ventures, click Administration in the menu at the top of the screen.
• When the Administration page loads, click custom data in the menu on the left.
• A table will load with both standard objects and custom objects. You can use the search bar to search for the object by name or description. You can use the dropdown menu labeled with a gear icon to add or remove columns from the table.

We’ll start with creating a custom field for a standard object

You can tell which objects are standard objects as they will have a check mark next to them in the standard column.

• Click on the standard object you would like to add a custom field to. For our example we will use the Loan Entity standard object.

When we click on the Loan Entity standard object, the “Edit Object” popup will appear. Notice that there are already some fields added to the standard object. You can have as many fields as you would like, there is no limit. We will cover options in the popup in just a moment, first let us continue with adding our custom field.

• Click the add button.

The popup will change to the “Add Custom Field” popup. This is where you will build your custom field.

• First choose a field name. Try to be as descriptive as possible.
• Next you have the option to choose a section. Sections allow you to organize custom fields into relevant groups to make data entry easier. You do not have to assign a section to each field.
• Next select a field type from the drop down. This is a critical choice as it affects the data you can enter in the field. If you set it to be a number for example, no letters will be accepted as an input in the field. When you choose a field type, depending on your selection you may have some extra options to help customize your field. These options will appear after you make your selection if they are relevant. For example, with the number type selected, you can specify how many decimal places you would like the field to accept. You can see this in the red rectangle. Choose the field type that fits your needs best. Remember it will restrict what can and cannot be entered based on the type.
• Next enter help text. Help text is text that will be visible below the field. It should help someone know what the field is for. You can see examples directly throughout the popup.
• Now enter a description of what the field represents. This will not be visible to users, but may be helpful to you as a site administrator in the future.

Now click the loan workflow tab. The settings in this tab allow you to dictate when and why a custom field appears.

• The required before status field tells the system that when the loan is moved to the status selected in the field, before the status changes, check to see if there is any data in the field. If there is not, the system will prompt the user to enter data. This does not stop the user from continuing with updating the status, it just prompts them to enter a value. For example, if we set the required before status field to open, when the user moves the loan to open status, they will be prompted to fill the custom field if it is not already filled.
• The available after field, if set, locks the custom field until data has been entered into one of the other custom fields in the same standard object. For example, when I click the available after drop down, I can see other custom fields in the same standard object. Selecting one means that the selected field will have to be filled out, before the field we are creating will be editable.
• The loan status, if left blank, will allow the custom field to be available in ALL loan statuses of record. If set, then the field will be available only when a loan is in the selected loan status and any statuses that come after the selected status. For example, if I only add the "Open" status to the field, I will see the custom field when the loan is moved to open status, and the field will remain visible for subsequent statuses.
•  The loan type field, if left blank, will result in the custom field being available in ALL loan type records. If set, then the field will be available for the specified loan types only.

Once you have set up the field to meet your requirements, click save.

You will return to the edit object popup. You will see the field you just created listed along with any other previously created fields.

• You can adjust the position of your field on the page by using the up and down arrows. The order of the fields and sections matches the order you set using the up and down arrows. 
• You can use the cog wheel icon to access a menu where you can add or remove columns from the table if you wish.

When you finish arranging the fields in the order you would like, click the save button.

In our example we used the loan entity standard object, to check that we were successful let’s check the loan entity screen. You can see the new field we just created, along with the other fields we saw that were already created. This is also a good example of how the sections work. You can see the various named sections, and the unnamed section. The order of the fields and sections matches the order set earlier using the up and down arrows. 

 

Creating Custom Objects and Custom Fields

Custom Objects are added to the Custom Data menu option in the main menu on the left. When creating a custom field for a custom object, you can choose to add it to one of the already existing custom objects if you have them, or you can create both the object and fields from scratch. We will create both the object and the field in this demonstration.

You will need to be a site administrator to create a custom object and custom fields.

• Click on Administration in the menu at the top of the screen
• Click Custom Data in the menu on the left.

If you want to add a custom field to an already existing custom object, click the name of the object you would like to add the field to. Remember any object without a check mark next to it in the standard column, is a custom object. For this guide we will continue with creating an object and then a custom field within said object.

• Click the add button.
• Type in a name for your object.
• Ensure the checkbox labeled active is checked. Enter a description if you wish and click save. 

When you do, a new popup appears. This should look familiar to you, it is the same popup in which we added our custom field to in the earlier example. Click the add button and you will see the custom field builder popup again. 

This part is exactly the same as previously covered. Build your custom field to meet your specifications following the same instructions. Remember to adjust the options under the loan workflow tab as well. When you finish creating your field click save.

Once you click save you will return to the edit object popup. Since this object only has one field in it, you will not see the up and down arrows that allow you to rearrange the field order. Those only appear if there are multiple fields. You can continue to create additional fields by clicking add. When you finish click save.

Now let’s look at the Custom Data menu in the loan. We can see the object we just created. If we click on it, the page will load,

• When the page loads click add
• A pop up appears, In the pop up we can see the field that we created within it, ready to be filled in.
• After filling in the field click save.

A note on the layout of Custom Objects: When you first access the Custom Object you created, the page will be blank.

As you continue to enter data following the steps above, you will be able to see all the data you entered, chronologically. 

 

Deleting Custom Fields and Custom Objects

When a field or object is deleted, there is no way to recover the deleted data. If you are deleting a field or an object, make sure there is no data you need saved in them. It will be permanently deleted! 

To delete a field, you will need to be in the Custom Data menu that is part of the administration settings. We have reviewed how to reach the screen previously in the document. Let’s delete the field we created in our standard object.

• Click on the object the field is in.

• Click the name of the field.

• Click the delete button.

• A confirmation message will appear. Click delete again to confirm and delete the field.

This applies to fields whether they are part of a standard object or custom object. The delete button appears after the field is created.

 

If you want to delete your custom object, from the Custom Data menu option in the Administration settings,

• Click the name of the custom object you want to delete.

 

• Click the delete button.

You cannot delete standard objects.

 

Adding Custom Fields to Reports

When you create a custom field, the report builder automatically adds it as an option you can include in a report. You can add custom fields to reports whether they are part of a standard object or custom object.

To add custom fields to a report,

• Click on reports and letters in the menu at the top of the screen.
• When the page loads click reports in the menu on the left.

Now either click the name of a report you would like to add your custom fields to, or you can create a new custom report to fit your needs. We will use a pre-existing report so I will click it’s name.

• When the report builder loads click on fields.

• For custom fields added to standard objects, you can find them listed under Custom Data, and then the name of the standard object. For example, to see the custom field we created in the Loan Entity standard object, we will scroll to “Custom Data Loan Entity” when I click on it we will see a list of the custom fields along with their section names if they were assigned a section.

 

• If your field is part of a custom object, you will find It listed as Custom Data and then the name of the object. For example, here is the custom object we created earlier. Notice how the option is named Custom Data Demo Object. Custom Data, then the name we chose for our object Demo Object. When I click on it I can see the custom fields I added to that object. 

 

• To add a field to the report, click the field and, holding your mouse button drag it to the select fields column.
• To remove it from the report, click the X next to the field you would like to clear. Or use the clear button at the top of the column to clear all fields selected so far. When you finish making your changes remember to hit save. Your report will now contain the custom fields that you added.

Notes: Some custom fields may result in duplicate results in a report if there is more than one record that matches the criteria.

Standard Objects that will not cause duplicates: Loan General, Loan Log, Loan Eligibility, Payment Account.

Standard Objects that may cause duplicates: Loan Collateral, Loan Entity, Loan Entity Contact, Loan Financing Source, Custom Objects, Company, Contact.

How to review Custom Fields assigned to a Loan Type

You can review which custom fields are set up to appear under a specific Loan Type:

• Click Administration in the menu at the top of the screen.
• When the Administration page loads, click Reference in the menu on the left
• From the sub-menu that appears click Loan. From the Loan sub-menu click Loan Type.
• Click on the name of the Loan Type you would like to review assigned custom fields for.

• After you click on the Loan Type a pop up will appear. Select the Custom Fields tab.
• The tab will list all custom fields that are set to appear for the Loan Type.