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Use custom fields to capture information the built-in fields do not cover, such as a contract renewal date on a company or an asset tag on a device. This page is for MSP staff. Open Settings > Customization > Fields. The page is titled Field Definitions, with a tab for each record type: Devices, Compliance, Goals, Budgets, Planner, Users and Companies.
A new Devices custom field starts as an unsaved row with separate save and cancel controls.

A new Devices custom field starts as an unsaved row with separate save and cancel controls.

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Before you start

  • You need access to Custom Fields settings. Creating, editing, reordering and deleting each need the matching permission.
  • Company users cannot change field definitions. They ask their IT provider.
  • A new field starts empty on existing records. It does not create a field in your PSA. Set up PSA project fields in Project Settings.

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Create a field

1

Choose the record tab

Select the entity you want to extend. For example, choose Devices, then Add Devices Field. The Add button uses the selected tab’s name.
2

Enter the field definition

Enter a descriptive Label, choose its Type, and configure scope. Add opens an unsaved row; it does not create the field yet.
3

Save the row

Select the green checkmark and wait for Custom field created successfully. The red X cancels this unsaved row. Each field saves on its own. There is no page-wide Save.
4

Add choices after saving a choice field

For Dropdown, Multi-Select, or Radio Buttons, first save the field as optional. Expand its saved row, select Add Option, enter the choice, then use that option’s checkmark. Repeat for each choice. After options are saved, edit the field to enable Required if needed.
Choose the field type carefully. A saved field’s type cannot be changed. For a different type, create a new field and move the values over before you delete the old one.
New fields are visible to company users. To make a field internal, check Hide from company users in the new row, before you enter sensitive values. Fields synced from HaloPSA start hidden.

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Scope and Company visibility

For Compliance, also choose the fill location when creating the field:
  • Filled on the check (pre-filled): configure the value on the check definition; it is shown read-only on runs.
  • Filled on compliance page: enter the value for the individual run.
The Compliance fill location is fixed after creation. Plan a replacement and preserve needed values before deleting an old definition.

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Company fields from HaloPSA and alerts

A Companies field can follow a HaloPSA customer field or the customer’s pop-up notes, and can show its value as a warning banner on the company’s pages. A common setup brings HaloPSA pop-up warnings, such as “sensitive client, proceed with care”, into MSPortal and alerts the account manager when one changes.

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Before you start

  • HaloPSA is connected and active, with Sync Companies on in the connection’s Choose data step. See Enable the HaloPSA integration.
  • Your HaloPSA customers are linked to MSPortal companies. Only linked companies get values.
  • HaloPSA has synced at least once. Its customer fields appear in Sync from HaloPSA after a sync, so a field you add in HaloPSA later appears after the next sync.

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Sync a field from HaloPSA pop-up notes

1

Add a Companies field

Open Settings > Customization > Fields, choose the Companies tab and click Add Companies Field. Enter a Label, for example Customer notes.
2

Choose the HaloPSA source

In Sync from HaloPSA, choose Customer pop-up notes, or a HaloPSA customer field. The source sets the Type: Long Text for pop-up notes, Short Text for a customer field. The type is locked and reads Set by the HaloPSA source.
3

Check who can see it

Hide from company users is checked for you, because pop-up notes are often internal warnings about the client. Leave it checked unless the client’s own users should read the value.
4

Turn on the alert (optional)

Check Show as alert to show the value as a banner on the company’s pages. See Show a field as a company alert.
5

Save the row

Click the row’s checkmark. The field shows a HaloPSA: badge with the source name, and Internal only while it is hidden.
MSPortal fills the field for every linked company within a minute or so, then updates it with each HaloPSA company sync. Companies without a value stay empty. To link a saved field instead, click its label, choose the source in Sync from HaloPSA, and save. Only a saved Short Text or Long Text field can be linked; for another type, add a new field. Linking a saved field also checks Hide from company users.

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What gets synced

  • Pop-up notes: the customer’s current pop-up notes as plain text, oldest first, with a blank line between notes. Notes outside their HaloPSA date range are left out.
  • Customer fields: HaloPSA’s display text, so a dropdown shows its label and a checkbox shows Yes or No. Encrypted HaloPSA fields never sync.
  • A synced value is read-only in MSPortal. On the company’s Custom Fields section it shows Synced from HaloPSA. Change it in HaloPSA.
  • To stop syncing, edit the field and choose Not synced. The current values stay and become editable.

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Show a field as a company alert

Check Show as alert on any Companies text field (Short Text or Long Text). It works with HaloPSA, with any other PSA, and with values you type in MSPortal. The field shows an Alert badge in the list.
  • When a company has a value in the field, a warning banner shows it at the top of the company’s Company page and its page under Settings > Companies. A company with no value shows no banner.
  • Anyone can dismiss a banner. It returns on that device when the value changes.
  • Company users see the banner only when the field is visible to them. Check Hide from company users to keep it for MSP staff.

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Who gets notified

When HaloPSA fills or changes the value of a synced alert field, MSPortal notifies the company’s account manager. Values you type in MSPortal, and values HaloPSA clears, send no notification.
  • Where: an in-app notification under the bell in the top bar, titled with the field and company, for example Customer notes for Gradient MSP. It reads Changed in HaloPSA: followed by the new value. Click it to open the company. No email is sent.
  • Who: active MSP staff assigned to the company in a team role that is mapped to HaloPSA’s Account Manager, or a team role named Account Manager. Assign the role on the company’s Team tab, and map it under Halo Roles when you edit the team role. See Account teams and Team Roles.
  • If no one holds that role on a company, the banner still shows but nobody is notified.

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Edit, reorder, or delete

1

Edit a field

Click a saved field’s label or its pencil. Change the label, required setting, scope or company visibility, then click the row’s checkmark. The X cancels that edit. Save or cancel before you leave the page.
2

Reorder fields

Drag a field row by its handle. The new order saves at once. Options inside a field cannot be reordered by dragging.
3

Edit options

Expand a choice field to see Field Options. A checkmark saves an option edit. An option’s trash icon removes it at once with no confirmation. Cancelling a field edit does not undo saved option changes.
4

Delete a field

Click the field’s trash icon. In Delete Custom Field, type the field’s name to confirm. Cancel keeps it.
Deleting a field permanently removes its stored values on every record. To clear the value on one record, edit that record instead.

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Check the result and recover from errors

Open a record of that type and look for the Custom Fields section. Enter a value and save the record with its own save controls. To set one Companies field on many companies at once, see Set a custom field on many companies. To check what company users see, review the field as a company user. If a save or reorder shows an error, reopen the page and check the saved fields and options before you try again. A reorder updates several rows, so some may have changed.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

No. It opens a draft row. Click the green checkmark to create the field.
Save the optional field first, expand it, and save at least one option. Then edit the definition to enable Required. If the warning remains after adding an option, reopen the page to reload the saved option count.
No. Field edits and option edits save separately. X cancels only the current unsaved edit.
No. Options have add, edit and delete controls only. Field rows can be dragged and save their order at once.
No. This is MSP settings. Company users need their IT provider to configure definitions and access.
No. User scope chooses which user records receive the field. Hide from company users controls whether Company users can see it.
No. Deleting the definition removes the field and its stored values across records. Clear an individual record’s value instead when that is your intent.
No. These are portal field definitions. Supported PSA project fields have their own configuration in Project Settings.