Custom fields on products

Custom fields let you add extra information to your products without waiting for the system to support it natively. Examples: size, color, brand, serial number, expiry date, supplier code, certification, weight, dimensions.

contable.io lets you define as many fields as you want, of various types, and exposes them in the product form, list, filters and bulk import.

When to use custom fields

Use them when you need to capture information that:

• Is specific to your business and not handled by default.
• You want to see in the product list without opening the detail.
• You need to use as a filter in reports or searches.
• You’ll bulk import from Excel.

If you only need the info on a couple of products, consider using the Internal notes field instead. Custom fields make sense when they apply to many products.

Available field types

Type	Typical use
Short text	Brand, color, size, alternate code
Long text	Technical description, notes
Number	Weight, volume, warranty months
Date	Expiry date, manufacture date
Single select	Internal category, status, preferred supplier
Multi select	Tags, certifications
Yes/No (boolean)	Is perishable, requires refrigeration

Create a custom field

1. Go to Settings → Custom fields → Products → + New field.
2. Define:
   • Technical name (no spaces, e.g. size).
   • Visible label (what users see, e.g. Size).
   • Type of field.
   • Required or not.
   • Predefined values (only for single/multi select).
3. Mark whether you want it to appear in the product list as a column.
4. Save.

From that moment, the field appears on the Create/Edit product form.

Fill the field on existing products

Two options:

Manually

Open each product, find the Custom fields section at the bottom of the form, fill in the value and save.

Bulk import

1. Go to Inventory → Products → Import Excel.
2. Download the updated template — it includes a column per custom field.
3. Fill values in Excel.
4. Upload. Fields are updated in bulk.

Filter and search by custom field

In the product list, fields marked as visible appear as columns. You can:

• Sort by tapping the column header.
• Filter from the filter panel (funnel icon).
• Search for specific values in the search box.

Example: clothing with sizes and colors

Imagine a clothing store. Create these custom fields:

Field	Type	Values
Size	Single select	XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
Color	Single select	Red, Blue, Black, White, Gray
Season	Single select	Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Material	Short text	(free)

Now every t-shirt can be Basic tee — Size M — Color Black — Season Summer. The product list becomes a navigable mini-catalog and filters help you find exactly what you need.

Limitations

• Type can’t be changed once created (you can delete and recreate).
• Technical name is immutable: changing it loses prior data.
• Not yet available on invoices or quotations — only on the product record.

See also

• (Spanish article) Productos y servicios