Setup

Creating objects, the record types in your CRM

Beyond Contact, Company, Lead and Opportunity, you can create as many record types as you need, such as Equipment, Property or Class, without programming. A new object is born with the Name field, joins the menu and gets a list, a form, search, import, automations and relationships just like any other.

The CRM ships with the objects every commercial operation uses. What it cannot guess is what makes your operation particular: a rental business tracks Equipment, a school tracks Classes, a manufacturer tracks Installed machines. Creating objects is the answer to that, and it takes no development and no support ticket.

How to create one

Open Settings and, in the Personalization group, click Objects.
Click New object.
Fill in the Name (singular), for example Equipment.
Fill in the Name (plural), used in lists and in the menu, for example Equipment items.
Check the API name, the internal identifier used by integrations and automations. It is suggested from the name, in lower case and without accents, and you can adjust it.
Optionally provide an Icon.
Click Create object and then use the Fields button to add the fields.

The object is born with a required Name field, which serves as the record's title in lists, searches and relationships. That makes it usable immediately, even before you create your first field.

Example: A rental business creates the object Equipment, plural Equipment items, API name equipment. Under Custom fields it applies the Key dates component and adds Serial number, Model and Condition. Under Relationships, it links Equipment to Company. Done: every customer now shows their own equipment on their record.

What the object list lets you do

See every object with its API name and a Standard or Custom badge.
Hide from menu: makes the item disappear from the side menu without losing anything. The object stays reachable by link and from the rest of the system, which is handy for supporting objects.
Retain (days): records older than the number you enter go to the trash automatically. Zero means never, and the ceiling is 3,650 days.
Fields: a shortcut to the screen where you model that object's fields.
Delete: available only for custom objects.

Deleting, and why standard objects stay

Standard system objects cannot be deleted, because screens, reports and automations depend on them. Custom objects can, and the confirmation spells out what is at stake: the object and all of its records are erased, with no way back. When you only want it out of the way, use Hide from menu.

Who can do this

Creating, hiding, setting retention and deleting objects requires permission to administer settings. If your organization uses change governance, creating or deleting an object is not applied on the spot: it becomes a request, and the screen tells you it was sent to a manager for approval. Changes that are applied are recorded in the Configuration history.

Common questions

Can I change the API name later? Treat it as final: it is the key used by integrations and automations. The visible label, on the other hand, can be renamed whenever you want.
Does renaming a standard object apply to everyone? Yes. The names of standard objects, fields and options appear in each person's own language, and when you rename one of them your name applies in every language.
The new object did not show up in the menu: check that the Hide from menu box is unticked and that your role has read access to it.
Is there a faster way? Two, in fact: the Template gallery, which creates ready-made objects, and Field components, which fill a new object with groups of fields all at once.

Open this article inside the system →