Codes Versus Custom Fields

Creation, Editing, and Management

Foundation users with appropriate permissions can create, edit and delete codes with no assistance from GivingData staff.

Only GivingData staff can create and delete custom fields. Users with the appropriate permissions can control changes in name and organization. 

System Limits

There is no limit to the number of codes allowed in a foundation’s site. 

Codes are presented as a picklist, but they can be created to allow for multiple selections. 

Subscription levels limit the number of custom fields in a foundation’s site.  

Custom fields can be presented as a dropdown picklist, but only one value can be selected. 

Data Formats

Codes are only presented as a picklist.  

Custom fields have various field types: short text, long text, date, currency, number, percentage, and drop-down. 

Structural Organization

Codes can be structured to have multiple levels of selection. 

Custom fields are only structured as text input or single-selection picklists. 

Percentage Tracking

Codes can automatically track the percentage and amount of a grant or payment that are attributed to each selection. 

Users can create calculated custom fields to track the percentage and amount of a grant or payment attributed to a specific category, but this could require multiple fields.

Foundation Budget Management

Codes are used to establish and track a grantmaking budget in the Budget Manager and Payments and Approvals Dashboards. 

Custom fields cannot be used to populate the Budget Manager.

Payments and Approvals Dashboards

Codes will filter and populate the Payments and Approvals dashboards to easily display how funding is distributed. 

Custom fields will not populate Payments and Approvals Dashboards.

Record Assignment

A single code can appear on multiple record types.

Only custom fields can appear on a Requirement or the Re-granting modal.

A single custom field can only appear on one record type. 

Both custom fields and codes can appear on Organization, Request, Payment and Contact records. 

Reporting

Codes can be used to group search results in the reports tool.

Custom fields cannot be used to group calculations in the reports tool. 

Both custom fields and codes can be used for search criteria and displayed as a column within Super Search results. 

Grantee Portal – Conditional Logic

Codes can be used for conditional logic in some intake forms in the grantee portal. 

Custom fields can be used for conditional logic in intake forms in the grantee portal, but only if the custom field is in a dropdown format.

Grantee Portal – Mapped Field Display

Codes cannot be formatted to display existing information from GivingData in an intake form.

Custom fields can be formatted to display existing information from GivingData into an intake form for Invited Applications, Reports, and Submission forms.

Batch Editing

Codes can be used for batch updates. 

Custom fields cannot be used in batch updates.

Required Editing

Codes can be marked as required fields on a record, and if not populated, they can prevent a request from being approved. 

Custom fields cannot be a required field on any record in GivingData.