On May 23rd @Ishir Vasavada, Technical Product Manager- Data Management Services hosted a Product Table Talk where he shared an overview of Custom Objects and Custom Fields and discussed the product roadmap.
Standard vs. Custom Objects
Custom objects provide more flexibility for storing data and performing operations. Zuora has a list of standard objects for Billing, Finance, Payments and Revenue where they have their own purposes like invoices and usage-based billing. Custom objects are more flexible where you can modify them to your use case.
| Standard Objects |
Custom Objects |
- A store of organizational data with differentiated and default capabilities
- Specific purpose
- Non-changeable
- Part of the Zuora standard business offering: Accounts, Subscriptions, Products, etc.
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- By Definition, Custom Objects deliver custom capabilities to adapt to an organization’s data needs
- General purpose
- Flexible and extensible
- An extension of Zuora’ standard Data Model
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What Are Custom Fields?
Custom Fields help store the data for a custom object record and can be thought of as ‘Attributes’. They can also be utilized to associate two objects i.e. establish a relationship.
Zuora utilizes two Custom Field types: Indexed and Non-Indexed that can be chosen based on performance requirements. Custom fields are tailored according to implementation needs and integrate with other components of the customer’s overall IT infrastructure, including provisioning, web-ordering, customer relationship management (CRM), and financial systems.
Custom Objects can be created for various reasons depending on your data needs, organizational goals and industry. See examples below:
Number
A field type to support a numerical data value including decimals/fractional amounts
Integer
A field type to support whole numeric values (excluding decimals) > Whole, Negative or Positive numbers
Boolean
A field type that provides users a way of entering strictly True or False values
Muti-Select
A field type that allows users to select one or more option from the picklist values.
Relationship
A field type that allows users to establish a base to custom relationship between standard and custom objects
URL
A field type that allows users to enter weblinks and navigate to external systems
Granular User Permissions
Secure Access for Custom Object Definitions and Records
- Customize access permissions for performing CRUD operations on Custom Objects
- Admins can grant access permissions to a selected set of users based on their specific role
Reports and Exports
Generate exports for Custom Object Records directly from the Reporting Exports UI
Report Builder via Data Query
Utilize the Report Builder for creating reports on a Custom Object surfacing key metrics and analytics
Bulk Export Object Records
Generate exports for Custom Object Records directly from the Reporting Exports UI
Usage Monitoring
Custom Object Usage
Track incremental usage of Custom Object Definitions and Records to stay below provisioned limits
Trend Monitoring
Identify the Object Definitions with the highest usage and monitor creation trends for up to 30 days
Custom Object: Extensibility