Task Custom Fields | Customize Additional Fields in Cubicl

In the complex landscape of modern project management, standard task lists often fall short. Every organization has a unique DNA: specific workflows, distinct data points, and particular metrics that matter most to their success. While standard fields like "due date" or "priority" are essential, they rarely capture the full picture of a specialized project. This is where the power of custom fields in task management becomes a game-changer.

To truly optimize your workflow, you need tools that adapt to you, not the other way around. Cubicl’s custom task fields feature allows you to tailor your workspace to fit the exact contours of your business operations. Whether you are tracking client identifiers, specific software versions, or financial data, adding custom fields to your projects transforms a generic task board into a powerful, data-rich database.

This guide will introduce you to Cubicl's custom task fields, exploring how to configure them, the different types available, and how to leverage them for superior reporting and visualization.

The Importance of Data Granularity in Project Management

Before diving into the "how," it is crucial to understand the "why." Data granularity, the level of detail available in your data structure, is a critical factor in project success. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a significant percentage of projects fail due to poor requirements management and a lack of clear data visibility. When team members cannot see the specific attributes of a task at a glance, communication breakdowns occur.

Industry thought leaders often compare project management platforms to a digital nervous system. If the system cannot transmit specific signals, like a "Customer ID" or "Estimated Budget", the brain of the organization cannot make informed decisions. By utilizing task custom fields, you bridge the gap between high-level planning and ground-level execution.

Cubicl Work OS brings this level of flexibility to your task management, allowing you to add custom fields that replicate or even enhance the data structure you are used to. This ensures that your workspace remains the single source of truth for all project information.

A Summary of Custom Task Fields in Cubicl

​For those who prefer a quick overview, here is the essential snapshot of how custom fields in task management work in Cubicl:

• What It Does: Enables you to add custom fields to standard task forms to capture specific data (e.g., Client ID, Budget, Software Version).
• Where to Enable: Configure this feature in Project Settings > Details > Additional Task Form Fields.
• Available Types: Choose from Short Text, Long Text, Number, Date, Date & Time, Currency, Single/Multiple Selection Lists, and Estimated Time.
• Visibility:
• List (Table) View: You can add all custom fields to the task columns for a complete data overview.
• Kanban View: Display one key relevant field on the card. If you use Number or Currency types, the total value is automatically summed and displayed at the top of each column.
• Reporting: All custom field values are included when you export tasks to Excel or generate project reports.

Adding Custom Fields to the Task Form

The foundation of a customized workflow starts with the task form itself. By default, the Cubicl task creation form is robust, including standard fields such as:

• Name
• State
• Priority
• Description
• Start Date
• Deadline
• Assignees
• Followers
• Client
• Tags

However, these fields may not cover every requirement for every team. If you wish, you can make tasks more detailed by adding additional fields to the task form. This process is straightforward and allows you to customize the input data required for any new task.

To add a new field, navigate to the project name settings page. From there, locate the "Additional Task Form Fields" section under the Details tab. This is your control center for defining fields per project. Once you select the custom field option you need, it becomes a permanent part of that project's structure.

Understanding Field Types

Cubicl offers a versatile array of field types to ensure you can capture the exact data format required. When you add custom fields, you can choose from the following options:

• Short Text: Ideal for brief alphanumeric codes, such as Invoice Numbers or SKUs. Text fields are versatile but should be kept concise for readability.
• Long Text: Best used for qualitative data, such as "Client Feedback" or "detailed shipping instructions," where a single line is insufficient.
• Number: Essential for quantitative data. This could be budget amounts, quantities, or weight.
• Date: Useful for tracking secondary deadlines, such as "Draft Review Date" or "Shipment Arrival."
• Date and Time: Provides higher granularity for time-sensitive tasks where the exact hour matters.
• Currency: Perfect for finance teams tracking expenses, estimated costs, or billable amounts directly on the task card.
• Single Selection List: Forces standardization by allowing users to pick one option from a predefined list (e.g., "Region: North, South, East, West").
• Multiple Selection List: Allows for overlapping categories, such as "Target Audience," where a task might be relevant to multiple groups simultaneously.

Important Consideration: Accuracy is key during the setup phase. After you create fields, members can add data and users can edit the name of the field, but they cannot edit the field type. So they need to be careful. First test, and enter data to ensure the new custom field behaves as expected. If you realize you needed a number field instead of a text field later, you would need to create a new task custom field and migrate the data manually.

The Estimated Time Field

There is another custom field that deserves special attention: Estimated Time. You can use this option to enable adding estimated task duration to the tasks. Unlike a generic text field, this specialized field is designed to help teams understand the effort required for a task before they begin.

By inputting custom field values for time estimates, you pave the way for better capacity planning. When fields are added for time tracking, it becomes easier to spot potential bottlenecks where the estimated effort exceeds the available work hours.

Visualize Data: Table View and Kanban

Data is only useful if it is visible and accessible. Once you have populated your tasks with rich data, you need to decide how fields are displayed in your daily views. You can customize what information appears in the Kanban and List View on the project's Tasks page. This ensures that the most critical relevant field is always front and center, preventing team members from having to click into task details just to see a status update or a priority code.

To configure this, go to the "Task Fields to be Show" field in the Details tab of the project's settings page. Here, you determine which custom fields on tasks are visible at the high-level view.

Customizing the List View

The List View (often referred to as a table view) is the powerhouse for data-heavy projects. It functions similarly to a spreadsheet but with the interactive capabilities of a project management tool. In the list view, you can add all custom fields to the task columns.

This allows you to create a dense, information-rich display where you can compare custom field values across dozens of tasks simultaneously. For example, if you are managing a content calendar, you could have columns for "Draft Link," "SEO Keyword," "Target Persona," and "Review Status" all visible in a single row. This table view capability is essential for managers who need to scan task custom fields quickly without opening individual custom cards.

Optimizing the Kanban View

The Kanban view focuses on flow and status. Because Kanban cards have limited space, Cubicl enforces a clean design philosophy. In Kanban view, in addition to the existing fields on the card, you can select only 1 new additional field to display. This constraint forces you to prioritize the single most important metric that impacts your workflow.

For instance, a sales team might choose to show custom fields for "Deal Value" on the card, while a software team might choose "Ticket Severity."

A unique feature of the Kanban view is its aggregation capability. If the selected field is of type Number or Currency, the total value will be displayed next to each state name in the columns in the Kanban view. This provides instant analytics. If you are tracking sales opportunities, looking at the "Negotiation" column header will immediately show you the total monetary value of all deals in that stage. This dynamic summation turns your Kanban board into a live dashboard.

Reporting and Exporting Custom Data

Collecting data is step one; analyzing it is step two. In Cubicl, each project has a Reports page. When you download the report, you can see the custom field data integrated directly into the analysis. This allows stakeholders to review performance based on the specific criteria you defined.

Furthermore, data portability is essential. If you export tasks from Project Settings > Actions > Task Operations, all not archived tasks are exported, and all additional fields are listed in this excel file. This feature is critical for organizations that need to perform complex pivot tables or merge project data with other corporate datasets.

When you export, the custom field values are preserved in their respective columns. This means that if you have defined a "Customer Type" field, you can easily filter your Excel export by that specific attribute. It facilitates effortless data migration or backup, ensuring that the work you put into defining fields to tasks is never lost.

Permissions and Control on Custom Fields

Managing who can modify the structure of your project is as important as the structure itself. Custom field permissions are generally tied to project roles. While team members can typically set custom field values as they complete work, the ability to add a new field or change the project settings is usually reserved for project managers.

This permission structure prevents data fragmentation. If everyone could add fields per their own preference, a project could quickly become cluttered with duplicate or inconsistent data points (e.g., one person adding "Cost" and another adding "Price"). By centralizing the control of the number of custom fields and their types, you maintain data integrity across multiple projects.

Why Use Custom Fields?

The flexibility to use custom fields allows different departments and teams to customize the task form with custom fields that match their specific operational language. A marketing team has vastly different needs than an IT support unit, and a "one-size-fits-all" task card often fits no one.

By implementing specific fields, you reduce the need for external documentation. You don't need to put a "Client ID" in the description text where it cannot be filtered or sorted; you place it in a dedicated field where it becomes a powerful data anchor.

(The following section introduces potential use cases to inspire your own configuration)

Adapting to Departmental Needs

When you begin to customize your workspace, you will find that different teams naturally gravitate toward different setups. For example, a Human Resources department might need fields strictly for candidate tracking, such as "Years of Experience" or "Interview Score." Conversely, a Product Development team might require text fields for "Version Number" or "Bug Reproduction Steps."

By enabling teams to add custom fields relevant to their domain, you increase adoption rates. Users are more likely to engage with a tool that speaks their language. If a team member in a creative agency can see the custom field for "Creative Brief URL" right on the task, they save time and frustration.

This adaptability extends to another project as well. You might have one project for "Internal Operations" with fields for "Department Code," and a separate project for "Client Deliverables" with fields for "Contract ID." The system allows you to define these per project, ensuring that your "Internal Operations" team isn't cluttered with "Contract ID" fields that don't apply to them.

Example Custom Task Fields for Marketing Teams:

Example Custom Task Fields for Software Development Teams:

Example Custom Task Fields for Divorce Law Teams:

Example Custom Task Fields for Beauty E-commerce Teams:

Example Custom Task Fields for Beauty Mobile Game Team:

Best Practices for Implementation

To get the most out of custom fields to your projects, consider the following best practices:

1. Standardize Where Possible: Even though you configure fields per project, try to keep naming conventions consistent across multiple projects. If you use "Client Name" in one project, don't use "Customer" in another. This makes cross-project reporting significantly easier.
   
2. Limit the Number of Custom Fields: Just because you can add 50 fields doesn't mean you should. Too many fields can clutter the task details and overwhelm users. Focus on the essential data points that drive decision-making.
   
3. Utilize Lists for Consistency: Whenever possible, use Single or Multiple Selection Lists instead of free text. This ensures that custom field values are standardized (e.g., preventing users from typing "NY," "N.Y.," and "New York" for the same region).
   
4. Review Regularly: As your project evolves, so too should your data requirements. Periodically review your task views and settings to ensure that the fields being captured are still relevant to your goals.

Discover Custom Fields in Tasks

Cubicl’s custom task fields offer a sophisticated layer of flexibility that empowers teams to work smarter, not harder. By allowing you to customize the very anatomy of a task, Cubicl ensures that your project management tool scales with your complexity. From the granular details of a table view to the aggregated totals in a Kanban column, these fields provide the visibility and precision required in today's professional environment.

Whether you are looking to replicate the depth of enterprise tools like Salesforce, Asana, Monday, or simply want to ensure your team tracks a specific metric, the ability to add custom fields is your key to a tailored, efficient workflow. Start experimenting with custom fields in task forms in Cubicl today, and experience the difference that structured, relevant data can make for your team's productivity.