---
title: "Managing fields for the group"
slug: "managing-custom-fields-for-the-group"
description: "Manage custom fields at group level in Payhawk: create shared custom fields and sync them across entities on the Payhawk spend management platform."
updated: 2026-10-26T12:34:01Z
published: 2026-10-26T12:34:01Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/managing-custom-fields-for-the-group"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing fields for the group

You can define fields, manage their visibility and external ID settings, and apply their configuration to the whole group of entities or individual entities.

## Creating fields for your group

To create fields for your group of entities:

1. In the **Group Dashboard**, open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Fields library**.
2. Click on **+ Add** **field**.
3. Follow the steps for [creating custom fields on the individual level](/help/overview-of-expense-fields).

## Creating parent and child values for group fields

In the Group Dashboard:

1. Open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Fields library** and select the desired field.
2. Under **Values**, click on **+** **Add category**.
3. In the panel that opens, fill in a name for your value.
  - To create a new parent value, leave the **New parent category** field empty.
  - To create a new child value, select the parent category for it from the drop-down list.
4. Under **Account code**, enter the account code for your value:
  - Switch on the **Inherit parent settings** toggle button to enable the value to inherit the account code from your group settings.
  - Switch on the **Different account codes per entity** toggle button to enable different account codes per entity.
5. Under **Visibility**, select which entities, teams or specific users will use this value, and which roles can see and change the value of this field.
6. Under **Conditional display**, click on **+ Add condition** to to choose when this value will be visible.
7. Click on **Add category**.

![Category values in the group Fields library with the New category panel open, showing the label, parent category, account code, visibility and conditional display settings.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261009/creating_values_1_20261009_ai.png)

## Reordering fields for your group

To reorder the fields for your group of entities:

1. Open the app switcher in the top-left corner and go to **Settings** > **Spend** > **Spend types**.
2. Select the desired spend type by clicking on it, for example, **Bill**.
3. Navigate to its **Fields** tab.
4. Under **Categorization**, drag and drop fields to reorganize them.

> [!TIP]
> Reordering the custom expense fields for your group does not affect the order of custom fields defined in a custom export definition.

## Visibility, configuration, and operations settings for values and child values

You can select group values and child values and apply various actions to them such as:

- Deactivate a value or child value.
- Reactivate an inactive value or child value.
- Delete values and child values.

The following actions can also be done from the settings of the [parent values](/help/managing-custom-fields-for-the-group#h_c5f0425d72) and [their child values](/help/managing-custom-fields-for-the-group#h_c5f0425d72).

- Set the visibility of the value or child value for the entities within the group.
- Set the external ID of the value or child value for the entities within the group.
- Set the value or child value manager for the entities within the group.
- Apply value or child value settings from other values or child values.
- For child values, inherit parent value settings.

![Location field values with one value selected and the panel with visibility and other operations open.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261009/creating_values_3_20261009_ai.png)

## Bulk visibility, configuration, and operations settings

You can apply the visibility, configuration, and operations settings to two or more values and child values by selecting them.

![Location field values with three values selected and the panel with bulk visibility and other operations open.](https://cdn.payhawk.com/Navigation%20images%20Desi_20261009/creating_values_2_20261009_ai.png)

## Useful resources

- [Creating custom fields on the individual level](/help/overview-of-expense-fields)