# SAP Business One User-Defined Field (UDF) Planning Worksheet

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/sap-business-one-udf-planning-worksheet
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

An editable worksheet to specify every user-defined field before it is created: table, name, type, size, valid values and reason.

## Category

sap

## Erp

SAP Business One

## Audience

- B1 consultant
- B1 partner
- ERP admin
- Business analyst

## Tool

**Kind:** worksheet

**Mode:** editable

**Columns:**

#### Table (area)

**Key:** table

**Type:** select

**Options:**

- Item Master Data
- Business Partner Master Data
- Sales Order - Header
- Sales Order - Rows
- Purchase Order - Header
- Purchase Order - Rows
- Production Order - Header
- Production Order - Rows
- Bill of Materials
- Other

#### Field name

**Key:** name

**Type:** text

**Help:** Short, no spaces; B1 adds the U_ prefix

#### Title shown

**Key:** title

**Type:** text

#### Type

**Key:** type

**Type:** select

**Options:**

- Alphanumeric
- Numeric
- Date
- Units and Totals
- Memo

#### Length

**Key:** size

**Type:** number

#### Valid values

**Key:** values

**Type:** text

#### Mandatory

**Key:** mandatory

**Type:** select

**Options:**

- Yes
- No

#### Business reason

**Key:** reason

**Type:** text

#### Owner

**Key:** owner

**Type:** text

**Rows:**

#### Drawing number

**Table:** Item Master Data

**Name:** DrawingNo

**Type:** Alphanumeric

**Size:** 30

**Mandatory:** Yes

**Reason:** Link item to released engineering drawing

**Owner:** Engineering

#### Revision level

**Table:** Item Master Data

**Name:** RevLevel

**Type:** Alphanumeric

**Size:** 5

**Mandatory:** Yes

**Reason:** Print revision on production order and packing slip

**Owner:** Engineering

#### Customer PO date

**Table:** Sales Order - Header

**Name:** CustPO

**Type:** Date

**Size:** 0

**Mandatory:** No

**Reason:** Contract review and delivery promise

**Owner:** Sales

#### Shop priority

**Table:** Production Order - Header

**Name:** Priority

**Type:** Alphanumeric

**Size:** 1

**Values:** A=Hot,B=Normal,C=Low

**Mandatory:** No

**Reason:** Dispatch list sorting for supervisors

**Owner:** Production

#### Approved vendor

**Table:** Business Partner Master Data

**Name:** ApprVend

**Type:** Alphanumeric

**Size:** 1

**Values:** Y=Yes,N=No

**Mandatory:** Yes

**Reason:** Block purchasing from unapproved suppliers

**Owner:** Quality

**Totals:**

#### Fields planned

**Key:** name

**Agg:** count

**Format:** integer

**Notes:** Use one row per field. Check the maximum field name and size limits for your B1 version in the help before creating. Valid values are entered as value and description pairs in the field setup. Test every field in a sandbox copy before production.

## Content

**Intro:** User-defined fields in Business One are easy to create and awkward to change later, because a field on a populated table cannot always be retyped or resized freely. A short planning worksheet before configuration avoids duplicated fields and cleans up reporting.

**Sections:**

#### How to fill it in

**Body:** List each field you think you need, choose the table or document area, the type and length, and write the business reason. If you cannot write a reason, you probably do not need the field. Add valid values for fields that drive reports, since free text fields are the main source of unreliable data. Assign an owner who answers for the field after go-live.

**Bullets:**

- One row per field per table
- Give a clear reason and owner
- Use valid values instead of free text where possible
- Mark mandatory fields and plan their defaults

#### Design rules that pay off

**Body:** Prefer standard fields over new ones. Keep names short and consistent, for example the same name for the same concept on header and row. Plan fields that must copy from sales order to delivery and invoice, because only fields with matching names on both documents copy across in the base-to-target flow. Consider formatted searches and queries that will use the field.

#### Common mistakes

**Body:** Creating a text field where a code list belongs, duplicating a standard field under another name, and adding fields on rows when the header would do. Another trap is forgetting upgrade and migration: UDFs travel with the company database but must be documented so that reports, add-ons and integrations do not break. Export this sheet as the documentation.

**Cta:** Netray can help document and reason about customizations in your Business One environment, and automate reports on top of them, read-only.

**Faq:**

#### What does the U_ prefix mean?

**Answer:** Business One adds U_ to the name of every user-defined field, so a field you call DrawingNo is stored as the U_DrawingNo column in the table. This keeps user fields apart from standard ones in queries.

#### Do UDFs copy from one document to the next?

**Answer:** They copy in the base-to-target flow when the target document has a field with the same name. Plan matching UDFs on sales order, delivery and invoice if you want the value to flow.

#### Can I delete a UDF later?

**Answer:** Yes, but data in the field is lost, and queries, formatted searches and add-ons that reference it will break. Check dependencies first, and prefer hiding the field in forms if you only want it out of the way.

#### Should I use a UDF or a user-defined table?

**Answer:** Use UDFs for attributes of an existing document or master record. Use a user-defined table for separate lists or structures, such as a lookup of approved process codes.

## Search terms

sap b1 user defined fields, sap business one udf list, sap b1 udf template, sap b1 create udf, sap business one udf planning, sap b1 u_ field, sap b1 udf valid values, sap b1 formatted search udf

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