Custom Fields, Workspaces, and Activities: when to use what

The customer Entity is the anchor in BNDRY. Three different layers hang off it — facts about them, processes happening to them, and events that happened. This article explains what each layer is for, when to reach for which, and where teams typically slip up.

How the three concepts relate to an Entity

A customer Entity is the anchor. Three different surfaces hang off it, each answering a different question:

• Custom Fields — facts. What's true about the customer. Attributes that live on the profile and persist until overwritten. Source of Wealth, Home Club, ECDD status, and so on.
• Workspaces — processes. The work we're doing with the customer. Multi-step processes with forms, files, notes, customer-portal interaction, status tracking and an audit trail.
• Activities — events. Point-in-time things that happened on the Entity's timeline. Split into Auto (PEP and sanctions, ID Verification, Identity Research, risk rating) and Manual (UAR, SMR, Custom Activity, log entries).

Which one should I use? A decision flow

You have something to capture about a customer. Three questions, in order, get you to the right tool. Follow the spine; branch right when the answer is yes.

1. Is it a fact or attribute that describes the customer? If yes — use a Custom Field. It lives on the Entity profile and persists until overwritten.
2. Does it involve multiple steps or produce evidence? If yes — use a Workspace. Forms, files, portal, audit trail — the full structured process.
3. Did it happen inside BNDRY? If yes, the Workspace already logged it — don't add a Custom Activity on top. If no (a phone call, an in-person meeting, anything BNDRY didn't see), use a Custom Activity.

Common mistakes vs correct usage

Three slips we see repeatedly, and the patterns that get it right.