Overview
Some accounts will open RealNex Insights and see exactly what they expect. Others will see anomalies, gaps, or charts that look thinner than they should. The data is sound. Your dashboards are reflecting how your CRM fields are used today.
RealNex released hundreds of new system fields more than two years ago. Many longtime customers either built workarounds with custom user_, userdate_, or usernumber_ fields before those system fields existed, or simply did not adopt the new system fields when they shipped (sometimes because the new fields were not visible in their day-to-day layouts). Either pattern produces the same outcome: data sits outside the system fields RealNex Insights reads, and the dashboards reflect that.
RealNex Insights is built against the system fields as they stand today. The dashboards are not customized per account. The path to a complete view of your data is to use the CRM as it works out of the box. This article explains why this happens, what it can look like, and what to do about it.
Why this happens
RealNex Insights pulls from a defined set of system fields in the CRM. The most common reasons your account may not be populating those fields fully:
- You are still using older custom fields that are now system fields. In 2024, RealNex added many system fields that previously only existed as custom user_, userdate_, or usernumber_ fields in customer accounts. If your team kept using the old custom fields out of habit, the equivalent system fields may sit empty.
- You may not know about the newer system fields. If a system field is not part of your day-to-day layout, your team may not have surfaced it to enter data, even when no custom field exists. The field exists; it is just empty in your account.
- You repurposed (recaptioned) a system field for a different use. Less common than the two above, but it happens. The CRM allows it, and RealNex Insights still reads the underlying system field name, not your caption.
- The same field is used differently across teams. If multiple teams populate one field with different meanings, the rolled-up dashboard view will look noisy.
None of this is wrong. It is the result of using a flexible CRM over time. RealNex Insights is built against the current set of system fields and is not customized per account. The fix is to bring your data into the system fields the dashboards read.
What this can look like
Common patterns customers see on day one:
- Properties dashboard: gaps in property type, size, city, or amenity breakdowns where data lives in custom fields, or where a system field has never been populated for your records.
- Projects dashboard: the most common cause of project-side anomalies is mismanaged Project Types and Statuses, not custom fields. For example, a duplicate “For Lease” project type that does not serve a separate purpose splits your lease pipeline across two types, breaking the holistic view. Similarly, weighted forecast can look low when probability or close date sits in a custom field instead of the system field.
- Activities dashboard: activity counts that look thin because activity type or owner is recorded outside the standard fields.
- Lease Comps and Sale Comps: market share, agent performance, or rollover that looks incomplete because Listing Agent, Procuring Agent, or close date sits in a custom field.
If you are seeing this, your CRM data is fine. The fix is to clean up the project structure, populate the system fields, or move data from custom fields into the corresponding system fields so RealNex Insights can read it.
What to do
There are two ways forward, depending on how much time you have and how customized your account is.
Option 1: Sign up for a group office-hours call
This is the recommended path for most customers. We host group office-hours calls dedicated to walking accounts through this exact situation. On the call, we:
- Look at your account together and identify the repurposed or empty fields
- Show you which system fields RealNex Insights is reading
- Demonstrate the move from your custom fields back into the system fields
- Answer questions live, with other accounts in the same situation
Revisit this article for the registration link when available.
Option 2: Self-serve the field migration
If you are an admin and you already know which fields you want to move, see How to migrate repurposed fields to system fields. The article walks through the field-mapping fix path using existing CRM tooling (Field Definitions and Global Replace).
Additional Options
Leave the data where it is
If you have a strong reason to keep your data in custom fields, you can. RealNex Insights will continue to reflect what is in the system fields, which means those dashboards will remain partial for your account. This is a valid choice for some teams. Office hours can help you weigh the tradeoff.
Talk to support
If you are not sure where to start, contact RealNex Support and ask to be added to the next group office-hours call. Support routes these requests directly to the team running the calls.
Tips and Best Practices
- Do not panic if your dashboards look thin on day one. The data is sound. The view is reflecting how your fields are used today.
- Bring a list to office hours. If you already know which fields you have repurposed, bring that list. It speeds up the call.
- Coordinate inside your firm before migrating. If multiple teams use the same custom field for different purposes, talk it through before moving data.
- Watch the dashboards after the move. Once values land in the system fields, the next daily refresh will reflect them.