Introducing Custom Values: Add Custom Data Fields to Budgets and Clients

Custom Values are similar to Google’s Custom Columns feature but with more flexibility on data formats and the formulas you can use to create dynamic metrics.

With Custom Values you can:

• Add internal Client IDs and Budget IDs to Shape dashboards
• Account for marketing budget or spend from data sources not available in Shape on your dashboards
• Add PPC management fees to your clients' accounts
• Calculate custom performance KPIs using live PPC data
• Dream up new values using flexible settings and formulas

With Custom Values you can add static values to your Shape Dashboards or create dynamic values using the new formula editor:

In just a few clicks, you’ll be viewing your new Client/Budget Custom Values right alongside your PPC data in Shape:

Learn how to create Custom Values in your own account.

Select the new “Custom Values" tab in the left-hand navigation:

Next, click on the “Create Custom Value" button at the top of the screen to launch the new Custom Value editor:

Now it is time to add specific properties to your new Custom Value including:

• Name
• Whether you want the value "Assigned To" Clients or Budgets
• Data Format
• Type

For step-by-step details on creating your new Custom Value check out the “Creating Custom Values” article in our knowledge base.

There are four Custom Value data formats. All data is expanded/rounded to two decimal points (with the exception of the "Text" data format).

Here are the four options:

• Number (123): Displays numeric data.
• Text: Displays alphanumeric data including symbols.
• Percent (%) Displays numeric data in percent format.
• Money ($, £, ¥): Displays numeric data in a monetary format.

Note: The currency will auto adjust to the currency that you have set at the Client Level.

The next property you’ll be asked to choose is the Custom Value “Type”.

There are two options:

• Static
• Dynamic

Static Custom Values are data points that are applied manually to a Client or Budget.

Static values will not change unless a team member purposely alters the Custom Value via the Decision Grid or Settings form.

Common uses cases for a Static Custom Value:

• Create custom Client IDs
• Create custom Budget IDs
• Accounting for offline spend

These are just a few static volume ideas. Static Custom Values can add almost any unique values your team needs and they can be easily edited inline on the dashboard once added.

Dynamic Custom Values are calculated data points created using formulas. These formulas can utilize standard PPC metrics, Shape data, and other Custom Values you have previously created.

For example, let’s say a conversion is worth $50 to your client or company. You can create a Custom Value to calculate your ROAS across all platforms at the budget level with a simple formula.

Dynamic Custom Values will update live just like all other performance data displayed in Shape.

Common uses for a Dynamic Custom Value are:

• Design Custom Performance KPIs
• Displaying PPC Management Fees

But the options for what you can do with a Dynamic Custom Value are almost limitless when you consider you can use previously created Static Custom Values in your formulas.

For a detailed list of operators you can implement in your formulas, check out the “Creating Custom Values Using Formulas & Case Statements” article in our knowledge base.

Once you have created Custom Values, you need to enable them to show on your Shape dashboards.

For Client-Level Custom Values, navigate to the “Client” tab on the Decision Grid dashboard.

For Budget-Level Custom Values, make sure you are on the "Budget" tab like this example. Then choose the eye icon for a dropdown of the columns available to display on the grid.

Be sure the Custom Values are selected to display by confirming there is a checkmark in the box next to the Custom Value you want to view in the grid.

Dynamic Custom values will begin populating in the grid right away based on the formula you created.

Static Values will show as blank (unset) in the grid if newly created and can be edited inline on the grid once they are enabled for view.

No two PPC teams or agencies work exactly alike.

A PPC professional may utilize different billing software, CRMs, or reporting platforms (plus many more systems) on a day-to-day basis.

To sync up all these systems across their clients/accounts, many agencies stay organized using internal Client and/or Budget IDs.

When creating a Custom ID, we recommend selecting the 'text' data format because it accepts letters, numbers, and symbols as values.

The best practice for most Custom ID use cases will be to create a Static Custom Value using the property settings as shown above.

After creation, navigate to the dashboard and make the Custom ID viewable Then you can quickly edit the value inline on the dashboard.

To edit the Custom Value, highlight the row and select the pencil icon. This will bring up the Quick Edit View.

Custom IDs can also be set at the Budget Level in Shape using the same process. When you are creating the Custom ID, instead of Clients, select Budgets for the "Assigned To" property.

There have never been more platforms where digital marketers can spend their budgets. Shape syncs up with all the major ad networks, but there are even examples within those networks where Shape cannot access the live data.

One common example is Google's Local Services Ads campaign type. As of the fall of 2021, Google has not enabled third-party platforms such as Shape to access this data via the Google Ads API.

Until the campaigns can be accessed via the API, one way to account for this spend is to create a Custom Value as a placeholder.

Once you have created the new Custom Value you can make individual or bulk edits on the Dashboard to enter Local Services Ads’ budget amounts or spend.

Custom Values are the perfect way for agencies to add their management fees to Shape even if the way they charge those fees differ across clients.

Let's say, for example, that you charge clients using a static flat fee or static percentage fee.

To set that up, here are the options you'll want to select for a Static Flat Fee:

Maybe your agency charges based on a Static Percentage Fee you want to manually enter. Select these settings during the Custom Value creation process:

Many agencies we work with charge their clients based on what spend tier the budget falls into.

The larger the budget, the lower the management fee and vice versa. Custom values allows you to create a Management Fee field that dynamically adjusts based on budget amount.

Here is an example formula that creates three spend tiers but there is no limit to the amount of detailed tiers you can create:

For a complete list of options for dynamic custom values, read the “Creating Custom Values Using Formulas & Case Statements” article in our knowledge base.

PPC professionals use a lot of different performance indicators to make adjustments to campaigns and report on results. Often these KPIs vary based on the client and the goals of the campaigns.

Custom Values "Dynamic" option gives you a lot of flexibility when adding these unique KPIs to your Shape data.

Let's take another look at the earlier example that mentioned how you can calculate return on ad spend (ROAS) across all the campaigns tied to a Shape Budget.

We know the conversion value for this budget is $50/conversion. By creating a formula like the one below, you'll be able to see ROAS reporting for Budgets that contain campaigns from across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Facebook Ads or whatever campaigns you add to the Budget.

You can replace the $50 in this example with the conversion value specific to your accounts to calculate ROAS for your Clients.

For the most up-to-date and detailed information on Custom Values, our Knowledge Base contains help articles on how to use and troubleshoot issues with Custom Values.

Quick links to Custom Values' help articles:

Shape Customers can click the button below and start creating new values:

GO TO CUSTOM VALUES SETTINGS IN SHAPE