Let's Build Your First Campaign Together with our Lead Generation Expert

How to Add a New Column to Pipedrive

Table of Contents

You open Pipedrive, scan your deals list, and realize you’re missing critical information — a column for deal size, lead source, follow-up date, or a custom field that matters to your business.

The good news? Adding a new column in Pipedrive takes less than two minutes once you know where to click.

This guide walks you through every method — from adding columns in List View to creating custom fields that appear across your entire pipeline. Whether you’re managing 50 deals or 5,000, getting your columns right changes everything.

Why Getting Your Pipedrive Columns Right Actually Matters

Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why.

Pipedrive is used by over 100,000 companies across 179 countries. That’s a lot of sales teams trying to stay organized.

Studies show that sales reps spend up to 65% of their time on non-selling activities — and a huge chunk of that is hunting for information that should be visible at a glance. If your Pipedrive list view is missing the columns you need, you’re adding friction to every single deal review.

Companies with a well-defined CRM structure see 29% higher sales revenue on average (Salesforce State of Sales). That starts with having the right data visible in the right place.

The right columns in Pipedrive mean:

  • Your entire team sees the same critical deal data at a glance
  • No more opening individual deals just to check a field
  • Sorting, filtering, and prioritizing deals becomes instant
  • Your pipeline reviews become faster and more actionable

Now let’s get to work.

Understanding How Columns Work in Pipedrive

Pipedrive displays deal, contact, and organization data in two main ways:

Kanban (Board) View — Visual pipeline stages, cards side by side. Great for seeing deal progress.

List View — A spreadsheet-style table where each row is a deal and each column is a field. This is where column customization lives.

When people talk about “adding a column to Pipedrive,” they almost always mean one of these two things:

  1. Adding an existing field as a column in List View (showing data that’s already captured)
  2. Creating a new custom field so that brand new data can be tracked and shown as a column

Both are covered below — step by step.

How to Add a Column in Pipedrive List View

This is the fastest method. If the field you want already exists in Pipedrive, you just need to make it visible.

Step 1 — Switch to List View

Go to your Deals section (or Contacts / Organizations — same process applies).

In the top-right corner, click the List View icon (it looks like horizontal lines). Your deals will now appear as a table.

Step 2 — Click “Edit Columns”

On the far right of the column header row, you’ll see a small settings/gear icon or an “Edit columns” button. Click it.

A sidebar or dropdown will appear showing all available fields.

Step 3 — Select the Fields You Want

You’ll see a list of fields — standard ones like Deal Value, Close Date, Owner, Stage, and any custom fields your team has created.

Simply check the box next to any field you want to appear as a column.

Step 4 — Reorder Your Columns (Optional)

Once selected, you can drag and drop columns into the order that makes the most sense for your workflow. Put your highest-priority fields first — the ones your team checks every single deal review.

Step 5 — Save

Click Apply or Save. Your new columns appear instantly.

Pro tip: Each user can save their own column preferences. Your setup doesn’t affect what your teammates see. If you want everyone on the same page, you’ll need to share the configuration or set it up per user.

How to Create a Brand New Custom Field (Then Add It as a Column)

Sometimes the field you need doesn’t exist yet. Maybe you want to track “Budget Confirmed,” “Decision Timeline,” “Product Interest,” or “How They Heard About Us.”

That’s where custom fields come in.

Over 74% of CRM users say they customize their CRM fields to match their specific sales process (Capterra CRM Survey). Pipedrive makes this straightforward.

Step 1 — Go to Settings

Click your profile icon (top right corner) → SettingsData Fields

Or navigate to: Settings → Customization → Data Fields

Step 2 — Choose the Object Type

You’ll see tabs for:

  • Deals — fields that appear on deal records
  • Contacts — fields on person records
  • Organizations — fields on company records
  • Products — if you use the Products feature
  • Activities — fields on tasks and meetings

Select whichever matches what you’re trying to track.

Step 3 — Click “Add Custom Field”

Click the “+ Add Field” button (usually in the top right of the Data Fields panel).

Step 4 — Configure Your Field

You’ll choose:

  • Field Name — What the column header will say (e.g., “Budget Confirmed”)
  • Field Type — This is the most important choice:

Field Type

Best Used For

Text

Short free-form answers, notes

Large Text

Longer descriptions

Numerical

Numbers, quantities, scores

Monetary

Budgets, deal values

Date

Deadlines, timelines

Date Range

Project periods

Single Option

One choice from a dropdown

Multiple Options

Multiple choices from a list

Checkbox

Yes/No true/false

Phone

Phone numbers

Email

Email addresses

Address

Physical locations

Person

Link to a contact record

Organization

Link to a company record

Step 5 — Set Field Options (if applicable)

For dropdown fields (Single or Multiple Options), add your list of choices — e.g., “Yes / No / Not Yet” or “Enterprise / Mid-Market / SMB.”

Step 6 — Mark as Visible or Required (Optional)

You can:

  • Mark the field as required — forces users to fill it before saving
  • Set field visibility — control which pipelines or teams see it

Step 7 — Save the Field

Click Save. Your new custom field now exists in Pipedrive.

Step 8 — Add It as a Column in List View

Now go back to your Deals List View, click “Edit Columns” (as described in the previous section), and your new custom field will appear in the list. Check it, save, and your new column is live.

How to Add Columns to the Kanban (Pipeline Board) View

The Kanban view shows deal cards in pipeline stages. While you can’t add traditional “columns” here (the columns are your pipeline stages), you can control what information shows on each deal card.

Step 1 — Go to Pipeline (Board) View

Click your Deals section → switch to Board View (the grid/kanban icon).

Step 2 — Customize Card Labels

Hover over any deal card. You’ll see a small settings icon or right-click option for card preferences.

Alternatively, look for “Customize cards” in the top settings area of the board.

Step 3 — Choose What Data Shows on Cards

You can select up to 3–5 fields to display on each card — like Expected Close Date, Deal Value, Contact Name, or any custom field.

This way the most important information is visible without opening each deal.

How to Add Columns to Activity, Contact, and Organization Views

The same Edit Columns process works across all Pipedrive sections:

Contacts (People) View

  • Go to Contacts → People
  • Switch to List View
  • Click Edit Columns → select fields like Phone, Email, Organization, Last Activity Date, Owner

Organizations View

  • Go to Contacts → Organizations
  • Switch to List View
  • Add columns like Industry, Address, Number of Deals, Last Contact Date

Activities View

  • Go to Activities
  • Click Edit Columns
  • Add columns like Due Date, Deal, Contact, Type, Note, Duration

The same drag-and-drop reordering applies everywhere.

How to Pin Important Columns So They Never Move

When you have many columns, it’s easy to lose track of the most important ones while scrolling horizontally.

Pipedrive allows you to pin columns so they stay fixed on the left side of your table — always visible no matter how far right you scroll.

To pin a column: Right-click on the column header → select “Pin column” (available in Pipedrive’s Advanced and above plans).

Pinned columns are perfect for Deal Name, Contact, and Deal Value — the three fields you always want in view.

Using Filters to Make Columns More Powerful

Adding the right columns is step one. Making sure those columns show you the right data is step two.

Pipedrive’s filtering system lets you combine column visibility with smart filters so you’re always looking at the most relevant deals.

For example:

  • Show only deals where “Budget Confirmed” = Yes and Close Date is within 30 days
  • Show deals where Deal Value > $10,000 and Stage = Proposal Sent
  • Show all deals assigned to you where Last Activity Date > 7 days ago (i.e., stale deals)

To apply a filter: In List View → click “Filter” in the top bar → “Add filter” → combine conditions → Save filter (give it a name so you can reuse it).

Saved filters become one-click views that your whole team can access.

73% of high-performing sales teams use CRM filters and custom views as part of their daily workflow (HubSpot Sales Trends Report). It’s one of the simplest ways to make your team faster.

Importing Data Into New Custom Columns

Created a custom field but have existing data sitting in a spreadsheet? You don’t have to enter it manually.

Pipedrive’s import tool maps spreadsheet columns to Pipedrive fields — including custom fields you just created.

To import:

  1. Go to Settings → Import Data
  2. Upload your CSV or Excel file
  3. In the field mapping step, match your spreadsheet columns to the corresponding Pipedrive fields (including new custom ones)
  4. Complete the import

Pipedrive’s import tool supports CSV, Excel, and direct Google Sheets connections. If your data is already organized, bulk imports can populate hundreds of custom field values in minutes.

Managing and Editing Your Custom Fields

Fields change as your business evolves. Here’s how to keep them organized.

To edit an existing field: Settings → Data Fields → find the field → click the pencil/edit icon → update name, type, or options → Save.

To delete a field: Settings → Data Fields → find the field → click the trash icon.

⚠️ Warning: Deleting a custom field permanently deletes all data stored in that field across every record. Export your data first if there’s anything you might need.

To reorder how fields appear in deal detail view: In Data Fields, drag fields up and down to control the order they appear when you open a deal. Put the most important fields at the top.

Pipedrive Column Limits and Plan Considerations

A few practical things worth knowing:

  • Standard custom fields: Available on all paid Pipedrive plans
  • Field count limits: Pipedrive allows hundreds of custom fields, but best practice is to keep it focused — teams with fewer than 20 active custom fields have 34% higher data completion rates (Pipedrive product data)
  • Visibility controls: Advanced plan and above let you control which pipelines see which fields
  • Required fields: You can mark fields as required on all plans
  • Column pinning: Available on Advanced plans and above

If you’re on the Essential plan and want more field control, Pipedrive’s Advanced plan ($49/user/month as of 2025) adds pipeline-specific field visibility and workflow automations tied to field changes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Adding Columns

Creating too many custom fields. More isn’t better. Every field you add is a field your team has to fill out. Start with fields that directly influence how you prioritize or close deals.

Not setting required fields strategically. If “Budget Confirmed” matters to every deal, make it required. Don’t leave it optional and wonder why it’s always blank.

Ignoring field types. Using a text field for a budget amount means you can’t sort or filter numerically. Use the right field type from the start — changing it later can cause data issues.

Different column setups per user with no standard. If everyone on your team has different columns visible, your deal reviews become inconsistent. Agree on a standard set and train everyone to use it.

Not cleaning up stale fields. Over time, unused custom fields pile up. Audit your fields quarterly and remove anything that’s no longer being filled or used for decisions.

Conclusion

Adding a new column to Pipedrive is one of those small changes that has an outsized impact on how your team operates.

Whether you’re showing an existing field in List View or building out a complete custom field structure, the process is the same: know what information drives decisions, surface it clearly, and keep your pipeline views clean and actionable.

The teams that get the most from Pipedrive aren’t using it as a passive record-keeper — they’re using it as an active decision-making tool. That starts with the right data in the right columns.

Quick recap of what you can do:

  • Add existing fields as visible columns in List View (two clicks)
  • Create custom fields to track brand-new data types
  • Pin high-priority columns so they’re always visible
  • Use filters with your columns to surface the right deals instantly
  • Import bulk data into custom fields via CSV

Get your columns right, and every deal review becomes faster, clearer, and more focused on what actually matters — moving deals forward.

🚀 Fill Your Pipeline With Qualified Leads

Stop relying on inbound alone — we build outbound systems that book meetings on autopilot.

7-day Free Trial |No Credit Card Needed.

FAQs

Can I add a column to Pipedrive without creating a custom field?

Yes — if the field already exists in Pipedrive (standard fields like Close Date, Deal Value, Stage, Owner, Contact, etc.), you can add it as a visible column without creating anything new. Go to List View → Edit Columns → check the field you want → Save. You only need to create a custom field if you want to track data that Pipedrive doesn't capture by default.

What's the difference between a custom field and a column in Pipedrive?

A custom field is where data is stored on a record (the deal, contact, or organization). A column is how that data is displayed in your List View table. Think of custom fields as the database structure, and columns as your chosen window into that data. You create the field first, then choose to show it as a column.

How many custom fields can I add to Pipedrive?

Pipedrive allows a large number of custom fields across all paid plans — there's no strict low cap, but best practice is to keep your active fields focused and meaningful. Teams that limit themselves to fields they genuinely use and review see significantly higher data quality and completion rates.

Can I make a custom column visible to only some team members?

Field-level visibility controls are available on Pipedrive's Advanced plan and above. You can restrict which pipelines a field appears in, but user-level visibility (showing a field to one person and hiding it from another) is limited. Most teams manage this by using separate pipelines for different teams or regions.

We deliver 100–400+ qualified appointments in a year through tailored omnichannel strategies

What to Build a High-Converting B2B Sales Funnel from Scratch

Lead Generation Agency

Build a Full Lead Generation Engine in Just 30 Days Guaranteed