General Platform - Quick Guide

  • Updated

This section covers the core platform areas every partner should get familiar with, regardless of the type of integration or app being built: navigating the platform, user creation, permission sets, the Object and Form builders, and the Lead Conversion process. 

Along the way, a Quick Guide ties the Object and Form builders together into one cohesive, end-to-end walkthrough.

 

1. Platform Navigation

Before diving into setup, it helps to know how to move around the platform. In the top left corner, just below the Neostella logo, you'll find a layout-grid icon next to the current section name (e.g., Cases).

Clicking that icon opens a switcher for the platform's four main areas:

  • Control Center — the backend admin interface, where most of the configuration in this guide takes place.
  • Cases — where day-to-day case management happens.
  • Finance — billing and invoicing for cases.
  • Intake — lead management.

Click the four-dot icon to reveal the Control Center, Cases, Finance, and Intake switcher

NOTE: Most of the configuration covered in this guide happens in Control Center — keep that in mind as you move between sections.

 

2. Tenant Setup

A new Neostella tenant may require some initial setup before users can create records for system objects such as Projects. System objects are created without Types, and at least one Type must be configured before new records can be created.

The following steps explain how to complete this setup and confirm that the object is ready for use.

  1. Go to: Control Center → Schema → Data. You'll see the system objects in your tenant here. All system objects are covered in the Object Builder section of this document.
  2. Open an object, click the Types tab, and create a new type — for example, different kinds of Projects (Personal Injury, Criminal, etc.), different kinds of Persons (Witness, Vendor, etc.), or different kinds of Leads (Inbound, Outbound, Referral, etc.).
  3. Repeat this for each system object you plan to use — the process is the same for all of them.
  4. A future section covers permission sets, but to complete the following steps your user must have permissions related to Cases and Projects.
  5. Navigate to Cases, then press the + Project button in the top left.
  6. Select the project type you just created and enter a name.
  7. Save, and confirm your project was created successfully.

 

3. User Creation

Each user created in Neostella has a unique identity that connects their access, permissions, activity, and interactions across the platform.

You can create users to interact with the platform and perform actions. To create a user, follow these steps:

  1. Go to: Control Center → Access → Users.
  2. Click on + New User on the top right.
  3. Provide the user's Name and Email.
  4. Specify the User Type: Internal or External.
  5. Save the user.
  6. The user will receive a login email from no-reply@neostella.app at the address entered.

The New User dialog

NOTE: A user can only be Internal at one tenant — they'll be treated as External everywhere else.

 

4. Permission Sets

Permission Sets control what users, groups, and integration users can see and do across the platform.

  1. Go to: Control Center → Access → Permissions.
  2. Click New Permission Set (or open an existing one).
  3. Choose a permission set type (Projects, Intake, Finance, Control Center, etc.).
  4. Set the permission levels (View, Edit, Create, Delete, etc.) for that type.
  5. Go to the Assignees tab and add the groups, users, and integration users who need this access.
  6. Save.

A Control Center permission set, showing CRUD-level access per object

NOTE: New items like Custom Objects need to be manually enabled within the permission set — access isn't granted automatically. If you or a user hits a restricted access screen, Permission Sets should be the first place to check.

 

5. Object Builder

The Object Builder is where you create and configure system and custom objects in your tenant.

  1. Go to: Control Center → Schema → Data.
  2. Select an existing object to edit, or create a new one.
  3. Fields tab: add or edit the object's fields, each with a data type.
  4. Field Groups tab: group related fields together.
  5. Types tab: create object Types.
  6. Settings tab: set a Context (parent object relationship); available for non-system objects.
  7. Display tab: choose the form to use, set the label, and select which fields appear on grids, cards, or lists.
  8. Header tab: choose which fields always display at the top of a record; available on system objects only.

The Fields tab of the Project object

NOTE: Current system objects include: Lead, Organization, Person, Project, Document, Fact, and Office.

 

6. Form Builder

The Form Builder allows you to create and configure the forms users interact with inNeostella, this will allow you to enter and manage information for an object.
 

  1. Go to: Control Center → Schema → Forms.
  2. Select an existing form, or create a new one.
  3. Specify the object the form relates to, and optionally a specific object type.
  4. Build the form in the Designer tab — click fields from the left column to add them, then arrange them and use multiple columns as needed.
  5. Use Preview to see it as an end user would, Logic to add conditional behavior, or the JSON Editor to edit the raw form JSON.
  6. Save.

The Form Builder designer, with the field toolbox on the left

NOTE: You must ensure all required fields are present on the form — no system validation exists to enforce this.

 

7. How to use: Build a Custom Object

This Quick Guide will give you a full walkthrough of building a custom object end to end — from creation through permissions to seeing it live on the front end. 

Once complete, the object can also support automations, web-hooks, and API record creation/updates.

61 STEPS

1. The first step is to login to Neostella.

Go to Control Center by clicking on the layout-grid icon.

2. And selecting Control Center

3. Now, select Schema on the left menu.

4. And click on Data.

5. Now click on New Object.

6. Add a Name, this generates an API Name that can't be edited.

7. Add a Plural Name.

8. On the last selection field.

9. Look for Permissions and select it.

10. Now click Create to finish creating the object.

11. After the success notification, the Object Edition will open.

12. On the FIELDS Tab, click New to add a field.

13. Give it a Name.

14. And select a field type.

15. For this case, it will be an Email.

16. Add a New field.

17. Then, add a name for the field.

18. And select a Field Type.

19. In this case, a Date.

20. Add another New field.

21. Name it.

22. And select a Field Type, in this case, an Address.

23. Click Save.

24. Now go to the SETTINGS Tab.

25. Look for Context.

26. And select Projects.

27. Now you must Save.

28. Once you have saved, go to the DISPLAY Tab.

29. Open the Form dropdown.

30. And select Create New Form.

31. This will shoe the Form editor.

Now, add a Form Name.

32. Select the fields you want to add.

Be sure to include Name, since it's typically required.

33. With your mouse, click and drag Name, then drop it on here.

33b. Drop

34. You can also click on the fields to add them.

35. Add the Address field.

36. Scroll down and add the Birthday field.

37. Once the Form is configured, click on Save

38. This will return you to the Custom Object editor. If not, go back to: Schema, Data and reopen it.

On the DISPLAY tab, select Default View.

39. Select the new form on the dropdown.

40. Under Menu, set a Label,

41. an Order in the menu,

42. and an Icon.

43. You can search or select from the different options.

44. Once you have configured the display, click on Save And Close.

45. Now, all you need to do is grant Permissions.

Navigate to: Access

46. And select Permissions.

47. Open your Project-based permission set.

48. Scroll down to find your new object.

49. Grant permissions by selecting them based on the column, click on View,

50. Select the Edit options.

51. And choose Any.

52. Finally, add the Create permission,

53. then Save to grant the Permissions.

54. Now you can see the View on the front end.

55. Go to Cases

56. Select any Project and open it.

57. Scroll down and you will see the label you set for your object in the left panel.

58. Select it to confirm the form, object, and permissions are all wired together correctly.

59. Create a new record using the form.

60. And confirm it by clicking Save.

61. That's it. You're done.

https://www.iorad.com/player/2764805/Neostella---How-to-Build-a-Custom-Object



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8. Lead Conversion Process

The Lead object is a System object included in every tenant, but it isn't usable until configured. These steps cover the full setup: the object itself, permissions, an optional Intake object, and the Stages that trigger conversion into a Project.

  1. Go to: Control Center → Schema → Data → Lead.
  2. Create the necessary fields and lead types if not already existing.
  3. On the Settings tab, select a creation form for Leads, or create a new one.
  4. On the Display tab, select the Default View toggle, specify the form a user will see when editing an existing Lead, enter the label the user will see to edit the Lead, give an order value, and select an icon.
  5. Go to: Control Center → Access → Permissions, and enable access to the Leads permission set.
  6. Create a custom Intake object with the necessary fields, types, and display to appear for the user.
  7. Set the Intake object's Context to both Lead and Project — this is what makes the data carry over automatically on conversion.
  8. Go to Permissions and make sure the permissions exist on the Lead and Project object for your user to access that object.
  9. Go to: Control Center → Process Studio → Stages → Leads to configure Stages. Stages are configured per Type. For each stage, set a Stage Name and a Lead System Stage (Open, Rejected, Convert, or Refer) — selecting Convert is what triggers Lead-to-Project conversion.
  10. Optionally enable Require Reason on a stage to force selecting an Outcome Code when moving into it.
  11. Create Outcome Codes at Process Studio → Workflows → Outcome Codes, with Lead selected as the purpose. Note: fields on the Lead itself aren't carried over to the Project — only related objects with both contexts (like Intake) carry over automatically.
     

Testing End to End

After completing the configuration, test the setup from end to end to confirm that the object works as expected. 

This validation helps ensure that users can create records, enter information through the configured form, and access the resulting data correctly. Follow these steps to validate the configuration:

  1. Navigate to the Intake workspace, press + Lead, and create a new Lead — verify it appears.
  2. If using an Intake object, search for the label you entered previously on the left panel. Create a new instance of this object and verify it appears.
  3. Move the Lead to the stage mapped to Convert (select an Outcome Code if required) and confirm a new Project is created.
  4. Open the new Project and confirm: correct Type, and Intake data carried over (if used).