Define your data model: objects, lists, and views
Decide which objects, lists, and views to use for your workspace.
When you create a new Attio workspace, it’s important to choose the right structure so your team can work effectively. This guide will help you understand when to use objects, lists, and views, and how to set up each one based on your use case.
What are objects?
Each object represents a specific type of record, like a person, company, or deal, and stores all the data and attributes related to that type.
Attio has two types of objects:
Standard objects: These are built-in objects provided by Attio. Some are enabled by default, while others can be enabled as needed based on your use case. Standard objects include Companies, People, Deals, Users, and Workspaces.
Custom objects: These are objects you create from scratch to track other types of data specific to your business. Use a custom object when your data doesn’t fit into one of the standard object types.
Objects can also be connected to each other using relationship attributes. These attributes let you model how records relate across different objects.
For example:
The Companies object includes a Team attribute that links to the people who work at that company.
The People object includes a Company attribute that links to where a person works.
These relationships are two-way. If you update the Company on a person's record, it will also update the company’s Team automatically.
Which objects should I use?
Companies and People objects
These two objects are enabled by default in every new workspace:
Companies - every business or organization your team has interacted with, usually identified by a domain
People - every individual your team has interacted with, usually identified by an email address
When you sync your email and calendar, these objects will populate automatically with the people and companies records you’ve emailed or met with in the past.
Deals object
The Deals object tracks potential sales opportunities between your company and other organizations or individuals. It may be enabled by default depending on the use cases you selected when creating your workspace. If not, you can enable it manually.
For help setting up pipelines and automating deal creation, see these Attio Community resources:
Tip: The Sales list template offers a simple alternative to the Deals object for tracking deal flow. But for a more scalable, robust setup, the Deals object is recommended. You can watch a quick comparison video or a more detailed one in Attio’s Community.
The key difference is that Deals act as a central hub for notes, tasks, and attributes tied to each deal. Sales lists use company records, which can quickly become cluttered, especially when multiple teams are involved. Deals give sales reps a cleaner, more focused view.
You can also link deal records to people, companies, and other records using relationship attributes, and customize the record page layout to match your workflow.
Workspaces and Users objects
In addition to Companies, People, and Deals, Attio includes two other standard objects designed for software companies: Workspaces and Users. These are especially useful if you're tracking product usage, customer accounts, or billing data.
Workspaces and Users may be enabled by default depending on the use cases you selected when creating your workspace. If not, you can enable them manually.
Use the Workspaces object if the following are true:
Companies have accounts in your product that their team members log into and use.
You have product data and need to track product usage and license and billing data for these accounts.
You want to create visibility about how prospects and customers are using your product for your GTM team.
You want to surface new leads, churn risks, and expansion opportunities based on product usage data.
Use the Users object if the following are true:
You have users that log into your software, that may also be part of a workspace.
You have product data and need to track product usage and subscription data for these users.
Adding data to Workspaces and Users objects
Due to the rapidly changing nature of product usage data, manual imports or updates aren’t recommended. If your product already tracks this data, there are a few common ways of getting it synced to Attio:
Using a rETL tool (we integrate with Polytomic, Census, and Hightouch)
Using a product analytics tool to sync data directly from your product to Attio (like June and Segment)
Directly through our API from your product
Tip: Check out Attio’s Community resources for more help setting up Workspaces and Users and setting up a Polytomic integration.
What are the differences between People and Users objects?
It’s common to have both People and Users in your workspace, but they serve different purposes:
People records include every individual your company has interacted with, usually identified by an email address. These records are often created automatically when you sync your email and calendar, but can also come from lead forms, imports, or third-party tools.
Users represent people who actively use your software. These records are typically linked to both a Person record and a Workspace, so you can track product usage and billing while still maintaining a full communication history.
Users and people records can be connected through the Person <> Associated users relationship attributes.
Custom objects
If you have data that doesn’t fit into one of Attio’s standard objects, you can create a custom object tailored to your use case. Custom objects give you the flexibility to track any type of entity that’s important to your business, such as Invoices, Products, or Partners, for example.
If your data can fit within one of Attio’s standard objects, consider using the standard object instead. The standard object will include built-in attributes, enrichment data, and features that may not be available with custom objects. Learn how to create custom objects.
See Custom objects and relationships in Attio Academy for a video walkthrough.
Tip: For a complete example of a custom object setup, see How to create a custom object for Projects in Attio’s Community.
What are lists, and when should I use lists?
A list is a group of records pulled from a specific object, used to represent a workflow, project, or segment of data. You can build a list manually or use workflow automations to populate it based on rules you define.
Use a list when:
You need to track attributes that only apply to a specific group of records.
For example, in a Recruiting list, you might add attributes like Role applied for, Hiring manager rating, or Application responses. These data points don’t apply to every person in your workspace, but only to job applicants.
You want to control access to a subset of data.
Lists can be private or restricted, while records in object views are always visible to everyone in the workspace.
For a video walkthrough, see Lists in Attio Academy.
When should I use a list vs. an all records view on an object?
When deciding whether to use an all records view or a list, it helps to understand how they differ and what each is best suited for.
Use an all records view (under Records in the main sidebar) when you want to segment all records of a particular object using filters. This is ideal for things like:
Seeing all people in a certain location
Checking which records your team interacted with recently
Finding companies in a specific industry
Because these views are dynamic, they’ll always reflect the full set of records that match your filters.
Use a list when you're managing a specific workflow or team process that involves a handpicked subset of records. Choose a list if:
You need to track data points that only apply to that workflow
You want to control visibility or editing permissions for data
You're running a project like hiring or onboarding
When should I use a list vs. a custom object?
Use a custom object when you're introducing a new type of data to your workspace that represents its own entity and needs to be tracked independently, for example:
Subscriptions, Events, Projects, or any other distinct concept
Records that need relationships with other objects, like linking an event to a person or company
Data you want to report on, track over time, or structure as a core part of your data model
Use a list when you're working with records that already exist in another object, and you just need to group or manage them for a specific purpose. Lists work best when:
You're grouping records with something in common
The grouping is temporary, project-specific, or tied to an internal process like recruiting or onboarding
You need workflow-specific attributes or access controls that don’t apply to every record of that object
In short, use a custom object to model new data, and use a list to organize existing data for a process or workflow.
What are views, and when should I use views?
Views let you display and organize your records in different ways, without changing the underlying data. You can create saved views within any object or list to tailor what you see and how you work. You can customize:
Table and kanban views: Use table views to view your data spreadsheet-style, with a row for each record or list entry and a column for each attribute. Kanban views give a visual pipeline, with a column for each stage, and drag and drop functionality to move cards between stages.
Saved filters and sort settings: Apply saved filters and sort settings to your views to show different subsets of records.
For example, on the Deals object you may have each of these separate views:
A view with no filters applied, showing all deals
Several views filtering on Deal owner, so each owner has a saved view of their own deals
A view filtering on Estimated close date, to show deals set to close this month
A view filtering on Deal value, to show high value deals
Visible attributes: Show only the attributes that matter for that particular view. You can hide or reorder attributes in each view without affecting other views.
Views are useful when different teammates or teams need to see the same data from different angles, or you want to hone in on data with specific attribute values.
