Data structure for a simple meals expense tracker

[weiliang_lee]

Hi all,

I have a scenario wherein I'll be making a custom object to track expenses of my meals. Assuming each custom object is a singular day, I would like to have a structure as such:

• Breakfast
  • Pancakes $5
  • Coffee $1
• Lunch
  • Noodles $5
• Dinner
  • Pizza $10

The thing is, on seperate days, I may skip breakfast, and I might be having cereal and milk which cost differently. The properties have to be dynamic, or rather open-ended because the sky is the limit to the things I eat. So there can't be a pre-defined list. Even so, for example coffee could be $2 or $3 depending on where I buy it.

Given such an example, what do you guys think is the best way to do this in HubSpot? It does not necessarily have to be Custom Objects, can be on Deals using line items, or HubDB etc. Open to ideas on a structure as such.

Cheers

WL

[danmoyle]

@weiliang_lee I'd love to know more about the why behind your scenario. 

My first thiought is this: Deals are meant to measure revenue, not expenses. So I think the idea of a custom object makes sense. From there, because food is indeed infinitely customizable, I start to think a property for amount is all you need, with a dependent field that allows for the content of the meal to be added. 

But then I wonder why a Custom Object - because what is this being associated with? Contacts, Companies, or Deals you're expensing them to? Or is this just a place to track data that's not really related to marketing or sales? Is it even necessary to track in HubSpot? 

So many questions - I love the thought experiment. If you're open to sharing a little more information, maybe we can all brainstorm a bit. 

Thanks for the tag @MiaSrebrnjak ! 

[MiaSrebrnjak]

Hi @weiliang_lee,

This is an interesting use case, I think I'd go with Deals & line items!

I also wanted to ask a couple of HubSpot experts for advice: 

Hi @franksteiner79, @jolle, @danmoyle, how would you approach this? Thanks!

Cheers
Mia, Community Team