Purpose of this article
Scaler's custom features let you reshape the platform to match how your organization measures, models, and reports performance. This guide walks through how the five customization layers fit together, from input fields to dashboards, with worked examples of common workflows.
If you only need one layer (for example, just custom fields), use the deep-dive article linked at the start of each section. If you want the picture of how the layers connect, and how clients build full LP DDQs, scorecards, and asset-level decarbonization views entirely inside Scaler, read this end-to-end.
Custom features sit on the Scale plan. If a layer is not visible in your account, contact your Account Operations representative.
Prefer to watch instead of read? The Make Scaler your own: Custom features deep dive webinar (May 2026) is a 30-minute live walkthrough of every layer covered in this article.
The five layers
The custom feature suite is built around one principle: every step from data collection to reporting can be tailored to your organization.
Layer | What you customize | Where it lives |
1. Inputs | Fields collected at asset level: number, text, date, dropdown, boolean | Data Collection Portal → Company settings |
2. Calculations | Consumption formulas, lookup tables, emission factors | Data Collection Portal → Meter/consumption and Company settings |
3. Metrics | KPI tables for reporting and analysis | Analytics Portal → Metrics |
4. Targets & benchmarks | Portfolio and asset-level performance goals, plus external comparators | Data Collection Portal → Targets & Benchmarks |
5. Dashboards | Visualizations combining all of the above, with text widgets and external sharing | Analytics Portal → Dashboard |
Each layer can be used in isolation. The value compounds when you connect them: a custom input becomes a custom metric, becomes a tracked target, appears as a chart in a custom dashboard, gets shared with an LP.
Layer 1: Custom inputs
Any data point you would otherwise keep in a parallel Excel sheet (bike-rack counts, heat-pump installation type, biodiversity score, lease-up date) can be modeled as a custom field. Five field types are supported: number (with min/max), text, date, dropdown (configurable options), and boolean.
Once a field is created at company level, it flows automatically into:
- Asset-level data entry in the Data Collection Portal
- Data Requests sent to portfolio contacts
- The Scaler Spreadsheet bulk import and export
- Custom Metrics (number fields, with Sum, Average, or Weighted average aggregation)
- Custom Dashboards (number fields, as chart metrics)
Using custom fields in Scaler covers the full configuration flow.
Screenshot placeholder: Company-level Custom Fields setup screen, showing field name, description, field type, and unit. Use the same shot as in Using custom fields in Scaler for consistency.
When to use this layer
- You are tracking metrics that do not map to Scaler's standard model
- You want to stop maintaining parallel spreadsheets for organization-specific data
- You need the data to feed downstream analytics and dashboards
Layer 2: Custom calculations
Three customization points sit inside Scaler's calculation engine.
Custom consumption formulas
Replace external estimation logic with formulas built directly in Scaler. Supported operations include if-statements, x-lookups against custom lookup tables, arithmetic across any meter or asset field, and references to custom fields. Every computed value carries an audit trail showing the formula, inputs, and result, so auditors get the full chain of logic without exporting anything.
Lookup tables
Two-column reference tables that formulas can call. Common patterns:
- Postal code → energy conversion factor
- Property type → grass-to-net floor area factor
- Country → fuel mix coefficient
Copy and paste from existing Excel reference sheets. Scaler reads them the same way x-lookup does in a spreadsheet.
Custom emission factors
Override Scaler's default factors (CRREM and IEA-aligned) with your own. Editable at state and e-grid sub-region level for location-based, and supplier region for market-based. Editable inline or via Excel upload.
Screenshot placeholder: A custom consumption formula builder showing an if-statement that calls a postal-code lookup table, with the computed value preview. Aim for one shot that conveys formula + lookup table + audit trail in a single frame.
When to use this layer
- You estimate consumption using your own conversion logic
- Auditors or LPs require traceability beyond Scaler's defaults
- You operate in regions where standard factors are not accurate enough
Layer 3: Custom metrics
The Metrics dashboard is where you build reporting tables. Rows are KPIs (energy intensity, GHG emissions, water, custom number fields). Columns are reporting years. Both are reorderable and saveable per stakeholder view.
Aggregation options per metric: Sum, Average, Weighted average. Like-for-like percentages between any two years are calculated automatically.
Custom number fields surface here automatically. If you defined a Biodiversity score custom field and populated it at asset level, it appears in the metric picker.
Screenshot placeholder: Metrics dashboard with a custom field (e.g. Biodiversity score) added as a row, showing the aggregation dropdown (Sum / Average / Weighted average) open.
Custom Metrics dashboard covers the full configuration flow.
When to use this layer
- You need recurring KPI tables for annual reports, board packs, or LP reporting
- Different stakeholders want different views (sustainability vs. fund managers)
- You are exporting ESG data into internal models or external reporting packs
Layer 4: Custom targets and benchmarks
Three target types sit at portfolio level: single-year targets, multi-year pathways (CRREM, custom Paris-aligned, or fully manual year-by-year), and benchmarks (external comparators).
Asset-level target overlay (recently launched): set a portfolio-wide target (for example, 55% EUI reduction by 2040 from a 2025 baseline) and Scaler applies it proportionally to every asset. The Asset list view shows on-track or off-track status per asset, so you can sort by gap and focus retrofit planning where it is needed.
Screenshot placeholder: Asset list view with the target overlay applied, showing on-track / off-track status column per asset and the underlying portfolio target configuration panel.
All targets can be linked to GRESB target reporting and scoped by property subtype and country.
Setting and viewing Targets, Pathways & Benchmarks covers the full configuration flow.
When to use this layer
- You are aligning a portfolio with Paris, CRREM, DGBC, or a custom net-zero trajectory
- You need per-asset visibility into who is on or off track
- You are tracking progress against LP commitments or fund-level KPIs
Layer 5: Custom dashboards
The Custom Dashboard Builder turns all of the above into stakeholder-ready visualizations. Five chart types (bar, line, area, pie, doughnut), weighted aggregations, free-form text widgets, target overlays, and external sharing.
The most common pattern: combine custom inputs, custom metrics, and standard ESG data into a single dashboard tailored to an LP's DDQ. Add text widgets for narrative answers. Share the dashboard with the LP's Scaler user, who accesses a read-only view secured by two-factor authentication, so your data stays inside the platform.
Each chart pulls live data, so a DDQ dashboard built once stays current automatically for every reporting cycle. If the LP isn't already a Scaler user, your Account Operations representative can set them up with the right access level.
Screenshot placeholder: A custom dashboard combining at least two chart types (e.g. a bar chart and a doughnut), a text widget with narrative copy, and a target overlay line. Aim to show the full layout, not a single chart.
Custom Dashboard Builder covers the full configuration flow.
When to use this layer
- You are answering LP DDQs and want to stop rebuilding the same answers each year
- You are building an executive scorecard or fund factsheet
- You need to share specific views with external stakeholders without giving them platform access
Worked example: building an LP DDQ dashboard
A typical LP DDQ asks for portfolio-level EUI by property type, scope 1 plus 2 emissions trend, certifications coverage, and narrative answers on climate strategy. To build this once and reuse it every year:
- Inputs. Confirm the underlying data is in Scaler: floor area, certifications, custom fields for any LP-specific data points (for example, a Yes/No custom field for Climate transition plan attached).
- Metrics. In the Metrics dashboard, save a custom table containing only the metrics this LP asks about, ordered the way their template lists them.
- Dashboard. In the Dashboard Builder, create a new dashboard called [LP name] DDQ. Add the relevant pre-made charts (EUI by property type, scope 1 plus 2 trend), build custom charts for anything missing, and add text widgets for narrative answers.
- Share. From Manage dashboards, share the dashboard with the LP's Scaler user. They access the read-only view through their Scaler login with two-factor authentication. If they aren't yet a Scaler user, your Account Operations representative can set them up.
Next reporting cycle: review the dashboard, update narrative widgets if needed, the same shared access stays current.
Screenshot placeholder: A finished LP DDQ dashboard, ideally an anonymized real example. Should show charts + text widgets together so the reader can see what a complete DDQ output looks like.
Worked example: tracking biodiversity score end-to-end
To track a biodiversity score across the portfolio with monitoring and reporting:
- Input. Create a Number custom field called Biodiversity score (range 0 to 100). Send a Data Request to portfolio contacts to populate it across assets.
- Metric. In the Metrics dashboard, add Biodiversity score as a row. Choose Average or Weighted average by GFA.
- Target. In Targets & Benchmarks, add a portfolio-wide target: Average biodiversity score 70 or higher by 2030.
- Dashboard. Create a Biodiversity dashboard with a trend chart, an asset comparison chart, and a per-country breakdown. Overlay the target line.
- Share. Add the dashboard to your internal sustainability review, or share externally with an investor focused on biodiversity-linked KPIs.
Where to go from here
If you have not set up custom fields yet, start with Using custom fields in Scaler. If inputs are in place but the analytics layer is not being used to its full extent, Custom Metrics dashboard and Custom Dashboard Builder are the next reads. If you are deep in the custom feature set already and want help connecting it for a specific use case (fund-level reporting, LP DDQs, decarbonization tracking), your Account Operations representative can walk through it on a call.
Related resources
- Make Scaler your own: Custom features deep dive webinar (May 2026) — watch the recording