Custom Links
A custom link is a labelled, styled connector you draw between two entities to capture a real-world relationship the built-in types don't cover. It is purely visual — it lets you say "there is a connection here" and describe what kind, without affecting any calculation in your structure.
Use a custom link when you want a connection on the canvas (and in the entity's relationship list) but none of the standard relationship types — shareholder, trustee, director, beneficiary, loan, etc. — really fit. Common examples:
- A shareholders' agreement between two shareholders.
- A services agreement, management agreement, or license between two companies.
- A side letter or deed of variation sitting alongside a loan or shareholding.
- A nominee or bare arrangement held informally.
- An influence or control-in-practice line that isn't captured by directorship or shareholding.
- A family advisory relationship between an individual and an entity.
If a built-in type does fit — use that. Built-in types carry the right legal and economic meaning (a shareholder has a percentage, a director has duties, a loan has an amount). A custom link is for everything else: when you want to record that a connection exists and what it's called, without claiming any of those mechanics.
When to Use a Custom Link
Use one when all of these are true:
- The connection is between two entities (individual, company, trust, partnership, or SMSF — see Eligibility below).
- None of the built-in relationship types describes it accurately (see Relationship Types Reference).
- You want the connection on the diagram, on the entity's relationship list, and snapshot-aware — not just a note tucked inside an entity's details.
- It carries no calculated value — no ownership %, no distribution amount, no loan principal.
Don't use a custom link for:
- Things a built-in type handles. A shareholder relationship should be a
shareholder, not a custom "owns Co" link — otherwise your ownership totals and diagrams won't pick it up. - Relationships to an asset or liability (use the asset-side associations and ownership types instead — see Asset Entities and Liabilities).
- One-off notes or comments — those belong in the entity's notes field or in a diagram annotation (see Diagram Annotations).
Eligibility
A custom link may connect any two of:
- Individual
- Company
- Trust
- Partnership
- SMSF
…in any direction, including across types.
A custom link may not connect:
- An asset or liability record (their connections are modelled through ownership/responsibility and the Associated Liability feature).
- A joint holding node or any other synthetic grouping on the diagram (those represent multiple entities pooled together, not a single endpoint).
- An entity to itself.
You can have as many custom links between the same two entities as you like — e.g. a "Shareholders' Agreement" and a separate "Side Letter".
Appearance
Every custom link carries its own appearance, edited from the inspector when you select it on the diagram or from Edit in the entity's relationship list. Two custom links can look completely different — that's the point.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Label (optional) | The on-canvas text and the row label in the relationship list. Leave blank for a bare coloured line. |
| Line type | Solid, dashed, or dotted. |
| Colour | Pick a swatch or any hex colour. Avoid red — it's reserved for liabilities. |
| Arrows | None, At source, At target, or Both ends. Presentation only — see the note below. |
| Effective from / Effective to (optional) | When the link starts and/or ends. See Dates and snapshots. |
Arrows are presentation only. They show direction visually but don't change what the link means. If you want a one-way thing (lender → borrower), use the built-in Loan type — it carries the direction in the data.
A live preview in the inspector shows exactly what the link will look like as you change settings.
Colour and the rest of your diagram
Pick colours that read as distinct from the standard relationship colours on your diagram so a custom link is recognisably other. Liability red (#DC2626) is reserved — pick anything else from the palette or your own hex.
Dates and Snapshots
Custom links support optional Effective from and Effective to dates, using the same temporal columns every other relationship type uses (see Snapshots).
That means:
- Live view (the default) shows every custom link whose effective range covers today.
- A snapshot at a specific date shows exactly the custom links in force on that date.
- A custom link with no dates is "always in force" — it shows on every snapshot.
Practically: enter the date the agreement was signed in Effective from, and the date it terminated (if any) in Effective to. Open a snapshot at any earlier or later date and the link will appear or disappear accordingly.
Custom Links in Scenarios
Custom links work the same way in scenarios as every other relationship:
- Add a custom link inside a scenario to model "what if we put this agreement in place?".
- Delete a custom link inside a scenario to model "what if we terminated this agreement?".
- Edit the label or style inside a scenario without affecting the base structure.
The scenario chain resolves correctly — when you stack scenarios on top of one another, custom-link additions, deletions, and edits compose like any other relationship change.
Where Custom Links Appear
- Diagram canvas — drawn with your chosen colour, line style, arrows, and label.
- Entity relationship list (entity detail page) — in a dedicated Custom section on individual pages, or as a plain "Custom" group on companies/trusts/etc. The row shows the label and the counterpart entity.
- All Relationships page — listed alongside every other relationship, with the label and effective dates in the Details column.
- Diagram export (PNG / PDF / print) — exports with the same colour, line, arrows, and label as on screen. See Exporting a Diagram.
Custom links are not shown in the diagram Legend. Every custom link can look different, so a single legend row would be misleading; the on-canvas label is what describes the link.
Common Patterns
"Shareholders' Agreement" between two shareholders
Two individuals both hold shares in a company. Their relationship to the company is shareholder (built-in). The agreement between them is a custom link — perhaps a blue dashed line with both arrowheads, labelled Shareholders' Agreement.
"Services Agreement" between two companies
One company provides services to another. Draw a custom link with a solid line and a target arrow pointing at the receiving company, labelled Services Agreement.
"Side letter" attached to a loan
The loan itself is a built-in loan relationship. The side letter modifying it is a separate custom link between the same two entities — e.g. a thin dotted line labelled Side Letter. Both render side-by-side on the canvas.
"Influence" line where there's no formal role
A founder no longer holds shares or sits on the board but still calls the shots. A custom link from the founder to the company, dashed, no arrows, labelled Founder influence is a clean way to record that.
"Nominee" / "Bare arrangement"
Someone holds something on behalf of another without a formal trust. Use a custom link labelled Nominee between the nominal holder and the beneficial owner — and if you want the bare-trust mechanics, set up a proper Bare Trust entity instead.
What Custom Links Don't Do
Custom links are deliberately not economic. They never:
- Contribute to ownership % totals on an asset.
- Appear in distribution calculations or distribution chains.
- Count toward caps (e.g. SMSF membership limit).
- Affect net position on the Assets & Liabilities page.
- Auto-create a reciprocal record (no reverse row in the database).
If you find yourself wanting any of these effects, you want a built-in type — see Relationship Types Reference.
FAQ
Can I have more than one custom link between the same two entities? Yes — as many as you like. Each is independent.
Why can't I connect a custom link to an asset or a liability? Asset/liability connections are modelled through ownership (who owns what share) and the associated-liability mechanism (which liability is secured against which asset). A free-form connector would bypass those rules and the totals that depend on them.
My custom link disappeared when I changed the snapshot date — why? You probably gave it an Effective from or Effective to date that doesn't cover the snapshot's date. Open the link's inspector and check the dates; clear either field to make it always-visible.
Can I change the label later? Yes. Select the link on the diagram (or open Edit in the relationship list), change the label, and Save Changes.
Will custom links show up in CSV/data exports? Yes — they're real relationships, so they're included anywhere relationships are listed.
Related
- Relationship Types Reference — every built-in type, and when to use them.
- How to Create Custom Links — step-by-step.
- How to Create Relationships Between Entities — the broader create flow.
- Diagrams and Understanding Diagram Settings.
- Snapshots — how effective dates control what shows.
- Diagram Annotations — for free-form notes/shapes that aren't between two entities.
- Exporting a Diagram.