A while back, I wrote an email called you really don’t want to rename standard objects. Recently, a reader asked, “When is it OK to rename an object?”
The short answer is, when
- The new name is better understood by the user
- It’s not completely different from the original name
- Almost none of the object’s fields need to be renamed
- You can still leverage standard functionality (like Account Hierarchy or Opportunity Products)
For example, in the nonprofit industry, we deal with organizations and households. The word “account” is not as popular. So renaming “Account” to “Household/Organization” is OK (even though it’s a little long).
Similarly, I’ve seen “Opportunity” renamed to “Deal”, “Gifts”, or “Donations”.
What you don’t want to do is rename “Opportunity” to “Tickets”, and then rename all the standard fields to ticket-related fields. However, if all you will ever do is sell tickets and nothing else that could use Opportunity, then maybe. But a big maybe.
The takeaway
Be weary when renaming objects and be sure you’re not moving too far away from its original intent.