Best Practice for SN Variable Options

[VasukiS]

We’re in the early stages of configuring ServiceNow Catalogs and need to store custom options for record producer variables. Since there’s no existing table for this, I’m considering creating a custom table to manage and retrieve these values. While it’s clear we need a centralized place to store these options, I’d like to know—would using the sys_choice table be appropriate, or is creating a dedicated custom table the better approach?

[GlideFather]

Custom tables are subjects to extra costs (depending on each deal), why not create extended table? These are always for free

[Zach N]

That is a good question! As I understand it, any custom table will be counted towards your allocated table entitlement (extended or not) unless it extends an exempt table. More information on this can be found in the product docs, or page three of the below document:

• https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/vancouver-platform-administration/page/administer/subscriptio...
• https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/legal/custom-table-gu...

I highly recommend talking with your Account Rep/ServiceNow before creating any custom tables to see if they have any recommendations or solutions, and so they can adequately explain how your subscription will be impacted. You can also check out the Subscription Management application to help understand your current usage.

While generally I'd caution against creating a custom table, if the use case is large enough I think it is worth it. Especially if the alternative is customizing a system table (e.g. adding ACLs to sys_choice). That being said, I highly encourage anyone to explore OOTB solutions on their own before adding customization to their environment.