What this article helps with: Mapping Filevine fields to Hona so that the right data pulls into the right places — including project types, phases, and contact fields. Use this for both initial setup and fixing incorrect mappings.

Who this is for: Firm admins or Hona onboarding contacts with integration configuration access.

When not to use this article: If Filevine is not connected yet, start with Filevine Integration Setup. If data was mapped correctly before but has stopped syncing, see Integrations: What is Syncing?.

How data flows between Filevine and Hona

What Hona pulls from Filevine: Case/project name, project type, phase, client contact details (name, phone, email), team member assignments, and any custom mapped fields.

What Hona pushes back to Filevine: Message logs, form submission notes, and notification activity — logged as notes on the case record in Filevine.

Important — Filevine is the source of truth. Hona reads data from Filevine, not the other way around for case records. If a contact's phone number or case detail differs between Hona and Filevine after a sync, the Filevine value will overwrite the Hona value on the next sync. Always update contact and case data in Filevine, not Hona.

Prerequisites

Access to Hona with integration configuration permissions
List of project types that need to be mapped

Setting Up Mappings

Sync Configuration

Navigate to Company Settings > Integrations > Map Fields
Select "Add Project Type"
Configure the following sections:

Project Mapping

Name: Select the project name field (Usually Project> Project or Client Name)
Project Type Name: Map to your Hona project type identifier
Phase: Map to your phase trigger field
Hona Enabled: Map the field that enables Hona in Filevine. This field would have been set up at the time of onboarding. A default of yes can be set if field does not exist
Optional field available:
- Followers

Contact Mapping

There are multiple ways you can set up the contact mappings. If you use the form fields, you will need to set up one mapping per unique form field. However, if you use a collection section, only two mappings will be required.

Main Contact
- External ID: Map to contact/person ID
- Role: Usually left as default for main contact.
- First Name
- Last Name
- Phones
- Emails
Additional Contacts (via Parties or Form Fields)
- Click "Add Mapping for Contacts"
- Configure similar fields as main contact
- Include Contact Role mapping
- Consider adding opt-out field mapping (e.g., "Is Deceased" field)

Validation and Testing

Preview Project Syncs

Preview some projects using the preview tool to verify data maps correctly

Common Setup Notes

One mapping required in Hona per project type in Filevine
Contact mappings can use both party-based and form-based approaches simultaneously
Default values can be used when specific fields aren't available

Best Practices

Project Type Setup

Consider using one Filevine project type mapped to multiple Hona project types
Use field values to differentiate between Hona project types
Example: One "Personal Injury" Filevine type can map to multiple specific Hona types

Contact Configuration

Use party-based mapping for variable numbers of contacts
Use form-based mapping for fixed contact relationships
Always map opt-out fields to prevent inappropriate communications
Consider using "Is Deceased" or similar fields for auto-update opt-outs

Field Mapping Tips

Start with contact mappings to reduce dropdown options
Use consistent naming for better tracking
Set appropriate default values for optional fields
Configure enum mappings properly (Yes/No, True/False)

Troubleshooting

Use this section to diagnose specific mapping problems. For general sync issues (data not pulling at all, integration inactive), see Integrations: What is Syncing?.

Client phone or email not updating in Hona — Check contact mapping. Confirm field names match exactly (field names are case-sensitive in Filevine).
Project not appearing in Hona at all — Check the Hona Enabled field mapping. Verify the project is included in the mapped Filevine report.
Wrong phase triggering in Hona — Check phase trigger mapping. Confirm the Filevine phase names match exactly what is configured in Hona.
Project appearing under the wrong project type — Review the project type mapping values and confirm they match the Filevine project type names.
Unmapped enum values — If a field uses Yes/No or True/False values, make sure enum mappings are configured for all possible values.
Cannot find a report in the source — Try syncing static data from the integration page first.
Project types appearing in multiple mapped reports — A project included in multiple mapped reports will not import into Hona. Consolidate your report mapping.
Contact roles or types pulling incorrectly — When testing, verify both contact information and roles/types are pulling correctly via the preview tool.