What this article helps with: Mapping Neostella fields to Hona so that the right data pulls into the right places, including case name, case type, stage, contacts and team roles. Use it for initial setup and for fixing incorrect mappings.
Who this is for: Firm admins or Hona onboarding contacts with integration configuration access.
When not to use this article: If Neostella is not connected yet, start with Neostella Integration Setup. If data mapped correctly before but has stopped syncing, see Integrations: What is Syncing?.
How data flows between Neostella and Hona
What Hona pulls from Neostella:
Cases (called projects in Neostella), with the case name, case type, stage and any custom fields you map.
The client on the case, plus additional contacts from case sections you map.
The case team: the people assigned on the case's Access tab in Neostella, with their roles.
Your firm's Neostella user list, so Neostella users can be matched to Hona users.
Your Neostella project stages, in order, for phase setup.
What Hona writes back to Neostella:
Text messages, Lia's included, as notes on the case.
Notification history as notes on the case. Each note name starts with Hona, for example "Hona Notification", "Hona: Form Submission", "Hona: E-Signature Signed", "Hona: Call Summary" and "Hona: Text Opt Out".
Client files as documents on the case, with the description "Uploaded from Hona".
Form answers can update the case fields you map.
When your firm wants, Lia can update Neostella records as part of a playbook.
Note times are shown in your firm's time zone. Each note includes a link back to the case in Hona.
Important: Neostella is the source of truth. Hona reads case and contact data from Neostella. If a phone number or case detail differs between Hona and Neostella, the Neostella value replaces the Hona value on the next sync. Always update contact and case data in Neostella.
How text messages appear in Neostella
One running note (default): Hona keeps one note per case named "Hona Messages". The newest message is at the top, under a link back to the case in Hona.
One note per message: Hona writes each message as its own note, named "Hona Outbound Message" or "Hona Incoming Message". Neostella does not move an updated note to the top of the notes list, so many firms prefer this option.
Note type: Hona can give message notes a Neostella note type, such as a "Hona SMS" type your firm creates. The value must match the note type's name in Neostella. If no note type is set, or the name does not match, Hona uses Neostella's default communication note type.
To switch to one note per message or set a note type, ask your Account Manager or contact [email protected].
Prerequisites
Neostella connected to Hona. See Neostella Integration Setup.
Access to Hona with integration configuration permissions.
Your project types and phases set up in Hona, and a list of the Neostella case types and stages you use.
Contact roles and team roles set up in Hona.
A few test case IDs from Neostella. The ID is the part of the case address after /core/projects/.
Step 1: Open the mapper
Go to Company Settings > Integrations > Map Fields.
Select Projects as the main object. Neostella projects are your cases.
Add related objects:
Single Objects: one related record, such as the Client on the case. Add the Client to map its name, phone and email.
Multiple Objects: case sections that hold several records, such as a plaintiffs section. Use these for additional contacts.
Step 2: Project mapping
External ID: set for you. It uses the Neostella record ID. Do not change it.
Name: select the field that holds the case name. There is no default.
Project Type Name: map to the field that holds the case type, usually the case's type in Neostella. Values must match a Hona project type.
Phase: map to the case's stage field. There is no default. Values must match the phases set up in Hona.
Hona Enabled: defaults to Yes, so every case can import. To sync only some cases, map this to a Neostella field and set which values mean Yes and No. Only cases that map to Yes import into Hona.
Optional fields: Followers (an email or list of emails) and Division.
Step 3: Contact mapping
Main Contact (set up for you)
External ID: defaults to the Client's ID.
Contact Role: defaults to Main Contact.
First Name, Last Name, Email and Phone: select these from the Client object. Phone is the number Hona texts.
Opt Out of Auto Updates: defaults to false.
Optional: Notification Preference, Language, Birthdate and Is Deceased.
Additional Contacts (from case sections)
Under Multiple Objects, add the case section that holds the contacts.
Add a contact mapping for that section and map the same fields as the main contact.
Map Contact Role. Every role must also be set up in Contact Roles in Hona.
Phones and emails in lists: a Neostella contact can have a list of phone numbers and a list of emails. Hona reads the first entry in each list. That entry is not always the one marked primary or texting in Neostella. Preview a few cases to confirm the right number pulls through.
Step 4: Team
You do not need to map team fields one by one. Hona brings in the people assigned on each case's Access tab in Neostella.
Hona matches each Neostella role name to a team role in Hona. Set up matching roles in Team Roles before the first sync. People with no role on the Access tab join the Hona team with no role.
If Hona cannot read a case's team during a sync, it keeps the existing team rather than saving a partial list.
Step 5: Preview and test
Click Show Preview.
Enter a test Neostella case ID.
Check the case name, project type, phase, contacts, contact roles and team.
Run a manual sync on a few test cases from each case's Actions menu in Hona.
Field mapping tips
Some Neostella fields point to another record, such as Client. If a field you want is missing from the list, add its object as a Single Object first. Its fields then appear in the list.
Some fields have parts, such as a phone with a number and an extension. Hona lists each part on its own. Pick the part that holds the value you need.
Field names in the list can differ from the labels you see in Neostella. Use search to find them.
Set default values for optional fields, and set up Yes and No values for every enum field.
Troubleshooting
Use this section for specific mapping problems. For general sync issues, see Integrations: What is Syncing?.
Case not appearing in Hona at all. Check the Hona Enabled mapping and confirm the case maps to Yes. Confirm Name is mapped and has a value on that case. If the integration is Inactive, only manual syncs run.
Wrong phase. Check the Phase mapping. The Neostella stage names must match the phases set up in Hona exactly.
Case under the wrong project type. Check the Project Type Name mapping. The values must match your Hona project type names.
Client phone or email missing or wrong. Confirm the Client is added as a Single Object and that Phone and Email map to its fields. If the contact has several numbers or emails, Hona uses the first one in the list.
Additional contacts missing. Confirm the case section is added under Multiple Objects and has a contact mapping with a role. If Hona cannot read a section during a sync, it skips that case's contact update so it does not remove existing contacts.
Team members missing or without a role. Check the case's Access tab in Neostella. Confirm each role name has a matching team role in Hona.
Message notes are hard to find in Neostella. The running "Hona Messages" note does not move to the top when it updates. Ask to switch to one note per message.
Note type not applied. The note type name must match a note type in Neostella exactly. Otherwise Hona uses the default communication note type.