Custom attribute in sales related tables like: sales_flat_quote, sales_flat_order_item, sales_flat_order, etc table
In your installation file sql/some_setup/mysql-install-0.1.0.php:
<?php
$installer = $this;
$installer->startSetup();
$installer->addAttribute('quote', 'custom_field', array('type' => 'varchar'));
$installer->addAttribute('order', 'custom_field', array('type' => 'varchar'));
$installer->endSetup();
?>
Another way of doing it is:
<?php
$installer = $this;
$installer->startSetup();
$installer->run("ALTER TABLE sales_flat_order_item ADD COLUMN 'custom_field' DECIMAL(12,4) NULL;");
$installer->endSetup();
?>
Make sure to clear cache after this.