Ever feel like your business tracks unique information that doesn't quite fit into the standard CRM boxes? Say hello to Custom Fields, your ultimate tool for tailoring Smackdab to match your business perfectly!
This feature allows you to add your own fields to any part of the CRM, ensuring you can capture, store, and manage the exact data you need. It’s all about making the CRM work for you, not the other way around.
Why Custom Fields are a Game-Changer (The Benefits)
Creating custom fields is more than just adding a box to a form; it's about unlocking a smarter way to work.
Capture Everything That Matters: No more trying to squeeze specific data into a generic "notes" section. Track industry-specific info, customer preferences, or unique product details with ease.
Boost Your Productivity: By structuring your data, you make it easier to find, report on, and manage, saving your team valuable time.
Improve Data Accuracy: Use fields like dropdowns or checkboxes to standardize entries and eliminate typos, leading to cleaner, more reliable data.
Enhance Your Reporting: Custom data leads to custom insights. Generate more detailed and actionable reports that reflect what's truly important to your business.
Scale with Confidence: As your business grows and your data needs change, your CRM can evolve right alongside you.
Let's Build a Field! (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Ready to create your first custom field? It's a simple process.
Head to Settings and navigate to Customization.
Click on Modules and select the module where you want to add the field (e.g., "Deals" or "Contacts").
Inside the module, click on Fields.
Click the "New Field" button at the top-right to open the properties window.
Name Your Field: Give it a clear, descriptive name.
Choose a Field Type: Select the type of data you want to capture from the dropdown menu (see our toolbox below for all the options!).
Add Extra Options: Check boxes to make the field Required, Important, add Placeholder text, and more.
Save Your Work: Click "Save"! Your new field is now created.
What's next? After saving, you can add your new field to the user interface by going to the Layout section for that module. Place it on the Detail Page, the QuickLook card, or wherever your team needs it most!
Your Toolbox: The Wide World of Field Types
Smackdab offers a huge variety of field types to capture data perfectly every time. Here’s a look at your options:
Text & Numbers
Text: For short, plain text entries (e.g., a nickname).
Large Text: A bigger text area for detailed notes or descriptions.
Number: For storing any numeric values (e.g., quantity).
Phone: Specifically for capturing phone numbers.
Email: For storing and validating email addresses.
URL: For storing web links like websites or social media profiles.
Choices & Selections
Select (Dropdown): Lets users pick one or multiple options from a list you define. You can even color-code your options!
Checkbox: For selecting multiple options from a visible list (e.g., product interests).
Radio: For selecting just ONE option from a visible list (e.g., priority level).
Boolean: A simple true/false or yes/no toggle switch.
Dates & Times
Date Picker: For selecting a single date from a calendar.
Date Range Picker: For selecting a start and end date.
Date Time Picker: For capturing a specific date and time.
Time Picker: For selecting a time of day.
Money & Values
Currency: For recording monetary values with currency symbols.
Percentage: For entering and displaying percentage values.
Files & Formatting
Drop Zone / File: Allows users to upload files by dragging and dropping or Browse.
Rich Text Editor: A text area with formatting options like bold, italics, and lists.
Advanced & Structural
Address: A composite field for storing a full street address.
Group: A visual separator to organize fields into logical sections on a layout.
Entities: Link to records from another module (e.g., linking a 'Contact' to a 'Deal').
Repeater Field: Create a dynamic set of fields that users can add to as needed (e.g., adding multiple contact persons to one company).
Add Some Polish: Supercharging Your Fields with Options
When creating a field, you can give it extra properties to make it even smarter:
Never Miss a Beat (Required): Make a field mandatory to ensure you always capture critical info.
Highlight What's Important: Mark a field as "Important" to make it stand out.
Guide Your Users (Placeholder & Tooltip): Add hint text inside a field or a helpful tip that appears on hover.
Keep Data Clean (Is Unique): Ensure no two records have the same value in this field (e.g., an Order ID).
Save Time (Default Value): Pre-fill the field with a common value to speed up data entry.
Heads-Up! Important Things to Know
You can delete custom fields you've created, but you can't delete Smackdab's default system fields.
If you make a field Required, you'll need to go back and fill it in for all your existing records.
For certain field types, you can add extra Validation rules to ensure the data entered is in the correct format.
Custom Fields are your key to unlocking a CRM experience that is truly your own. Dive in and start building!