Custom Fields for Small Business Contacts: What to Track (With Examples by Industry)

Name, number and email only go so far. A dentist needs to know a patient's next recall date. A plumber needs the job address. An estate agent needs to know whether someone is buying or selling. Custom fields let you add exactly those boxes to every contact. Here is what to track, with ready-made examples for common types of business.

What custom fields are

Custom fields are extra boxes you add to every contact, beyond the built-in name, number, email, business, tags and notes. In TelBuddy you can add up to 30, each one of four types:

Three rules for choosing fields

1. Only track what someone will use. If no one acts on it, it is clutter.
2. Prefer dropdowns to free text for anything you will filter or count, so "Warm" is always spelled the same.
3. Use tags for groups, fields for facts. "vip" is a tag; "Membership renews on" is a field.

Ready-made fields by industry

Dental and medical offices

• Next recall due (date)
• Preferred contact time (dropdown: Morning, Afternoon, Evening)
• Insurance provider (text)

Home services and trades

• Job address (text)
• Equipment installed (text)
• Next service due (date)
• Job stage (dropdown: Quote sent, Booked, Completed)

Real estate

• Buying or selling (dropdown)
• Budget (number)
• Area of interest (text)
• Move-by date (date)

Salons, spas and fitness

• Birthday (date)
• Preferred stylist or trainer (dropdown)
• Membership renews (date)

Coaches, courses and consultants

• Program (dropdown)
• Enrolled on (date)
• Lead stage (dropdown: New, Call booked, Enrolled)

How fields get filled without typing

• CSV import: a column with the same name as your field (for example "Birthday") is matched automatically, or you can choose it in the column matching. Values that do not fit, like "next week" in a date field, are skipped rather than saved as junk.
• Your webhook link: Zapier, Make or any form sending a field called birthday fills the Birthday field. See sending leads from Zapier or Make.
• ClickFunnels sync: ClickFunnels fields with matching names come across too. See importing ClickFunnels contacts.

Using fields day to day

• In the conversation: open the contact and the fields are right there, so whoever replies knows the job address or the recall date.
• Search: searching for a value finds the contact, so typing a street name finds the customer at that address.
• Export: each field becomes its own column in the contacts CSV.

Setting them up in TelBuddy

1. Open Contacts, Tools, Custom fields.

   Only people with full access to Contacts can add or change fields.

2. Add a field.

   Give it a clear name, pick the type, and for a dropdown list the choices, one per line.

3. Fill it in.

   Open any contact and the new box is there for the whole team.

Start with two or three fields, use them for a month, and add more only when someone asks for them. A short list that is always filled in beats a long one that is always empty. For keeping the rest of your list in shape, see how to clean up a messy contact list.