Customer Fields: Add Custom Fields to Contacts
Laifaxin ships with default contact fields (name / email / company / phone, etc.). Defaults not enough? Build your own โ e.g. "Customer Budget / Decision Cycle / Preferred Channel" โ just create the matching field.
- ๐ Field โ used to record specific info (e.g. "Customer Budget = 5000 USD")
- ๐ท๏ธ Tag โ used to classify customers (e.g. "High-budget customer")
โ Data with a concrete value โ field; just needs classification โ tag. The two are complementary.
Entry: Settings โ Customer Fields
1. What are fields? How are they used?โ
Example: contact John has "Gender = Male", "Age = 30" โ here "Gender" and "Age" are fields.
Laifaxin ships with default fields (name / email / company / country / phone). If they're not enough, create custom fields.
The field management backend supports add / edit / delete:
2. Create custom fields (incl. 5 types)โ
1. Field list overviewโ
The list has 4 columns:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Name | Field name (e.g. "Country / Customer Budget") |
| Creator | System fields show system; custom fields show custom |
| Scope | Contact / Company (different scopes mean different field sets) |
| Type | 1 of 5 (single-line text / multi-line text / option / date / number) |
2. Walkthrough: create a "Country" fieldโ
3 steps:
โ Click Newโ
The ใ+ Newใ button in the top-right:
โก Configure 3 core attributesโ
| Attribute | Example |
|---|---|
| Name | Country |
| Scope | Contact (required) โ ๏ธ "Company" scope isn't active yet |
| Type | Single-line text |
โข Pick the right field typeโ
Laifaxin supports 5 field types:
| Type | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ Single-line text | Short text / flexible input | Country / City / WeChat ID |
| ๐ Multi-line text | Long text / descriptions | Customer notes / detailed requirements |
| ๐ Option | Fixed options (single / multi) | Customer level (A/B/C) / Lead source |
| ๐ Date | Date picker | First-contact date / follow-up deadline |
| ๐ข Number | Pure numbers | Customer budget / headcount / annual revenue |
For "Option" type, configure 2 more:
- โ๏ธ Allow multi-select: toggle single vs. multi (e.g. "Lead source" usually single; "Tags"-style multi)
- ๐ Options: enumerate all values (e.g. Lead source = Trade show / Website / Referral / Cold email)
3. Verify after creationโ
Successfully created โ the field appears in the list with Creator showing custom:
3. Control field display and orderโ
After creation, fields don't auto-show in the New Contact form or contacts list. Manually add them in 2 places.
1. Show in "New Contact" formโ
Want Country visible when creating a new contact?
Steps:
- Open New Contact โ click ใCustomize Display Fieldsใ
- In the modal, drag "Country" from left available list to right shown list โ save
Done โ the New Contact form now has a "Country" field:
2. Show in "Contacts list"โ
Want to see the customer's "Country" directly in the contacts list?
โ Check current default columnsโ
Look at default columns:
โก Open display settingsโ
Top-right of the list โ ใData Opsใ โ ใEdit Fieldsใ:
โข Remove unneeded columnsโ
Click the ใรใ on the right of a field to remove (e.g. Company / First Name / Last Name / Gender / Birthday):
After removal, 8 core columns remain (name / verification result / tags / homepage / nickname / source / scope / email):
Save and the list looks like:
โฃ Add new columnsโ
In the left available-fields list, check what you want to add (e.g. "Rating + Country") โ they auto-move to the right shown list:
โค Reorder fieldsโ
Want "Rating" before "Homepage"? Drag to the target position:
Confirm position is correct, click ใSaveใ:
After save, the list updates:
3. Show in "Edit Contact" formโ
Same as Show in New Contact form. The "Customize Display Fields" entry on the Edit Contact modal works identically.
๐ Pitfalls to avoidโ
| Pitfall | Consequence | How to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ด Deleted a custom field by mistake | All customer data under that field is lost (irreversible) | Before deleting, export a backup, confirm no customer is using it |
| ๐ด Picked "Company" scope | Company-scope fields aren't active yet | Pick "Contact" scope for everything until the company-scope feature ships |
| ๐ก Too many fields | Contact UI lags + heavy data entry | Prioritize necessary fields โ keep total โค 20 custom fields |
| ๐ก Wrong field type | Can't filter precisely later (e.g. "Annual revenue" as text can't do > / < filters) | Use Number / Date for numeric types; only use single/multi-line text for text |
| ๐ก Created a field but didn't add to display | Field exists but invisible in UI | After creating, manually add via ใCustomize Display Fieldsใ / ใEdit Fieldsใ |
| ๐ก Renaming options later | History data displays inconsistently | Don't rename options frequently after creation โ adding is fine, deleting requires care |
โ FAQโ
Q1 ยท Field vs. tag?โ
| Dimension | ๐ Field | ๐ท๏ธ Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Record specific values (e.g. Customer Budget = 5000) | Classify customers (e.g. "High-budget customer") |
| Data type | 5 types (text / option / date / number) | Just a name (with color) |
| Filter usage | Field value > / < / equals / contains | Contains tag / doesn't contain tag |
| Quantity | Good for 5โ20 core fields | Good for 50โ200 classification tags |
| Typical use | "Customer budget / decision cycle / headcount" | "VIP / Inquiry / Closed" |
โ Use together: fields store values + tags classify.
Q2 ยท Is there a custom field limit?โ
No hard limit, but build reasonably. We recommend โค 20 custom fields for the best experience โ more than that hurts data entry and UI performance.
Q3 ยท When does "Company" scope become active?โ
In the current version, "Company" scope is reserved for future features. Watch Laifaxin's website for the announcement. For now pick "Contact" scope for everything.
Q4 ยท Can I recover data after deleting a field by mistake?โ
โ ๏ธ No. Field deletion is irreversible โ all customer data tied to it is lost. Before deleting:
- Export a backup of all contacts
- Confirm no customer is using the field
- Confirm again in the second-confirmation modal
Q5 ยท Can I batch-edit custom field values?โ
โ Yes. Open Contacts โ check multiple customers โ ใBatch Operations โ Edit Fieldใ. See ๐ Batch Management ยท Edit Field.
Q6 ยท Can I drag-reorder fields?โ
โ Yes โ 2 ways:
- In the ใCustomize Display Fieldsใ modal, drag the โ ฟ icon
- In the contacts list, drag column headers left/right
๐ก Study tipsโ
| Stage | Advice |
|---|---|
| ๐ฏ Plan before building | Before creating, map business needs โ list what truly needs to be tracked ("Customer budget / decision-maker role / industry") to avoid clutter |
| โ๏ธ Stay lean | More fields is not better โ only build what actually adds value for marketing / service. โค 20 is best |
| ๐ Periodic review | Quarterly review: unused fields โ delete, new needs โ add โ keep the library clean |
| ๐ค Team alignment | In team mode, align on field meaning and use to avoid inconsistent entries |
| ๐ Pair with tags + views | Fields record specific values + tags classify + views filter โ 3-piece set for precision |
| ๐ข Use the right number types | Revenue / budget โ Number for >5000 filters; don't lazily use single-line text |
๐ Related featuresโ
| Topic | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ Manage Contacts | manage-contacts | Fill field values in contact details |
| โ Add Contacts | add-contacts | Map custom fields during bulk import |
| ๐ท๏ธ Tag Management | tag-management | Fields store values, tags classify โ complementary |
| ๐ท๏ธ Tags & Views | contacts-tags-views | Field + tag + view trio for precise filtering |
| ๐ Email Templates | email-templates | Use {custom_field} variables in templates for personalization |
Permalink: https://laifa.xin/zhinan/customer-fields