Custom Fields Overview


Custom fields allow you to keep track of any custom data in your CRM. For example, depending on your firm's areas of practice, you may need to keep track of certain matter information like Date of Incident, Prior Arrests, Bank Account Information, Owned Property, etc. Custom fields allow you to create the pieces of data that are important for your firm to record, report on, and/or export out of Lawmatics.
First, let's distinguish Standard Fields vs. Custom Fields. Standard fields come built-in as part of your Lawmatics CRM, and you should not create custom fields for any of this data. The standard fields cannot be edited or deleted, but you are never required to use any of them on your custom forms, documents, etc; they will simply be available for use when needed.
There are a few places to view the standard fields. First, you will find them on the Details page for any matter, in the Matter Information and Contact Information sections, shown below.

As shown above, these fields all come built-in to your out-of-the-box Lawmatics account. You should not create custom fields for any of this basic information like name, address, email address, phone number, etc.

You can also find a list of all the standard fields when editing a custom matter form, you will see a section labelled Standard Fields at the very top left.

Always look to see if a standard field exists for a particular data field before creating a custom field. If there is no standard field for the field you are looking for, then you will create a custom field.

Do this by going to Settings > Custom Fields. Here you will select which type of field you are looking to create from the options shown across the top: Matter, Contact, Company, or Practice Area. Note: You will not use Client Fields.

Any information that is case or matter related, will be created as a Matter Field. This will generally apply for the bulk of your custom fields.

Learn more about the other types of fields here.

When adding a new field using the button shown at the bottom of the image above, you will be prompted to give your field a name. This should be short and concise, it should not be a full sentence. If this field will be used on an intake form, you can always change the label of the field to be a full sentence on that form.

You will also need to select the Field Type and Field Visibility.

Once you have created custom fields, you will view them on the Details page for a matter (or contact, depending on which type of field you have created). You will click the Edit button, pencil icon shown near the top left in the image below, to populate data into that field for a particular matter.

You can also use any of your custom fields on a custom form, as shown below. When editing a form, you can use the blue button to create custom fields on the fly from within the form editor. Any fields that you create while editing a form will also show up in the Custom Field Settings page as well as on the matter Details page.

You will be able to use your custom fields anywhere in the system where fields can be selected. This includes in automations, documents, reports, emails, audiences, among other places.

FAQ's

Should I create custom fields for Spouse's Name or other family members' names and contact information?

No, related contact information should be adding using our matter relationships feature.

What happens when I delete a custom field?

It is very important to keep in mind that if you delete a custom field, any data that has been populated into that field will also be deleted and cannot be restored. If the field is being used in any forms, you will receive a warning message when trying to delete the field that it must first be removed from the form before it can be deleted.

Is it possible to create too many custom fields in my CRM?

No, there is no limit to how many fields you can create. If you do have a lot of fields, it can be helpful to adjust the field visibility to Hidden for fields that you do not need to access from the Details page on a regular page, just to reduce clutter on that page. Similarly, you can also adjust the visibility to Starred for very important fields that you use frequently.

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