Your business is unique, and you can’t always fit your workflows into off-the-shelf project management solutions. Custom fields can help you to track, record and search for information that is important to your business, and they only take a few clicks to create.
Choose the right custom field to record information easily
Custom fields come in many forms, from dropdowns, to text, to date fields. There are lots of formats to choose from that can help you to manage your information. Depending on what you are looking to record, choosing the right format can help keep the information correct and easy to search.
For example, you want to record the date that you last serviced a vehicle. The date format helps you keep this information organised and consistent. If you used a text field instead, you run the risk of making it practically impossible to search as there are so many ways to write dates (eg. Thursday 22nd April, April 22, 22/4, 4/22, etc, etc).
Take a think about what fields work best before you create the custom field.
Know your customers better
Custom fields allow you to add limitless extra information about your customers or leads. This can help you and your team to understand them and their needs better. Perhaps you need to know what industry your client works in to know which products and services they might be interested in, or you want to provide a more personalized experience by recording the date they become customers, or their birthdays. Custom fields can allow you to do all this and more.
Record information about your suppliers
Understanding your suppliers can help you manage your supply chain better. Custom fields can help you understand what they offer without relying on word of month or sticky notes in the office. For example, custom fields can allow you to segment your suppliers by the products or services they provide. You can create a dropdown menu that has your main supplier types so you can easily search for suppliers that offer what you need in the moment.
You may also want to add in the average lead times, and whether the supplier can facilitate rush orders so you know exactly how responsive you can be to urgent jobs without having to ring around all your contacts.
Track any asset your way
Assets usually have unique serial numbers or identifiers that are handy to keep track of. Adding a short text or number field can allow you to add these in and make it super easy to find your assets.
For example, if you service vehicles you can add a custom field to record the rego number. Every time that customer comes in, you can search the rego and bring up the vehicle and all its service history in seconds.
Tip: Don’t overcomplicate it!
It can be easy to over do it and add in custom fields to record all sorts of information, but beware of data fatigue! The more fields you have, the more work you and your team will have to do to keep your records accurate and up-to-date. The more fields you have, the more likely your team to slip and try to cut corners.
Try to only create fields for information you know you will need and use to run your business easier or better. Think about the fields that you want to be compulsory or not to make sure critical information is not missed, and don’t forget to check in with the team about any changes that are made.
Need more information on how to make the use of custom fields?
Custom fields are a free feature in WorkGuru and can help customise the platform to your business. Learn how to make the best use of your custom fields with a free training session, reach out to us now.
