Custom Fields for People

Custom fields let you track any information about your people that is not covered by the standard fields. Whether you need to record t-shirt sizes, spiritual gifts, medical allergies, volunteer certifications, or anything else unique to your church, custom fields make it possible.

Why Use Custom Fields?

Every church is different. While TimelyChurch provides a comprehensive set of standard fields (name, contact info, membership status, etc.), your church may need to track additional information. Custom fields let you:

• Capture church-specific data -- Track baptism class completion, small group preferences, ministry interests, dietary restrictions, or anything else.
• Filter your directory -- Custom fields appear as filter options on the People page, so you can quickly find everyone with a specific attribute.
• Include data in the directory -- Optionally show custom fields in your member-facing directory.
• Organize into tabs -- Group related fields onto dedicated tabs on the person profile.
• Control access -- Choose whether fields are visible only to staff or also editable by members.

Accessing Custom Fields Settings

1. Go to Settings from the left sidebar.
2. Click the Custom Fields tab.
3. You will see a list of all custom fields you have created, organized by tab.

Creating a Custom Field

1. On the Custom Fields settings page, click Add Field.
2. Fill in the field details:

Basic Settings

Field Types

Visibility and Access Settings

1. If your field type is Select or Multi-Select, enter the available options. Each option goes on its own line.
2. Click Save.

Tip: Think carefully about whether a field should be "Internal Only." For example, a "Background Check Status" field should probably be internal only, while a "Spiritual Gifts" field might be something members can update themselves.

Editing a Custom Field

1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
2. Find the field you want to edit.
3. Click the Edit button.
4. Update any of the settings described above. Note that you cannot change the field type after creation (to protect existing data), but you can change everything else.
5. Click Save.

Reordering Custom Fields

The order of custom fields determines the order they appear on person profiles.

1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
2. Drag and drop fields to rearrange them.
3. You can also move fields between tabs by changing the tab assignment during reordering.
4. The new order saves automatically.

Activating and Deactivating Fields

If you no longer need a custom field but want to preserve the data already entered:

1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
2. Find the field.
3. Click the Toggle Active button.
4. A deactivated field will no longer appear on profiles or in filters, but the data is preserved. You can reactivate it at any time.

Deleting a Custom Field

If you want to permanently remove a custom field and all its data:

1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
2. Find the field.
3. Click Delete.
4. Confirm the deletion.

Tip: Deleting a custom field permanently removes all values that have been entered for every person in your directory. If you might need the data later, consider deactivating the field instead of deleting it.

Using Custom Fields on Person Profiles

Once created, custom fields appear on person profiles under the tab you assigned them to:

• Custom Fields -- A general-purpose tab for miscellaneous fields (the default tab)
• Spiritual -- For faith-related fields (salvation date, spiritual gifts, baptism class, etc.)
• Volunteer -- For service-related fields (background check, certifications, availability, etc.)
• Medical -- For health-related fields (allergies, medications, special needs, etc.)
• Other -- For anything that does not fit the other categories

To fill in a custom field value:

1. Open a person's profile.
2. Navigate to the appropriate tab.
3. Click the field to edit it.
4. Enter or select the value.
5. Click Save.

Filtering by Custom Fields

Custom fields automatically become filter options on the People page:

1. Go to People.
2. Open the Filters panel.
3. Scroll down to find your custom fields listed below the standard filters.
4. Select a value to filter by.
5. The people list will update to show only those matching your criteria.

For example, if you created a "Spiritual Gifts" multi-select field, you could filter to see everyone who selected "Teaching."

Tip: Combining custom field filters with standard filters is very powerful. For example, you could filter for "Active Members" who have "Spiritual Gift: Teaching" and "Background Check: Completed" to find qualified Sunday School teachers.

Related Articles

• Person Profile Overview
• Managing Your People Directory
• Adding People
• Tags and Segments
• Portal Self-Service