Table of Contents
Purpose
Custom fields are used for information that might not be defaulted in Aspire. The use of a custom field helps when viewing property, contacts, or equipment record information.
However, custom fields also help when building lists as they can be added to displays and filters to show you additional data that you are needing to track.
Currently, custom fields can be created in:
Contacts
Properties
Equipment (if applicable)
Required Permissions
There are different permissions you can assign to a user role that will work with creating custom fields.
✅ Manage Custom Fields permission can be turned on for a user role in Administration.
Allows the user to add new Custom Fields, and modify Display Names and List Items. They could also delete custom fields on the Equipment, Property and Contacts modules.
Users can access custom fields, but if they don't have access to the module where the custom field lives, then additional permissions would need to be granted (like Branch Administrator or Equipment Administrator checkboxes).
✅ System Admin permission can be turned on for a user role in Administration.
Gives the user full access to all pages in Aspire where custom fields can be edited. There are no limitations for System Administration user role permissions; it is recommended to give these permissions only to select people on your team.
Understanding Custom Field Types
Depending on the data you are wanting to track, you can create custom fields with the different available custom field types for Contacts, Properties, and Equipment.
Below are the options and some examples:
String
You team might use this field type to track a personal email address associated to the contact or property.
Checkbox
Commonly used for yes or no selections.
Currency field
Could be used to track an internal financial team goal and needed to record in Aspire.
Date
Use if your team needs to record a specific date tied to a property, contact or piece of equipment, like an integration sign up date.
Decimal number
Add an average score on a site audit outside of the defined site audit scale types Aspire provides.
List
The list option provides a drop down of selections your team can select from.
Whole number
Use if you need to track the the numbers of a data point. The example below relates to the property like the number of total properties with this option field type.
Where Do I Find and Add a Custom Field?
Properties
Property custom fields are added on the Properties detail screen and are available to all users who can view or edit properties. The custom fields can be used on other properties once created, and more custom fields can be added on the property level as needed.
Select a property from the Properties module and click the three dot menu. Then, click Manage Custom Fields.
Select a Custom Field Type from the drop down, and create a Display Name.
Add additional fields as needed to create multiple custom fields.
Once the custom fields are saved, they appear inside of the properties' detail record.
📌 Note: Once a custom field is added to the Aspire system, refresh your browser. The custom fields will then appear as options in your Filter and Display windows on your lists.
Contacts
Contact custom fields are added on the Contacts screen and are then available to all users who can view or edit contacts.
Select a contact from the Contacts module and click the three dot menu. Click Manage Custom Fields.
Add your custom field types and then, Save.
After a custom field is saved, they appear inside the contact record.
Now, the custom fields are then available for use when working with Filters and Displays search lists in the Contacts module as well as within each contact record.
📌 Note: Once a custom field is added to the Aspire system, refresh your browser. The custom fields will then appear as options in your Filter and Display windows on your lists.
Equipment
Equipment custom fields are added on the Equipment screen and then, are available to all users who can view or edit equipment.
Select equipment from the Equipment module and click the three dot menu. Click Manage Custom Fields.
Add your custom field types and then Save.
When a custom field is added, they will appear inside the equipment record.
In Equipment, you can find custom fields in every tab of the equipment module when working with Filters and Displays, except on the Fuel Rates and Fuel Costs tabs.
📌 Note: Once a custom field is added to the Aspire system, refresh your browser. The custom fields will then appear as options in your Filter and Display windows on your lists.
Adding Custom Fields to Filters or Displays
After custom fields are added in a Property, Contact, or Equipment record, you can add the custom field to Filters and Displays in search lists after you refresh your browser!
🧠 To read more about how to create a filter, read our article here.
🧠 To read more about how to add a field to a display, read our article here.
💡 Did you know?
You can then use the custom fields from Properties throughout Aspire using the following tabs and reports:
Accounts Receivable (Invoicing ➡️ Receivables)
AR Aging List (Standard Reports ➡️ Administration ➡️ A/R Aging List report)
Auto Expense Drill Down (Standard Reports ➡️ Sales ➡️ Auto Expense)
Contract Renewal Drill Down (Standard Reports ➡️ Sales ➡️ Contract Renewals)
Invoicing Assistant (Invoicing Module ➡️ Invoicing Assistant)
Opportunity List (Opportunities Module)
Property List (Properties Module)
Property Route Assignment List (Standard Reports ➡️ Production ➡️ Property Route Assignments)
Over/Under Report (Standard Reports ➡️ Accounting ➡️ Revenue Over Under)
Time Entry List (Standard Reports ➡️ Administration ➡️ Time Entry)
Site Audits Drill Down (Standard Reports ➡️ Sales ➡️ Site Audits)
Opportunity Service Drill Down (Standard Reports ➡️ Sales ➡️ Opportunity Service)
Editing and Deleting Custom Fields
You cannot edit custom fields once they are created, you have to delete them entirely if you need to reset the custom field type.
⚠️ If you delete a custom field that has been in place and has had values entered, that data will be lost. The Aspire system will warn you about this. If you are certain you want to remove the field, clicking the Delete icon allows you to delete the custom field from use.
Custom Fields vs. Tags
In Aspire, there are a few things you can assign to properties, opportunities, or contacts that might make you wonder: when should I use a Custom Field instead of a tag?
Below we compare and contrast the two:
Tags | Custom Fields |
Tags can be added to: contacts, properties, or opportunities for reporting purposes or when filtering search lists. | Custom Fields can be added to: contacts, properties, and equipment
Property custom fields can be used in several different areas of Aspire. |
A common use of Tags is to label contacts or properties as Maintenance, Installation, or Enhancement prospects during a sales cycle. | Custom Fields can be used to track data outside of sales cycles for information that might be relevant for multiple teams to reference when using Aspire. |
Tags are text based only. | Custom Fields have a different level of customization than tags do. The biggest difference is the formats that data can be displayed with. |