# Collecting Information from Customers (Contact & Appointment Fields) pickAtime lets you collect custom information from participants at two different points: - When they **create an account** (Contact Fields) - When they **book a specific appointment** (Appointment Fields) Both support various answer types — including **text**, **date**, **radio buttons**, **drop-down lists**, and **checkboxes**. --- ### 1. Choosing the Right Field Type

	Contact Fields	Appointment Fields
When it's collected	During initial account sign-up	Every time a slot is booked
Frequency	Once per user	Once per appointment
Best used for	Phone number, address, language preference — info tied to the person	Student name, meeting topic, teacher-specific questions — info tied to the appointment
Location	Global Setup / Contacts / Contact Fields	Settings / Appointment Fields

--- ### 2. Setting Up a Field Both field types use the same basic process: 1. Go to either **Global Setup / Contacts** or **Settings / Appointment Fields**, depending on which type you're creating. 2. **Add the field:** Type the field name (e.g., "Phone Number") into the **Add New** box and click **Add**. 3. **Activate the field:** It will appear under **Available Fields** — select it, then click the **`<`** button to move it into **Included Fields**. 4. **Admin visibility:** Check **"Required for Admins"** if you want staff to see/fill out this field when testing the system. > 💡 **Pro tip:** Don't create custom fields for **First Name**, **Last Name**, or **Email** — these are already collected automatically during registration. Adding them again will prompt users to enter the same information twice. --- ### 3. Configuring a Question with Multiple Choice Answers If you want a field to use **radio buttons**, a **drop-down list**, or **checkboxes**, you'll configure it as a "Choice" type field: 1. In **Included Fields**, locate the **Type** column for your question. 2. Click the cell and select **"Choice"** from the drop-down. 3. The **Question Editor** will open. Click **Add New Option** to add each possible response. 4. Choose a display format: - Drop-down list - Radio buttons - Checkboxes 5. Use the **arrows (`<>`)** to reorder the options as needed. --- ### 4. Conditional Logic: Show/Hide Fields Based on Responses You can make fields appear or disappear dynamically based on how a participant answers a Choice-type question. Each Included Field is assigned a number, which is used to reference it in the conditional logic. **To enable this:** Check **"Hide/Show fields based on the user response"** on the question you want to control others with. **To configure it:** Next to each answer option, enter the field numbers to **hide** or **show** when that option is selected: - **To hide fields:** Enter their numbers directly — e.g., `3,4,5` or `3-5` - **To show specific fields instead:** Prefix each number with a `/` — e.g., `/5, /6` > ⚠️ This logic only applies to fields that come **after** the conditional field in the list — it cannot affect fields earlier in the form. **Example:** If a participant selects **"Junior"** for a given question, you could configure the rule to show only fields 5 and 6 — hiding everything else beyond that point unless explicitly shown. --- ### 5. Restricting Date Ranges For Date-type fields (e.g., Date of Birth), you can restrict the range of dates a participant is allowed to enter. **Why this matters:** Schools have reported participants accidentally entering today's date in a DOB field. The **Restrict Dates** option helps prevent this kind of erroneous entry. **To use it:** On a Date-type field (in either Contact Fields or Appointment Fields setup), enable **Restrict Dates** and define the valid range — e.g., no dates after the year 2000. --- ### 6. Viewing the Collected Data **In the Appointments Grid (Admin View):** For Appointment Fields, you can view responses immediately without running a report: 1. Go to the **Appointments** page. 2. Click any booked slot. 3. View the participant's custom field responses in the section below the calendar (left-hand side). **In Reports:** To include custom fields as report columns: 1. Go to the **Event Report** section. 2. Click the blue **Contact Fields** or **Appointment Fields** link. 3. Check the box in the upper-right corner of the pop-up to select **all** fields, or choose specific ones. 4. Confirm your selection — the fields will now appear as columns in your report.