Setup checklist: every field needs a decision
Start by naming the decisions the team must make: who is this, why are we in contact, who owns the next step and what happens next? Add only the information needed to answer them reliably. A field that no one uses becomes maintenance work and may create a false impression of precision. Capsule supports configurable contact information, but the existence of a field type is not a reason to collect another piece of data.
Use a small field register
For each proposed field, record its meaning, allowed values, owner and practical use. A “priority” field is weak if one person means revenue potential and another means urgency. Separate those concepts or choose one definition. Include what an unknown value means; blank may be more honest than an invented answer. Test the register against several fictional relationships and remove fields that do not change a decision or help recover a commitment.
Keep narrative where narrative belongs
A short controlled field is useful for comparison, but it cannot always capture context. Keep the explanation of a complex decision in a dated note, with the next action recorded separately. Avoid turning an entire conversation into dozens of required dropdowns. The goal is not to maximize data entry. It is to preserve enough structured information for useful views while allowing a colleague to understand why the record is in its current state.
Test the field set after real use
After the initial pilot, ask which fields colleagues actually relied on and which were routinely guessed. Remove or clarify the latter before expanding the model. New requirements should name the decision they support, not merely request another column. Keep changes documented so reports and automations do not silently inherit a new meaning. Next, decide whether each remaining item belongs in a field, a tag or a note, and choose when it must be known.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- Capsule contact management — Merchant documentation · capsulecrm.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-20