Custom fields store information specific to your business on pet and pet owner profiles. Intake forms send clients a structured questionnaire before their appointments. Both are managed on Fields & Forms in the sidebar, and in Settings, then Fields & Forms.
Where custom field values show
Pet field values sit in a Pet details card on the pet's Petprint tab and on the profile's Fields & Forms tab
Pet owner field values sit in an Owner details card on Pet & Owner Details and on the profile's Fields & Forms tab
On an appointment, filled values sit under Who & Details as their own cards, and in the Mission Control quick menu
Empty optional fields stay hidden on those cards. On a profile card, select Show empty fields to reveal them, or the pencil to edit.
Field types
Type | Use for |
Text | Short answers (allergies, preferred name, referral source) |
Textarea | Longer notes (special instructions, medical history) |
Number | Numeric values (weight goal, session count) |
Dropdown | One choice from a list you define (size category, temperament) |
Yes/No | Yes or no questions (desexed, reactive, requires muzzle) |
Date | Date values (last vet visit, next vaccination due) |
Signature | A typed-name electronic signature (waiver on file) |
Multi Select | Several choices from a list you define (triggers, diet) |
Street Address | An address, with suburb lookup |
Time | Time of day (usual walk time, feeding time) |
File Upload | One photo or PDF, up to 10 MB (vet letter, care plan) |
Location | A point chosen on a map |
Phone | A phone number (emergency contact, vet) |
An email address (second pet parent, vet clinic) |
Every form field type is also a profile field type, except Info Block, which holds no answer.
Visibility
Each field has one of three visibility levels:
Staff Only: your team sees it in the business app, and clients do not. Use it for internal notes such as "reactive, muzzle required" or "difficult pickup"
Client Visible: clients can see the value in their portal but cannot edit it. Use it for information you share but control, such as "loyalty tier" or "allocated groomer"
Client Editable: clients can see and update the value themselves. Petboost marks it (recommended). Use it for information clients keep up to date, such as "preferred pickup time" or "emergency vet name"
Shows when and Care level
Pet fields have two more settings, so each one shows at the moment it changes what your team does.
Shows when: the moments the field matters. Choose any of Feeding, Medication, Activity, Handling, Grooming and Check-in. Leave it empty and the field shows everywhere, as it always has
Care level (optional): Major care or Minor care. Major care fields list first with a red mark, then Minor care fields with an amber mark, then the rest in their usual order
Where each moment shows tagged fields:
Moment | Where |
Grooming | The Mission Control quick menu on a grooming booking |
Check-in | The check-in confirmation, under Check-in |
Medication | A Medication given fill starts from the pet's Medication fields, when a question is linked to that field |
On the Run Sheet card, tagged fields sit under a heading for each moment, with untagged fields under Pet details. A field tagged for several moments sits under the first one.
Example: tag "Own food and amounts" with Feeding and Check-in, and "Medication and doses" with Medication and Check-in, Care level Major care. A form question linked to the field needs no tag of its own: the answer is saved to the field, so it shows where the field shows.
Add a custom field
Add a field for anything you want on every pet or pet owner profile.
Open Fields & Forms and choose Pet Owner Fields or Pet Fields.
Select Add Field. With no fields yet, you can also select Add First Field.
Enter the Field Name. It is the label shown on profiles.
Choose the Field Type.
Choose the Visibility.
Optional: switch on Required at booking. Clients must then fill the field in during booking or sign-up when it is empty, and the visibility changes to Client Editable so they can answer it.
For a Dropdown, fill in each option under Options. Select Add option for more than two.
Optional: add Placeholder (optional) or Help Text (optional) to guide whoever fills it in.
Select Add Field.
The same list, with Add Field, is in Settings, then Fields & Forms, under Required Fields & Custom Fields.
The field appears on every matching profile, pet or pet owner, as soon as you add it. Existing profiles show it empty until someone fills it in.
A required field that is not Client Editable shows Won't collect from clients on its row, because clients cannot answer it. Fields you mark required for customers carry an amber hint on the staff pet and owner forms. Staff can still save a partial record while they are on the phone: the hint shows what a complete record looks like and does not block the save.
To change a field, select the pencil on its row, make the change, then select Save Changes. To remove one, select the bin, then Remove Field: it comes off every profile and its existing values are no longer shown.
Fields on services and courses
Service, course and lesson fields keep your own details on each service, course and lesson, such as the room, what to bring or the trainer's notes. Each field is Business Only or Pet Owner & Business, the same choice as custom attributes.
Open Fields & Forms and choose Service Fields, or Course Fields if you run courses.
Select Add Field. On Course Fields, use Add Field under On each course or On each lesson.
Enter the Field Name and choose the Field Type.
Under Visible to, choose Business Only to keep it to your team, or Pet Owner & Business to show it to the client.
Select Add Field.
To fill in the values, open the service or course template and its Fields & Forms tab. Select Edit on Details for this service or Details for this course. For a lesson, select the pencil beside it under Details for each lesson.
A Pet Owner & Business value shows on the client's booking for that service under Good to know, in a Details for this booking card, and on each lesson booking for a course or lesson field. Clients can read it but not change it. Empty values do not show. A new or duplicated service starts with these fields empty.
Make a built-in field required to book
Petboost's own profile fields can be required at booking too.
Open Settings, then Fields & Forms.
Choose Pet Fields or Pet Owner Fields.
Open Built-in Petboost fields.
Tick Required to book on the field. A ticked field must be provided before the booking can be confirmed.
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
When a field is unticked, it can still be filled in on a profile but does not block booking.
Choose what new clients give before your times
Ask new clients is being switched on business by business. If you do not see it at the top of Required Fields & Custom Fields, ask us in chat. Without it, a required field is asked when the client books, and Require an account before showing services on Booking Settings moves name and email first.
Open Settings, then Fields & Forms.
Under Ask new clients, choose Just the basics or Choose field by field.
If you chose Choose field by field, set Ask on each field in Pet Fields and Pet Owner Fields.
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Just the basics keeps the default order: a new client gives their mobile and their pet's name and breed (and weight when a service needs it), sees your times, and gives everything else when they book.
With Choose field by field, each field takes one of three answers:
Ask | When the new client gives it |
Before times | Before they see your services and times |
At booking | By the time they confirm |
Optional | Not required. They can add it to their profile at any time |
A required pet detail (weight, height, birthday, desexed status, microchip or insurance) is asked before your times either way, once they pick services. Before times asks it earlier, with the pet's name and breed.
Some fields cannot change. Phone, pet name and breed show Always first, and gender shows With weight. First name, surname and email share one row, Name & email, because a client gives them together when they sign up. It is always asked, so it has no Optional.
The line under Ask new clients says what is true with your choices. If Name & email, Vaccination certificates or Profile photo is set to Before times, new clients sign up first: visitors cannot browse your services or prices, and your services do not show on Book Online on Google. Require an account before showing services on Booking Settings then reads On.
Required custom fields, and a field a service requires on its own Fields & Forms tab, are always asked At booking. A returning client who has already given a value is not asked again.
Edit custom field values
Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
Select the pencil on the Pet details card, on the Petprint tab, or the Owner details card, on Pet & Owner Details.
Update the values, then select Save.
For a Client Editable field, pet owners can update the value from their portal. The change syncs straight away and your team sees it the next time the profile opens.
Intake forms
Intake forms are questionnaires you send to clients. They support sections, multiple field types and per-service assignment. A form can:
Organise questions into named sections
Apply to specific services or all services
Go out every appointment, once per client or once per pet
Go out after booking, be required before booking in self-serve checkout, or be sent by hand
Collect electronic signatures
Track who has completed it, with a completion rate on its Responses tab
Form field types
Forms support 15 field types:
Type | Use for |
Text | Short single-line answers |
Textarea | Longer notes |
Number | Numeric values |
Dropdown | One choice from a list you define |
Yes/No | Yes or no questions |
Date | Date values |
Signature | Electronic signatures for waivers or agreements |
Info Block | Read-only information or instructions within the form |
Multi Select | Several options from a list you define |
Street Address | Address with suburb lookup |
Time | Time of day |
File Upload | One photo or PDF from the client, up to 10 MB |
Location | A point chosen on a map |
Phone | A phone number |
An email address |
Build a form
Open Fields & Forms and select Add Form.
Choose how to start: Start from scratch, or Preview on one of the Quick-start templates and then Choose this template.
From scratch, enter the Form Name, and a Description (optional) if you want one, then select Add Form.
On Builder, fill in the Section title, then select Add Field and choose a type for each question. Add Section starts another section.
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Choose who gets a form, and activate it
A new form is inactive, and nothing is sent until you activate it. It starts on All services, Once per client and Send after booking.
Open Fields & Forms and select the form.
Open the Settings tab.
Under Frequency, choose Every appointment, Once per client or Once per pet.
Under When to collect, choose Send after booking, Required before booking or Send manually.
Under Apply to services, choose All services, or Specific services and pick them.
Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Select Activate Form. On a narrow screen it is under Share form link & details.
How clients complete forms
Pet owners receive forms through their portal. Send after booking sends the form by SMS and email once a booking is confirmed, and Required before booking asks for it in self-serve checkout. Completed submissions are stored on the client's profile, on its Fields & Forms tab.
Clients can also complete a form from a shareable link you send through any channel, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
Link form questions to profile fields
A form question can be linked to a custom field. When a client submits the form, the answer fills in the field on their profile, so nobody types it twice. On Builder, select Add Linked Profile Field in a section and choose the field. Text, Textarea, Number, Dropdown, Yes/No and Date fields can be linked.
For example, with an "Emergency Vet" field on pet owner profiles, linking the form's emergency vet question to it sends the answer straight to the profile when the form is submitted.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use custom fields without creating a full form?
Yes. Custom fields (Pet Owner Fields and Pet Fields) work independently of intake forms. Add fields to profiles and your team can fill them in without ever sending the client a form.
What's the difference between custom fields and the Petprint tab?
The Petprint tab holds Petboost's built-in structured information: coat colour, allergies, medications, temperament, microchip and insurance. Custom fields are extra fields you define for information specific to your business that the Petprint does not cover.
Can forms include conditional logic?
No. Forms do not support conditional logic, such as showing one question only when another has a certain answer. Every field in a form is shown to the client. For a questionnaire that must branch, use a separate form for each case, or a third-party form alongside Petboost (see Custom Forms and Advanced Form Needs).
Is there a limit on custom fields?
There is no hard limit on the number of custom fields or forms you can create.
Can I deactivate a form without deleting it?
Yes. Select Deactivate Form on the form. An inactive form stops sending and keeps all its submissions and settings. Select Activate Form to turn it back on at any time.
Related articles
Intake Forms Guide: create and manage intake forms step by step
Sending Forms to Clients: auto-send, manual send and shareable links
Form Responses: view and manage form submissions
Linking Forms to Services: connect forms to specific services
Pet Attributes (Petprint): Petboost's built-in structured pet information
Getting Started with Customers & Pets: add customers and pets
Managing Profiles: edit pet and owner information
Conditional Logic and Branching in Forms: options for conditional logic and complex forms