Custom attributes: Glossary of terms
This glossary of terms defines the terms that come up alongside custom attributes. If you're new to custom attributes, read this first — the article assumes you know what these words mean.
For what custom attributes are and why they matter, please see our Custom Attributes article.
Custom attribute
An extra field you create yourself, to record information the platform doesn't already have a built-in place for — for example an internal reference number, a preference, or a classification your business uses.
Field type
The kind of information a custom attribute holds, chosen when you create it. This decides how the field looks and what can be entered — for example free text, a number, a date, a dropdown list, checkboxes, or a file upload.
Value
The actual information entered into a custom attribute on a particular record — for example the reference number typed into an "Internal reference" field for one specific Member.
Option
For dropdown, checkbox, radio and tag fields, one of the set choices you define in advance for people to pick from.
Field type
When you create a custom attribute, you choose its field type — the kind of information the custom attribute holds. This decides how the field appears and what can be entered. There are numerous available field types to select from, and we will discuss these further in the Custom attributes article.
Required field
A custom attribute that must be filled in before the record can be saved.
Unique field
A custom attribute where no two records can share the same value — useful for identifiers like a reference number.
Record / subject
The thing a custom attribute is attached to and filled in on — a Member, a Helper, a community, a product, and so on. One custom attribute can appear on many records of that type.
Community
An operational group that ties together Members, Helpers and Staffers. Communities shape what a Staffer sees on their dashboard, act as a filter across the platform, control who can access which records, and can carry their own settings such as public holidays. A place people belong to and work within.
Profile
The underlying record for a single person — their name, contact details and so on. Everyone is a profile first; what they do is layered on top as one or more roles. The same profile could be a Helper who is also, in another context, a Member's emergency contact.
Member
The role for a person receiving care and support — the client, participant or care recipient at the centre of the platform. Also called clients, participants or care recipients.
Helper
The role for a worker who delivers direct care services to Members. A Helper may be an internal employee or a worker from an outsourced third-party provider. Also called workers.
Staffer
The role for a member of your own internal team — rostering staff, Care Managers, administrators. Staffers coordinate, manage and oversee the care delivered to Members, rather than delivering it directly.
Membership
The service arrangement a Member sits within — think of it as the case or household file that holds a Member's plan, funding and history. When you add "a Member" to a community, it's really the membership that's linked, which is why a Member's funding and care details travel with them. For everyday reading you can treat "Member" and "membership" as the same thing.
Visit
A scheduled appointment where a Helper delivers services to a Member — for example a personal care or home support call. Visits are one of the record types custom attributes can be attached to, so you can capture your own extra details against each appointment (such as a parking note or an access code) and report on them later.
Third-party provider (TPP)
An outside organisation whose workers deliver services on your behalf. A Helper from a TPP is outsourced rather than directly employed.