> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.1club.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contacts

> Decide how members are identified, which standard contact fields staff and members must fill in, whether family members can join at signup, and which custom fields you collect, under Settings > Members > Contacts.

The **Contacts** settings page decides what 1Club asks for whenever a contact record is created: by staff in the admin, or by a member signing up or completing their own profile. Owners and admins set it up once, and it then drives the contact forms, the signup flow, and any [form](/marketing/forms) that signs people up.

## When to use it

Every gym collects slightly different details. These settings let you ask for exactly what you need, and nothing more, without changing each form by hand.

* **A kids' academy** makes **Date of birth** required for both the account holder and each child, so every junior is enrolled with an age.
* **A gym whose members live on WhatsApp** identifies members by **Phone number**, so new members sign up and sign in with a code instead of an email and password.
* **A climbing gym** adds an **Emergency contact** custom field that members fill in at signup and staff see on the profile.
* **A studio that bills by card** marks **Saved payment method** as required, so members without a card on file see a reminder in the portal and app.

## Where to find it

Go to **Settings** > **Members** > **Contacts**. The page has four parts, top to bottom:

1. **How members are identified**
2. **Standard Fields**
3. **Show family members on signup**
4. **Custom Fields**

Changes to the first three save as soon as you make them. Custom fields are added and edited in a dialog.

## How members are identified

Choose what a member's account is keyed on:

* **Email** - A phone number is contact information only. Members sign in with their email and password.
* **Email or phone number** - Every account still has an email address, and sign-in and sign-up lead with it. Members can also sign in with a verified phone number.
* **Phone number** - New members are asked for a phone number and get a one-time code by WhatsApp or SMS. An email address is optional.

The note above the options spells out what signup collects and how members sign in under your current choice. If no way to deliver a one-time code has been set up for the platform, only **Email** is available and the options are greyed out.

<Warning>
  Normalize your contact phone numbers before you choose **Email or phone number** or **Phone number**. Sign-in matches a member by the number on their contact, so a number written differently can land a member on a new record instead of their own.
</Warning>

See [Member authentication](/members/member-authentication) for the full sign-in behavior under each option.

## Standard fields

**Standard Fields** is a table of the built-in contact fields with three settings each:

* **Admin** - Whether staff must fill the field in when they add or edit a contact: **Required** or **Optional**.
* **Member** - Whether the member is asked for it when they sign up or complete their own profile: **Required**, **Optional**, or **Don't show**.
* **Applies to** - Where the field is collected at signup: **Account holder**, **Child** (each child's row on the household step), or **Both**. It is greyed out when the **Member** column is **Don't show**.

| Field | Out of the box | Limits |
| - | - | - |
| **Last name** | Required for staff and members, both | **Member** cannot be **Don't show**, and **Applies to** is always **Both** |
| **Email** | Required for staff and members, account holder | **Member** cannot be **Don't show**, and **Applies to** offers no **Child** option |
| **Phone** | Optional for staff, not shown to members, account holder | |
| **Date of birth** | Optional for staff, not shown to members, both | |
| **Gender** | Optional for staff, not shown to members, both | |
| **Profile photo** | Optional for staff, not shown to members, both | **Admin** is always **Optional** |

When members are identified by **Email**, the account holder always provides an email address, so the **Member** column for **Email** only decides whether family members are asked for one.

### Saved payment method

The last row, **Saved payment method**, is not a form field. Set it to **Required** and members without a saved card see a reminder in the portal, on the website, and in the app, and payment notifications ask them to add one. It never blocks signup or booking. The row needs Stripe: until you [connect Stripe](/settings/integrations/stripe), it stays on **Optional** and cannot be changed.

## Family members on signup

**Show family members on signup** lets members add family members, such as children or a partner, while they sign up. It is on by default. Turn it off and the household step is hidden. See [Member onboarding](/members/onboarding#family-members-on-signup).

## Custom fields

Custom fields collect information the standard fields do not cover, such as an emergency contact, a T-shirt size, or a belt grade from a previous gym. They appear on the contact form, on the member profile, and, when visible to members, at signup.

To add one, click **Add Field**. To change or remove one, use the row's **Edit** or **Delete** action. Drag a row by its handle to change the order the fields appear in.

Each field has:

* **Field Name** - The internal name, for example `emergency_contact`.
* **Field Label** - What staff and members see, for example *Emergency Contact*.
* **Contact Type** - Which contact types the field applies to: **Member**, **Staff**, **Lead**, **Contact**, **Lapsed**, or **Drop-in**. Leave it empty to apply to all contact types.
* **Applies to** - At signup, whether the field is collected for the **Account holder**, each **Child**, or **Both**.
* **Field Type** - **Text Input**, **Text Area**, **Number**, **Yes/No**, **Dropdown**, **Date**, **Time**, **Email**, **URL**, or **Phone**. A **Dropdown** takes its options one per line.
* **Visibility** - **Admin only**, **Admin & Member**, or **Public**. Only fields visible to members can be asked for at signup.
* **Placeholder** and **Default Value** - Optional hints for the input.
* **Required Field** - Staff cannot save a contact without this field.
* **Required on Signup** - Members must fill it in when they sign up. Needs **Admin & Member** or **Public** visibility. A required field that members can see must also be required on signup.
* **Active** - Turn a field off without deleting it.

<Tip>
  When importing members, name a CSV column `custom_` followed by the field name and it maps to that custom field automatically. See [Import](/settings/import).
</Tip>

## Permissions

Viewing this page needs Settings access, and changing the identifier, the standard fields, the family toggle, or the saved payment method needs Settings **Full access**. Adding, editing, reordering, and deleting custom fields is checked against the Members module (**Create**, **Edit**, and **Delete** at organization scope). See [Roles and permissions](/reference/roles-permissions).

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
| - | - | - |
| The **How members are identified** options are greyed out | No way to deliver a one-time code has been set up for the platform | Only **Email** is available until it is |
| **Saved payment method** is stuck on **Optional** | Stripe is not connected | [Connect Stripe](/settings/integrations/stripe) |
| **Required on Signup** cannot be turned on | The field's **Visibility** is **Admin only** | Change **Visibility** to **Admin & Member** or **Public** first |
| **Applies to** is greyed out for a standard field | Its **Member** column is **Don't show**, or the field is **Last name** | Show the field to members first; **Last name** always applies to both |
| A member signed in and landed on a new, empty record | Their phone number on file does not match the one they typed | Normalize phone numbers before switching to phone sign-in |

## Related

* [Member authentication](/members/member-authentication) - How members sign in under each identifier.
* [Member onboarding](/members/onboarding) - The signup flow these fields feed.
* [Forms](/marketing/forms) - Signup forms follow this page's field configuration.
* [Member profiles](/members/member-profiles) - Where staff see and edit contact details and custom fields.
* [Settings overview](/settings/overview) - The full map of Settings categories.


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