Custom Fields: Ask Your Own Questions on Every Inspection

In the dashboard: Business Tools → Custom Fields

Custom fields are your own questions, added to every inspection. Hive already asks for the property address, client, agents, square footage and year built. A custom field covers anything else you want to know, for example:

the client’s current address, for your agreement or invoice
the number of units in a multi-family building
a gate or lockbox code
the property’s ZIP code, to charge more in some areas
will the client attend the inspection?

Once you add a field, it shows up in three places:

On the New Inspection page, where your team fills it in while scheduling.
On your online scheduler, where your clients can answer it when they book. You choose which questions they see and which ones they must answer.
In the mobile app, where inspectors can see and update it on site.

The answer is saved with the inspection. Then you can use it to:

set the price with a custom field modifier, such as $150 for each extra unit or $25 more in some ZIP codes
print it in emails, text messages, agreements and reports with a placeholder, such as {{{custom_gate_or_lockbox_code}}}
choose which automations send, for example a utilities reminder only for vacant homes

The Custom Fields page in Business Tools with an Add Custom Field button and six field cards: Client Current Address (Text), Number of Units (Number), Zip Code (Text), Gate or Lockbox Code (Text), Will You Attend the Inspection? (Dropdown) and Utilities On (Checkbox). Each card shows its placeholder, such as {{{custom_number_of_units}}}, a copy button, green or grey badges for Required on Scheduler, Show on Scheduler and Mobile App, and Edit and delete buttons

Add a custom field

Open Custom Fields

In the dashboard, click Business Tools in the sidebar, then Custom Fields, then Add Custom Field.

Name the field

Type the question as you want your team and clients to see it, such as Client Current Address or Will You Attend the Inspection?. A name can be up to 50 characters, and two fields can’t have the same name.As you type, Hive shows the field’s placeholder, such as {{{custom_client_current_address}}}. You use it to print the answer in emails, agreements and reports. See Print answers in emails, agreements and reports.

Pick the Field Type

Field Type	What people see	Good for
Text	A box to type in	Addresses, codes, names, notes, a ZIP code
Number	A box that only takes numbers	Units, bedrooms, HVAC systems, outbuildings, acres
Dropdown	A list of options you write	Yes or No questions, property type, county, who will attend
Checkbox	A box to tick. If it’s required on the online scheduler, clients see Yes and No buttons instead	Yes-or-no facts, such as Utilities On or Does the home have a pool?

For a Dropdown, type each option and press Enter. Click the x on an option to remove it.

Pick Number or Dropdown whenever you can. Answers are then consistent, so they work for pricing and automation filters. Checkboxes can’t set a price.

Choose where the question is asked

Setting	What it does
Show on online scheduler	Clients see the question when they book on your online scheduler or get a price on your quote widget.
Required answer on online scheduler	Clients can’t go past the step until they answer. It only works when Show on online scheduler is on too. See Make a field required.
Display on mobile app	Inspectors see the field, and can change it, on the inspection in the mobile app.

Your team always sees every custom field on the New Inspection page in the dashboard, whatever these settings are.

Text field
Dropdown field

The Create Custom Field dialog. Name: Client Current Address, 22/50. Placeholder: {{{custom_client_current_address}}}, Use this in templates and automations. Field Type: Text. Settings: Required answer on online scheduler, Show on online scheduler and Display on mobile app all turned on. Buttons Cancel and Create Custom Field

Click Create Custom Field

The field is added to every inspection, old and new. Older inspections simply have no answer yet.

To change the order of the questions, drag a card by its handle (the dots in its top-left corner). The New Inspection page, the online scheduler and the mobile app all use this order.

Questions Hive inspectors ask with custom fields

These are the most common kinds of custom fields across inspection companies on Hive. Use them as a starting point.

What you want to know	Example fields	Field Type
Getting in	Gate Code, Lockbox Code, Lockbox Type, CBS or Combo Code, Door Code, Alarm Code, How are we getting access?	Text, or a Dropdown for the lockbox type
Who will be there	Will the client attend?, Who will attend the inspection?, Will the agent attend the verbal review?	Dropdown
Condition of the home	Is the home occupied or vacant?, Utilities on?, Gas on, Water on, Electric on, Any pets present?, Furnished, Staged	Dropdown or Checkbox
Property details to price by	Number of Units, Number of Buildings, Number of Bedrooms, How many HVAC systems?, Detached garages or outbuildings, Additional kitchens, Stories, Acreage, Dock length, Is there a crawlspace?, Structure or home type, Septic or sewer, Water source, New construction?, ZIP Code, County, Service area, Is the home on one of our local islands?	Number for counts, Dropdown for choices, Text for ZIP code
The sale	Closing date, Due diligence date, Loan type (FHA, VA, USDA), First home purchase?, MLS number, Title company, Listing agent name, email and phone, Transaction coordinator email and phone, Current owner name	Text, or a Dropdown for the loan type
About the client	Client current address, Preferred language for the report, Spanish report?	Text or Dropdown
Permits, for 4-point and wind mitigation forms	Roof permit number and year, Electrical permit, HVAC permit, Plumbing repipe permit, Building permit application date	Text
Your own office tracking	Sewer scope company, Septic company, Termite company, Radon machine number, Radon dropped off, Scheduled by, Lab or vendor cost	Dropdown, Checkbox or Number, with Show on online scheduler off
Notes	Notes for the inspector, Notes for the client, Report notes for the buyer’s agent	Text
Offers	Would you like to add radon testing?, We can schedule a termite inspection for you	Dropdown

Some things already have a place in Hive, so you don’t need a custom field for them:

Card numbers or payment details: never collect these in a custom field. Answers are stored as plain text and can be printed in emails. Take payments with online payments instead.
How the client heard about you: use Referral Sources.
Paying at closing: use Pay at Close.
Property Type, Square Footage, Year Built, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Property Occupancy and Foundation Type: the online scheduler already asks these. Square footage, year built and foundation already work with price modifiers. To charge by bedrooms or property type, you do need a custom field. See Charge more or less based on the answer.

Fill in answers when you schedule

When your team books an inspection in the dashboard (New Inspection in the sidebar, which opens Create New Inspection), every custom field is in the Custom Fields card. It’s after the contacts and before Service Selection.

The Custom Fields card on the New Inspection page. Client Current Address: 1420 Oak Hollow Dr, Austin, TX 78745. Number of Units: 2. Zip Code: 92101. Gate or Lockbox Code: Lockbox on back door, code 4417. Will You Attend the Inspection?: Yes, for the walkthrough at the end. Utilities On is ticked. Each field shows its placeholder below it, such as Placeholder: {{{custom_zip_code}}}

Text and Number fields are boxes to type in.
A Dropdown has your options plus None, which clears the answer.
A Checkbox is ticked or not.
The small grey text under each field is its placeholder.

If a field changes the price, the Pricing Summary updates as soon as you pick the service. See Charge more or less based on the answer.

Change an answer later

Open the inspection’s Inspection Order Page and change the answer in the same Custom Fields card. It saves on its own.

Before the inspection is confirmed, changing an answer updates the price.
Once it’s confirmed, changing an answer never changes the price. To change the price, use Edit Price or Duration.
Emails already sent and agreements already signed keep the old answer. The digital report shows the new answer the next time it’s opened.

Reorder on an inspection copies its custom field answers to the new inspection. A re-inspection starts with them empty.

Let clients answer on the online scheduler

Fields with Show on online scheduler turned on appear on your online scheduler under Additional Information, on step 3, Property Details, after the client picks the address. They’re in the same order as your Custom Fields page.

The Additional Information section on the online scheduler. Client Current Address, Number of Units and Zip Code each have a red star and an empty box, such as Enter client current address. Gate or Lockbox Code (Optional) and Will You Attend the Inspection? (Optional) with a list that reads Select will you attend the inspection?

A question with Required answer on online scheduler has a red star. All the others say (Optional). If the client clicks Next without answering one, it’s outlined in red with “Please answer this question.” See Make a field required.
A checkbox field is a box to tick. If it’s required, the client picks Yes or No instead.
Your quote widget asks the same questions on its first step. When the client clicks Ready to Schedule?, their answers are already filled in on the scheduler.
The prices the client sees already include their answers. When they book, Hive works out the price again from the answers and saves them on the inspection.

Answer in the mobile app

Fields with Display on mobile app turned on are in the Custom Fields card (“Organization-specific data fields”) on the inspection in the mobile app, just above the timeline.

Tap a field to change it. Text and number fields have a Save button, dropdowns open a list with None at the top, and checkboxes are a switch that saves as soon as you flip it.
A field with no answer shows a dash (-). Press and hold an answer to copy it, such as a lockbox code.
Saving needs an internet connection. If it fails, you see “Error Updating Inspection” and the old answer comes back.
Answers changed in the app don’t change the price of a booked inspection.

The Schedule tab in the mobile app is the dashboard’s New Inspection page, so it shows every custom field.

Make a field required

There is one way to make a custom field required: turn on Required answer on online scheduler. It works on the online scheduler and the quote widget, for your clients.

Where	Can it be required?	How it works
Online scheduler	Yes	Turn on Show on online scheduler and Required answer on online scheduler. The question gets a red star, and the client can’t go past the step until it’s answered.
Quote widget	Yes, with the same two settings	Same as the scheduler.
New Inspection page in the dashboard	No	Your team can always save without answering.
Mobile app	No	Inspectors can leave any field empty.

If the client clicks Next with a required question unanswered, they stay on the step. Each unanswered question is outlined in red with Please answer this question., the page scrolls to the first one, and a note next to Next says “Please answer the questions marked in red under Additional Information.” Each message goes away as soon as that question is answered.

Additional Information on the online scheduler after the client clicked Next. Client Current Address and Number of Units are filled in. The required Zip Code box and the required Does the home have a pool? Yes and No buttons are outlined in red, each with the message Please answer this question. Gate or Lockbox Code is optional. Under the Previous and Next buttons: Please answer the questions marked in red under Additional Information.

Things to know:

Turn on both settings. Required answer on online scheduler does nothing on its own. If Show on online scheduler is off, clients never see the question, so they can’t be asked to answer it. On the Custom Fields page, check that the card has both Required on Scheduler and Show on Scheduler in green.
What counts as an answer. Spaces alone don’t count, and None in a dropdown counts as no answer.
A required checkbox is asked as Yes or No. Clients see Yes and No buttons and must pick one. No is a valid answer, so a home without a pool can still be booked. The answer is saved like a tick: Yes is checked and No is not checked, so your automation filters, placeholders and the mobile app work the same. A checkbox that isn’t required stays a box to tick.
A required question can’t make the client agree to something. Because No counts as an answer, don’t use a required checkbox for terms the client must accept. Put those in your agreement.
For your own team, use a reminder. Fields can’t be required in the dashboard or the app. To make sure a question gets answered, set up an automation to the inspector or your office, such as a reminder the day before, with the Custom Field Filter “Gate or Lockbox Code Is empty”. It only sends when the answer is still missing.

Charge more or less based on the answer

Once a custom field exists, you can add a modifier on it to any service or add-on. The modifier adds a fee, or takes one off, and can add time, based on the answer.

Field Type	Modifier types	Example
Number	Per Unit, Per Unit Over, Range	$150 for each unit after the first
Dropdown	Equals To	$50 off when Property Type is Condo
Text	Equals To	$25 more when the ZIP code is 92101
Checkbox	None	Use a Dropdown with Yes and No instead

Go to Business Tools → Services & Fees, edit the service, and click Add Modifier. Your custom fields are at the bottom of the When list, under Custom Fields. Custom field modifiers explains every type step by step.

Example: mark up inspections by ZIP code

Many inspectors charge more for ZIP codes that take longer to reach. Hive has no built-in ZIP code price, so you do it with a custom field.

Create the Zip Code field

In Business Tools → Custom Fields, add a field named Zip Code, with Field Type Text. Turn on Show on online scheduler and Required answer on online scheduler, so every online booking has a ZIP code.

Add one modifier for each ZIP code that costs more

Edit the service in Business Tools → Services & Fees and click Add Modifier. Set When to Zip Code. Type is Equals To. Type the ZIP code in Expected Value, the extra amount in Add Fees, and any extra time in Add Hours.

The Add New Modifier dialog. When: Zip Code. Type: Equals To. Configuration: Applies a flat fee and hours when Zip Code equals the value below. Matches are case-insensitive and ignore surrounding whitespace. Expected Value: 92037, The modifier fires when the submitted zip code matches this value. Add Fees ($): 50. Add Hours: 0. Buttons Add Modifier and Cancel

Repeat for each ZIP code. Each one is its own modifier on the service:

Three Zip Code modifier cards on a service, each marked Equals To: Zip Code equals 92101, +$25 / +0hrs. Zip Code equals 92037, +$50 / +0hrs. Zip Code equals 92118, +$75 / +0hrs

Modifiers belong to one service. To add the same ZIP code to another service, click the modifier’s Duplicate button and pick that service.

Fill in the ZIP code on each inspection

Clients type it under Additional Information on the online scheduler. Your team types it in the Custom Fields card when scheduling. The Pricing Summary shows the charge as its own line, named after the field:

The Pricing Summary on the New Inspection page: Home Inspection base $400.00, 3 hrs. Number of Units modifier $150.00, 1 hr. Zip Code modifier $25.00. Total $575.00, 4 hrs

Things to know about ZIP code pricing:

The ZIP code is asked separately. Hive doesn’t copy the ZIP code from the property address into your Zip Code field, so the client types it again under Additional Information. Making the field required makes sure it’s never skipped.
The answer must match exactly. Spaces and capital letters don’t matter, but 92101-4502 doesn’t match 92101. Clients usually type five digits.
ZIP codes with no modifier cost the normal price.
Lots of ZIP codes? Group them instead. Create a Dropdown field such as Service Area, with options like Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3, and add one modifier for each zone. Or charge by driving distance with a distance modifier, which needs no extra question.

Example: charge for extra units

Create a Number of Units field, Number, with Show on online scheduler and Required answer on online scheduler turned on.
Add a modifier on it: Type Per Unit Over, Starting After 1, Add Fees 150, Add Hours 1.

A single-family home costs the normal price, a duplex costs $150 more and a fourplex $450 more. See more examples, such as property type, bedrooms and county.

Print answers in emails, agreements and reports

Every field has a placeholder: {{{custom_ and the field name in lowercase, with underscores for spaces and symbols, and three braces on each side. Client Current Address becomes {{{custom_client_current_address}}}. Click the copy button on the field’s card to copy it. Put the placeholder anywhere Hive fills in placeholders. Hive replaces it with that inspection’s answer:

Where	Example
Email and text message automations	”Please leave the gate code `{{{custom_gate_or_lockbox_code}}}` for our inspector.”
Emails you write in Hive	Pick the field from the placeholder list in Compose email.
Agreements	”Client’s current address: `{{{custom_client_current_address}}}`”
Inspection templates and report text	Shows in the digital report and the PDF. Insert it from the Custom Fields group in the editor’s placeholder list.
State forms, such as the Florida 4-Point and wind mitigation forms	`{{{custom_roof_permit_year}}}` in the permit section
Calendar event descriptions	Not a placeholder: in Business Tools → Calendar Description, add the field from Available fields. The event shows “Gate or Lockbox Code: 4417”.

What gets printed:

No answer: the placeholder disappears, so nothing is printed.
Checkbox: prints true or false. For a yes-or-no answer that reads well in an email, use a Dropdown with Yes and No.
Dropdown: prints the option exactly as you wrote it.

Answers only show where you put the placeholder. A field you use for your own tracking, such as a lockbox code, never reaches the client unless you add it to their emails or report.

Send automations based on the answer

In an automation’s advanced settings, Custom Field Filters send a message only when the answers match, for example:

a utilities reminder only when Is the home occupied? is No
a crawlspace note to the inspector only when Foundation Type is Crawlspace
a note to the office when Number of Units is greater than 4

See Custom Field Filters.

Rename, reorder or delete a field

Rename: click Edit on the field’s card. The placeholder stays the same, so your emails, agreements, templates, automation filters and price modifiers keep working. You can also change the field type, the dropdown options and the three settings here.
Reorder: drag a card by its handle. The new order shows on the New Inspection page, the online scheduler and the mobile app.
Delete: click the red trash icon. The field disappears from the dashboard, the online scheduler and the app. Answers already saved on inspections are kept. If price modifiers use the field, the dialog lists them, and they stop applying. Remove the placeholder from your emails, agreements and templates too, or it prints nothing on new inspections.

To change only the name, edit the field instead of deleting it. Deleting stops its price modifiers right away, on every service, and removes the question from your online scheduler.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a custom field required for my team when scheduling?

No. Required answer on online scheduler only applies to clients on your online scheduler and quote widget. Your team can always save an inspection without answering. To catch missing answers, set up an automation with the Custom Field Filter Is empty. See Make a field required.

I turned on Required answer on online scheduler, but clients can skip the question. Why?

Show on online scheduler is probably off, so the question never appears. Edit the field and turn on both. The card should show Required on Scheduler and Show on Scheduler in green.

My client can't get past the Property Details step. Why?

A required question isn’t answered yet. When they click Next, each unanswered question under Additional Information is outlined in red with “Please answer this question.” Once every required question has an answer, Next takes them to the next step.If Next is greyed out, something else is missing: the address, Property Type, Square Footage or Year Built, or the address is outside your service area.

Why does my checkbox show Yes and No buttons on the scheduler?

Because it’s required. A single box can’t tell “No” apart from “not answered yet”, so a required checkbox asks the client to pick Yes or No. Yes is saved as checked and No as not checked. To show a plain box to tick, turn off Required answer on online scheduler.

How do I charge more for some ZIP codes?

Create a Zip Code custom field (Text, shown and required on the online scheduler), then add one Equals To modifier for each ZIP code to your services. See Example: mark up inspections by ZIP code.

Does the Zip Code field fill in from the property address?

No. Custom fields are never filled in on their own. The client, or your team, types the ZIP code into the field.

Do custom fields appear in the client's report?

Only where you put the placeholder. A field you use only for tracking, like a lockbox code, stays private unless you add it to report text.

Can I change an answer after the inspection is published?

Yes. Change it on the inspection. The digital report shows the new answer the next time it opens. The PDF keeps the old answer until it’s made again, which happens after your next edit to the report. Emails already sent and agreements already signed don’t change.

Does changing an answer change the price?

Only before the inspection is confirmed. After that, the price stays as booked. Use Edit Price or Duration to change it.

Can I show a custom field on the calendar event?

Yes, in the description. Go to Business Tools → Calendar Description and add the field from Available fields, so a lockbox code or permit number is right on the inspector’s calendar. The fields you pick replace the standard description. Event titles can’t be changed; they always show the address.

Can I show a custom field only to my team?

Yes. Turn off Show on online scheduler, so clients never see it. Turn off Display on mobile app too if inspectors don’t need it. It’s then only on the dashboard’s New Inspection page.

Why does my checkbox print true or false?

That’s how a checkbox answer is saved. To print Yes or No, change the field to a Dropdown with those two options.

Can I collect card details in a custom field?

No, please don’t. Custom field answers are stored as plain text and can show up in emails. Take payments with online payments.

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Custom Fields: Ask Your Own Questions on Every Inspection