SepticBossPro Blog — Customer & Tank Records

Custom Fields for Septic Tank Records: Riser, Filter, Pump Chamber and More

Tank size, lid depth, location notes and drain field notes cover the basics. But every septic company has its own list of details that matter: does the tank have a riser, is there an effluent filter, is there a pump chamber or alarm, how many compartments, what material. Custom fields are how you capture them. This continues from Managing Septic Customers Who Own Multiple Properties with a look at making the record fit the way you work.

Why Built-In Fields Are Not Enough

Septic systems vary more than most people outside the trade realize. Conventional gravity systems, pump-to-mound systems, aerobic units and older installs all come with different components and service needs. No set of standard fields will fit every company, because every company sees a different mix of systems in its area.

SepticBossPro includes the core septic fields on every property and lets you add custom fields for the rest. That means the record grows to match what your crews actually see, rather than forcing them to bury important facts in a long note nobody reads.

Fields Worth Considering

Start with the details that change what a driver does on site. Riser present or not. Effluent filter present, and when it was last cleaned. Pump chamber present. High-water alarm present. Number of compartments. Tank material. Each of these affects time on site, equipment and what you should check.

Add fields for details that affect sales, too. Properties without risers are riser prospects. Properties with filters may need cleaning on every visit. Properties with alarms may call you when they go off. Capturing these in fields makes them searchable in a way free-text notes are not.

Think about details that protect your crew as well. A field noting a steep driveway, a long hose run or a tank near a structure warns the driver before arrival. These are small things, but they shape which truck goes, how much hose to bring and how long the stop will take.

Keep the List Short and Useful

It is tempting to create a field for everything. Resist that. Every field is something a driver may be asked to fill in, and long forms get skipped. Choose the handful of fields that genuinely change how you work, and add more later if the need is real.

Name fields plainly so nobody has to guess what they mean. Riser installed is better than R/I. If a field has a small set of possible answers, keep the answers consistent so the information can be filtered and counted later.

Before adding a new field, ask whether a tag or a line in the notes would do the job. A field is right when you will want to filter or count by it later. If it is a one-off detail about a single property, the notes are usually the better place.

Filling Fields in the Field

Custom fields are only valuable when they are filled in. The natural time is during a visit, when the driver can see the system. Make it part of closing out the job: confirm the fields are right, add anything new and take a photo through the crew app so the record shows what is there.

For imported customers, expect the fields to be empty at first. As each property is serviced, they fill in. Within a cycle, your active properties will have a structured picture of every system you service.

Owners and office managers can help by checking new records periodically. Pick a few properties serviced this week and see whether the custom fields were completed. A quick word with the crew when fields are being skipped keeps the habit alive far better than a long memo.

Using Custom Fields with Tags and Reminders

Custom fields and tags work well together. Fields record facts about the system; tags group properties for action. For example, you might tag properties where the filter needs cleaning every visit, or where a riser has been recommended. That makes it easy to pull a list and follow up.

Fields can also inform the recurring job interval. A system with a pump chamber or a known history of heavy solids may warrant a shorter cycle, and the record makes that reasoning visible to whoever sets the next visit.

A Record That Fits Your Business

Custom fields are what turn a generic customer list into a septic company's working memory. Over time, they let you answer questions that used to require digging through tickets: how many of our customers have filters, which properties still have no risers, where are the alarms.

They sit alongside tank size, lid depth, location and drain field notes in the SepticBossPro tank records software, so everything about a system is in one place.

Your crews already know what matters about each system. Custom fields give that knowledge a permanent home on the record.