# Tailor the customer fields

> Decide, per flow, which address/customer fields appear and which are required.

Source: CBX documentation, version 4.0 preview (unreleased). Canonical page: https://docs.configbox.at/docs/4.0-preview/admin-guide/settings/tailor-the-customer-fields. Last updated 2026-07-20.

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> **Audience:** store admins · **Scope:** the Customer Fields matrix · **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-20

**What this does** — Controls exactly what personal data you collect, and when. For every
customer/address field, you decide separately in each of four flows whether it is **shown** and
whether it is **required** — so checkout can demand more than a quick quotation request, and the
profile can stay lean.

![The Customer Fields matrix](./img/customer-fields.jpeg)

## How to read the matrix

Each row is a field (company, salutation, name, address lines, ZIP, the country/state chain,
VAT number, phone, language, newsletter …). The columns pair **show** and **require** for each
flow:

- **Checkout** — the buying flow (billing and delivery sections).
- **Quotation** — the request-a-quote flow.
- **Save Order** — saving a cart for later.
- **Profile** — the account-editing screen.

Tick *show* to render the field in that flow; tick *require* to block submission while it's
empty. A field can be required at checkout, optional in the profile, and absent from quotations —
that's the point.

## Steps

1. Go to **Customer Fields**.
2. Walk each flow column asking one question: *do we truly need this, here?* Every required
   field costs conversion; quotations especially deserve a short form (name + email often
   suffices — you're starting a conversation, not shipping a parcel).
3. **Save**, then run each flow on the storefront once to feel the result.

## Worked examples

- **B2B store:** require *Company* and *VAT IN* at Checkout; show both, required, in Quotation;
  hide the salutation everywhere.
- **Consumer store:** hide *Company* and *VAT IN* everywhere; require only name, address and
  email at Checkout; Quotation shows name + email only.

## Good to know

- **Delivery-address fields** appear when the customer unticks "same as billing" — their
  show/require switches live in the same matrix. Whether the delivery block starts expanded is
  a **Settings → Checkout** switch.
- The country → state → county → city dropdowns only offer **populated, active** geography
  records — if a state dropdown looks empty, that's the [geography screens](https://docs.configbox.at/docs/4.0-preview/admin-guide/commerce/set-up-taxes),
  not this matrix.
- **Salutation options** (Mr/Ms/…) are managed in the embedded Salutations manager in
  **Settings**; this matrix only decides whether the field shows.
- Requiring the VAT number is what enables clean EU B2B reverse-charge handling — pair it with
  the country flags from [taxes](https://docs.configbox.at/docs/4.0-preview/admin-guide/commerce/set-up-taxes).