Adding and editing people
Names, contact details, address and the fields that quietly do the most work.
Quick answers
6 questions · click to openCan someone have more than one email address?
Yes. A person has a primary address and can carry others alongside it, and an import will match on any of them — which is what stops a work address creating a second record.
Why does the address matter so much?
Because Cobber works out each person’s electorates from it, and electorates are what put them in the right local group. Filling in an address is what makes local organising work later.
Do I have to fill everything in?
No. A name and one way to contact them is enough to start. The rest can arrive from an import, a form they fill in, or a conversation.
What if we track something Cobber has no field for?
Add a custom field. They appear under Additional Fields on the person, and an import can fill them too.
What are email preferences?
Which kinds of email a person is willing to receive. They’re per category, so someone can opt out of your newsletter and still get urgent alerts.
What happens when I delete someone?
The record is soft-deleted, so their donation and membership history stays intact rather than leaving holes in your finances.
Most people arrive by import or by filling in a form, so adding one by hand is usually a phone call you’re writing up. Add New Person takes a minute.
What the form asks for
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Personal Details | Name, email, phone numbers and date of birth. |
| Residential Address | Street, suburb, state and postcode. |
| Email Preferences | Which categories of email they’re happy to receive. |
| Additional Fields | Your organisation’s custom fields. |
The address does more than you’d think
It’s tempting to skip. Don’t — Cobber uses the address to work out a person’s federal electorate, state electorate and LGA, and those are what put them into the right local group automatically. A supporter with no address is a supporter your local organisers can’t find.
A postcode alone is enough to get started. The more complete the address, the more precise the result.
Phone numbers
There are separate fields for mobile, home and work. The mobile one matters most: it’s what SMS uses, and it’s the fallback an import matches on when there’s no email address.
Custom fields
If you track something Cobber has no home for — a membership number from an old system, a local group nickname, a skill — add a custom field rather than putting it in a notes field where nothing can filter on it.
Deleting someone
Deleting soft-deletes the record. They disappear from your lists and your campaigns, but their donation and membership history stays attached rather than leaving a hole in your finances. If someone asks to be removed entirely, email support rather than doing it yourself, so it’s handled properly.