The Custom Data settings allow you to add an initial step to the checkout process to collect any additional information that you might need to process the order.
To get started, navigate to Settings -> Custom Data on the left side menu.
Then click the Add Custom Data Collection button to create your first group of fields.
In the General Information section, enter a title for the custom data collection and if there is a price modifier related to this custom data collection, enter either the dollar amount or percentage that will be applied to the entire order.
Then in the Field Details section, click the Add Collection button to add your first field.
The field can either be set to a text area field or select options. If you are adding a text area field, just enter a label for the field and click the Required switch if you want the field to be required to allow the customer to proceed.
If the field is set to select options, give the field a label and then enter the option values. You can click the Add New Option link to continue adding additional values until you have entered them all. If a selection is required, click the Required switch. If the user is allowed to select more than one value from the options, click the Multiselect switch to enable that option.
If there are additional fields for this custom data collection, just click the Add Additional Field button at the bottom of the Field Details section and repeat the steps above for the additional field.
Finally, go back to the list of custom data collections at Settings -> Custom Data and click the Activate switch to make the custom data collection live.
Your customers will then see an initial step at the beginning of checkout with your custom data collection fields.
That's everything that you need to know about custom data collection. In the next article, we will go over the Shipping Settings.