Relationships → Configuration (/relationships/settings) holds the shared lists your team picks from when recording contacts, touchpoints and payments. The hub groups its pages into Data model, Communication and Money; select a card to open a page, and use the Configuration breadcrumb or the Related links at the foot of each page to move between them.
Who can change settings
| What | Permission needed |
|---|---|
| View the lists (they feed every form and filter) | Any Relationships permission |
| Change any list, subtype, custom field or consent purpose | relationships:admin:settings |
| See bank accounts, payment methods and collection systems | relationships:read:fundraisingactivities, relationships:write:fundraisingactivities or relationships:admin:settings. Without one of these, the payment pages show a notice instead of the list |
| Add, pause or delete a provider connection | Both relationships:write:fundraisingactivities and relationships:admin:settings |
Most pages work the same way: you make changes on the page, then choose Save. The Save button stays disabled until something has changed. After saving you’ll see a message such as “Changes will reflect shortly”, because the update is applied in the background.
Data model
| Page | What it controls | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
Genders (/relationships/settings/genders) |
The options in a contact’s Gender field. New beehives start with Male, Female and Non-binary | Choose Add gender, enter a Gender name, and use the switch to make an option Active or Archived. There’s no delete. Renaming applies to existing contacts; an archived option stays on the contacts that already have it |
Touchpoint types (/relationships/settings/touchpoint-types) |
The kinds of interaction offered when recording a touchpoint | Choose Add type, use the switch to archive a type, or the bin to remove one. Types marked System, or with a module badge such as Events, are created by the platform: you can archive them but not rename or remove them. Someone recording a touchpoint can also type a new type name, which adds it to this list |
Subtypes (/relationships/settings/sub-types) |
The classifications for contacts, organisations and resources, on separate Contacts, Organisations and Resources tabs. Every record needs at least one | Choose Add subtype, archive with the switch, or remove with the bin. System subtypes, including Uncategorised, can’t be renamed or removed. The lock icon (Restrict access) limits who can see records filed under the subtype; see Restrict who can see a record. A restricted subtype can’t be deleted until you clear its restriction |
Connection types (/relationships/settings/connection-types) |
The relationship labels offered when you connect a contact to another record | Set Applies to for each type: Contact → Contact, Contact → Organisation and/or Contact → Resource (at least one). For contact-to-contact types you can pick a reciprocal, the type that describes the same connection from the other person’s side, such as “Manages” and “Reports to”; it affects connections saved from then on. Renaming a type doesn’t change connections already saved under the old name |
Titles (/relationships/settings/contact-titles) |
Suggestions offered by a contact’s Title field, such as Mr or Dr | People can still type any title. Renaming or removing a title doesn’t change contacts already saved with it |
Custom fields (/relationships/settings/custom-fields) |
Extra fields on contacts, organisations, resources and touchpoints, on four tabs | See Custom fields below |
Custom fields
Choose Add field on the tab for the record type, then complete:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Label | Required. What people see on the record |
| Description | Required |
| Data type | Required: Text, Number, Date, Yes / No, Single select, Multi select, URL, Phone or Email |
| Options | For select fields; press Enter after each option. At least one is required |
| Show for subtypes | Leave empty to show the field on every record of that type, or choose the subtypes it applies to |
| Include in search / Include in segments | Makes the field searchable, or available as a segment condition |
Use the edit icon to change a field. Deleting a field permanently removes its definition, and values already stored on records are no longer displayed.
Communication
Communications consent (/relationships/settings/consent) lists your consent purposes (shown on the hub as categories). Each has a name, a description, an Active or Archived state, and the Channels it covers: Email, Mail, Phone, SMS and WhatsApp. Choose Add consent category to add one.
Each purpose becomes a row in every contact’s Communications consent panel, with a separate answer per channel. Keep these in mind before changing a purpose:
- Consent is stored against the purpose’s name. If you rename or remove a purpose, contacts’ existing answers stay on their records but show greyed out as Unknown purpose, and can no longer be edited. Archive a purpose instead if you want its history to stay readable.
- An archived purpose shows on contacts as Inactive and is read only.
- Removing a channel from a purpose hides that channel’s answers from the panel.
- System purposes can’t be renamed or removed.
See Record communications consent.
Money
| Page | What it controls | Things to know |
|---|---|---|
Default currency (/relationships/settings/currency) |
Currency pre-fills new payments and Gift Aid claims. Reporting currency (optional, “Same as default” when empty) is the currency your totals are reported in | When a payment is in a different currency from the reporting currency, the payment form asks for the converted reporting amount |
Bank accounts (/relationships/settings/bank-accounts) |
Accounts offered when recording payments | Choose Add account, then the edit icon to set Account name (required), Bank name and Reference in accounting software. Select an account’s status to switch it between Active and Archived. Search by name or bank, and filter by All, Active or Archived |
Payment methods (/relationships/settings/payment-methods) |
How supporters pay you | Each method has a Display name and a Kind used for reporting: Cash, Cheque, Bank transfer, Direct debit, Card, Online or Other. Choose Add payment method; select a status to archive or reactivate. System methods can’t be removed. An archived method stays on payments that already use it |
Allocation types (/relationships/settings/allocation-types) |
What a payment is for. New beehives start with Donation, Purchase, Grant and Sponsorship | See Allocation types below |
Provider connections (/relationships/settings/provider-connections) |
Stripe accounts whose settlements are reconciled against your recurring payments | Reached from the Related links on the other Money pages. See Connect a payment provider for reconciliation |
Collection systems (/relationships/settings/collection-systems) |
External platforms that collect recurring payments outside ThirdSectorBee, where you manage the collection run with files (for example a Bacs bureau) | Choose Add collection system and enter a Name. Active systems are offered as collection providers on recurring payments. Once saved, a system can only be archived, not removed |
Allocation types
Every payment can carry an allocation type, and each type has a Counts as a gift for tax and giving reports switch. This flag matters:
- Only payments whose type counts as a gift are considered for Gift Aid and other tax reports.
- Only those payments count towards giving statistics, such as a contact’s Lifetime giving and the giving dashboard.
- A payment with no allocation type is treated as a Donation.
New beehives have Donation counted as a gift, and Purchase, Grant and Sponsorship not counted. When you change a type’s gift flag, giving statistics are recalculated in the background.
Choose Add allocation type to add one, such as Raffle. Use the active switch to stop offering a type for new payments (it then shows as Inactive). Because payments record their type by name, a saved type can’t be renamed or removed; its name shows a lock. Names must be unique and no longer than 100 characters.