Set a CRM field automatically

The Set CRM Field automation action writes data directly to a contact, opportunity, or account record when the automation fires. The most common use is stamping a date field the moment something important happens, like marking when a relationship started or when a proposal was sent, without anyone having to remember to fill it in.

The Canonical Example: Stamp a Date When a Lead Arrives

Here's the most common setup: when an opportunity enters your Lead Received stage, automatically set the contact's Relationship Start Date to today.

1. Go to https://app.trustpager.com/crm/pipelines and open the pipeline you want to automate.
2. Click the Lead Received stage header to open its settings.
3. Add a new automation and set the trigger to Stage Change (fires when an opportunity enters this stage).
4. Add a Set CRM Field action.
5. Pick the field Contact: Relationship Start Date and set the value to {{today}}.
6. Save the automation.

From now on, every lead that lands in that stage gets its relationship start date stamped automatically with the correct date in your workspace timezone.

The record is chosen for you. You don't pick a target record separately. The field you choose decides it: Contact: Relationship Start Date writes to the contact, Opportunity: Value writes to the opportunity. Relationship Start Date lives on contacts and companies, not on opportunities, so pick the Contact or Company version of it.

Writing Multiple Fields in One Action

You don't need a separate action for each field. The Set CRM Field action supports multi-write, so add as many field/value pairs as you need in a single action step. For example, when an opportunity is marked Won:

• Set Opportunity: Actual Close Date to {{today}}
• Set a custom outcome field to Won
• Set a custom closed_at field to {{now}} (full UTC timestamp)

All three fields are written in the same automation step.

Useful Recipes

When this happens	Set this field	To this value
Opportunity enters Lead Received	Contact: Relationship Start Date	{{today}}
Opportunity moves to Won	Opportunity: Actual Close Date	{{today}}
Opportunity moves to Won	status (custom)	Won
Contact submits a form	contact source (custom)	Inbound Form
Any stage change	last_stage_change_at (custom)	{{now}}

Understanding {{today}} vs {{now}}

Two date tokens are available in Set CRM Field values:

• {{today}} is today's date in your workspace timezone. Use it for date fields like Relationship Start Date and Actual Close Date. If you're in Australia/Sydney and it's 8am AEST, you get today's Australian date, not UTC's previous day.
• {{now}} is the current UTC timestamp (e.g. 2026-04-22T08:15:30Z). Use it for full datetime fields.

For the complete token reference including name and CRM variable tokens, see https://trustpager.com/help-center/first-name-only-contacts.

Typing a Date Yourself

If you type a fixed date instead of using a token, use either 2026-08-13 or 13/08/2026. Both are read as 13 August 2026. Anything the platform can't read unambiguously is rejected and the run tells you so, rather than guessing at a date and silently storing the wrong one.

Write vs Overwrite

Each field you set has a mode:

• Overwrite replaces whatever is there. Use it when the newest value should always win.
• Write only fills the field if it's currently empty. Use it for things that should be set once and never changed, like the date a relationship first started. A returning customer keeps their original date instead of having it reset.

A field that already has a value is left alone in Write mode, and the run notes that it skipped it. That's expected behaviour, not a failure.

What Records Can You Update?

Set CRM Field can write to:

• Opportunity, standard fields (name, value, currency, lead source, type, actual close date, notes) and custom fields
• Contact, standard fields (name, email, phone, landline, date of birth, job title, type, relationship start date, timezone, address) and custom fields
• Company, standard fields (name, email, phone, landline, website, industry, account type, ABN, relationship start date, timezone, address) and custom fields

The variable picker inside the field value input lists every writable field with its exact path. If a field isn't in that list, the action can't write to it.

When a Write Doesn't Land

If a write can't be made, the automation run is marked failed and names the field and the reason, so you can see it on the run instead of having to notice a blank field later. Open the automation and check its Run History at https://app.trustpager.com/auto/automations.

Tip: Set CRM Field is most powerful when combined with other actions in the same automation. For example: opportunity enters Won stage, send a congratulations email, set Actual Close Date to {{today}}, create a follow-up task for 30 days out. All in one automation, zero manual steps.