Top Eight Features to Look For In A Form Builder App
Assumptions are the termites of relationships.
– Henry Winkler
I lean heavily on forms, and one of my more spendy apps is Typeform. I could use Google Forms* as I have Workspace, but I want the smooth client experience and the extra features that Typeform has. So I have chosen best in class over price. But you don’t need to. I am far along in my form-building journey, and for those of you just starting out, you could use a free or less expensive app to get you rolling in and then level up when you get hooked on forms.
Why use a form builder?
To create a process that requires a client payment before engaging in further work
To create seamless shareability of questions you need to be answered
To create workflows that include notifications of completion and data extraction
To gather feedback in a way that engages the user to complete the process
To gather information in a way that creates professionalism, security and a smooth client experience
You could send an email with questions, a fillable PDF, or a Doc—but they are clunky, lack engagement, and lack security. The information often has to be manually transferred to another landing spot to be used. They are often a manual process to share, whereas a form can be embedded on a website or linked in a templated client task or automated email.
What are a few fundamental forms to build?
Data collection forms (such as tax organizers)
Discovery forms
Employee onboarding and testing forms
Onboarding file review forms
Reengagement surveys
Form features:
In alpha order, not order of importance.
One: Custom branding
The more customizable the branding, the more engaging and recognizable it will be to the end user. Adding backgrounds, colours, fonts, and images will foster brand identity and trust.
Two: Conditional logic
This is a feature that enhances client engagement. When they peck info into a screen, such as their name or company name, it auto-fills that back into later questions. So if one of your first questions is “What is your first name?” and they respond “Jill”, the next question would start as “Thanks, Jill, let’s continue.”
Three: Export data
Data shouldn’t be an island trapped in form, so the ability to export is critical for properly utilizing results.
Four: Extra data fields
Forms can be used to create NPS scores from clients and teams, get paid (yay), rank answers, run quizzes, upload docs and a whole host of possibilities to add value to your business. So don’t get stuck believing forms are used only to gather answers.
Five: Integrations
Native integrations (the form connects directly to apps) and integrator integrations (an app such as Make or Zapier is needed) enable automation of your form, not just for data aggregation but also to kick actions off automagically in your apps—accounting, calendar, and practice management…
I have a Discovery form that, when completed, finds or creates a contact in Financial Cents. Our File Review form** sits behind a paywall, and when it is completed, it finds or creates a contact, and it kicks off a File Review workflow so clients get their tasks to action all the uploads and steps I need from them before I can start the review.
Form completed
Sale recorded in QBO
Contact created (or found) in FC
File Review workflow kicked off with client tasks and requests, along with Calmwaters tasks
Email of their answers and next steps sent to client, including how to log into Financial Cents and what to expect when they do
It’s pretty slick and seamless*** - if I do say so myself…
Six: Logic jumps
Logic jumps allow you to have folks move to different questions or skip some altogether based on their answers. For Calmwaters Discovery form**, if they don’t use or aren’t willing to use QBO, they go directly to an ending that says, “We can’t bring value to your business, as we are a QBO bookkeeping firm.” Same if they don’t want to have their bank feeds connected and be responsible for keeping them running (that’s how we manage the 2FA conundrum). If they answer all the discovery Qs in a way that we can bring value to them, they arrive at an ending with a booking link and we move to the next onboarding milestone.
Seven: Security features such as encrypted fields
Many form builders claim to be secure, but if you really want to lock information down, look for one that has encrypted fields. If we did personal tax returns, we would use Cognito Forms. We would be giving up the unparalleled Typeform end-user experience, but gathering PII securely would take precedence.
Eight: Submission responses
When a form is completed, you receive a notification via email and/or text auto-responder. If the form results are not sensitive information, they can be included in the notification. The same can happen with your clients; they receive a summary of their answers.
I suppose the feature list above could have included some of the standard fields available, but I didn’t figure we needed to get into what almost all of them have, such as long paragraphs, multiple choice, short answers, text boxes, yes/no…
What are a few form builders?
There are many great form builders, and here is a starter list. Above all, choose yours based on the features that best suit your firm—align with your services, engage the end-user, fit your budget, and what you like working in.
Google and Microsoft Forms
Cognito forms
Jotform
Survey Monkey
Zoho Forms
Forms add so much value to your business and do some heavy lifting in automagical ways. I want you to love using them as much as I do. Start small, perhaps with a Discovery form to vet the tire kickers and grow from there once you get the hang of them.
Book with me if you need help evaluating your firm's needs when choosing a form builder app or building killer forms (think discovery forms!). I love helping folks pick technology that will bring efficiency and joy to their workday.
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*I build new forms in Google Forms and import them into Typeform. That way I have redundancy of my base forms, and Google Form is simple to get the basic questions and statements into that it goes quickly for me. Once I import them into Typeform, I add all the extra funness, such as logic jumps.
** These are demo forms, not live forms. If you are interested in Calmwaters reviewing your books or seeing if we can bring value to your firm's internal books, you can start here: File Review page. Discovery page.
***Typeform improved how it sends notifications, breaking my process down last year, which reminded me to keep up with app feature updates!
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