How to Choose Which Forms to Create in Dubsado
How do you choose which forms to create in Dubsado?*
All too often, I see people making proposals when they should make questionnaires and questionnaires when they should make lead captures.
You don’t have to make these mistakes.
Let’s backtrack a little here. Forms are just another term for “documents.” Dubsado* allows you to create a variety of templates and some of these templates are forms.
You can reuse the same forms over and over, streamlining your process.
Prefer a see this post in video form? Watch this tutorial below for a video version.
Form Types in Dubsado
There are 5 different form types in Dubsado*.
Contracts
Sub-Agreements
Proposals
Lead Captures
Questionnaires
Does it Really Matter What Form Type You Use?
Yes. There may be some instances when you can get away with using the wrong form type, but it’s rare.
All form types share several of the same features, but each type also has unique features. Using the wrong form type means you won’t have access to the feature you need. It could also cause trouble with your workflow automation triggers.
It’s best practice to use forms how they are intended.
How to Choose Which Forms to Create in Dubsado
Let’s go through each one individually, so you can see what makes them unique.
Contracts
Dubsado allows contracts to have signature fields. Contracts are for your primary agreements.
Dubsado allows you to have one contract per project. If you need to add additional contracts to a project folder, you will need to add them as sub-agreements.
Sub-Agreements
Sub-Agreements also have signature fields, but they are for secondary agreements.
Proposals
Proposals are for formal offers or price quotes.
There are a variety of ways you can present proposals to your clients.
You can give them a custom quote. You can allow them to pick one or several packages from a list. You can give them a custom quote with the option to choose add-ons. You can also use them for estimates. There’s a lot of flexibility with proposals! More on that here.
Dubsado’s proposals are unique in that you can bundle a proposal with a contract and / or an invoice.
The proposal will always be the first page. If you choose to add a contract, that will be the second page. If you choose to add an invoice, that will be the third page.
Proposals have a unique feature that allows you to add your packages to them. You can’t do this with any other form type. If a client chooses a package (or you pre-select it for them), Dubsado will automatically add that package to an invoice.
Want to view a proposal as a client? Learn how here.
As of February 2019, you can now put proposals on your website for a shop-like experience. Proposals on websites are called “public proposals.” Your clients can even sign their contract and pay for their service right from your site! When a public proposal is complete, a new project will be automatically be added to Dubsado! Learn more here.
Lead Captures
Lead captures are contact forms. Your clients should only fill these out once per job (project) they hire you for.
You can embed lead captures on your website.
You can also redirect users to the page of your choice once they submit the lead capture.
Whenever a lead capture is completed, Dubsado will create a new project in the Projects tab. Always. You cannot prevent it from doing so.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires are good for anything that doesn’t fall under a contract, sub-agreement, proposal, or lead capture.
If you don’t require a signature, are presenting a formal price quote, or a contact form, you should make a questionnaire.
Using Questions on Forms
The term “questionnaire” is a little funny. You can:
Ask questions on any form type
You are not required to ask questions on a questionnaire.
“Questionnaire” is a catch-all term for “everything else.”
If you are deciding whether or not to use a questionnaire, you should ask yourself if you can use any of the other form types first. This is a good litmus test for determining whether or not to use a questionnaire.
Bonus: Upload PDFs
While I recommend building your forms in Dubsado most time, you are capable of uploading beautifully-designed PDFs. This is perfect for welcome kits or service guides. However, if you need to ask questions, you won’t be able to do that from a PDF in Dubsado (even if it’s a fillable PDF). Ask your questions using Dubsado’s form builder!
Every Dubsado* user should be using Dubsado to send forms. The more you put into Dubsado, the more you can automate (and the more you’ll get your money’s worth). One of the most common mistakes I see is that people often use the wrong form type. Use this article as your master guide!
Do you have any questions about forms? Ask in the comments.
