With ClearForms, you can create any type of form you would like to help automate your organization's forms, applications, licenses/permits, internal submissions, and more.
Commonly Created Form Types
There are some common categories of forms that we see created utilizing ClearForms. Let’s walk through those categories below.
Note: Below are some suggestions for forms that you can create. Feel free to create any type of form you wish.
Licensing Forms
Develop Licensing forms to allow citizens to apply for licenses within your community.
Examples of License Forms:
- Animal Licenses (pet, livestock)
- Liquor License
- Bee Keeping
- Business
- Beverage Operators
- Non-Liquor
- Fishing/Hunting
- Boating
- Occupational
Pro Tips:
- Set expiration dates and configure automatic renewal to streamline the applications year after year.
- Business licenses may need another license, such as a liquor license, to be completed before the business license can be issued. Consider using a Subsubmission for an applicant to apply for the liquor license at the same time.
Permitting Forms
Permitting forms allows individuals or businesses/agencies to apply for and receive various permits.
Examples of Permit Forms:
- Building Permit
- Street Furniture or Parklet Permit
- Special Event/Block Party
- Outdoor Dining
- Business Signage
- Resident Parking
- Boat Ramp Access
- Electrical
- Sales Permit (garage sales, vendor)
- Burn Permit
- RV Parking
- Noise / Sound
Pro Tips:
- Think about utilizing a Review step with conditional logic that is based on how question(s) or information is filled out in a submission.
- Set expiration dates and configure automatic renewal to streamline the applications year after year.
- If certain conditions or other permits are required to be completed prior to issuing a permit, add a File field in the Collect Information step for the applicant to attach needed documentation.
Reporting Forms
Creating a Reporting form allows constituents to quickly file an online report or request.
Examples of Reporting Forms:
- Citizen Response
- Grant Reporting
- Employee Onboarding
- Record Clearance/Expungement
- Fictitious Business Name Registration
- FOIA Request
- Violation Request
- Fire Inspection
- Building Inspection
- Trash/Debris
- Street repairs/Pot Holes
- Animal Control/Welfare
- Disability compliance
- Homeless concerns
- Traffic Signage and Signals
-
Property maintenance
Pro Tips:
- With many reporting forms there is a need to loop certain departments or staff members into a submission. Try adding the staff member to the Roles. Then use the Assignee option in a step to loop in the role or person.
- In Reporting Forms, the Summary Output Document can act as proof of the Applicant completing the report. For additional information about Custom Output and Summary Documents, see the Support article Custom PDF Output
Internal Forms
Develop Internal forms to streamline any current organizational needs.
Examples of Internal Forms:
- Various HR forms such as Employee evaluation
- Employment application
- Board/Commission/Advisory Board application
- Contract Review
Pro Tips:
- Use Conditional fields to simplify the application submission for an applicant.
Grants, Reservations, & Other
Utilize ClearForms to build forms that accept grant applications, reservation requests, and anything else you can think of!
Examples of other Forms:
- Home Security Rebate
- Shelter/Park Reservation
- Field/Facility Reservation
- Downtown Building Improvements
- Grants
Pro Tips:
- For reservation-type forms, use the date/time field in the Collect Information step to request use.
- Utilize entities to set up your facilities and allow the applicant to select from the entities.
- Configure Custom Output settings to generate a Summary Document at the end of a completed submission to act as proof of the request for reservations, grants, etc. For additional information about Custom Output, see the Support article Custom PDF Output
Common Steps to a Form
No matter what form you are building there are a few common steps that are typically utilized in a form.
- Collect/Record Information Step - There will always be some information you need to gather from an applicant. This step allows you to add fields to gather the information your organization needs to complete the submission. Learn more by selecting Customizing a Collect Information Step.
- Review Step - It is very common to have a staffer/user review a submission before the submission can be completed or carried on. See Customizing a Review Step to learn more about adding/using a review step.
- Payment Step - If your form needs to take monies for fees, charges, etc. then adding a payment step will allow you to receive those monies digitally. See Setting Up Payment Steps to learn more about using payment steps in a form.
Pro Tip: Set up Roles in your Teams to aid in assigning users to a review step or in-step assignments.
Regardless of what steps you utilize, you’ll be able to customize your form to meet your needs, whether that is to add a Basic Step, use renewal features, customize response emails, formulas for payment calculations, and the list goes on. Contact your Client Success Manager to help you customize or review your form setup.
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