FormWork can support an onboarding process in which a client supplies structured information and your team works through it. The example below is a configuration pattern, not a preconfigured client portal or a customer case study.
1. Collect the structure you actually need
Define company details, the requested services and supporting uploads. Use a repeatable group for each company and a nested repeatable group for its contacts. Conditional sections let you ask additional questions only when the relevant service is selected.
Use validation for required information. File upload fields collect supporting documents; configure and test the permitted file types and sizes described in files and uploads.
2. Give each onboarding a stage and an owner
Set up a process on the form, for example:
| Stage | Kind | Owner | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received | Open | The Onboarding group | Start checks |
| Checking documents | Open | Keep the current owner, due in 3 days | Ask the client, Ready to set up |
| Waiting on client | Waiting | Keep the current owner | Client replied |
| Setting up | Open | Keep the current owner | Mark as done |
| Done | Closed | None |
New onboardings wait in the Onboarding group until someone takes them, and each person sees their own in My work. An Assign step in an automation can instead share new onboardings out between the group’s members in turn. Overdue checks stand out in red.
Keep details that aren’t part of the stage in team fields, such as the client’s reference in your accounts system or follow-up notes. Respondents never see them, but everyone in the account can, so team fields and groups aren’t a permission boundary. Put clients or teams that need separation in different accounts, and review team members and roles before inviting people.
3. Keep the client informed
Turn on the respondent confirmation in notifications to send the client a copy of their answers. If you also turn on respondent status, the confirmation gets a link to a read-only page that shows a label you choose for each stage, such as “Waiting for your documents”, without your internal stage names or notes.
4. Connect the handoff
Add an automation with the Stage changes trigger that runs when an onboarding reaches Setting up, and sends selected answers to your own system with Send to webhook or an API connector. For a step that runs on every contact, use For each over the contacts group.
Steps that contact other systems run in the background, and every run is recorded on the entry. A stage move or submission doesn’t prove that a downstream request or email succeeded, so check automation runs and turn on the admin email for failed runs.
5. Change the process deliberately
When the onboarding requirements change, publish a new form version. Existing entries keep the questions they were answered with; there is no automatic migration of answers already collected. Stage and automation changes apply to every entry once published, and the publish review asks what to do with entries in any stage you remove.
What success looks like
Test with multiple companies, removed contacts, missing required information, a client who needs to send more documents, and a failed downstream request. A useful outcome is an entry your team can understand, a clear stage and owner, and a verified handoff. Set your own completion-time and follow-up targets; this walkthrough doesn’t claim a measured efficiency gain.
Start with the quick start, compare pricing, or talk through your process.
Choosing a platform
If onboarding includes a branded intake form and a contract-signing journey, read FormWork vs Paperform. Compare the whole journey, including the signing service and CRM handoff.