Forms Overview

TimelyChurch Forms is a powerful, built-in form builder that lets you create custom forms for your church -- without needing any third-party tools. Collect information from members and visitors, process submissions with an approval workflow, and automatically sync responses to your People database.

What You Can Do with Forms

• Build custom forms using a drag-and-drop field editor with 24 field types, organized into Basic, Choice, Advanced, Special, and Layout groups
• Show or hide fields conditionally with built-in show/hide/require rules, so the form adapts as people fill it out
• Collect payments by adding a Payment field -- forms can charge a fixed amount, a minimum/variable amount, or a per-unit (quantity x price) total, processed securely through Stripe
• Share forms publicly via a direct link, QR code, or embedded on your website
• Collect submissions from members and visitors, with optional login requirements
• Review and approve submissions using a built-in approval workflow (Pending, Approved, Rejected)
• Sync to member profiles -- map form fields to member profiles so submissions automatically update your database
• Get notified when new submissions arrive, with configurable admin and custom email recipients
• Export data to CSV for reporting and analysis
• Link forms to events or groups so registration forms appear on their parent pages

Form Types

When creating a form, you choose a type that categorizes it and can affect how submissions are processed:

Form Lifecycle

Every form moves through a few clearly-defined states:

1. Draft -- You are building the form and adding fields. Not visible to the public.
2. Published -- The form is live and accepting submissions. A public URL is generated.
3. Closed -- The form stops accepting new submissions but existing data is preserved. The form can be re-published later.
4. Archived -- The Archive action removes the form from your active list. The form disappears from the active list, but it can be Restored from the "Archived" filter, or Permanently Deleted from there. Archived forms do not count against your plan's form limit.

Key Features at a Glance

Profile Sync (Unique to TimelyChurch)

When you map form fields to member profile fields, submissions can automatically update member records. You control when this sync happens:

• On Submit -- Data syncs immediately when the form is submitted
• On Approval -- Data syncs only after an admin approves the submission
• Disabled -- No automatic sync; you can still sync manually from the submission detail page

Smart Prefill

When a member is logged into the Member Portal and opens a form, their known information (name, email, phone, address) is automatically pre-filled. This reduces friction and improves data accuracy.

Conditional Logic (Show / Hide / Require)

Each field can carry its own rules that watch the answers a person gives and respond in real time. A field can be set to show, hide, or become required when one or more conditions are met, and you choose whether all conditions or any condition must match. Hidden fields are skipped during validation, so people only ever see -- and have to complete -- the fields that are relevant to them.

Paid Forms (Stripe Payments)

Add a Payment field to collect money directly through a form. You can charge a fixed amount, let the person enter a variable amount (with an optional minimum), or set a per-unit price that multiplies by a quantity field. Card payments are processed securely through your church's Stripe connection, and each paid submission is recorded so you can see what was collected.

Submission Limits and Scheduling

Set a maximum number of submissions, or schedule forms to open and close automatically on specific dates.

Duplicate Forms

Save time by duplicating an existing form. All fields are copied to a new draft so you can customize it without starting from scratch.

Getting Started

To begin, navigate to Forms in the admin sidebar. From there you can create your first form, add fields, configure settings, and publish it to start collecting responses. See the next article, Creating a Form, for step-by-step instructions.