How to collect client intake forms without paper
Send a link rather than a PDF, let the client answer on a phone without creating an account, and make sure the answers land on the client record rather than in an inbox. The two things worth insisting on are those last two: no account, and answers that arrive as data attached to the person they describe.
Paper survives because the alternatives usually create a second problem: a PDF you still have to read and retype, or a form tool whose answers live somewhere your client record cannot see. Both recreate the filing you were trying to escape. The question to ask of any tool is not “can I build a form” but “where does the answer end up”.
What to check, in three steps
No account for the client
Anything that asks someone to register before answering four questions will lose a share of them, and the share is largest among exactly the clients who were already hesitant. A tokenised link that opens straight onto the form is the entire requirement.
Answers land on the record, not in an inbox
A submission that arrives as an email is a retyping job with extra steps. It should attach to the client, fill the fields it can match, and sit next to everything else you already know about them.
Ask only what would change the appointment
Every extra question costs completions. The test for a field is whether a different answer would change what you actually do in the session. If it would not, it belongs in a conversation rather than a form.
What ClientFlow does here
Forms are shared as a tokenised link or a QR code and open without an account. Fields carry conditional logic, so a question can appear only when an earlier answer calls for it. Submissions attach to the client record, map into client fields where they match, and show up in the client portal so someone can see what is still outstanding. AI can draft a form from a plain description of what you need to know.
What the plan decides
Intake forms are not part of the free plan at all — the limit there is zero, not a small number. Starter includes three forms, Pro ten, and Team is unlimited. AI triage of submissions — urgency, red flags, a lead score — starts at Pro rather than Starter. Worth knowing before you design a workflow around either.
Forms that land where the client already is
Tokenised links and QR codes with no client account, conditional fields, submissions attached to the client record and surfaced in the portal, AI drafting from a description, and analytics on how forms are completed.
Common questions
Does the client need an account?
No. Forms open from a tokenised link or a QR code and are answered without registering. If the client also has portal access, outstanding forms appear there too.
Can questions depend on earlier answers?
Yes. Each field can carry conditional logic — shown or hidden based on all or any of a set of conditions — so one form can cover several situations without asking everyone everything.
Are intake forms included on the free plan?
No. The free plan's form limit is zero. Starter includes three, Pro ten, and Team is unlimited. AI triage of submissions starts at Pro.