What is it?
Forms are used in MC Professional to collect and process payment, process membership applications and renewals, register event attendees, and collect survey information. A form can be used for both membership and event registration, and this article walks through the different aspects of creating a new form with either options.
- Create a New Form
- Adding Form Elements
- Form Settings
- Form Sections:
- Login / Membership / Event / Summary / Payment / Confirmation
How to Access
Forms are created and edited under Forms > Form List
The "Edit", "Take This Form", and "..." buttons will appear per form when your cursor hovers over them. The "..." turns into the additional options to "Copy" and "Delete". Please note, a form with a submission cannot be deleted.
From the Form List, you can also create Labels to help organize your various Forms. To add a label, simply type it in. If it's an existing label, you can select from the drop-down; for a new label, just finish typing and press enter. This will not only apply the label, but also save it to the list of labels for future use.
Whenever labels are added, they will also populate in the Label Menu so you can filter your Form List by a label topic. If you only want to see forms assigned as "Membership", for example, you need only select that filter.
You are also able to Edit and Delete your Labels by clicking on "Manage Labels", in case a typo sneaks in, or you find you no longer need a particular label.
Create a New Form
1. To begin, select Create New Form.
2. In the modal window that appears, name the form, provide it a description (optional), and choose whether the form is used for membership, event registration, both, or neither. For example, a survey form would not be used for membership or for event registration. Checking the boxes here isn't locking in functionality - it's pre-configuring the option to have the membership and/or event sections on your form.
3. Click Save.
Adding Form Elements
Built-Ins: Built-ins are Attributes within your database. Drag and drop a built-in to add it to your form. Built-ins are dynamically linked to database profiles. When a new user fills out a built-in field on the form, the information will be filled out in the user’s database profile.
Custom Attributes: Custom attributes created within your database. Drag and drop a custom attribute to add it to your form. Custom attribute are dynamically linked to database profiles. When a new user fills out a custom attribute field on the form, the information will be filled out in the user’s database profile.
Form Fields: Fields collected on the form and stored within the form submission record. Form fields are not linked to database profiles, but will be exportable in the form submissions.
Presentation: Presentation form elements affect the visual layout of the form.
Element Properties
With a form element selected, you can edit the element within the element properties tab of the form editor.
Form Settings
The form builder is designed to take the Admin through the form build chronologically as the member will experience it. The form will go top down, and outside of the Name and Address fields, all fields will be laid out in a one-column layout as a best practice.
General
- Form Name: Name of the form that will display on the form page and internally.
- Form Description: A form’s description displays in the form editor for admins.
- Form Alias: The form’s alias is how the form will be directly accessed by Admins and members. For example, your-domain.com/2015-conference-registration. In this example, “2015-conference-registration” is the form’s alias.
- Publish Form: Toggle this option to ON when the form is ready to use.
- Enable form expiration date: Toggle this option to ON and set a date if you want the form set to inactive automatically on a specified date. NOTE: The form will be active through the date specified. An Expiration Date of 09/30/2017 will become inactive on 10/01/2017, when the end-date is through.
- Permissions: Click Edit Group Permissions to set the Groups that have permission to use the form.
- Date-based Pricing: Click Add a Date-Based Pricing Rule to create date-based pricing for early-bird specials or late registration rates.
- Discount Codes: Click Add Discount Code to create discount codes that override all other pricing on affected fields.
- Forward URL: Enter the URL to forward users to at the end of the form.
Form Sections
All form functionality will take place in the sections on the righthand side of the form.
Login Section
We recommend enabling the login section unless the form is an anonymous type form, like a ballot or anonymous survey.
Login Type
- Existing Users: will allow existing members to log in
- New Users: will allow non-members to access the form
Membership Section
This section handles applications (for non-members), renewals (for people who are in their renewal period), and will not display either option for members in good standing who are not up for renewal. The form will handle both individual and organization memberships.
Text within each section in the Membership section is able to be customized by clicking into the box and using the WYSIWYG on the left.
For new members joining, you can configure which Member Types are available for them to join.
After choosing the Member Type, Membership Options and Auto Renew will display if applicable.
If the application form is being used by individuals and organizations, you can add specific fields to the organization area that you want to capture for the organization, and specific fields you want to capture for individuals.
Fields with a silhouette indicate that they are tied to an attribute. Fields with a red asterisk are required.
When adding address or phone number fields to the individual section, use the Labels on the left under properties to determine which options show. For example, if you want both the Work and Home address to display, set both labels to "Available."
Event Section
The event section can be added after a form is created under Add Form Elements.
Inside Element Properties, choose the date of the event.
Choose whether you want to Require at least one registrant for the event. A form can have multiple event sections, so you may want to require one registrant for one, but make the others optional.
You can also choose to limit the number of registrants for the event. This will limit the total number of registrants. If there is a cap in place, a small timer will display when a person registering through the form becomes inactive for 1 minute letting them know that their submission will become inactive.
Underneath this section, you can also choose what happens when the registrant limit is reached.
Next, if the form is available for organizations, you can toggle ON the option to Allow key contacts to register linked profiles.
You can also toggle ON the option to allow Guest registrants. Guest registrants are event attendees that are not members. Here you can set a limit on the number of guest registrants allowed in one submission.
If you would like the form to Create prospect profiles for guest registrants, toggle that option ON.
Finally, if you would like for guest registrants to receive Public/Prospect pricing instead of Member Type pricing for their registration, you will turn the "Prevent guests from receiving member type pricing" toggle to ON.
After configuring the Properties of the event section, drop the appropriate custom and built-in attributes, as well as any form fields or presentation elements you like.
Summary Section
This section includes an area for the member to enter any Discount Code and you may enable Summary Fields. If you click ‘Properties’ in this section, in the element properties on the left, you can choose to Add/Edit Summary Fields to configure the fields that appear in the Summary so that the member may review what they entered before moving on to the payment section.
Payment Section
This section includes credit card payment fields. The Name and Address sections will pre-fill with information captured in the Membership section. If you click ‘Properties’ in this section, you can add the Payment Processor and Invoice Template.
Confirmation Section
This section includes the confirmation page that will be seen once a member submits the form. Just click on the section to edit the text in the Element Properties. If you click on ‘Properties’ in the section, you may enable the confirmation email, which can go out automatically once a member submits the form.
Comments
81 comments
The weird thing is that other payment fields are working just fine, and as far as I can see, this one is configured just like they are, only since it wasn't showing up I added the default option and made it required -- and it still doesn't show up. I have all my groups able to see it, but unfortunately nobody does, and I'm having to invoice people outside MemberClicks to get their registration funds. Maybe I should take this to the help team.
Hi Chris - It looks like you've created a ticket with the Help Team. That's typically what I would recommend for organization specific questions, as I don't check the forum every day and the Help Team is available every week day. I hope you're all set!
Can I get in on this conversation??? We are giving members the option to pay with CC or with check. When paying with CC we are adding a $2 processing fee (to offset the amount charged to us) because we are a 503(c)(b) and cannot afford the CC fees without such. I have a radio button, along with form logic, to either turn on or off the fee. However, upon check out both options are still available. Is there a way to turn off the other option upon payment so people aren't tempted to skirt the $2 and pay by CC anyway?
Dee - Unfortunately there isn't a way to tie the field on the form asking how they'll pay to the actual payment page. The payment page is system generated, and looks the same for every MemberClicks customer. The set-up you described where you're asking them how they'll pay then showing a required pricing field using field logic is the best/only option for setting up a CC fee at this time.
I'm setting up a form to register people for our conference. We have four registration periods (early, regular, late, and last-minute). Within each of those time periods, we have both member and non-member pricing. I've set up the four date-based pricing rules, but I can't figure out how to set up the prices in my form without creating a long selection set that includes all eight prices. There must be a better way! Help?
Hi Linda - Once you've set up the date ranges, click Edit next to one of them. From there, you'll need to select the different Member Types that will be using the form from the dropdown and click Add to assign the specific price that Member Type should pay during the early or late range. Ultimately you'll probably add all Member Types (assuming the form is available to all types of members).
I usually start by adding the non-member column(s), type in their price, then select all of the Member Types that pay the same rate, add those columns, type in the price, and repeat until you've set up pricing for every type of member who might use the form. If you have questions, feel free to give the Help Team a call so they can talk you through the process over the phone - their number is 404-879-2800.
Hi Kinsey,
So far, there have been no comments or questions yet regarding the ensuring that the discount code functions correctly. It would be good to have an article on the details surrounding the set-up for discount codes, adding a member type, and the designated discounted $ amount(s). I am having trouble getting a code to apply correctly.
Is it possible to limit event registrations to a sub-set of a member group? I assume that this would have to be added to the log-in section, but I can't figure out how to do it. Three examples:
Thanks!
Hi, Kinsey. I'm back again with a follow-up question. On August 9, you explained how to add member and non-member prices to date-based pricing. Unfortunately, I ran into a wall on the very first step you suggested. I've set up the date ranges, but when I click on what appears to be the live "Edit" link for the first date range, to set the prices for different member types, nothing happens. I can delete the date range or disable it, but I can't edit it. Any other ideas?
Hi, again. Sorry about the previous question. I decided to start over and create a brand-new form. Now it's working perfectly. There must have been a some kind of bug in my first one!
Are you able to hide inactive forms from the form list and if needed be able to retrieve them at a later date?
Hi Nina - Right now, all of your forms will be viewable in the form list, including those that are unpublished. We will be adding an organizational structure to the forms area in the future, though I don't have details on how it will function since it isn't yet in development. In the meantime, when you're finished with a form and unpublish it, you might consider adding a "z" to the front of the form's name - that will push the form to the bottom of the list, and indicate to Admins that it's not in use.
Hi Kinsey! I have a new donations form that has one donation field not working. I'm getting this message:
Field currency must match form currency settings. These settings will not be saved unless this is fixed.
How do I fix this? I'd like to just delete the field and start over, but the delete option is grayed out.
Thanks!
Chris
Hi Christine - I would need to look at the specifics to be sure, but I think you'll want to toggle off "Field is For Currency" inside the Donations attributes, then go back to the form to set up pricing. For questions like this one that require looking at a specific form or specific attributes, I recommend contacting the Help Team so that they can log in to your site for the details.
I'm using a form as a survey, and would like to include some fields of explanation. How do I add text to the form?
Hi Annette - You'll want to use a Label type field for explanatory text on the form. You can find the Label field in the Add Form Elements tab categorized as a Presentation Element.
In case it's helpful, here's a link to the September MemberClicks University training I recorded on How to Move Your Surveys and Elections Online.
We're trying to create a "Contact Us" form to put on our website. But we can't figure out how to direct the submissions to a particular person or email address, such as "MarySmith@Our_Association.org" or "info@Our_Association.org." Is there a way to do this?
Hi Linda - To update these settings, navigate to Forms > Form List > Edit the form > click on Properties in the Confirmation Section. From there, choose to Edit Confirmation Email. You'll put that person's email address in the Confirmation BCC area.
Hope that helps!
Is it possible to remove the payment field entirely? I see the option is inaccessible in the demo picture here, as it is on my own interface. I'd like to remove it entirely from one of my fields so as to cancel the "$0.00" that appears before form submission.
Hi Jake - it isn't possible to toggle off the payment section, though it shouldn't show up if your form doesn't have pricing associated. You might reach out to the Help Team to talk through the details of what's possible so they can look at the specific form and make suggestions.
Can we give a group administrative control over a form? I saw that this is possible with classic documentation but did not see the same function in the new documentation. I'd like to allow certain individuals the ability to see how many registrations we have.
Hi Jeanine - In the new platform, you can give a Group Admin access to forms in general – there are no longer Admin permissions specific to each form, as we found that most of the time a forms Admin would need access to all forms. You can set the Admin permission for forms under Database > Admin Permissions. If you have someone that should ONLY have Admin access to forms, might consider creating a new Group and placing the appropriate people in it in addition to their existing Group(s).
How do you remove the payment section from a form that requires no payment to submit?
Hey there Anna!
If no payment is required on your Form, the Payment Section won't appear at all on the front-end, so you're already set! It will stay in place on the admin-side, in case pricing is ever added in the future.
Our annual meeting is currently 26 days away. Our event registration form was generating invoices where the registration fee doesn't need to be paid until after the meeting (default was +30 days, which I just turned down to +15 days).
When making an event registration form, is there any way to tie invoice due dates to the date of the event (like how dues invoices are tied to member expiration dates)?
Alternatively, are there any plans to make it possible to select a specific due date, or a specific number of days between invoice creation and due date, apart from the current/very limited drop-down menu options (+15, +30, +60, +90)?
Lastly, once we're less than 15 days away from the meeting, if we want to make sure none of the invoices have a due date later than the meeting start date, is our only current option to disable the registration form's "pay later" option altogether?
Hey there Jen! Since you've got multiple questions, I went ahead and made a Help ticket for you. The Help Team will be in touch!
Is it possible to set up a form so a user can submit multiple times? for example, a donation form?
Hey Marci! You can absolutely do that.If you click on the Properties for your Login Section, you'll see a toggle for "Multiple submissions". I hope that helps!
Hi, all. Any more progress on the issue below, raised in April 2016? I join the chorus wishing for this, as we did have the ability in Classic to tell people to complete a form to a certain point and it would be on file, and we could make a separate invoice later. Handy when one person asks to pay by check but we don't want to turn on the pay-by-check option for everyone.
Does MC plan to add the ability to "save and return" to an incomplete form submission (on the front end, for someone who fills out a couple pages of the form but has to finish later on)? Our members have been asking for this.
Hi Jen - we have received some feedback about the ability to edit a previously started form submission. We'll continue to take feedback and evaluate how the functionality should work, so I don't have anything concrete at this point, but it's definitely on our radar!
Hello Neil! If you haven't already, please join the chorus here: https://portal.prodpad.com/6711
That link (which you can find with the blue ? on your admin view) sends feedback directly to our Product Team. While we don't have any changes to note there yet, I encourage you to leave feedback about it, along with any other enhancements you'd like to see. The more we here from you and others, the better!
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