Creating Digital Forms

Customizable forms allow providers to collect key information from families using pre-set or custom fields directly through brightwheel.

Sabrina avatar
Written by Sabrina
Updated over a week ago

Brightwheel’s Forms empower providers by enabling them to collect key information from both existing and prospective families. Information collected is automatically added to the student’s profile and will create new contacts as needed. Providers can collect and store all form submissions in one place and easily see who’s submitted all necessary information and who hasn’t.

In addition to Forms, providers can also utilize other various document-sharing options with families like Shared Files, Document Requests, and Contracts.


Create a New Form

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Open the Paperwork page on the purple sidebar menu

  3. On the Forms & Requests tab, click the Create new drop-down menu

  4. Select Form

  5. Enter the form’s name and description, click Continue

  6. Click the + New Section button and choose what sections to add (Child, Parent, Enrollment, Address, Parent signature, or Custom)
    Please Note: Any information collected using a Custom Section/Field will not be displayed directly in the student’s profile, but will always be accessible through that form submission.

  7. Click Add fields within a section to add Custom Fields

  8. Mark the desired fields Required and delete any unnecessary fields

  9. Use the number drop-down options next to Sections and Fields to re-order as needed

  10. Use the orange Preview button and click Exit preview when ready to save

  11. Set the access level for the form: Link Access, Invite Only, or Draft
    Please Note: To update this access level on a saved form, see our Editing Forms resource

  12. Click Create when ready


Sections and Fields

Preset Sections and Fields

Each form is comprised of sections of fields that parents will be able to fill out. These fields directly correspond with the fields in the student’s profile. Once a section is added to a form, any field can be marked as required or deleted by clicking the trash icon.

Please Note: A "Guardian Information" section will be created for each guardian already associated with the student when the guardian receives the application with the exception of emergency contacts.

Custom Sections and Fields

Custom Sections and Fields can be added to any form as outlined in the creation process above. At this time, any information collected in the custom section/field will not be displayed directly in the student’s profile, but will always be accessible through that form submission.

Click the + New Section button and choose Custom to add a Custom Section. Once added, you can modify the name of the section by clicking Edit or delete the section by clicking the trashcan icon.

Click the Add fields button within a section and choose Custom field to add a Custom Field. These will be added to the bottom of the section by default and the field name and type (text, yes/no, numeric, date, or paragraph) can be modified by clicking the pencil icon.

Please Note: All custom field names must be unique and cannot be repeated. For example, if you needed to have two name fields on a form, you would want to create Name 1 and Name 2 fields instead to avoid duplicates!


Share Forms

Once you've created a form, you have different options available for how you'd like to share it.

If you want to share with parents who are already attached to student contact, you can send an invite to complete it right from the Forms & Requests tab. If you want to share a direct link to the form via email, another communication method, or by adding the link to your website, this is also possible and can be valuable if you're wanting to gather prospective student information and add them to a Waitlist!

Please see our Sharing Forms resource for specific steps.


Review Form Submissions

Form Statuses

  • Shared - The form has been sent to the parent but no action has been taken

  • In Progress - The form has been viewed or started by a parent but has not been completed

  • Submitted - The parent has completed the form and is awaiting review

  • Viewed - The completed form has been viewed by the center but no action was taken

  • Approved - The submitted form was appropriately completed and reviewed

    • An approved form will immediately update any field tied to the student’s profile

  • Needs Changes - The center has requested changes and resent the form to parents for them to resubmit.

Review Form Status

You can view a shared form's completion status in a couple of different ways. If you want to see all related Admissions information in one place, using the Admissions Dashboard to view form completions is a great idea.

  1. Go to the Admissions Dashboard on the web

  2. Use the available filters to narrow down student results

  3. View the Pending Forms column to see the shared form's completion status

  4. Click on the hyperlinked text in this column to open the student's profile to the Forms & Requests tab

  5. Click the Actions dropdown menu and select Go to Form to view the current status

You can also choose to just open the form directly from the Forms & Requests tab if you just want to see what the status is for all students with whom the form was shared.

  1. Navigate to the Paperwork page on the web

  2. On the Forms & Requests tab, locate and click the desired form to view the current status


Approve or Request Changes

In order to ensure data integrity and verify the parent has correctly submitted the information requested, forms need to be reviewed by the program. Any action taken on a form will update the shared form’s status.

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Open the Paperwork page on the purple sidebar menu

  3. On the Forms & Requests tab, locate the desired form

  4. Click the form's name to open it

  5. Locate any submissions with a "Form Status" of Submitted

  6. Click the Actions drop-down on the applicable row and select Review

  7. Review the form contents

  8. At the bottom, click Select an action...

    1. If changes are needed, select Request changes

      1. Input a note for the parent detailing what needs to be changed

      2. Click Send request to notify parents via email

    2. If changes are not needed, select Approve submission

      1. If you would like the form information to update any applicable fields on the student's profile automatically, click Approve and update. If you do not want the student profile fields to get updated, click Approve without updating.

Details on Requesting Changes

Requesting Changes to a form can only be done when the form is not yet approved. Once changes are requested, the form will be resent to parents detailing what you've requested. Parents can make the requested changes and resubmit the form.

If a form has already been approved but changes are needed, duplicating an existing form is a great option so you can share with a parent and have them resubmit the information so applicable pre-defined fields on the student’s profile can be automatically updated.


Close a Form

When a form is no longer needed by a program, it can be closed so that student contacts can no longer access it and send in new submissions.

  1. Log in to brightwheel on the web

  2. Open the Paperwork page on the purple sidebar menu

  3. On the Forms & Requests tab, locate the desired form

  4. On that form's row, click the Actions drop down menu

  5. Select Form details

  6. Use the Form access drop-down menu to change the form's status to Closed

  7. Click Save

💡 If the form does need to be shared again in the future, the provider can change the access to shareable again!


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can I collect a registration fee with a form I share with my parents?

Our Admissions feature operates separately from our billing platform at this time. There is not currently a way to collect a fee with an application. Any registration or application fees you may wish to collect must be added manually to the student's billing account as a one-time charge.

What if I need to edit a form I’ve already shared with my parents?

You can easily edit and reorder sections within a form. Editing a form will not affect or change any historical submissions. After making edits, only new families that are sent these will receive the updates. You cannot re-share the updated form version if it has already been shared with parents. If you have already shared an application with a family and need to make edits to any field/section, you can duplicate the form and share it this way.

What if I need parents to make changes to a form after it has already been submitted and approved?

Once a form is approved, you won’t be able to use our Request Changes feature. You can edit any auto-populated information directly from the child’s profile, or you can duplicate the form that needs updating and then send the new copy of this form to the family to complete. Once the new copy of this form has been submitted, you'll be able to view the old and updated form.


Learn more about Editing and Sharing Forms!

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