How to Use Form Builder in Businessmap

What Is Form Builder?
Who Can Use Form Builder?
How to Create a Form
Option 1: Start from Scratch
Option 2: Use a Template
Option 3: Design with AI
How to Build and Edit a Form
Conditional Logic
How to Embed a Form in a Widget
How Users Submit Forms
How to Track Submitted Requests
Using AI in Form Builder
Attachments in Form Builder
FAQ

Form Builder is a built-in application that helps you collect requests through simple forms and turn them into Businessmap cards.

Instead of asking users to open a board, choose a workflow, select the right column, and fill in card fields manually, you can give them a ready-to-use form. Once the form is submitted, Businessmap creates a card in the correct board location.

This is useful when you want to collect requests in a consistent way, for example:

IT support requests
Bug reports
Time off requests
Purchase requests
Customer feedback
Maintenance requests
Access requests
Internal approvals

Form Builder is especially helpful for users who do not work with Businessmap every day. They only need to fill in the form, and the card is created automatically in the right place.

1. What Is Form Builder?

Form Builder allows users to create custom forms in Businessmap.

Before creating forms, you first set up a Form Builder application - a single installed instance of Form Builder in your account. Within that one application, you can then create and manage as many individual forms as you need. Think of the application as the container, and each form as a separate request form inside it.

Each form is connected to a specific board, workflow, column, and lane. When a user submits the form, a new card is created in that exact location.

For example, an Admin can create an “IT Support Request” form. When a user fills it in and submits it, Businessmap will automatically create a card in the IT Support board, in the “Requested” column.

This helps teams standardize incoming work and make sure that requests are created with the right information from the start.

2. Who Can Use Form Builder?

Form Builder has four roles. Your role determines what you can do inside the app.

Admin: Admins have full control over the app and its forms. They can:

Add users and teams to the app, and assign their role
Set the app to run with the permissions of a specific user
Create, edit, and delete forms
Submit requests and view submitted requests
Read and add comments on requests

Member: Members have the same form permissions as Admins, but cannot manage who has access to the app. They can:

Create, edit, and delete forms
Submit requests and view submitted requests
Read and add comments on requests

Viewer: Viewers have read-only access. They can:

View active forms they have access to, but cannot submit them
View submitted requests
Read comments, but cannot add new ones

Respondent: Respondents can only submit and follow up on requests. They can:

Submit requests
View submitted requests
Read and add comments on requests

Important: Users can only submit forms connected to boards they have access to, unless the form is configured to always run in the name of a specific user who already has access to the connected board.

3. How to Create a Form

Before creating a new form, you need to create a new Form Builder application from Applications -> New application:

Then fill out the following fields:

Application name (mandatory)
Description (optional)
Who runs the requests: There are two options here:
- Each user runs the application with their own permissions: The application uses Businessmap with the permissions of whoever is using it.
- Always run the application as a specific user: Every request is executed as per the selected user, so their permissions apply for everyone. This way, behavior stays consistent regardless of who uses the application. Only an Admin can choose the "Always run the application as a specific user" option.

To create a new form, open newly created Form Builder application and click New form:

You can create a form in three ways:

Option 1: Start from Scratch

Use this option when you want to build a form manually.

You will need to:

Enter the form title (mandatory).
Optionally, add a form description.
Select the target board.
Select the workflow.
Select the column where new cards should be created.
Select the lane where new cards should be created.
Create the form

On the next screen is the form editor, where Admins and Members design the form.

The editor has two main areas:

The form canvas, where you build the form.
The field panel, where you choose which fields to add.

Form components:

Layout Components

Sections: Sections help you organize longer forms into titled group of fields. For example, an IT request form can have sections such as:

Request details
Access information
Business reason
Additional comments

Headings: Allow bolding a title inside the form for better visibility and differentiation.

Text block: Allow inserting an explanatory text.

Divider: Allow inserting a horizontal line for separating the content.

Description Fields

You can add different types of fields to your form, such as:

Single-line text
Multi-line text
Number
Date
Dropdown

Some fields create or update card fields directly. Other fields are used only to collect extra information and place it in the card description.

Default Card Fields

You can use the standard card fields when building your form. The available fields, in alphabetical order, are:

Attachments
Block Reason
Card Template
Card Type
Co-owners
Custom Card ID
Deadline
Description
Owner
Planned End Date
Planned Start Date
Priority
Reporter email
Size
Sticker
Tag
Title

Custom Card Fields

You can also use custom fields when building your form. You can add custom fields of these types: Contributor, Date, Dropdown, Link, Multi-line text, Number and Single-line text.

The form is created as inactive. This allows you to build and review it before making it available to users.

Option 2: Use a Template

Use this option when you want to start from a ready-made form.

Templates are grouped by category, such as:

HR
IT & Support
Finance
Facilities
Marketing
Customer
Operations
Legal

Examples of available templates include Time off, Bug report, Hardware request, Purchase order, Maintenance, Support, Feature request, Incident, Contract, and NDA.

When selecting a template, you can choose whether the form should use an existing board or help you create a new one.

Option 3: Design with AI

Use this option when you want AI to help you create a form.

Describe what type of form you need, and AI will suggest a form structure. You can then review it, connect it to a board, adjust the fields, and publish it when ready.

Example:

“I need a form for employees to request new software access.”

The AI can suggest fields such as employee name, requested software, reason for access, manager approval, and priority.

Note: AI helps create the form structure, but an Admin or Member should always review the form before publishing it.

4. How to Build and Edit a Form

The form editor is where Admins and Members design the form.

The editor has two main areas:

The form canvas, where you build the form.
The field panel, where you choose which fields to add.

Adding and Removing Fields and Components

Inserting a component or a field from the field panel to the canvas can be done by clicking on the plus-sign (+) in front of the component or field name.

Removing a component or a field from the form is done from the recycle bin (trash) icon.

Options in Fields and Components

Sections:

Title (optional): Give your section a name or leave it blank if needed.

Description (optional): Give your section a brief description if needed.

Collapsible (disabled by default): Make the entire section collapsible.

Collapsed by default: When enabled, the section will appear collapsed in the form. This option is available only if the Collapsible option is enabled.

Sections Allow Conditional Logic.

Heading:

Allow including a bolded title inside the form for better visibility and differentiation. Can be left blank if needed.

This component is always shown. Allows Conditional Logic.

Text Block:

Allow inserting a formatted explanatory text. Use the built-in text editor to format your text.

This component is always shown. Allows Conditional Logic.

Divider:

This component is always shown. Allows Conditional Logic.

Description Fields:

Title (optional): Give your field a name or leave it blank if needed.

Default value (optional): You can give your field a pre-filled (default) value. Submitters will it when they open the form. This value can be changed prior to submission.

Field Settings

Mapped to: Shows which Businessmap field this form field's answer will be written into. This can be a default card field, a custom field, or the card description.
Placeholder: A hint shown inside the field before the submitter has typed anything. It disappears once they start entering a value.
Help text: Extra guidance for the submitter, shown next to the field via a small info icon. Unlike the placeholder, it doesn't disappear once the submitter starts typing — they can open it at any time while filling in the form.
Visible: When turned off, the field is hidden from submitters, but its default value is still saved to the card anyway. A hidden field can't also be marked Required.
Required: If a field is marked as required, the user must fill it in before submitting the form. Required fields help make sure that important information is not missed.
Half width: Makes the field take up half the row instead of the full width, so two half-width fields can sit side by side.
Hidden Fields: Admins and Members can hide a field from the form submitter. This is useful when you want every submitted card to have the same value for a specific field, without asking the user to fill it in.

Note: A hidden field cannot be marked as Required, since the submitter never sees it in order to fill it in.

Show as list: Displays the field as a list of radio buttons or checkboxes instead of a dropdown. This option is only available when the field has up to 10 options.
Allow other value: Adds an "Other" choice to the field, with a free-text box, so submitters can enter a value that isn't in the list.

Form details options:

Multi-step Form: By default, a form is displayed as a single page. You can turn on Multi-step form to split it into several steps instead, showing one section per step.

When this option is enabled, submitters move between steps using Next and Back buttons, and a progress bar shows how far along they are in the form.

This is useful for longer forms, since it breaks them into smaller, easier-to-complete parts.

Enable AI mode: Lets submitters fill in this form with the help of an AI assistant, instead of answering each question manually. When turned on, a second field appears - "Give instruction to AI when to use this form" - where you tell the assistant when it should recommend this particular form (for example, "Use this form when an employee wants to request vacation, sick leave, or other time off."). This instruction isn't shown to submitters. It's only used by the AI assistant to decide which form best matches what someone is asking for.

Form Background: You can set a background for your form to make it feel more polished and recognizable. From the form's settings, choose:

None: No background.
Color: Pick a solid color for the form's background.
Image: Choose a photo from the built-in image library to use as the background.

The background you choose appears both on the form itself and on its entry in the list of forms available to submitters.

5. Conditional Logic

Conditional logic lets you show a field, section, heading, text block, or divider only when an earlier answer meets a condition you set. You can also make a field required only when a condition is met, instead of always required.

Each field, section, or component actually has two separate sets of conditions:

Show when: Controls whether the field is visible at all. If you don't add any conditions here, the field is always shown.
Require when: Controls whether the field becomes required. If you don't add any conditions here, the field simply follows its own Required toggle instead.

These two work independently - a field can be always visible but only required in certain cases, or hidden until a condition is met and required as soon as it appears.

You can combine several conditions using:

Match all (AND): every condition must be true.
Match any (OR): at least one condition must be true.

For example:

Show "Laptop model" only if the user selects "Hardware request."
Show "Manager approval" only if the selected cost is above a certain amount.
Make "Reason for urgency" required only if the priority is set to "High."

Conditional logic helps keep forms shorter and easier to complete. Users only see the questions that apply to their request.

6. How to Embed a Form in a Widget

When you finish editing the form, you can save it and either enable it from the "Enable now" button or save it as a draft from the "Not now" option:

If the form is not enabled, the form is not ready for users yet. The form remains inactive, and users cannot submit it:

When the form is ready to use and enabled, it can be embedded in a "Form" widget on a dedicated dashboard. To do this follow the steps:

Copy the embed code from the form:
Go to your dashboard and add the "Form" widget:
When asked, provide the embed code:
Your form will appear in the widget:

Important: Only active forms are visible in the widget and can be submitted.

7. How Users Submit Forms

Users can open Form Builder and see the forms they are allowed to submit.

They only see active forms connected to boards they can access. If your role is Viewer, you can open and read a form, but the Submit button won't be available to you.

To submit a form:

Open the form.
Fill in the required information.
Add optional details, if needed.
Click Submit.

After the form is submitted, Businessmap creates a card in the board location, selected when the form was created.

The submitted information is added to the card fields and/or card description, depending on how the form was configured.

If the form does not include a card title field, or if the title is left empty, Businessmap uses the form name as the card title.

8. How to Track Submitted Requests

Users can track their submitted forms from My Requests.

The My Requests page shows the user’s own submissions.

From there, users can see information such as:

Card ID
Card title
Source form
Submission date

Users can also search their requests.

Request Details

Opening a request shows more information about the submitted form.

The request detail page can include:

Submitted values
Current card status
Comments

Comments

Users can communicate through comments on the request.

This makes it easier to ask follow-up questions or provide additional information without creating a separate conversation.

Note:
Empty comments cannot be submitted.

9. Using AI in Form Builder

Form Builder can use AI in two ways.

Ask AI

Users can describe what they need, and AI can recommend a matching form.

For example, a user can write:

“I need access to a new software tool.”

AI can suggest an access request form if one is available.

Fill with AI

If AI-assisted filling is enabled for a form, users can ask AI to help fill it in.

The AI can suggest values based on the user’s description. The user can review the suggested values before submitting the form.

Important:
AI does not submit the form automatically. The user should always review the information and submit the form manually.

10. Attachments in Form Builder

Some forms may allow users to select files as attachments.

When you add an Attachments field to your form, you can configure the following settings:

Allowed file types: Choose which file types submitters are allowed to upload. Leave empty to allow all supported file types.
Min number of files: The fewest number of files a submitter must attach. Leave empty if there is no minimum.
Max number of files: The most files a submitter is allowed to attach. Leave empty if there is no maximum.
Max file size (MB): The largest size allowed for a single file, up to the platform's maximum. Leave empty to use the maximum allowed size. The maximum supported file size is 10 MB per file.

Important: In some environments, selected files may be checked by the form but not uploaded to the created card. In this case, the card will still be created successfully, but without attachments.

When this happens, the user may see a message similar to: “File uploads are not available in this environment. The card was created without attachments.”

11. FAQ

Why can’t I see a form?

You may not have access to the board connected to the form, or the form may be inactive.

Only active forms connected to boards you can access are shown for submission.

Why can’t I create or edit forms?

Only users with the Admin or Member role can create and manage forms. If your role is Viewer or Respondent, contact an Admin or Member to request a new form or changes to an existing one.

What happens when I submit a form?

Businessmap creates a new card in the board location selected when the form was created.

The information you entered is added to the card.

Can I track my submitted forms?

Yes. You can open My Requests to view your own submissions and follow their status.

Can I comment on a submitted request?

This depends on your role. Admins, Members, and Respondents can open the request details and use the comments section to add a comment. Viewers can read comments but cannot add new ones.

Can a form create cards in different boards?

Each form is connected to a specific board, workflow, column, and lane. If you need to send requests to different boards, an Admin or Member can create separate forms.

Can I use Form Builder without knowing how the board works?

Yes. That is one of the main benefits of Form Builder.

You only need to fill in the form. Businessmap takes care of creating the card in the correct place.

Can AI fill in all fields?

AI can help fill in supported fields, but it does not fill in attachments. The user should always review the suggested information before submitting the form.

What happens if a form is deactivated?

Users can no longer submit it. If they try to open it, they will see that the form is deactivated.

Articles in this section

In this article:

1. What Is Form Builder?

2. Who Can Use Form Builder?