Submit.com Smart, Customisable Application Forms for Complex Programmes
Build branded application, nomination and entry forms that adapt to each applicant, screen out ineligible submissions before they reach your team, and carry answers forward between programme phases. The Submit.com application form builder needs no code, so programme teams can launch and change forms themselves.
An application form builder is software for creating the forms applicants complete to apply for a grant, scholarship, award or programme. The Submit.com application form builder adds conditional logic, eligibility rules, more than 25 question types and multi-phase forms, and connects each form to review and decisions in the same platform, so applicants answer only what applies to them and teams receive clean, structured data.
What to look for in an application form builder
A general-purpose form tool collects answers. A form for a funded or competitive programme also has to apply eligibility rules, feed a review process and stand up to scrutiny later. These are the questions programme teams usually ask when comparing a Submit.com application form builder with the alternatives.
Logic that matches your rules
Questions that appear only when they apply, so each applicant type sees a shorter form.
Eligibility handled by the form
Rules that flag or reject ineligible applications instead of leaving your team to filter them by hand.
Question types that keep data structured
Tables, numbers, dates, file uploads and video, so answers can be compared and reported.
Stages without re-keying
A later phase that reuses earlier answers rather than asking applicants again.
A portal that looks like yours
Your logo, fonts, colours and domain, from the first page to the confirmation email.
Language and device choice
Forms applicants can complete on a phone and, where required, in Irish or another language.
Control over who sees what
Permissions that keep sensitive answers away from external reviewers.
Reuse from one cycle to the next
Templates and archived questions, so next year's form is an update, not a rebuild.
Conditional logic and eligibility screening
One opening question can route each applicant down a different path, and eligibility rules decide what happens to an application once it is submitted.
How conditional logic works
Child questions can be attached to yes or no, multiple choice and multiple select questions, and can go two levels deep. On a multiple select question, each ticked option brings its own follow-up questions, so an applicant who ticks two options sees both sets.
If an applicant changes an earlier answer, the follow-up answers that no longer apply are cleared, so reviewers never see answers to questions the applicant should not have been asked.
How eligibility screening works
Eligibility rules in Submit.com application forms can reject an application automatically, tag it, or route it to a particular team based on the answers given.
Auto-reject takes effect when the applicant submits the completed form, not part-way through. If applicants need to know earlier, put the eligibility criteria in a statement at the start of the form, or open with an eligibility question that ends the form for anyone who does not qualify.
Per-question settings
Each question can be made required, given a word or character limit or a maximum answer, archived between rounds while keeping previous answers, or hidden from reviewers' folders with the Hide in folders setting.
Branded portals and applicant experience
Applicants judge a programme partly by its application. A Submit.com branded applicant portal carries your organisation's identity through every form, so applicants know they are in the right place.
Your brand settings
Set the site name, logo and transparent logo, background image, favicon, font and a default image for form descriptions. Apply the settings across the whole portal or page by page, and run the portal on a branded domain.
Themes from your colours
Choose a pre-made theme or build one from your own hex colour values, with colour and opacity set for each section of the page.
A form applicants can finish
Forms work on phones and tablets and save progress as applicants go, so a long application can be completed over several sittings. Applicants can sign in with an existing Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn or Facebook account.
Question types and smart tables
Submit.com application forms offer more than 25 question types, so you collect structured answers that can be compared, rather than free text. Commonly used types include:
- Short, medium and long text
- Number
- Multiple choice
- Multiple select
- Yes / No
- Date and date & time
- File upload
- Smart table
- Video recording
- Video briefing
- On-screen & authenticated signature
- Phone, website & location
- Payment (Stripe)
Smart tables combine display text, applicant input and formula cells, which suits budgets where totals must add up before an applicant can continue. Cells cannot be merged, and rows and columns cannot be added once a table is built, so size a budget table for its largest case at the start.
How forms carry data across phases
The Smart Builder carries answers from an earlier phase into a later one, so applicants and reviewers never re-key information already captured, such as contact details collected at application and needed again at contracting.
Files, media, multilingual and accessibility
File uploads
Each upload question can be limited to the file types you choose and capped at a number of files, and applicants see the accepted types on the question. Individual files can be up to 300 megabytes.
Video and media
Video recording questions let applicants record a short answer in the form, and video briefing questions show applicants a video before they answer, which suits training or induction checks. Applicants can also link to material hosted elsewhere.
Multilingual forms
Submit.com application forms can be offered in Irish, Welsh and Polish as well as English, depending on your plan. Applicants switch language inside the form without restarting or losing their answers. Kildare County Council uses this for full Irish-language versions of its scheme applications. Read the Kildare County Council story.
Accessibility
Clear structure helps every applicant: only relevant questions, plain guidance text, mobile-friendly layout and the option of the applicant's own language. If your procurement process requires formal accessibility conformance documentation, ask the Submit.com team for the current statement.
Grant, scholarship, awards, innovation and talent examples
Different programmes ask very different things of the same form builder. These examples show how Submit.com application forms are set up for each type of programme, and where a customer has done it.
Complex grant eligibility
Typical form set-up
- An opening question that sends each applicant to the right funding measure
- Council-only due diligence questions hidden from external exports
- English and Irish versions from one build
Galway County Council: built one master form for its Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme covering all four funding measures, with a small number of early branches and due diligence fields kept out of the departmental export.
Read the Galway County Council story | Submit.com grant management software
Example set-up
Student-friendly scholarship forms
Typical form set-up
- A short first phase, with transcripts and statements requested only from shortlisted students
- Eligibility questions on course, year or residency at the start
- Mobile completion, saved progress and sign-in with an existing account
How a university team might set this up: open with eligibility questions so ineligible students know early, then invite shortlisted students to a second phase for documents. This is an illustrative set-up, not a customer case.
Awards nominations and media
Typical form set-up
- Nomination questions that change with the award category
- Attachments and video links supporting each nomination
- Tags that sort nominations into categories for judging
Cork City Council: took hundreds of nominations for the Cork Lifelong Learning Awards with attachments and video links, sorted automatically into categories for 23 external judges.
Read the Cork City Council story | Submit.com awards management software
Innovation proposals
Typical form set-up
- A deliberately light expression of interest form
- Auto-tagging to spot strong applications quickly
- A later interview stage where panellists refer to the original application
Ignite at University College Cork: replaced emailed Word documents with an expression of interest form for its graduate start-up programme, then shares shortlisted applications with interview panellists.
Read the Ignite story | Submit.com innovation programme software
Talent applications
Typical form set-up
- File uploads for CVs and certificates
- Video briefing questions with a questionnaire for mandatory training
- Tags for trade, location and availability
Hamilton French: moved recruitment and pre-site training online, using video briefing questions instead of bringing contractors into the office for induction.
Read the Hamilton French story | Submit.com HR and talent programme software
General-purpose form tools compared with an application management platform
General-purpose form tools vary, and many handle simple branching well. The difference usually shows once applications need screening, review and an audit trail. Use the middle column as a checklist for any tool you are considering.
| Capability | What to check in a general-purpose form tool | Submit.com application form builder |
|---|---|---|
| Conditional questions | Whether branching works across several stages and keeps the data tidy | Follow-up questions on yes or no, multiple choice and multiple select, two levels deep, with answers cleared when the parent answer changes |
| Eligibility | Whether ineligible applications are flagged automatically or filtered by hand | Auto-reject, auto-tagging and routing rules applied when the form is submitted |
| Multi-stage programmes | Whether a second stage needs a new form and re-entered answers | Phases within one programme, with the Smart Builder carrying earlier answers forward |
| Structured answers | Whether budgets and figures arrive in a consistent format | Smart tables with formula cells, plus number, date and file questions with set limits |
| Review | Whether reviewers work in the same system or receive exports | Folders shared with reviewers, with Hide in folders for sensitive questions |
| Branding | Whether the portal can use your domain, logo, fonts and colours | Branded domain, logo, favicon, font and themes, set globally or page by page |
| Language | Whether applicants can change language part-way through | In-form language switching, including full Irish-language forms |
| Records | Whether access and changes are controlled and logged | Role-based permissions and audit trails across forms, reviews and decisions |
On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see every column. Some capabilities depend on your plan.
Security and auditability
Application forms often collect personal, financial and sensitive information. Submit.com application forms sit inside the same secured platform as review and decisions, so data does not need to leave it to be assessed.
Who sees what
Role-based permissions control what administrators, reviewers, finance staff and external partners can see. The Hide in folders setting removes a question and its answer from reviewers' view.
A record of what happened
Audit trails log activity on applications, reviews and decisions, and configurable data retention sets how long submissions are kept after a programme closes.
Security credentials
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with multi-factor authentication and single sign-on. Submit.com lists SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 attestation, Cyber Essentials certification and G-Cloud supplier status. Security and compliance.
These controls support your General Data Protection Regulation obligations; your organisation remains responsible for how forms are configured and used. Submissions can also be passed to other systems through the Submit.com application programming interface.
Frequently asked questions
How many question types does Submit.com offer?
Submit.com offers more than 25 question types, including short and long text, number, multiple choice, multiple select, yes or no, date, file upload, smart tables with formulae, video recording, video briefing, signatures, location and payment through Stripe.
Can one form serve different types of applicant?
Yes. Conditional logic shows each applicant only the questions that apply to them, based on yes or no, multiple choice and multiple select answers, up to two levels deep. Galway County Council uses one master form for all four measures of its Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.
When does eligibility screening take effect?
Auto-reject rules take effect when the applicant submits the completed form, not part-way through. If applicants need to know earlier, state the criteria at the start of the form or open with an eligibility question.
Can applicants save a form and come back to it?
Yes. Submit.com application forms save progress as applicants go, so a long form can be completed over several sittings and on different devices.
Do the forms support Irish and other languages?
Yes. Forms can be offered in Irish, Welsh and Polish as well as English, depending on your plan, and applicants can switch language inside the form without losing their answers.
What files can applicants upload?
You choose the accepted file types and the number of files for each upload question, and applicants see the accepted types on the question. Each file can be up to 300 megabytes.
Can we reuse a form for the next funding round?
Yes. You can create a new form from a template and archive questions you no longer need, which removes them from the new form while keeping previous applicants' answers.
See the Submit.com application form builder in action
Book a demo and we'll build a form for your programme with you: logic, eligibility rules, languages and all.
See The Form Builder