A form collects answers, a workflow is the step-by-step process, and a deal is one real case moving through that workflow. Forms and workflows are blueprints; a deal is the live thing that follows them.
Quick reference
| Term | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Form | A reusable set of questions. | A Personal Details form asking name, date of birth, and address. |
| Workflow | The ordered steps a case follows start to finish. | Mortgage Application: Lead → Fact Find → Underwriting → Approval → Settlement. |
| Deal | One real case moving through a workflow. | The Nguyen family's home loan, currently in Underwriting. |
Forms collect answers
A form is a list of questions — fields, document uploads, consent boxes. You design it once and reuse it anywhere. Changing a question updates it everywhere it appears. Forms don't act on their own; they wait to be filled — by an applicant via a private link, by a team member inside a deal, or automatically by the system.
Workflows define the process
A workflow is the journey: an ordered set of steps (the columns on the deals board) and the things that must happen at each step. A step can require a form, run a check, generate a document, collect a signature, or ask for a decision. You build a workflow once and reuse it for every case of that type.
Forms and workflows are blueprints — no real activity yet. The real activity starts when a deal begins.
Deals are real cases in motion
A deal is one actual case — one applicant, one application — travelling through a workflow. When a deal starts, it moves through each workflow step, collecting answers along the way. It sits in exactly one step at a time. You'll have one workflow but many deals running against it simultaneously, each at a different step.
Example
A broker builds a Mortgage Application workflow with Personal Details and Loan Details forms. The Nguyen family enquires, so a new deal is opened for them. The deal moves through Lead, then Fact Find (where the Nguyens fill the forms), then Underwriting, Approval, and Settlement — the same steps the workflow defines for every applicant.
Forms collect the answers, the workflow defines the journey, a deal is one journey actually happening.
Where to learn more
- How to Use the Input Portal — a guided tour of the Forms → Workflows → Deals model.
- Order Workflows — steps, item types, automation, decisions, and versioning.
- Forms & Fields — field types, options, and rules.