ShalomCloud Form Builder

Overview

The ShalomCloud Form Builder is an integrated solution designed specifically for synagogues and temples to streamline data collection while automatically managing financial transactions. Unlike commercial form builders, it seamlessly integrates with your congregation’s existing data, eliminating duplicate data entry and reducing administrative workload.

Common Use Cases

• Membership Renewal: Collect annual membership information and automatically process dues
• Religious School Registration: Enroll students, gather emergency contacts, and handle tuition billing
• Event Registration: Sign up members for programs, trips, and special events
• Campaign Pledges: Collect commitments for building funds, capital campaigns, and special appeals
• Congregational Surveys: Gather feedback and opinions from your community

Key Features

Intelligent Auto-Billing

The form builder’s standout feature is its ability to automatically generate financial transactions based on form responses:

• Radio Button Questions with Billing: Create multiple-choice questions where each option has an associated cost. When a member selects their choice, the system automatically creates a charge in the appropriate financial category and fiscal year.

• Write-in Amount Billing: Allow members to contribute custom amounts that are automatically posted to their account without manual intervention.

• Flexible Category Assignment: Bills are automatically routed to the correct financial categories you’ve configured in your system.

Duplicate Submission Protection

The system automatically checks whether anyone in a household has already submitted a form. If a previous submission exists, the member sees:

• The name of the person who submitted it
• The date of the prior submission
• The option to proceed if they need to complete an unfinished form

This prevents double-billing situations while maintaining flexibility for legitimate re-submissions.

Flexible Question Types

Build comprehensive forms with various question formats:

• Radio Buttons: Single-choice questions with up to 16 options, perfect for membership levels or class selections
• Checkboxes: Multiple-choice questions with up to 16 options, allowing respondents to select any combination
• Fill-in-the-Blank: Free-form text fields for open-ended responses, comments, or special requests

Pre-Populated Member Information

When a member accesses a form through their secure portal, the ShalomCloud form builder automatically populates:

• Names and contact details
• Address information
• Family composition
• Student’s name, in the case of religious school registration
• Previous registration details

As a result, the ShalomCloud form builder makes it unnecessary to members to fill in name, address, phone, and email.

Tracking and Follow-up

Stay on top of form completion with built-in tracking tools:

• Form Tracker: Monitor who has responded and who still needs to complete the form
• Automatic Household Tags: The system creates tags for responders, enabling targeted follow-up communications
• Response Viewing: Review all submitted responses in one place, with powerful search capabilities to find specific information across all submissions

Targeted Distribution

Send forms strategically to the right members:

• Filter recipients by billing status (Active, Inactive, Associate, etc.)
• Target specific membership categories
• Use custom member attributes for precise targeting
• Leverage existing email templates for consistent communications

Administrative Benefits

Response Management

• Comprehensive Response View: See every answer to every question submitted across all forms
• Search Functionality: Quickly find responses containing specific terms or information (e.g., allergies)
• Grade-Level Reports: For religious school forms, generate lists filtered by grade level showing which students have completed registration
• Export Capabilities: Download response data to spreadsheets for further analysis or record-keeping

Integration Advantages

Because the form builder is fully integrated with ShalomCloud:

• Financial transactions automatically appear in member statements
• No need to manually transfer data from external form tools
• Instant reconciliation between registration and billing
• Consistent data across all system functions

Template Reusability

Save time by copying and modifying existing forms rather than starting from scratch. This is especially useful for recurring needs like annual membership renewal or yearly school registration.

How It Works: A Typical Workflow

1. Create or Copy a Form: Start with a template or copy last year’s form
2. Configure Questions: Set up questions with appropriate types (radio, checkbox, fill-in)
3. Enable Auto-Billing: For financial questions, assign amounts and categories to each option
4. Select Recipients: Choose which members should receive the form based on status, category, or attributes
5. Send via Email: Use your custom email template to distribute the form
6. Track Responses: Monitor completion and follow up with non-responders
7. Review and Export: Analyze responses and export data as needed
8. Automatic Billing: Charges appear immediately in member accounts without manual posting

Security and Privacy

Members access forms through their secure password-protected portal, ensuring:

• Data privacy and security
• Authentication of respondents
• Prevention of unauthorized access
• HTTPS encryption for all transactions

The Bottom Line

The ShalomCloud Form Builder eliminates the gap between data collection and financial management that exists with standalone form tools. What would normally require multiple steps—collecting form responses, manually entering charges, reconciling payments—happens automatically in one integrated system. This means less administrative work, fewer errors, and more time to focus on your congregation’s mission.