An intake form is the front door to a workflow. It collects the details of a request — what the contract is, who's involved, what documents are attached — and feeds that information to the rest of the workflow so tasks can be filled in and routed automatically.
This guide walks through building an intake form that captures clean data and drives the right actions. For how the AI uses intake data once it's collected, see Agentic AI Intake and Workflows.
Overview
In this article you'll:
Start from a template (or one of Aline's pre-configured ones)
Add and arrange fields with the drag-and-drop builder
Make the fields your process can't run without mandatory
Add the specific fields that drive conditional routing
Allow document uploads and point AI tasks at them
Publish the form and share a public launch page
Step 1: Start From a Template
Intake forms live on templates. Open an existing template or create a new one (see Creating Templates in Aline), then open its intake form to begin adding fields.
💡 Aline also ships pre-configured templates — like a vendor review — that you can customize rather than starting from scratch.
Step 2: Add and Arrange Fields
Use the drag-and-drop builder to add fields. Choose field types that match the data you need:
Single-select / yes-no — for anything that drives routing (these are the most reliable for the AI to act on)
Text — for free-form detail
Date — for deadlines and requested turnaround
File upload — for supporting documents
Keep the form as short as it can be while still capturing what the workflow needs.
Step 3: Make Key Fields Mandatory
Mark the fields your process can't run without as required, so a request can't be submitted with gaps. Incomplete intake is the most common reason a workflow stalls — mandatory fields prevent it.
💡 Best Practice: Include a unique naming field (such as a project number or counterparty name) and use it to name the workflow. This keeps requests easy to find later and avoids a list of identically named contracts.
Step 4: Add Fields That Drive Routing
If you want the workflow to route conditionally, the intake form needs to collect the deciding information. Common examples:
A contract type field (e.g., Ads vs. Hub, or vendor category) to classify the request — consider including an "I don't know" option so submitters aren't forced to guess
A field for whether the vendor will access company systems or sensitive data, to trigger a security review
A manager email field, so approvals can be routed to the right person
📌 See Conditional Routing & Advanced Workflow Logic for how these fields feed routing.
Step 5: Allow Document Uploads
Enable document upload so submitters can attach the relevant files — a third-party paper, a signed order form, supporting materials. Where multiple documents are expected, allow multiple uploads.
⚠️ When you use an AI task later, point it at the attached intake form and documents so it reads only what was submitted, not unrelated files.
Step 6: Publish and Share a Launch Page
When the form is ready, publish the template so it can be used. You can share a public launch page so teams outside of legal — like sales — can submit requests directly, without needing to navigate the platform. Requests they submit flow straight into the workflow.
💡 Best Practices
Keep it short. Every optional field is a field someone will skip or fill in badly.
Structure anything that drives a decision — single-select beats free text every time.
Add a unique naming field so requests don't all look alike in your workflow list.
Offer an "I don't know" option on classification fields rather than forcing a guess.
Share the launch page with the teams that generate requests so intake stops arriving by email.
📚 Related Articles
Conditional Routing & Advanced Workflow Logic
❓ Need Help?
Not sure which fields your workflow needs to collect? Click the Support button in Aline — tell us how the request comes in today and we'll help you turn it into a form.