Our Questionnaire builder lets you easily create custom forms to gather client information — saving you time and sparing you the headache of chasing down details, fixing errors, or doing endless follow-ups. Whether it's for intake forms or organizers, our customizable form builder helps you keep everything on track, making the whole process of gathering client info simple and efficient!
Heads Up! This feature is currently in beta, which means you may notice some changes over time. As you explore the Questionnaire beta, we’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions to help us make it even better! To leave a suggestion or feedback, click here!
Create a Custom Questionnaire
The following steps will guide you through building your customized form. To start using Questionnaires, you'll first need to navigate to the Template section in Canopy.
Don't see this feature? Learn how to toggle on the Questionnaires beta here!
1. Click the Templates icon, and select Questionnaire from the menu.
2. Click Create Template.
On the Questionnaire Templates page, click Create Template to get started.
Pre-Built Templates Coming Soon! We are working on creating pre-built templates for Questionnaires. Keep your eye out for this release in the near future! In the meantime, custom forms are built from scratch.
3. Set Up Welcome Screen.
Providing context helps clients know what to expect when filling out your form. The first step in setting up your custom form is personalizing the Welcome Screen, which is the first thing your clients will see when opening the form. Be sure to include any essential information you clients need to get started.
The Welcome Screen section includes:
Questionnaire Title
Welcome Message
Formatting Options - You can add headers, bullet points, hyperlinks...etc.
Description - Add context here to help your client understand whats needed.
Add Page - You can add as many pages to your form as you'd like!
Hide Pages Button - Collapse the pages section to only see the form section.
Preview Form - Take a look at what your form will look like to your client.
Save
4. Add Pages and Sections to your Custom Form.
Just like a physical form has pages, our Custom Questionnaire builder allows you to add Pages to your form by clicking Add Page. Each page can be broken down into sections, making it easy to group together questions and fillable fields by topic. Each page comes with one section by default. You can add more sections to each page by simply clicking Add Section.
To add a Page:
Click Add Page.
Click the stacked dot icon next to Page 1 and select Edit to name the Page.
Click the stacked dot icon next to Section 1.1 and select Edit to name the Section.
To add a Section:
Click Add Section to add more to the Page.
Click the stacked dot icon next to the new Section and select Edit to rename.
To Duplicate or Delete a Page or Section:
Click the stacked dot icon next to the page or section and select Duplicate or Delete from the dropdown menu.
5. Add Groups to Sections.
Now that we've added a section to our page, we can add a Group in our section. Each group contains questions and fillable fields. For example, the group Full Name includes fields for First Name, Middle Initial, and Last Name. You can customize the fields in the group by renaming them to better suit your needs.
You have the option to either use our pre-built groups to quickly add questions and fields to your Questionnaire, or create custom groups designed specifically for your requirements.
Add a Group to a Section of the Questionnaire:
In a Section, click Add Group.
On the right side, you'll see the following options:
Build your own - New Group
Personal Information - Full Name, Personal Details, Address
Financial Information - Investments
Employment Information - Employment
Education Information - Education
Customize Pre-Built Groups:
Let's make things easy and add a pre-built Group. We will learn how to build Custom Groups later. From the menu on the right side, select a Group to add to your form.
In this example, we've selected the group 'Full Name'.
Now that we've selected our Group, you'll notice the following areas:
Group Name - In our first section, our Group Name is called 'Full Name' since we selected that option from the menu. You can rename this group by deleting the text and typing into the field.
Field Name or Question - This section is the Field Name or Question, which tells the client what information to enter in the text box below. You can rename this field as needed.
Placeholder Text - You can add placeholder text in a field to preview what the text will look like, and to demonstrate to the client what they need to type into the field.
Move Icon - The stacked dots on the left side of the field allow you to reorder fields within the group. Click and hold the dots to drag the field up or down to a new position.
Add Group - Allows you to add another Group of questions or fields to this section. You can also move groups to change the order now that you have more than one.
Edit Group – Allows you to Copy, Delete, Expand, or Collapse groups. Since groups can contain multiple questions or fields, expanding and collapsing them helps you focus on customizing one group at a time.
Group Preview - Displays a preview of how the group will appear on the form. The expanded group will be the one shown in the preview.
You can also see within the pre-built groups, some fields are marked as Required. Click the Settings Icon next to the field or question to toggle Required on or off.
Questions and Fields can be easily Duplicated or Deleted within groups.
6. Add a Question Type or Field Type to a Group.
The Add Question option enables you to add a new question or field to the group. When you do, you'll have a range of question or field types to choose from.
Exploring Question and Field Types
Click Add Question.
On the left side, you'll see the following Question Types:
Text Response - Long text, short text, number, date.
Multiple Choice - Single select, yes/no, multi select, dropdown
Contact Info - Name, email, phone, URL, SSN, EIN, address, state, country
Miscellaneous - Headline, body text, file upload (coming soon)
Build a Custom Group
To demonstrate the full potential of custom questions and fields, lets build a custom group together.
Click Add Group.
Select New Group from the right-hand menu.
Name your Custom Group by typing into the field.
Click Add Question.
Add any Questions or Fields you'd like.
7. Customize Group, Question, and Field Settings.
Now that we've learned how to add and edit groups, let's take a look at Customizing Group Settings.
First, click on the Settings Icon next to the group you'd like to customize. You'll notice the customization options on the right-hand side.
Settings Icon - Click here to open up your customization options.
Change Group – Click this option to change your question group.
Repeating - Allows the client to make an additional entry.
Set Condition -Set a condition based on a client's response, applicable only to multiple-choice questions. For instance, if a client selects "Married Filing Jointly" under Filing Status, you may want to show the Spouse Details section.
To do this, first add your question groups—such as Taxpayer Details and Spouse Details—in the example below.
Next, click the gear icon on the question group you want to display based on a specific answer. For example, in Taxpayer Details, under the Filing Status dropdown, you can set the Spouse Details section to appear when the client selects "Married Filing Jointly."
8. Preview and Save.
Before you send your Questionnaire to a client, make sure you Preview your form to make sure everything looks good. Then, click Save to finalize the form.
9. Send your Questionnaire to a Client.
Now that you've built your custom form, let's send one to a client!
Click the Global Plus Icon, then select Questionnaire from the menu.
Add a Template.
Add your Client.
Set a Due Date and Reminder (optional).
Click Create
Click Send in the upper right-hand corner.
After sending your questionnaire, a task will be generated, enabling you to track its progress.
Build a Questionnaire using a Template
In the Presets tab, you can select from pre-created templates. Simply slick on the double square icon on the right-hand side of the template you'd like to copy.
A notification will appear confirming the template has been copied to the Team tab.
To view and edit your copy, select Team in the top left corner of the page.
In the Team tab, click the stacked dot icon next to your copied template.
From the dropdown, select Edit to customize your template.
