A lead capture form is how potential clients find their way into your Dubsado workspace. When someone fills out your lead capture form, Dubsado automatically creates a contact record and a new project for that lead, so you can start working with them right away.

A lead capture form is a public form you share on your website, social media, or anywhere potential clients might find you. When someone submits it, Dubsado creates a contact record (if that email address doesn't already exist in Contacts) and a new project. From there, you can send proposals, schedule consultations, or kick off a flow to handle the rest automatically.

Creating a new lead capture form starts in the form templates area of your workspace.

The form builder opens with a default set of fields already in place: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, and Event Date. All five fields are pre-mapped to the corresponding contact smart fields, so you can start using the form right away.

The form title you enter becomes the default project title for any project created from this form. You can override this in the form settings using smart fields (covered below).

Once the form is open in the form builder, you can customize the fields and layout to fit your needs.

Use the Elements tab in the form builder sidebar to drag elements into the form, or click the + button within the form itself to add elements inline. You can reorder elements by dragging them to a new position.

For a full list of available form elements, see form elements.

Click Save form when you're done — forms do not autosave.

The five default fields on a lead capture form are already mapped to contact smart fields, so no action is required for them. If you add additional fields or want to change an existing mapping, click the form element and update the Field mapping dropdown. Field mapping is available on Short answer and Date select elements only.

Mapped field data saves to the contact record in Contacts. You can also map fields to custom fields, which are configured under Settings ➔ Custom fields.

For full details on field mapping, see map a form field.

The Settings tab in the form builder sidebar contains all the configuration options for your lead capture form. Settings are organized under two headings: Lead capture options and General.

These settings are specific to lead capture forms.

Default flow — Select a flow template to activate automatically when a client completes the form. If the form itself contains a flow element, that flow overrides the default flow setting. This is a Premier feature; Starter plans will see an upgrade prompt when selecting this option. For more on setting this up, see start a flow from your lead capture form.

Thank you message — Enter a message to display after the form is submitted. The thank you message field supports rich text formatting, so you can add links, bold text, and other formatting using the text editor toolbar.

Redirect URL — Enter a URL to redirect the client to an external page after submission. The redirect opens in a new tab. The URL must include http:// or https:// — a warning banner appears if the protocol is missing. Setting a redirect URL overrides the thank you message. You cannot redirect to other Dubsado forms or schedulers; if you need to send a follow-up form, use a flow instead.

Project status — Assign a project status to all projects created from this form. Statuses are configured on the Projects page. If no status is assigned, the project appears under the default leads view.

Project title — Customize the project name using smart fields so each project is easy to identify. For example, entering {​{client.name}} Photography creates project titles like "Jane Smith Photography." If left blank, the project title defaults to the form title. See smart fields for a full list of available options.

Team member — Assign team members or groups to be notified when a lead submits this form. Save the form before assigning team members — the assignment controls are not available on an unsaved form.

These settings apply across form types.

Expiration date — Set a fixed date and time after which the form can no longer be submitted. Lead capture forms support fixed expiration only. This is useful for time-limited promotions or events.

Password protection — Toggle to control who can access the form. When set to No (the default), anyone with the link can access the form directly. When set to Yes, the form is only accessible through the client portal after the client logs in.

The Styling tab in the form builder sidebar lets you customize the visual appearance of your form. You can adjust font, font size, font color, padding, and the submit button text. For detailed styling instructions, see the form builder overview.

By default, Dubsado sends you a dashboard notification and an email each time a lead capture form is submitted. To check or adjust this setting, navigate to Settings ➔ Notifications and look for Lead capture form completed in the notifications list.

After saving your form, click the Sharing tab in the form builder sidebar to access your sharing options. The tab includes two sections: Embed code and Direct link. For full instructions on embedding your form and sharing it with potential clients, see share your lead capture form.

No. Dubsado does not currently support adding CAPTCHA to lead capture forms.

No. Lead captures are designed for quick submissions. If you need clients to provide detailed information before you take them on, use a questionnaire instead — questionnaires have a save draft feature so clients can return and finish later.

Yes. Every submission creates a new project, even if the contact already exists in Dubsado or has another open project with you. To collect information from an existing contact without creating a new project, send them a questionnaire or other form type from within the existing project.

You can upload a PDF, but it becomes read-only and won't collect or map field data. If you need to share a PDF with a new lead, use a flow to send it as a separate step after the lead capture is submitted.

In the form templates board view, you can drag a form card into the Lead capture column to change its type. Creating a new lead capture form is the better approach, though, because certain elements stop working when converted — specifically the Package element, Signature, and Initials. Those elements are not supported on lead captures.

Check lead capture troubleshooting for common issues and solutions.