Launch via a kick-off form

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What are kick-off forms?

Section titled “What are kick-off forms?”

Kick-off forms sit at the beginning of a Tallyfy template and collect information before the main workflow starts. They work for both internal team members and external people - customers, partners, or vendors can submit a public kick-off form to launch a process automatically.

Unlike standalone forms, kick-off form data flows directly into the process steps that follow.

Where kick-off data ends up

Section titled “Where kick-off data ends up”

A kick-off form only asks for information once. After that, the same answers show up everywhere the process needs them.

Diagram description: The kick-off form is submitted once and stored with the process. Every step that follows can read the same stored answers, and the Info tab on any task shows them too. Nobody re-enters the same field twice.

What to notice:

• The form is filled in once, at launch. You can re-open it later to correct an answer.
• The same stored answers pre-fill every step that needs them, from the first to the last.
• Anyone on the process can see the original answers from the Info tab on any task, without going back to the form.

Creating a kick-off form

Section titled “Creating a kick-off form”

1. Go to the Templates library.
2. Open a template in Edit mode.
3. In the left sidebar, click Triggers.
4. Select Kick-off Form.
5. Click + Add Field to add questions (form fields).
6. Configure each field - name, type, required toggle, help text, options, and default content if needed.
7. Save your template.

Available field types

Section titled “Available field types”

Field type	Use for
Short Text	Names, IDs, brief responses
Long Text	Descriptions, detailed explanations
Dropdown	Pick one from a predefined list
Multi-select	Pick multiple from a list
Radio Buttons	Pick exactly one option
Date	Scheduling, deadlines
Email	Email addresses
File Upload	Documents, images, attachments
Table	Structured tabular data
Assignee selector	Pick people to assign within the process

Mark fields as Required only if the process can’t start without that data. Required fields prevent automatic launching via email triggers or some API calls that don’t supply the field values.

Completing kick-off forms

Section titled “Completing kick-off forms”

1. Click Launch Process on the template.
2. The kick-off form appears.
3. Fill out the fields (required fields show a *).
4. Click Submit.
5. The process starts with the submitted data.

Viewing kick-off form answers

Section titled “Viewing kick-off form answers”

Anyone on the process can see submitted kick-off data:

1. Open any task in the running process.
2. Click the Info tab.
3. Expand the Kick-off Fields section.

Changing kick-off answers after launch

Section titled “Changing kick-off answers after launch”

You can fix a kick-off answer on a running process. Re-open the form, change the answer, then complete it again.

1. Open the running process.
2. Click the kick-off form at the top of the task list.
3. Click Re-open. The fields become editable.
4. Change the answers you need. Each one saves as you go.
5. Click Complete.

Re-opening the form on a completed process makes that process active again.

Tasks that show a kick-off answer in their title or description pick up the new value right away.

Automations don’t. An automation that already ran when the process launched won’t run again after you change an answer:

• Steps an automation hid stay hidden, even if the new answer shouldn’t hide them.
• A deadline an automation set from a kick-off date doesn’t move when you change that date.
• Completing the form again only runs automations that didn’t run the first time.

To show a hidden step by hand, click More on the process and pick Show Hidden Tasks. Then open the step’s menu and choose Show This Task. To fix a deadline, change it on the task itself.

Guests can’t change kick-off answers, and nobody can change them on an archived process.

Filling forms automatically

You can pre-fill kick-off forms using data from other systems via web form links or middleware.

Public kick-off forms

Section titled “Public kick-off forms”

Share a kick-off form publicly so anyone - even without a Tallyfy account - can submit it to start a process.

Why use public forms:

• Instant workflow launch - no delay between submission and process start
• Submitter tracking - the person who submits gets a unique link to track progress (after email verification)
• Spam prevention - email verification filters out fake submissions
• Branding - public forms display your organization’s logo
• Self-service assignment - mark an Assignee Picker field as “Default to guest” and the submitter is auto-assigned, no manual hand-off needed

Deactivated members and public forms

Section titled “Deactivated members and public forms”

Tallyfy uses the kickoff_sharing_user_id to authenticate public form submissions. When that member gets deactivated, Tallyfy automatically reassigns the public form to the template owner. If the template owner is also inactive, the public link won’t work. Check public form assignments before deactivating members. (See Removing Members.)

Pre-fill kick-off form fields via URL

You can pre-fill kick-off form fields using URL parameters - this works for both public and internal kick-off forms. Add ko_fields with JSON field values and default_run_name to pre-set the process name. See magic links for the complete URL format and field type reference.

Making a kick-off form public

Section titled “Making a kick-off form public”

1. Open the template in Edit mode.
2. Go to Triggers > Kick-off Form.
3. Find Public Sharing on the right panel and switch it ON.
4. Click Get Public Link.
5. Copy the shareable link from the dialog.
6. Share this link with people outside your organization.

How public form submission works

Section titled “How public form submission works”

1. The visitor enters their email address.
2. Tallyfy sends them a private access link via email.
3. They click the link to open the form.
4. They fill out and submit.
5. The process launches inside Tallyfy.
6. They can reuse their private link to check process status later.

Public forms vs. internal steps

Section titled “Public forms vs. internal steps”

	Public kick-off forms	Internal process steps
Audience	External users without Tallyfy accounts	Team members and assigned guests
Purpose	Collect initial data to start a workflow	Execute tasks after the process starts
Access	Public link via email, website, etc.	Tallyfy dashboard with login
Experience	Simple form with your branding	Full task management with comments, attachments, tracking
Visibility	Submitters track overall progress only	Full internal task details

Example: purchase requisitions

A vendor submits a purchase order through your public form. This creates an internal approval workflow where your finance team reviews and processes the order - invisible to the vendor except for status updates.

Best practices

Section titled “Best practices”

Collect only what’s needed upfront

Section titled “Collect only what’s needed upfront”

• Ask for data the launcher definitely has right now
• Save detailed branching questions for later workflow steps
• Keep the form short. Don’t front-load complexity.

Equipment insurance example

Instead of “List all equipment details, specifications, and carrier requirements” on the kick-off form, ask “Equipment or facilities?” and “Client ID?” Then use automations to reveal detailed collection steps based on those answers.

Form design tips

Section titled “Form design tips”

• Use clear field names - skip jargon
• Arrange fields in logical order
• Mark fields required only when truly necessary
• Add help text for anything that needs explanation
• Test the form before sharing it widely

Common mistakes

Section titled “Common mistakes”

• Front-loading questionnaires - asking for info that isn’t available yet
• Branching in kick-off forms - conditional logic belongs in workflow steps, not the initial form
• Over-requiring fields - making fields mandatory when launchers might not have that data
• Ignoring user context - different users have different information at launch time

Related articles

Section titled “Related articles”

Launching > Launch from a form

External web forms can automatically launch Tallyfy processes. Use a public kick-off form link…

How To > Build effective forms

Tallyfy builds forms directly into workflow steps, so every submission triggers a trackable…

Triggers > Launch via a magic link

Magic links in Tallyfy are special URLs that let logged-in users trigger actions like launching…

Launching > Triggers

Tallyfy offers seven ways to start a process, from manual clicks and form submissions to API…

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