TL;DR
Plutio's form builder lets freelancers and agencies create intake forms, surveys, order forms, and feedback forms with 16 field types, and each submission can auto-create a contact in the CRM, generate a task on a project board, collect a payment, and fire an automation workflow.
Plutio handles the full loop from form submission to client record to project task in one platform, with no Zapier connection, no CSV import, and no manual data entry. Freelancers using Plutio forms report cutting client onboarding time from 25 minutes per client to under 5 minutes, because the contact, the project brief, and the first task all create themselves from one submission.
Forms are available on all Plutio plans starting at $19/month. Build a form, publish it with a shareable link, and start collecting responses in under 10 minutes.
What Plutio's form builder is
Plutio's form builder is a drag-and-drop form editor built into the platform that creates online forms with 16 field types: text, textarea, select dropdown, multiple choice, picture choice, file upload, email, phone, full name, address, country, number, slider, date, link, and signature.
Each form has three configurable pages: a Welcome page (optional intro screen before the form), the Form page (where fields live), and a Thank You page (confirmation screen after submission with an optional redirect URL). Forms can be published with a shareable link, embedded on a website, or sent directly to a client through Plutio's messaging. Responses feed into a response dashboard where each submission is viewable, exportable as CSV, and filterable by date.
Intake forms with auto-contact creation
When a form includes a Full Name and Email field, Plutio can automatically create a new contact in the CRM from each submission. The auto-create contact setting lives in Settings under People, and assigns new contacts a default role (usually Client). Address fields from the form carry over to the contact record, so the CRM entry arrives pre-filled without any manual data entry. Freelancers collecting leads from a website contact form get each lead added to their CRM the moment the form is submitted.
Order forms with payment collection
Forms in Plutio can collect payments directly. Toggle on "Collect payment" in the form settings, set a currency, and connect a payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, or Square). The form can include billable line items with quantities and pricing, and the respondent pays at submission. Plutio auto-sends a receipt if enabled, using a configurable receipt template. The practical result: a freelancer running a workshop, a digital product, or a service retainer can take payment and collect project details in one step, without a separate checkout page.
I replaced Typeform and a separate Stripe checkout with one Plutio form. The client fills in the brief, pays the deposit, and shows up in my CRM before I open my laptop.
Why a connected form builder matters
Standalone form tools create a data island. The form collects information, but that information sits in the form tool's dashboard until someone manually moves it into the CRM, the project management tool, and the invoicing system. On a 10-client month, that manual transfer adds up to 3 to 4 hours of copy-paste work that produces no billable output.
Typeform charges $25/month on its Basic plan for a single user with 100 responses per month, and connecting form responses to a CRM or project tool requires a Zapier subscription starting at $19.99/month. JotForm's Bronze plan costs $34/month for 25 forms and 1,000 submissions, but form data still lives outside the project and client management workflow. Neither tool creates contacts, generates tasks, or triggers project automations natively, so the form is always the start of a manual process rather than the start of an automated one.
The most expensive outcome of a disconnected form is not the subscription cost but the leads that fall through the cracks. A contact form submission that sits in Typeform for 48 hours before someone copies the email into a CRM is a lead that went cold before anyone followed up.
Plutio's approach connects the form directly to the CRM, the task board, and the automation engine, so the submission itself becomes the trigger for the follow-up workflow rather than a reminder to start one.
How the form builder works in Plutio
Open Plutio's Forms section, create a new form, drag in fields from 16 available types, configure submission settings, publish the form, and share the link.
Before starting, make sure the auto-create contacts setting is enabled in Settings under People if intake forms should create CRM entries automatically. For payment forms, connect a payment gateway in Settings under Integrations.
Step by step
- Step 1: Navigate to Forms in Plutio and click the create button. Name the form and choose a layout (centered or full width).
- Step 2: Add fields from the available types: Text, Email, Phone, Full Name, Address, Country, Select, Choice, Picture Choice, File Upload, Number, Slider, Date, Textarea, Link, and Signature. Drag to reorder, set fields as required, and add help text.
- Step 3: Configure form settings: set an activation date, expiration date, and submissions limit if needed. Attach the form to a project so responses are linked to that project automatically.
- Step 4: Under Automation, enable task creation on submission by selecting a project and task group. Each response creates a task with the form data as the description and file uploads attached.
- Step 5: Set a redirect URL in the Thank You page settings if respondents should land on a specific page after submitting. Configure notification settings to receive email or push notifications when responses come in.
- Step 6: Publish the form. Share the public link with clients, embed the form on a website, or send it through Plutio messaging. Responses appear in the Responses tab with filtering and CSV export.
Practical tip: use form templates to save field configurations for recurring form types like client intake or feedback surveys. Duplicate a template, adjust the details, and publish in under 2 minutes.
Who needs a form builder in their project management tool
Freelancers running client-facing services, from design to consulting to coaching, who collect project briefs, client details, or feedback on a regular basis get the most from a form builder that feeds directly into their CRM and task board.
A web designer collecting project briefs from 5 new clients per month spends roughly 2 hours copying form responses into project boards, CRM records, and email threads when the form lives in a separate tool. With Plutio, the form submission creates the contact, populates the project brief as a task, and notifies the designer, so the follow-up call can happen within minutes instead of after a manual data entry session.
Agencies managing multiple clients often need different intake forms for different services: one for branding projects, another for website builds, and a third for retainer onboarding. Plutio forms can be attached to specific projects, so responses route to the correct project board automatically. Each form gets its own response dashboard with submission counts, completion rates, and CSV export for reporting.
Freelancers evaluating HoneyBook alternatives often need form functionality beyond what HoneyBook's Smart Files provide. HoneyBook's forms are tied to its proposal workflow and limited to its built-in field types. Plutio's form builder is a standalone feature with 16 field types, payment collection, and automation triggers that work independently of proposals or contracts. Freelancers comparing Dubsado alternatives find Plutio's auto-contact creation and task automation on submission more direct than Dubsado's workflow-based approach.
Bottom line: any freelancer or agency collecting client information more than twice a month saves measurable hours by using a form builder that creates contacts and tasks on submission rather than one that stores responses in a separate dashboard.
A client fills out my intake form and by the time I check Plutio, the contact is in my CRM and the onboarding task is already on the board. I deleted my Typeform account the same week.
