Create Multiple Records from SmartSuite Forms with Ease

If you've ever found yourself intrigued by the potential of SmartSuite forms, then you're in for a treat. Today, we dive into transforming form submission events into a powerhouse process that not only creates multiple records within SmartSuite but links them too. Think of it as a sneak peek into my world. After all, I'm not just a SmartSuite consultant advising others; I'm also leveraging the platform's robust abilities for my website's backend operations. So, let's uncomplicate the complex!

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The Magic Behind Streamlined Form Submissions

At the heart of my website lies a straightforward form submission app, the kind you might encounter while browsing my website. It captures essential details like a person's name, their organization - crucial since my work revolves around business entities - their email address, and the good old "how can we help" question. Simplicity here is key, ensuring the form is brief yet comprehensive.

However, the real elegance begins post-submission. Instead of a direct and bland contact record creation, my approach is nuanced, separating the organization entries into their account records. Why, you ask? The answer's simple: multiple contacts may emerge from a single organization, and I prefer my records interconnected and rich with relationship details, allowing for a more dynamic client interaction.

Crafting Contacts and Accounts with Automation

Now, the behind-the-scenes magic unfolds through SmartSuite's automations. With a keen focus on the form submission app, I've constructed an automation that springs into action with each form submission event. The goal is simple yet ambitious: to spawn a new contact record, an account record, and to interlink them without manual hassles.

Here's how it goes: When someone like you watches a video on my channel and decides to collaborate with me, you'd hit the 'contact us' page, fill out your details in the form, and upon submission, set my automation gears in motion.

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Conjure Up a Contact

Firstly, a contact record is created pulling information directly from the submission - names mapped to names and emails to emails. The clever part is attaching the form submission itself to the newly minted contact. It's not sorcery - just a smart linking field that cross-references the form's title with the contact.

And Then... The Account

Creating the account record slightly upped the ante. Aiming for simplicity within SmartSuite's automation limits – currently lacking the ability to directly link multiple automation actions – I've utilized a workaround. By setting the company name field from the form as the account name and then using the contact's full name as a text-based identifier for linking, I forged a connection between the freshly created contact and the account.

// Sample Code for Account CreationCREATE ACCOUNT SET name = submission[organization]LINK ACCOUNT TO CONTACT WHERE contact.fullName = submission[full name]

A Future of Flexibility

While my method works wonders for now, I'm eagerly awaiting enhancements to SmartSuite automations that will allow the usage of fields from one creation step in subsequent ones. This would grant us the ability to insert record IDs from earlier steps, paving the way for more secure and flexible linking.

Testing the Automation Process

Putting the system to the test, I simulated a form submission with fictitious details and – voilà – the automation performed flawlessly. A new contact record emerged, aligned with the form submission it sprang from, and an account record was waiting in the first stages of its lifecycle, ready for further development or even potential data enrichment.

// A glimpse into testing

TEST SUBMISSION FULL NAME = "Dan Test"ACCOUNT NAME = "Testerson International"EMAIL = "dan@testerson.com"HOW WE CAN HELP = "Implement SmartSuite"RESULT: Success! Contact and Account records created and linked.

Your Turn to Automate

Perhaps your needs differ; you might be looking at crafting opportunity records instead. The beauty of this automation philosophy is its versatility—adapt it to suit your unique SmartSuite scenario.

Remember, this is just scratching the surface of SmartSuite's potential. If you’re excited to harness the power of automation to boost your business processes, don’t hesitate to connect.

To experience SmartSuite's key benefits for yourself, start a free trial today and explore its intuitive work management platform.