Related Forms: Create Custom Forms and Link Them to Clients, Employees and Suppliers

Related Forms let you create forms specific to your business and link them to system records, such as clients, employees or suppliers, so you can record data that the system doesn’t include by default. For example, you create a Client contracts form, it’s added to each client’s page, and you record more than one contract for the same client using the fields you define. This guide explains the idea of related forms, how to create them and design their fields, and how to add records to them, with a full example for client contracts and examples for each record type.

What are related forms?

A related form is a form you design yourself and link to a type of record in the system. One record can have an unlimited number of records in the form: one client may have several contracts, and one employee several training courses. Each form has:

• Fields you choose from many types, such as text, date, currency, dropdowns and files.
• A tab with its name on the linked record’s page, showing all records added to it.
• Its own records list, with search and filters based on the fields you choose.
• Separate permissions for adding, editing, viewing and deleting.
• Its own print templates, and an activity log for each record.

Related forms vs. custom fields

	Custom Fields	Related Forms
The idea	Extra fields shown inside the record’s own form, such as an ID number field in the client’s details.	A separate form linked to the record, where you add multiple records.
Data per record	One set of values per record.	An unlimited number of records per record.
Where it appears	Inside the add and edit form and on the record page.	A separate tab named after the form on the record page.
Permissions and printing	Follow the original record’s permissions.	The form’s own permissions, print templates and list.
When to use it	For data recorded once, such as the date of birth or ID number.	For repeated data, such as contracts, visits or complaints.

Where do I find related forms?

You find related forms on each record type’s settings page, in a card named Related Forms:

Linked records	Where the card is	Forms list	Required app
Clients	Clients Settings	Client related forms	—
Suppliers	Suppliers Settings, or Purchase Invoice Settings in the Supplier Related Forms card	Supplier related forms	—
Employees	Employees Settings	Employee related forms	—
Contracts (employee contracts)	Payroll Settings	Contract related forms	Payroll
Manufacturing orders	Manufacturing Settings in the Order Related Forms card	Manufacturing order related forms	Manufacturing
Production plans	Manufacturing Settings in the Plan Related Forms card	Production plan related forms	Manufacturing
Construction projects	The construction Settings page, in the Project Related Forms card	Project related forms	Contracting
Workflow types	From Workflow Types, choose Related Forms from the type’s actions.	Shown from the same action.	Workflows

Creating a related form

The steps below use clients; they’re the same for other records:

1. Open Clients Settings and click the Related Forms card, or open Client related forms directly.
2. Click New Custom Form.
3. Enter the form details as described in the table below.
4. Set the record permissions, as described in Form record permissions.
5. Click Save. You move to the Form Builder to add fields.

Field	Description	Required	Shown when
Name	The form name, shown on the add button and on the tab on the record page. Example: Client contracts.	Yes	Always
Key	An internal name in English, such as client_contracts. It must be unique and can’t be changed after saving.	Yes	On creation only
Status	Active or Inactive. An inactive form doesn’t appear on the record page.	Yes	Always
Name Field	The field used as the name of each record in the form, such as the contract number.	No	When editing, if the form has a text or email field
Description	An internal description of the form.	No	Always

Designing the form fields

After you save the form, the Form Builder opens. Drag the fields you need into the form, set each field’s properties from the side panel, then save.

Field types

Field type in the builder	Use	Example
Single Line Field	Short text; can be made unique.	Contract number
Multi-Lines Field	Long text.	Notes
Formatted Text	Fixed formatted text shown in the form.	General terms
Number / Currency	A number, or an amount in a set currency.	Number of visits / Contract value
Date / Time	A date, a date and time, or a time.	Contract start date
Dropdown / Multiple Dropdown	A list of choices you type, to pick one or more values.	Contract type
Dynamic Dropdown / Multiple Dynamic Dropdown	A list filled from system data, such as employees, products or another form.	Responsible employee
Toggle	A yes or no choice.	Auto-renew
Email Field / Phone Number / URL Field	An email, phone number or link.	Contact phone
File / Image	Upload a file or image.	Signed contract copy
Map Location	Pick a location on the map.	Installation location
Multiple Sub-Forms	A table of rows inside the record, each row with its own fields.	Contract items
Separator / Static Content	A heading between parts of the form, or fixed guidance text.	Payment details

Field properties

Property	What it does
Field Label	The field name as users see it.
Default Value and Placeholder	A default value, or guidance text inside the field.
Is Required?	Makes the field required.
Is Unique?	Prevents duplicate values (for text, email and phone).
Filter by this Field?	Adds the field to the records list filters.
List by this Field?	Shows the field as a column in the records list.
Field Size and Allow Beside	The field’s width in the form, and whether it can appear beside another field.
Min / Max	The lowest and highest allowed value, length or date.
Max File Size in MB and Allowed Extensions	The allowed file size and extensions.

If you delete a field by mistake, you can restore it from Manage Deleted Fields in the Form Builder.

Form record permissions

In the Permissions section on the create or edit form page, set who can perform each action on the form’s records:

Action	Options
Add Record	For each action, choose: Everyone, None, Specific Branch(es), Specific Department(s), Specific Designation(s), Specific Employee(s) or Specific Role(s).
Update Record	The same options.
View Record	The same options. Users without it don’t see the form tab on the record page.
Delete Record	The same options.

The default for each action is Everyone. The account owner always has all permissions.

Adding and viewing records

Adding a record

1. Open the linked record, such as a client page from Clients.
2. Click Add and choose Add followed by the form name, such as Add Client contracts.
3. Enter the record details, then click Save.

Viewing records

• On the record page, a tab named after the form shows all its records. From there you can open, edit or delete any record.
• Each record has a view page with Details and Activity Log, and Printables for printing it with the form’s template.
• To see all the form’s records for all clients, choose Manage Records from the forms list.

Managing forms

From the related forms list, such as Client related forms, each form has these actions:

Action	What it does
Manage Records	Shows all the form’s records with search and filters.
Form Builder	Opens the builder to add or edit fields.
Manage Printable Templates	Creates print templates for the form’s records.
Edit	Edits the name, status, description and permissions.
Delete	Deletes the form and all its records.

You can search the list by form name or key, and filter by status.

Full example: client contracts

Example Trading Co. offers maintenance and supply contracts to its clients, and wants to record all of a client’s contracts on the client’s page, with the start and end dates, the value and the signed contract copy.

1. Create the form

1. Open Client related forms and click New Custom Form.
2. In Name type: Client contracts. In Key: client_contracts. Set Status to Active.
3. In the permissions: Add Record and Update Record for the sales role via Specific Role(s), View Record for Everyone, and Delete Record for the sales manager only via Specific Employee(s).
4. Click Save.

2. Design the fields

Field	Type	Suggested settings
Contract number	Single Line Field	Is Required?, Is Unique? and List by this Field?
Contract type	Dropdown	Choices: Annual maintenance, Supply, Services. With Filter by this Field?
Start date	Date	Is Required? and List by this Field?
End date	Date	Filter by this Field? and List by this Field?
Contract value	Currency	Currency: Saudi Riyal, with List by this Field?
Contract status	Dropdown	Choices: Active, Expired, Cancelled. With Filter by this Field?
Auto-renew	Toggle	—
Responsible employee	Dynamic Dropdown	From employee data.
Contract items	Multiple Sub-Forms	Inside it: Item (Single Line Field), Quantity (Number), and Price (Currency).
Signed contract copy	File	Allowed Extensions: pdf
Notes	Multi-Lines Field	—

After saving, open the form from Edit and set Name Field to Contract number, so the contract number appears as each record’s name.

3. Record a contract for a client

1. Open the client’s page, such as Example Contracting Co.
2. Click Add, then Add Client contracts.
3. Enter: contract number C-2026-015, contract type Annual maintenance, from 01/01/2026 to 31/12/2026, value 12,000 SAR, status Active, upload the contract copy, then save.

A Client contracts tab appears on the client’s page with the contract in it. To follow the contracts ending this month for all clients, choose Manage Records and filter by End date and Contract status. To print the contract with your company’s design, create a template from Manage Printable Templates.

Examples for each record type

Linked records	Suggested form	Suggested fields
Clients	Client contracts	Contract number, type, start and end dates, value, contract copy
Clients	Field visits	Visit date, sales rep, map location, visit outcome, photos
Suppliers	Supplier evaluation	Evaluation period, punctuality, quality, price, overall rating
Suppliers	Certificates and accreditations	Certificate type, number, expiry date, certificate image
Employees	Training courses	Course name, provider, date, number of hours, certificate
Employees	Violations and warnings	Date, violation type, action taken, attachment
Contracts (employee contracts)	Contract amendments	Amendment number, effective date, change, signed copy
Manufacturing orders	Quality inspection	Inspection date, inspector, quantity inspected, rejected, result
Production plans	Raw material availability review	Material, required quantity, available, expected supply date
Construction projects	Daily site report	Date, number of workers, work completed, obstacles, site photos
Construction projects	Meeting minutes	Date, attendees, decisions, owner, deadline
Workflow types	Technician visits (for a maintenance requests type)	Visit date, technician, faults, spare parts, client signature

Rules and restrictions

• The Key can’t be changed after the form is saved, and it can’t start with le_.
• In client, supplier, employee, contract and manufacturing order forms, you can add a record only from the linked record’s page.
• Images can be up to 5 MB, and files up to 100 MB.
• A Multiple Sub-Forms field must contain at least one field.
• Related form records can’t be exported or imported from the list.
• You can’t delete a form that a Dynamic Dropdown field in another form uses, or that an installed app uses.

Error messages and solutions

Message	Cause	Solution
Please drag and drop at least one field in the builder	The form has no saved fields.	Open the Form Builder, add at least one field, and save.
Local Entity Not Active	The form’s status is Inactive.	Edit the form and set its status to Active.
You are not allowed to view this page	You don’t have permission for this action in the form.	Ask the account manager to change the form’s permissions.
You can’t add [form name] without [linked record]	You’re trying to add a record directly from the form’s list.	Add the record from the client, employee or other linked record’s page.
Entity Plugin Not Active	The app linked to the records isn’t enabled, such as Payroll or Manufacturing.	Enable the app from Apps Manager.
The [field name] field has a duplicate value.	You entered a value that already exists in a field that doesn’t allow duplicates.	Enter a different value.
You cant delete an entity used in existing app installations.	An installed app uses the form.	It can’t be deleted; set it to Inactive if you no longer need it.

FAQ

I created a form but it doesn’t appear on the client page. Why?

The form’s Add button appears after at least one field is saved in it, and the tab appears after you add the first record. Also make sure the form is Active and that you have the View Record permission.

Can I add more than one record for the same client?

Yes. You can add an unlimited number of records in the form for each client.

When should I use custom fields instead of related forms?

Use Custom Fields for data recorded once per record, such as an ID number. Use related forms for repeated data, such as contracts and visits.

Can I print a record from the form?

Yes. Create a template from Manage Printable Templates in the forms list, then print from Printables on the record page.

I deleted a field by mistake. Can I get it back?

Yes, from Manage Deleted Fields in the Form Builder.