Submissions are filled-in forms — one per user per fill. The submissions view is where staff read responses, follow up where needed, and export the data for analysis or archive.
Where to find submissions
Go to Forms → Submissions. The list shows every submission across all forms — most recent first. Filter by form to focus on the responses for a particular form.
What a submission shows
Each submission row gives:
- The form name.
- The submitter (parent, student or staff member).
- Submission timestamp.
- Status (e.g. complete, requires follow-up).
- Quick links to view, export and delete.
Click a row to open the full submission. You see every field with the value entered. Signature fields show the captured signature as an image. File uploads show a download link.
Filtering and sorting
You can filter the submissions list by:
- Form — focus on one form’s responses.
- Date range — submissions in a window.
- Submitter — show all submissions by a particular user.
- Status — only complete, only follow-up required, etc.
Sort by date, submitter name or form to suit your workflow.
Following up on submissions
Most submissions need action — review, approval, follow-up. PortalHQ doesn’t have a built-in workflow engine for forms (that’s the Slips module’s job — see the Slips category), but you can:
- Email the submitter from the submission detail page.
- Add a note for internal tracking.
- Mark complete when you’ve actioned the submission.
For more involved workflows (e.g. multi-stage approvals), consider whether the form should be a Slip instead.
Exporting
Three export formats:
| Format | Use case |
|---|---|
| CSV | One row per submission, one column per field. Best for spreadsheet analysis, bulk follow-up, reporting. |
| PDF (per submission) | Print-ready single-submission view. Best for archival or sharing with stakeholders. |
| ZIP | Bundle of every file uploaded to a particular form. Best when the form collects documents (medical certificates, photos, signed papers). |
For CSV exports, the list export bundles every submission visible under your current filters into one CSV. For PDFs, you export submission-by-submission. For ZIPs, you export per-form.
Bulk operations
Select multiple submissions and:
- Bulk export — CSV of selected submissions.
- Bulk mark complete — clear the queue.
- Bulk delete — for cleanup, but think twice before deleting evidence.
Deleting submissions
Two deletion modes:
- Soft delete — submission marked deleted but data retained. Recoverable.
- Hard delete — submission data is wiped. Not recoverable.
For privacy requests (right-to-erasure under data protection law), use hard delete. Otherwise, soft delete is safer — you can recover if a deletion was a mistake.
Submission privacy
Submissions can contain personal information — names, addresses, medical info, financial details. Treat them with the same care as enrolment data:
- Restrict access to staff who need it.
- Limit exports to authorised users.
- Honour deletion requests promptly.
- Set a retention policy and stick to it.
The Forms module doesn’t enforce a retention policy automatically — that’s a school operational matter. Most schools delete submissions older than 2 years unless there’s a specific reason to keep them.
Tips
- Set up email handlers on important forms so submissions arrive in someone’s inbox rather than waiting for staff to log in. See Creating a form.
- Clear out the queue regularly. A submissions list of thousands of unactioned entries is overwhelming. Mark them complete as you go.
- Use the CSV export for any data analysis — pivoting in spreadsheets gives you flexibility the in-app view doesn’t.
- Archive at end-of-year. Export every form’s submissions to CSV, archive somewhere safe, then delete the in-app submissions for forms you’re done with.