ROI CalculatorThe New Submittable: A Guide for Our Clients
Submittable built a new form engine, with a more intuitive design, improved workflows, and new, powerful features. Here’s everything you need to know about the transition.
What to expect
We are currently upgrading most Submittable clients who joined before 2020 to the new Submittable. Here’s what you need to know.
It will be the same, but better.
All of your data will be upgraded to your new Submittable account, so you can continue your work without interruption (even if you're in the middle of your program).
Your account will take a quick pause.
During your upgrade, your account will be locked. For the vast majority of customers, this will last less than five minutes. If a user, reviewer, or submitter visits the site during this time, they’ll see a message inviting them to try again in a few minutes.
You can expect a seamless transition.
We promise the changes you'll see will be intuitive—but to learn more about what will be different, explore this page and follow its links for videos, help articles, and more details. After your upgrade, in-product tours will point out exactly what's new, and you can join our next live webinar (or watch on-demand anytime).
It's all coming soon!
We are currently upgrading customers in batches. When your turn is coming up, we'll let you know via email and with a banner you'll see when you're signed in. If it's a particularly busy moment, you can defer until November 16, 2021. (Beyond November 16, 2021, we will discontinue performance monitoring on the legacy form engine.) Unfortunately, we cannot accept requests to schedule your upgrade.
Meet the new Submittable
In this webinar, our product marketing team will walk you through everything you need to know to get the most out of the new Submittable, and take your questions. (It's also available on demand
What you’ll love about the new form engine
It’s the same Submittable, only better.
Faster form building
Simply drag and drop new form fields including name, address, email, number, and date.
Better data parameters
Set date ranges, number formats (like percentage or currency and minimum/maximums), and validate responses such as email to avoid typos.
Flexible fees and payments
Add optional or required fees to many question types, including file uploads.
Projects
Add initial, review, and other forms to your Project. You can reuse all forms as needed.
Review Workflow
Create a review stage and choose the type of review needed. Even create multiple stages* of review.
Eligibility screening
Use Eligibility Forms* to screen applicants for your criteria before they get to your initial form.
Charity Check
Pull data on nonprofit organizations provided by Candid (formerly Guidestar).
Frequently asked questions
Why did Submittable build a new form engine?
Submittable was founded 10 years ago as of 2020, and over time, it became clear that the software’s form engine needed an overhaul. The new system was designed to keep pace with Submittable’s growth as a company, as well as improve performance and bring new functionality to customers.
When will my account be upgraded?
Extremely soon. Upgrades are currently underway, and we anticipate upgrading the final active accounts before the end of 2021.
What is involved in the upgrade process?
Here is what you can expect:
We’ll notify your account administrators (all Level 4 and 5 users) one week in advance, letting you know the date of your scheduled upgrade.
You’ll also see a banner when you are signed in for one week prior to the upgrade.
At the time of the upgrade, your account will be locked. This will last approximately five minutes for the majority of customers. Should anyone visit your account during the time that it is locked, including an applicant or reviewer, they'll see a message inviting them to check back in a few minutes.
As soon as the upgrade is complete, you can sign in as normal to the new Submittable. There will be a welcome message and product tours waiting for you to help you get to know your new account.
Do I need to do anything?
The vast majority of customers won't need to do anything, and the transition should be pretty intuitive for Submittable users. However, we invite you to read through this webpage to know what to expect. After the upgrade, we recommend you follow the product tours when you sign in and sign up for our recurring live webinar so that you'll be ready to take advantage of all of the benefits of the new Submittable. (Some customers may need to reconfigure their integrations. If this applies to you, we'll be in touch with you prior to the upgrade.)
Can I defer the upgrade if it’s an inconvenient time?
Yes. Downtime will be minimal (less than five minutes for the vast majority of customers), and your upgrade should be seamless, even if you're in the middle of your program. However, if your upgrade happens to be scheduled during a crunch time and you'd rather delay it, we can reschedule it to November 16, 2021. Beyond November 16, 2021, we will discontinue performance monitoring and bug fixing on the legacy form engine. Please note, as we work to upgrade thousands of customers, we are unfortunately unable to accept requests to schedule your upgrade.
Will there be any impact on submitters/applicants?
While submitters and applicants may share the benefits of some new functionality, such as collaborative submissions and shareable reviews, the submitter interface will remain virtually unchanged—most applicants will be unaware of any difference at all. The handful of subtle differences are outlined in this article.
Will reviewers experience any changes?
Reviewers will see an updated design, but all changes are intuitive and there is no need to retrain your team. You can see side by side views of the changes here (we'll share this with your review team post-upgrade, as well.) You may wish to inform reviewers if you wish to use newly available tools after the upgrade, such as shareable reviews or internal forms.
What will the impact be on my integrations?
In most cases, integrations set up through Zapier will not be impacted by the upgrade and will continue to function as intended. However, if you need to change them or set up new integrations, you will need to reconnect the Zap through a few simple steps. For the best user experience, we recommend updating all of your Zaps post upgrade. To learn if your Zaps will be impacted and learn how to update them post-upgrade, please read this article.
Integrations that you set up independently of Zapier through Submittable's API may need to be reestablished. If you use Submittable's API, please read this article to learn more.
Please note, if your integrations may be impacted, we'll get in touch with you in advance of your upgrade to ensure you're prepared.
Is there a cost associated with the upgrade?
No. The Submittable team is delighted to bring this much improved form engine, and many of its updated features and functionalities, to our valued customers at no cost.
Can I choose to stay on the old Submittable?
No. To ensure optimal performance of our product, all customers will be upgraded, and following the transition of all accounts, we will no longer support the old form engine.
Where can I see a complete list of everything that’s different?
While this webpage covers the most important highlights and should get you ready to go, we understand that you may have very specific questions that relate to your particular workflow. This help article maps every single altered feature in the old Submittable to its equivalent in the new Submittable. Happy hunting!
What if I can’t find an answer to my question?
Please check this help article to see if you can find what you’re looking for. If not, we’d be happy to help: Contact our tech support team.
