Contents
What you'll get
This tutorial walks you through:
How to create a webform that you can embed in your website or provide people a link to;
That when filled out and submitted, will automatically generate a matter in Hivelight, and add an initial roadmap workflow that assigns the first stage of the work to be done.
What you'll need
To do this we need:
A Hivelight API Key;
A webform (e.g. Google Form)
A Zapier account (which you can trial for free)
A roadmap workflow (e.g. one covering in the initial work for processing a new client enquiry)
Get a Hivelight API Key
Follow the instructions here to get an Hivelight API key.
The key will enable you to create automations for that Hivelight workspace - very cool! 😎
Note: When creating the key, select the user to be the person who should be made the matter owner and have the tasks assigned to them by default (such that if you don't specify a team for the matter, all the work does to that user).
Using Zapier
Zapier works well with a range of webform solutions such as:
Google Forms
Jot Forms
Cognito Forms
We'll be using Google Forms for this tutorial as it is dead simple to use and free 😁
The great thing about these webform solutions is that you can send them to people or add them to your website as a link, or embed them in your website.
Creating an intake form using Google Forms.
Go to your Google workspace and open Google Forms.
Start with a "Blank form".
Give the form a name.
Add the questions you need answered.
Use the options in the top right menu to customize the look of the form.
Click on 'Publish' to publish the webform.
Copy the link to the form and use that to fill in and submit a response with some dummy data to test.
Connect Google Forms to Zapier
In your Zapier account, click on 'Apps' in the lefthand menu.
Click on '+ Add connection'.
Seach for and select 'Google Forms' and follow the prompts to connect your Google Forms account to Zapier.
Create a Zap in Zapier
In to Zapier click on "+ Create Zap"
Click on the 'Trigger' step. Search for and select 'Google Forms'.
Under 'Set up' click on 'Trigger event' and choose "New Form Response" and click "Continue".
Click on "Choose value..." and select the Google Form that you want to use to trigger this automation (i.e. the intake webform you just created and published). Then click on 'Continue'.
Select the form response that you submitted earlier to test with. Click on 'Continue with selected record'.
Add a step to your Zap (i.e. click on the '+' sign in the diagram in the middle of the screen.
Select 'Webhooks' option (note: You'll need a 'Pro' subscription to Zapier for this after your trial ends, but you can probably get them to give you Pro for $10 USD for the first 3 months).
Select the 'Action event' as "Custom Request" and click 'Continue'.
Under 'Configure' choose 'Method' as "POST".
Under 'URL' enter:
"https://au.api.hivelight.com/matters" for Australian region accounts.
"https://api.hivelight.com/matters" for US region accounts.
Under 'Headers' enter:
In row one: "x-api-key" in the left box (without the quotes) and then your API key in the right box.
In row two: "Content-Type" in the left box (without the quotes), and then "application/json" (without the quotes) in the right box
Under 'Data' enter the following JSON code:
{
"data":{
"type": "matters",
"attributes":{
"name": "{{FIRST NAME}} {{LAST NAME}} ",
"description": "📞{{PHONE NUMBER}} - 📧{{EMAIL}} - 🤕
Injured in: {{STATE}} - ℹ️Summary: {{DESCRIPTION OF
INJURY}}",
"types": [MATTER TYPE ID],
"jurisdictions": ["COUNTRY INITIALS-STATE INITIALS"]
}
},
"meta": {
"workflows":[{
"id":"WORKFLOW ID",
"startDate": {{zap_meta_timestamp}}000
}]
}
}
Use the '+' button in the top righthand corner of the 'Data' field to add in the answers from the Google Form in the places that currently have the placeholder curly brackets {{}}.
This uses the 'Create Matter' request in the Hivelight API. The documentation can be found here. If you need help, contact us (support@hivelight.com).
Getting the workflow ID
In the above JSON code you have the ability to apply a roadmap workflow. To tell the API which workflow to apply, you'll need to give it the ID for that workflow.
In your Hivelight workspace, select 'Workflows' in the lefthand menu. Open the workflow you want to use. You'll find the workflow ID in the browser url.
https://app.hivelight.com/w/[WORKSPACE ID]/workflows/[WORKFLOW ID]
Copy the workflow ID and paste it into the JSON code.
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction variable needs the jurisdiction (country and state) in the ISO format (Here). For example, New South Wales in Australia will be AU-NSW.
Matter type
The 'types' variable needs the matter type ID. If you don't know it, you can request it via the API, ask us for it, or leave it blank.
Testing your Zap
After completing the previous steps, click on 'Continue'.
Under 'Test' click on 'Test step' or 'Retest step'. This will pass the example Google Forms submission to the Hivelight API using the settings you provided in the previous steps. If you have any issues, feel free to contact us (support@hivelight.com).
Try out your new intake form automation
Click on 'Publish' to publish your automation/Zap.
Go to your Google Form and copy the responder link (see link icon in the top right menu) and paste that into a new tab in your browser.
Complete the form and submit it.
Go to your Hivelight workspace, and refresh the page to see your new matter that has been created from the webform data.
Amazing! You've just saved a stack of time and ensured consistency in how your new client enquiries are handled.
Note: It may take a minute for the matter to appear. So, if it doesn't appear immediately, just wait for a moment and refresh again.
Bonus points
Here's a few things you can try for enhancing this automation:
Set the first task in your roadmap workflow as a 'priority' task, so that an email notification is received by the assignee with a link to start completing the intake process in Hivelight.
Add in a Path step to your Zapier automation that will check some condition in the Google Form submission perform a different actions based on this - for example, you could use this to have matter assigned to different people depending on what State the inquiry relates to.