Money · free template

Business Formation Intake Form

Capture structure, owners and revenue before recommending an entity.

A ready-to-use finance, insurance & tax form for advisers, brokers and finance teams: 11 questions, 2 pages, 3 conditional rules.

Questions
11
Pages
2
Layouts
classic · card
Conditional rules
3
Typical time
3 min
Preview it in the gallery

Searches this template answers

Also filed under

Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the 3 conditional rules — nothing is sent or stored.

Page 1 of 2Your business

Tell us about your business

2 questions are hidden by conditional logic right now — change an answer above to reveal them.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Business Formation Intake Form is built for advisers, brokers and finance teams who need to collect structured financial detail with a clear audit trail.

  • Advisers, brokers and finance teams working in finance, insurance & tax.
  • Teams who need to collect structured financial detail with a clear audit trail without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing incomplete applications that fail compliance review with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are clients and applicants — the form asks them 11 questions across 2 screens.
  • Mobile-heavy audiences, thanks to the one-question-per-screen card layout.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of incomplete applications that fail compliance review and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 8 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It collects a verified email address so replies and confirmations land.
  • It allows multiple selections without free text.
  • It captures a numeric value you can filter and sort on.
  • Conditional logic hides 3 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.
  • Splitting the form across 2 pages keeps each screen short and shows respondents how much is left.
  • Every response is stored, searchable and exportable, so nothing depends on one person's inbox.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Business Formation Intake Form lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  5. 5Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 3 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features advanced show logic: if “How many owners does the business have?” is greater than 1, the form dynamically exposes “Do the owners have a written agreement?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Do you pay employees or contractors?” is not None yet, the form dynamically exposes “Do you already have an EIN?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Current structure” is Not formed yet, the form dynamically exposes “Which state will you form in?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • All 3 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

Choosing between a sole proprietorship, an LLC, an S-corp and a C-corp is a question of facts, not opinion, and this intake collects exactly the facts that decide it. Eight short questions cover the trading name, what the business actually sells, whatever structure is in place today, how many owners share it, whether anyone is paid as staff or as a contractor, and the revenue band the year is tracking toward. A concern checkbox — taxes, liability, complexity, cost — tells the advisor which trade-off to lead with, because the same recommendation lands very differently for an owner scared of an audit than for one worried about a lawsuit. Because every answer is a fixed choice rather than free text, submissions sort cleanly: single-owner service businesses under fifty thousand dollars rarely need more than a simple filing, while multi-owner operations with payroll almost always do. Pair it with the structure article so the reply email can carry a recommendation and the reasoning behind it.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Page 1 — Your business

  • Business namerequired
  • Business typerequired
  • Current structurerequired
  • Which state will you form in?
  • How many owners does the business have?required
  • Do the owners have a written agreement?

Page 2 — People and money

  • Do you pay employees or contractors?required
  • Do you already have an EIN?
  • Estimated annual revenuerequired
  • What worries you most?required
  • Email addressrequired

11 questions in total.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 3 conditional rules, grouped into 3 behaviours driven by 3 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “How many owners does the business have?

  • Reveals questions

    If “How many owners does the business have?” is greater than 1, the form reveals “Do the owners have a written agreement?”.

Driven by “Do you pay employees or contractors?

  • Reveals questions

    If “Do you pay employees or contractors?” is not None yet, the form reveals “Do you already have an EIN?”.

Driven by “Current structure

  • Reveals questions

    If “Current structure” is Not formed yet, the form reveals “Which state will you form in?”.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Link it from the structure article

    Put the form at the end of "How to Choose the Right Business Structure" so readers act while the trade-offs are fresh.

  2. 2

    Set the confirmation message

    Use: "Check your email for a personalized structure recommendation." and link the article in the confirmation email.

  3. 3

    Reply with reasoning, not just a verdict

    Name the concern they checked and explain how the recommended entity answers it.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Asking for revenue as a free-text number — bands get answered honestly and instantly.
  • Recommending an S-corp election without knowing whether payroll already exists.
  • Skipping the owner count, which is the single question that rules out a sole proprietorship.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Sort submissions by owner count and payroll status: those two answers alone shortlist the entity, and the concern checkbox writes the first line of your reply.

Works in both layouts

These pages cover the same subject ground as the business formation intake form, matched on the words people actually search for.

Privacy & compliance

This form collects identity or financial details. Enable encrypted answers on the sensitive fields, avoid emailing full values in notifications, and delete responses once the check is complete.

Frequently asked questions

Is this legal advice?

No. It is an intake form that organises the facts an attorney or CPA needs. The recommendation you send should always be framed as a starting point.

Why ask about contractors separately from employees?

Payroll obligations and the value of an S-corp election both hinge on it. A business with contractors only has very different filing duties.

Can I add my state's filing fees?

Yes — add a paragraph field per state, or keep fees in the confirmation email so the form stays short.

What if the business already exists?

The current-structure question covers that, and the follow-up asks whether an owner agreement exists, which is the usual gap in an established LLC.

Is the Business Formation Intake Form template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Business Formation Intake Form on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Business Formation Intake Form template ask for?

It asks 11 questions across 2 pages, 8 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Business Formation Intake Form form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the classic and card layouts, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this finance, insurance & tax form work?

3 conditional rules ship with the template: Features advanced show logic: if “How many owners does the business have?” is greater than 1, the form dynamically exposes “Do the owners have a written agreement?”. Otherwise that question never appears. Features advanced show logic: if “Do you pay employees or contractors?” is not None yet, the form dynamically exposes “Do you already have an EIN?”. Otherwise that question never appears. Features advanced show logic: if “Current structure” is Not formed yet, the form dynamically exposes “Which state will you form in?”. Otherwise that question never appears. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Business Formation Intake Form form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Business Formation Intake Form form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

More forms teams pair with the business formation intake form.

Related categories