Form submissions

Everything visitors send through one of your website’s forms arrives on that form’s What people sent tab, newest first. On a form with a consent box, HoW matches each sign-up to your people, or adds the person, as it arrives. From there you read each message, archive it, delete it, decide the sign-ups HoW wasn’t sure about, or add the person who sent a message to your people with the consent they gave.

When a sign-up arrives

On a form with a Consent to be contacted question, HoW does the adding for you the moment someone sends it:

• Someone you know. HoW looks for one person in your church with the same email or mobile number (written any way: “(949) 555-0101” and “+1 949-555-0101” are the same). If it finds exactly one, and their first name (or the name they go by) agrees with the form’s, the sign-up is theirs.
  • Nothing new: attached at once. If every email and number on the form is already on their record, the sign-up is attached to them straight away. The message shows “Matched to [name] when it arrived.” and its status is Matched.
  • Something new: they confirm by email first. If the form gives an email or number their record doesn’t have, HoW changes nothing on their record yet. It emails the address already on their record (never the one typed on the form) and asks them to confirm. See They confirm by email below. Forms are public, so this stops someone who knows a member’s name and email from adding their own number to that member’s record.
  • Contact details are added, never changed. If they had no email or number, the form’s becomes their main one once they confirm. If the form’s is different from the one on their record, HoW leaves their record alone and the message says so: “Not changed: the form gave the email …, which differs from the one on [name]’s record. Update their record if it’s new.”
• Someone new. If nobody matches, HoW adds them with the form’s name, email and number. The message shows “Added as a new person, [name], when it arrived.” and its status is New person. Their timeline starts with “New from [form name]”.
• Consent. Each box they ticked is recorded as their communication preference, labelled with the form’s name and the day it was sent, just as Add this person does. The message lists it: “Recorded: yes to email, from this form.”
• Texts wait unless the form is for adults. Children are never texted, and a form doesn’t ask anyone’s age. Unless the form is marked This form is for adults (18 and over) (see Building a form), a yes to texts isn’t recorded straight away: the message shows Text consent waits: this form isn’t marked for adults. If you know they are 18 or over, choose Record their yes to texts. It is also held back when the form’s number isn’t the one the person is texted at (“Text consent waits”) or the form gave no number.
• Sign-ups through a text keyword’s link. Someone who texted your keyword and followed the link in the reply is matched by the number they texted from too. If that number is already on their record, texting from it proves who they are, so the sign-up is applied at once, like someone signed in, and their conversation in the Inbox shows their name instead of “Unknown number”. If the number they texted from is new to the person the form matched, they confirm by email first, like any other new detail.

They confirm by email

When a sign-up matches someone you know and gives details their record doesn’t have, the status is Waiting to confirm and the message says Waiting for [name] to confirm by email (sent [date]), with what is Held until they confirm: for example “Add the mobile number (949) 555-0111” and “Record their yes to email”.

What the person gets. An email from your church’s default email sender (or your church’s name), to the email on their record, with the subject “Please confirm your details for [church]”. It says someone filled in the form with their details, lists exactly what will be added in plain words, and has one button: Yes, the displayed information is correct. The button opens a page on HoW’s own website that shows the same list and a second Yes, the displayed information is correct button. Only pressing that button changes anything: opening the email or the page does nothing, so email security scanners that open links can’t confirm on anyone’s behalf. Then they see “Thank you”, with what was added. If it wasn’t them, they ignore the email and nothing changes.

This email is sent even if they haven’t agreed to receive email from you, as Planning Center does: it is about their own record, not news.

When they confirm, HoW adds exactly what was held, checking again at that moment: a contact is added only if their record still has none of that kind; a yes to texts is recorded only if the form is still marked for adults and the number is still the one they’re texted at; and if they texted STOP or unsubscribed after sending the form, that answer stays. Their consent is labelled “form: [name], [date], confirmed by email”. The message then says Confirmed by email on [date] and its status is Matched. If their record now shows they are a child, nothing is added and the sign-up goes back to Needs you.

The link lasts seven days and works once. After that, or once used, the page says the link isn’t recognised and nothing changes.

Send again. If they didn’t get it or the link expired, choose Send again. A new email goes with a new link, and the earlier link stops working. You can send it again ten minutes after the last one, and HoW sends three emails at most.

Add these details now. If the person confirmed another way, in person or on the phone, choose Add these details now and confirm. Only do this when you know it’s them: the email exists so that nobody can add details to someone else’s record. The message then says Details added by staff on [date], and the email’s link stops working.

No email on their record. HoW can’t ask them, so nothing changes and the sign-up is marked Needs you: no email to confirm with. If you know it’s them, use Add this person to attach it and record their consent.

A reserved test address (such as one ending in example.org on a practice church) is never emailed; the message says so.

When HoW isn’t sure: Needs you

HoW changes nothing and marks the sign-up Needs you when:

• “Needs you: two people match”: more than one person has that email or number, such as a family sharing an email.
• “Needs you: the email or number belongs to someone with another name”: perhaps a husband using his wife’s email.
• “Needs you: someone with this name has other contact details”: it may be them with a new email, or someone else.
• “Needs you: this matches a child”: a child’s record and consent are changed only by staff.
• “Needs you: the form gave no full name” or “the form gave no email or number”.
• “Needs you: no email to confirm with”: it matches someone, gives details their record doesn’t have, and their record has no email to ask them on.

Open the message and choose Add this person: attach it to the right person, or add them as new (see below).

A form without a consent box doesn’t add anyone: its messages wait for you, as before.

Read what people sent

1. In the staff dashboard, open Website, then the Forms tab. The Received column shows how many messages each form has, with a blue “unread” count for new ones.
2. Choose a form. The What people sent tab lists each message with when it was Received, who it is From (the first answer in it, usually a name) and its Status.
3. Choose Open on a message. You see each question with the answer, ticked boxes as “Yes” or “No”.
4. If the visitor ticked a consent box, a Consent given note says what they agreed to, such as “This person agreed to be contacted by email, sms.”

Statuses

• New: nobody has opened it yet.
• Read: opening a message marks it read; you don’t need to do anything.
• Archived: dealt with. Choose Archive in the open message to file it, and Put back to bring it back.
• Matched: HoW attached the sign-up to someone you know when it arrived, or once they confirmed by email.
• Waiting to confirm: it matches someone you know and gives new details; HoW has emailed them to confirm.
• New person: HoW added the person when it arrived.
• Needs you: HoW wasn’t sure who it is; you decide with Add this person.
• Added: you added the person who sent it, or attached the message to someone you know.

Add this person

For a message HoW didn’t add by itself (a form without a consent box, or a sign-up marked Needs you), you can turn it into a person record without retyping anything, and record the consent they gave.

1. Open the message and choose Add this person.
2. HoW reads the name, email and number from the form and shows them, with the consent the form gave, for example “Consent to record: Yes to text messages, from the form Text sign-up.”
3. If someone in your church already has the same email or number, HoW shows “Attach to [name] instead?” and says what matched (“They have the same email”). Choose Attach to [name] to add the message to their record.
4. Otherwise, check the First name and Last name (both are needed; a one-word name has no last name, so add one) and choose Add as a new person.
5. HoW says what it did, such as “Ann Example is added to your people.” and “Recorded: yes to text messages, from ‘form: Text sign-up, 2026-09-28’.” Choose Open their record to see them, or Done.

Afterwards the message shows “Added to your people as [name].” with Open [name]’s record, and its status is Added. Their record’s timeline shows “From the form “[form name]”, sent [date]“.

What is copied, and what is not

• Contact details. The form’s email and number are added to the person if they don’t already have them. Nothing they already have is overwritten. On a new person, the form’s email and number become their main ones.
• Consent. Each box the visitor ticked becomes a communication preference, labelled with the form’s name and the day it was sent. An unticked box records nothing.
• A newer answer wins. If the person told you something about that kind of contact after they sent the form, it is kept, and HoW says so: “Kept: no to email, which they said on [date], after this form.”
• A yes to texts belongs to the number it was given for. Your texts go to a person’s main number, so the yes is recorded only for that number:
  • If the form gave no number, HoW says “The form gave no number, so its yes to text messages can’t be recorded.”
  • If you attach to someone whose texts go to a different number, HoW asks “Make [form’s number] [name]’s main number for texts?” Yes, make it the main number makes it their main number, keeps the old one as a second number, and records the yes. No, keep [their number] for texts leaves their numbers as they are and records no text consent. Back returns to the choices.
• Adults only, until you say otherwise. A form asks no birth date, so HoW reminds you: “A form asks no birth date, so this person is recorded as an adult. If they are a child, add their birth date on their record: children are never messaged.”

Delete a message

Open the message, choose Delete, and confirm. It is removed for everyone and can’t be brought back. Consent already recorded on a person from that message stays on their record.

Who can see submissions

• Reading, archiving and deleting messages: owners, administrators and content editors, and any custom role with Website at Edit or above. Everyone with access sees every form’s messages. Other staff don’t see the Forms tab.
• Record their yes to texts: someone who can manage forms and record communication preferences (owners and administrators among the built-in roles).
• Send again: anyone who can read the messages.
• Add these details now: the same people as Add this person below.
• Add this person: someone who can manage forms, edit people and record their communication preferences. Among the built-in roles that is owners and administrators. A content editor can read messages but doesn’t see Add this person. A custom role with Website and People both at Edit or above can do it.
• Children. A form doesn’t know anyone’s age, so its messages are shown to everyone with forms access. But a child in your people is offered as a match, and can be attached to, only by staff who can see children’s records.

What’s kept

• Messages are kept until you delete them. HoW does not delete them on a schedule yet.
• Deleting a form keeps its messages, but the form leaves your Forms list, so you can no longer open them from there. Read, add or delete what you need before you delete a form.
• Deleting a person keeps the message, no longer linked to anyone.
• The audit log records that a message arrived, was matched, added a person, waited for confirmation, was confirmed by email or added by staff, needed you, was opened, archived, added or deleted, and by whom. It records the answers themselves only by their length, never their words.
• The visitor’s internet address is never kept. HoW keeps only a scrambled code of it with the message, to spot someone sending too much; its hour-by-hour counts are deleted after a day.

Good to know

• Only forms with a consent box add people by themselves. On other forms, someone adds the person with Add this person.
• Nothing is overwritten. HoW only adds a missing email or number; it never replaces one, and never changes a child’s record by itself.
• New details wait for the person. A sign-up that matches someone and gives anything new changes their record only after they confirm by email, or you add the details yourself.
• Sign-ups from before 7 October 2026 that matched someone were applied when they arrived, before the confirmation email existed. They stay as they are.
• Matched sign-ups stay New until opened, so they still show in the unread count.
• One message, one person. A message can be added once.
• The list shows the latest 500 messages for a form.
• No email alerts. HoW doesn’t email you when a message arrives. Check the unread count on the Forms list, or have your developer use a webhook (see API keys and webhooks).
• No export of messages from the Forms screen yet.

If something isn’t right

• I don’t see Add this person. Your role can read messages but can’t edit people or record their consent. Ask an owner or administrator.
• “this message has already been added to your people”: someone else added it while you had it open. Close and open it again to see who.
• “A first name is needed” or “A last name is needed”: type the missing name.
• “Could not read this message. Please try again.” Close the message and open it again.
• The name or email wasn’t filled in. HoW reads names from questions called “First name” and “Last name” (or “Your name”), and email and phone only from Email address and Phone number questions. Type the name yourself, and consider rewording the form’s questions (see Building a form).
• A sign-up says Needs you. HoW wasn’t sure; the message says why. Choose Add this person to decide.
• The person says they never got the email. Check the email on their record is right, ask them to look in their junk folder, then choose Send again. Or, if they confirm to you in person, Add these details now.
• “the email was sent a moment ago; try again in ten minutes” or “the email has been sent three times”: wait, or add the details yourself if they confirmed another way.
• The person says the confirmation link didn’t work. It lasts seven days and works once, and Send again replaces it. Send a new one.
• “their texts go to another number than the one this form agreed to” after Record their yes to texts: open their record and check their main number; a yes to texts counts only for the number it was given for.
• “a child is never messaged, so no text consent is recorded”: their record shows they are under 18.
• A sign-up was added as a new person, but they were already in your people. They used an email and number your records don’t have. Merge the two records (see People and households).
• The person I expected isn’t offered as a match. Matches are by exact email or phone number, not by name. A child is offered only to staff who can see children’s records.
• “Could not load this form. It may have been deleted.” Someone deleted the form. Its messages are kept, but they can no longer be opened from the Forms list.

What DCX Logic support can do

In a support session your church approves, support can look at a form’s messages with you, explain what was recorded when someone was added and why a yes to texts was not, and check whether a confirmation email was sent. Support can’t confirm on a person’s behalf or see the link in their email. Support cannot read your messages outside an approved session.

Coming from Planning Center

• Matching people. Planning Center matches a submission to a profile on first name, last name and email, creates a new profile when they don’t match exactly, and updates profile fields once the person verifies by email (or at once if they were logged in to Church Center). HoW does the same on forms with a consent box, with three differences: it matches by email or mobile number, so a new email doesn’t make a duplicate; it only adds missing details and never overwrites one; and when it isn’t sure, or someone by the same name exists, it asks you (Needs you) instead of creating a likely duplicate.
• Verifying by email. As in Planning Center, new details from someone who isn’t signed in wait until they choose Yes, the displayed information is correct in an email sent to the primary email on their record; no email is sent when the only difference is a number written another way. HoW’s forms have no sign-in, so texting your keyword from the number on their record counts as signing in. Planning Center describes no expiry or resend for its email; HoW’s link lasts seven days, and staff can send it again or add the details themselves.
• Children and texts. Planning Center has no age rule for a consent answer. HoW records a yes to texts at sign-up only on a form marked for adults, and never matches a child automatically.
• Consent. In Planning Center a consent-to-text answer lands in a Yes/No custom field. In HoW it becomes the person’s communication preference, labelled with the form and the date, which is what HoW checks before every text.
• The submissions list. Planning Center lets you search submissions by name, filter by date, choose columns, export a CSV and print one. HoW has a simpler list with read, archived and added statuses, and no search, export or print yet.
• Spam. Planning Center keeps suspected spam aside and deletes it after 90 days. HoW turns automated senders away before anything is saved, so there is no spam folder.
• Notifications. Planning Center can email a notification list on each submission; HoW does not email staff.