Client intake form to Google Sheets: a review workflow that holds up

It does not backfill: only responses completed after you connect and enable it are sent, and partial responses are not sent. Earlier responses can be exported as CSV from the dashboard. It does not let you pick an existing spreadsheet; it creates one. And if you rename or reorder questions, the header row is rewritten to the new labels while older rows keep their old positions, so freeze the question list before you start collecting real intakes.

It is tempting to make Review!A2 a FILTER formula that pulls every Response ID automatically. Do not. A formula column cannot be sorted together with the typed columns next to it, so the first time someone sorts Review by due date, statuses end up beside the wrong clients. Instead, the triager copies new IDs from Queue and uses Paste special > Values only into the next empty Review row. Each ID drops off Queue as soon as it exists in Review, which gives you a simple rule: triage is done when Queue says All triaged (IFERROR catches the error FILTER returns when nothing matches).

The Received formula converts the ISO text into a real date-time. DATEVALUE reads the first ten characters (the date) and TIMEVALUE reads characters 12 to 19 (the time). The result is UTC, so if your team works in another time zone, add or subtract the offset as a fraction of a day, for example -5/24.

Select Review!A2:H, open Format > Conditional formatting, choose Custom formula is and enter =AND($G2<>"", $G2<TODAY(), $D2<>"Done") with a red fill. Overdue rows now stand out without anyone running a filter. Add a second rule, =$D2="Needs info" with amber, for items waiting on the client.

Conditional formatting formulas can only reference the same sheet directly; other tabs need INDIRECT. That is why the repeat-client check lives in its own Review column (H) and the formatting rule reads =$H2=TRUE, rather than reaching into Responses from inside the rule.

One more caveat from Google's QUERY documentation: when a column mixes data types, the majority type wins and the rest are treated as empty. Because RAW values arrive as text, run QUERY on the Review tab, where B and G hold real dates, rather than directly on Responses.

The spreadsheet is created in the Google account that authorized the connection, and that account owns it. Authorize with an agency-controlled account, not a contractor's personal Gmail, so ownership does not leave with a person. Set general access to Restricted. Give Editor only to the people who triage; everyone else gets Viewer or Commenter.

Google lets owners stop editors from changing permissions or sharing, and stop viewers and commenters from downloading, printing or copying. Turn both on for intake data. Protected ranges (Data > Protect sheets and ranges) are useful to stop accidental edits on Responses, but Google says plainly that protection is not a security measure: anyone with access can still copy or export the data.

The Google Sheets integration is included on Zunoform's free plan, along with Zoho CRM, Zapier catch hooks and webhooks. Agency intake templates such as the Website Design Questionnaire, the SEO Client Onboarding Questionnaire and the Paid Advertising Client Intake are ready to connect. The free plan allows 500 responses a month; Google Forms, Tally and Youform offer unlimited free responses, and Google Forms can also link to an existing spreadsheet, which Zunoform's connection cannot do today.

Zunoform writes the rows. The Review tab, dropdowns, formulas and sharing settings in this guide are things you set up in Google Sheets yourself; the integration does not assign owners, set statuses or send reminders. If you need a full CRM pipeline, Zoho CRM on free or HubSpot on Pro are better homes for qualified leads than a spreadsheet.