> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.holace.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Intake & Forms Overview

> How leads enter HoLaCe — public intake forms, submissions, the leads pipeline, and conversion into a journey.

The front of your funnel in HoLaCe is built around four moving parts: **forms**, **submissions**, **leads**, and **journeys**. They form a single pipeline that takes a stranger on the internet and either qualifies them into an active client journey or politely shows them the door — without losing the audit trail.

\[Screenshot: Funnel diagram — Form → Submission → Lead → Journey]

## The mental model

<Steps>
  <Step title="Form">
    A reusable template you build once in the admin UI. It has a name, a list of fields, and a public URL anyone with the link can fill out.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submission">
    What gets saved every time someone hits **Submit** on a public form. A submission is raw data plus a status (Pending, Reviewing, Approved, Rejected, Converted). Submissions stay scoped to their parent form so intake staff can review them in order.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Lead">
    A potential client — a real person your firm might represent. Leads can come from a form submission, a phone intake, a referral, or a CSV import. Every lead has a status, an owner, a source, and a lead score.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Journey">
    The active case. Once a lead is qualified and signed, you convert them into a journey, which puts them on an Avenue (Prospect → Prelitigation → Litigation → DNQ) and starts the full case-management lifecycle.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Why leads and journeys are separate

Most firms try to track everyone in one big list. HoLaCe deliberately splits **leads** (people you might represent) from **journeys** (cases you actively work).

This separation buys you three things:

* **Qualification room.** A lead can sit in `NEW` → `CONTACTED` → `QUALIFIED` while your intake team gathers facts, runs conflict checks, and confirms statute of limitations — none of that pollutes your active case docket.
* **A graceful DNQ flow.** When a lead doesn't qualify (no liability, expired SOL, scope mismatch), you mark them `UNQUALIFIED` or move them to the **DNQ Avenue** rather than deleting the record. You keep the audit trail without cluttering the pipeline.
* **Clean reporting.** Conversion rate — leads in vs. journeys created — is the single most important top-of-funnel metric, and it's only meaningful when the two records are distinct.

<Note>
  Leads are not deleted when they convert. The original `Lead` record is preserved with status `CONVERTED` and a link to the new `Journey`, so you can always trace where a case originated.
</Note>

## Where each piece lives in the app

| What                | Where                                | Who uses it                |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------ | -------------------------- |
| Build a form        | **Forms → New / Edit**               | Firm admin, marketer       |
| Share a public form | **Forms** list → Copy URL            | Firm admin                 |
| Review submissions  | **Forms → \[form] → Submissions**    | Intake paralegal           |
| Manage leads        | **Leads**                            | Intake paralegal, attorney |
| Convert to journey  | **Lead detail → Convert to Journey** | Attorney, firm admin       |

## Where this guide goes next

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Build your first form" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/intake-forms/form-builder">
    Drag-and-drop the field types you need.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Share the public link" icon="link" href="/intake-forms/sharing-public-forms">
    Add the URL to your website, ad, or email signature.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review submissions" icon="inbox" href="/intake-forms/submissions">
    Triage what comes in, drill into details.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Convert a lead" icon="arrow-right-to-bracket" href="/intake-forms/lead-to-journey">
    Promote a qualified lead into a live case.
  </Card>
</Columns>