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How to Use Google Forms to Create an Interactive Workflow
Morgan Hopkins, Customer Success Manager
Jul 21, 2020 · Updated Mar 2026
We all have mundane processes that we complete every day, many of which still rely on paper based forms. Google Forms gives you the ability to capture information in a structured way, so you can immediately digitize your processes.
Google Forms is probably the most unknown and underutilized of all Google applications. Tucked away behind the More menu item, when you click New in Google Drive. It must be tough being the lesser known sibling to Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides. We love you Google Forms, and are confident that your time in the spotlight will come.
Google Forms is included free with every Google account, so it can be used by just about anyone. Despite its ease of use and simplicity, Google Forms is an incredibly powerful tool used by organizations big and small who simply want to capture information in a structured way. Google Forms also natively stores your form response data in a Google Sheet, creating a new row for each form submission made, so you can easily report on the information at any time.
Things You Can Do with Google Forms
Google Forms can be used for just about anything. Capturing Time Off Requests, Purchase Requisitions, Expense Reimbursement Requests, Personal Development Requests, IT Service Requests, and so much more.
Google Forms provides an easy to use form builder so you can create professional looking, mobile ready forms in minutes.
Like all Google products, Google Forms can scale with your business. Google Forms can handle as much data as Google Sheets, and Google Sheets can currently handle up to 10 million cells of data.
Even if you don't use Google as your core collaboration tool in your domain, only the form admin needs a Google account. Form respondents do not need a Google account.
Things You Can Do with Google Forms + Fast Forms
What if you wanted to make your form a little more interactive?
With the Fast Forms add-on, you can turn any Google Form into an interactive workflow. As an example, you could turn a simple Time-Off Request Form into a notification workflow where the request is automatically routed to the employee's Line Manager, and the employee and Payroll team are notified with personalized emails and branded document attachments.
Follow these easy steps:
  1. Create a new Google Form, enter a title for your form, and add questions that capture information relating to the Time-Off Request.
  2. Install the Fast Forms add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
  3. From your Google Form, click the settings icon in the top right corner and enable Collect email addresses. This will capture the email address of the requestor with each form submission.
  4. From your Google Form, click the Responses tab, then click the small green spreadsheet icon. If a spreadsheet is not already linked to your form, follow the instructions to create one.
  5. From the new Google Sheet that was created, click the + icon in the bottom left corner to add a new Sheet. Enter the email address of all possible form respondents in Column A, and the email address of their Line Manager in Column B. For the purpose of this test, simply enter your own email address in Column A and your manager's email address in Column B.
  6. From your Google Form, refresh the page, then click the puzzle piece icon (in the top right corner) to open the add-on.
  7. Once the add-on opens, click ' Add Dynamic Recipient' and select the question Email Address. This is the question that captures the form respondent's email address.
  8. Next to your recipient, click on the look-up table icon.
  9. Click 'Add look-up table' and select the Sheet you created in Step 5 (above).
  10. Close the small recipient look-up table window, then click Save in the main screen.
  11. From your Google Form, click the Preview icon to submit a test form submission. Remember to submit the form with the email address you entered into Column A of the spreadsheet. The add-on will look up the email address of the form respondent and send the notification to the corresponding person from Column B.
For additional guidance on setting up workflows with the add-on, refer to our support articles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do form respondents need a Google account to submit the form?
No. Only the form administrator needs a Google account. Anyone with the form link can submit a response, regardless of whether they have a Google account. However, if you enable "Collect email addresses" and restrict responses to users in your organization, respondents will need to be signed in.
Can I send notifications to different people based on form responses?
Yes. Fast Forms supports dynamic recipients through Google Sheets look-up tables. You can map form respondents to specific recipients so that notifications are automatically routed to the right person. You can also use routing conditions so that recipients only receive notifications when specific criteria are met.
Can I attach a branded document to the notification email?
Yes. Fast Forms can generate documents from branded templates that contain data markers. When a form submission is made, the data markers are replaced with the actual form response data, and the generated document can be attached to the notification email. This is great for generating receipts, confirmations, or any other branded document.
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