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Info Requests 2: Building an Info Request
Info Requests 2: Building an Info Request

Build your Info Request, with content blocks, demographic questions, and document uploads!

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Written by Support
Updated over 2 weeks ago

This Article is for: SideDrawer Console Users​

In our first article, we looked at the basics of Info Requests.
Here, we're going to cover how to build your Info Request in the SideDrawer Console, and some of the elements that you can include.

Creating the Info Request

1. Navigate to Console (bottom left hand side).

2. From the left-hand menu, select Productivity.

3. Click on Info Requests.

4. Select Create New Info Request.

5. Click on Select Brand Code.
The brand code will be the name of your company, unless you have multiple brands.
A Brand Code is only used when certain companies have multiple advisors, each with different brands, e.g. Remax agents.

Remax, as a client might have their own brand, and individual agents might have separate brands for themselves and for their specific clients.

Select which Brand will have access to this Information Request.

6. Click on Select a SideDrawer Type.

Since the SideDrawer Type determines the Tiles for that SideDrawer, the Info Request must match the client's SideDrawer Type, so that the Tile destinations in the Info Request line up with the Tiles in the client's SideDrawer.
You can set up the Info Request to invite clients to upload a variety of documents, and select the destination Tile and Record for each file in the design of the Info Request.

7. Click on Info Request Name:

This is the Name of the Information Request that your clients will see when it is sent to their SideDrawer.

Choose an easy name to make it simple for the person to understand what the type of information is required.

Example: Yearly Tax Forms or New Client Onboarding Information.

8. Click on Enter a Description.
This description is internal, visible only to you and other users of your SideDrawer Console.
Provide a short description that will tell your other Console users what this Info Request is for.

9. Lastly, click on Save & Manage Form Items to confirm.

Optional: Translate the Info Request

SideDrawer can translate your Info Request into Spanish (Latin American)
Otherwise, click on Skip this step
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Adding Items to your Info Request

Each section of the Info Request is an Item
Items can be:

  • Text blocks or descriptions (including embedded video!)

  • Requests for a document or file

  • Requests for clients' information
    This group includes 2 advanced items - Tables and Surveys - which we'll get to later

Each Item is a building block in your Info Request - a simple Info Request might only have a handful of times, while a comprehensive onboarding package could have many more.
Info Requests can be reused and adapted over and over, so the time you spend building is an investment that will pay off over and over!
​
The basic steps for building items are the same for all item types, but we'll treat them separately here, because of some key differences.

Content, Descriptions, & Instructions

These items are spaces where you will enter your own text for your user - the client doesn't need to enter any information here, they'll just read your text or watch your video.
Use these blocks to give your client a description of the overall Info Request and its purpose, to provide additional context, or set out instructions for how to fill out the Info Request

  1. To create the block, select Content, Descriptions, & Instructions from the Items menu

  2. Click Next

  3. On the next screen, enter your text in the text field

  4. Use the toolbar to edit and adjust your text with font, spacing, and colour effects

  5. To include a clickable link, use the link button in the toolbar, paste the link URL, and click the checkmark - this URL will appear as a hyperlink in the Info Request

  6. To add video, click on the 'play' icon in the toolbar, add the video URL, then click the checkmark
    Click here for more details on embedding video in an Info Request

  7. When complete, click Submit

Records, Documents, & Files

Use this function to request documents from your clients
In this step, you'll inform the client what documents you want, and also create guidelines for where the document should be stored in the SideDrawer
When the client uploads the file to the Info Request, it will automatically save to the Tile and Record you've determined

  1. To create an upload request, select Records, Documents, & Files

  2. Click Next

To build your document upload request:

  1. Select the Tile that you want the file to be uploaded to

  2. Enter a Record Type - this will be used to name the Record that the file will be stored in

  3. Enter a description of the file - "Life Insurance Policy" or "Driver's License," for example

  4. Select "Preset a unique Record for this item" if you want all files to be uploaded to one new Record in the SideDrawer
    If you want clients to be able to upload files to multiple Records, or to pre-existing Records, leave this option unselected

  5. Select "Optional item" if you don't want this item to count toward the Info Request's completion percentage - this is a useful option for items that not all clients will have, such as Auto Insurance or Renter's Insurance

  6. Select Submit to finish this item and go back to the build menu

Requests for clients' information

In these items, you'll ask your client for a response, usually some kind of demographic information such as their name, age, date of birth, etc.

The block you select defines what kind of data the client can respond with - e.g. text, numerals, website link, address, etc.
Each item can be mandatory or optional - mandatory items will count toward the Info Request's completion percentage, and optional items will not

To create an item, choose an option for the format of your client's response
In this case, the question will ask for the client's name, so we'll select Text:

In the next screen, you'll create your question, describing the information you're asking the client to provide:

For more complex questions, you can select Drop Down, to build a set of options and have your client pick one, or Multiple Option, to build a set of options where they can choose more than one

Advanced Options

Table lets you build a set of fillable columns, where the user can add rows as necessary - for example, you can request information about insurance policies, and the client can add a row for each policy they have
Click here for more information on building Tables in Info Requests

Survey Table lets you build multiple-choice surveys, presenting your client with a variety of options and letting the select the right one for them. Surveys take some time to build, but can yield a wealth of information about clients' experiences and preferences!
Click here for more information on building Survey Tables in Info Requests

After you complete an Item, you'll be taken back to the Manage menu.
From here, you can Create a New Item to keep building your Info Request, Preview the Info Request to see what it will look like for a client, or Send the Info Request once it's complete
You can also Close to go back to the Console - all your Items will be saved in the Info Request
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In the next article, we'll go over the options for sending your Info Requests to clients:
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Info Requests 3: Send your Info Request

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