Is it possible to trigger a form submission without filling in all required fields?

[AC2027]

We have an important report that tracks the number of applications submitted through a specific HubSpot form. Occasionally, however, we receive applications outside of HubSpot. We’d like to include those submissions in the report without requiring our phone team to manually re-enter full application data.

Is it possible to trigger a form submission in HubSpot without completing all required fields? Alternatively, can we create a simplified form whose submissions would count toward the original form’s submission total?

[SanjayKumar]

Hi @AC2027, 
In HubSpot a form submission is only counted when the form is actually submitted. Standard HubSpot forms won’t submit if required fields are missing, so there’s no built-in way to force a submission without completing those fields. The fields that are required must be filled. For example, Email is the most critical and commonly required field in HubSpot form submissions; everything else depends on how the form is configured.

[AC2027]

Maybe let me start my question over because the core issue is a bit complicated:

Our organization uses HubSpot forms for parents to submit applications on behalf of their children. Each application submission creates a child record. However, parents can apply to multiple schools, and when they do, the system creates multiple duplicate child records for the same child, and for the same school (not the additional ones).

Our reporting currently relies on counting child records, so these duplicates are throwing off our totals. I think it would make more sense to base reporting on form submissions instead of child records to avoid bad data, but I’m struggling with how to account for applications that come outside of HubSpot.

Our application forms are long, and our phone teams don’t need (or have the capacity) to re-enter full application data into HubSpot if it was submitted elsewhere—we just want a reliable way to count those external submissions. I tried creating a separate, simplified intake form, but that resulted in duplicate parent records.

Alternatively, we could try to clean up or adjust the duplicate child records so they’re associated with the correct schools, but that still feels like poor data practice. We're aware the current model is bad and have  a long-term initiative to restructure it. In the short term, We're looking for a band-aid solution that allows us to maintain accurate reporting using the tools we currently have.

Given these constraints, I'm trying to figure out out the best way to count all applications (HubSpot and non-HubSpot) without creating duplicate parent or child records. Is this possible?

[karstenkoehler]

Hi @AC2027,

Why not create a separate form? With the "Form submissions" data source in the custom report builder you should be able to build a report across two forms just fine. https://knowledge.hubspot.com/reports/create-reports-with-the-custom-report-builder

If that's not an option, could you explain in a bit more detail why? What makes the important report so special that it can't be adjusted to show data from two forms?

Best regards

[AC2027]

Maybe let me start my question over because the core issue is a bit complicated:

Our organization uses HubSpot forms for parents to submit applications on behalf of their children. Each application submission creates a child record. However, parents can apply to multiple schools, and when they do, the system creates multiple duplicate child records for the same child, and for the same school (not the additional ones).

Our reporting currently relies on counting child records, so these duplicates are throwing off our totals. I think it would make more sense to base reporting on form submissions instead of child records to avoid bad data, but I’m struggling with how to account for applications that come outside of HubSpot.

Our application forms are long, and our phone teams don’t need (or have the capacity) to re-enter full application data into HubSpot if it was submitted elsewhere—we just want a reliable way to count those external submissions. I tried creating a separate, simplified intake form, but that resulted in duplicate parent records.

Alternatively, we could try to clean up or adjust the duplicate child records so they’re associated with the correct schools, but that still feels like poor data practice. We're aware the current model is bad and have  a long-term initiative to restructure it. In the short term, We're looking for a band-aid solution that allows us to maintain accurate reporting using the tools we currently have.

Given these constraints, I'm trying to figure out out the best way to count all applications (HubSpot and non-HubSpot) without creating duplicate parent or child records. Is this possible?