How to build a customer portal with prefilled forms and data blocks

Give every customer their own personalized space

In this guide, you’ll build a customer portal that allows clients to log in, view their records, update details, and submit new requests through prefilled forms and linked data blocks, all synced automatically. This is perfect for agencies, service providers, or account managers who need client-facing dashboards with zero manual updates.
📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1 — Create your customer data form

Start from your workspace and click + New → Form. You can start from scratch or choose the Client portal template from the Template gallery.

Or use Magic Create, describe your goal:

“A client profile form that stores customer information and links with other project and request forms.”

Why this matters: this form will act as your customer database, powering all prefilled and personalized portal content.
📘 Learn more: How to create any form using Magic Create in Formaloo

Step 2 — Add core customer details

Include fields that help you identify and segment clients:

• Customer name / company name
  
  
• Email address
  
  
• Assigned account manager
  
  
• Service type or plan
  
  
• Start date / renewal date
  
  
• Status (Active / Inactive / On hold)
  
  
• Notes or summary
  
  

💡 Tip: Mark the email field as unique, this makes linking and prefilling easier later.
📘 Learn more: Form editor and field types

Step 3 — Link your customer database to other forms

If you have other forms like Service Requests, Invoices, or Feedback, connect them with your Customer Directory form using linked rows.

For example:

• Each customer record shows their linked service requests.
  
  
• Each request automatically references the customer’s profile data.
  📘 Learn more: What are linked rows and how to use them
  
  

Step 4 — Enable Memory Forms for prefilled submissions

Turn on Memory Forms so returning users see their existing data prefilled in forms. This ensures that when a logged-in client opens any linked form, their details, like name, plan, and preferences, appear automatically.
📘 Learn more: What are Memory Forms

Step 5 — Prefill linked forms dynamically

Use lookup or linked fields to prefill related forms, such as:

• Request a service → prefilled with Client name and Account manager
  
  
• Feedback form → prefilled with Service type and Last interaction date
  
  

💡 Pro tip: You can also prefill via URL parameters when sharing links externally.
📘 Learn more: How to use URL parameters to pre-fill form fields

Step 6 — Create your customer portal

From your workspace, create a Portal and name it “Customer Portal.”

Add pages such as:

• Dashboard — client overview with charts and summaries
  
  
• My profile — connected to the Customer Directory form
  
  
• My requests — list of linked service or support requests
  
  
• Submit a new request — form prefilled with client data
  
  
• Invoices or reports — embedded linked table view
  
  

📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

Step 7 — Add data blocks for client visibility

Inside the portal, add Table, Chart, or Card blocks to display client-specific data dynamically.

Examples:

• Table block: all requests submitted by the logged-in user.
  
  
• Chart block: progress over time, satisfaction scores, or billing totals.
  
  
• Card block: key info like Account manager, Plan type, Renewal date.
  📘 Learn more: How to add a table data block in Formaloo
  
  

Step 8 — Restrict data by user role

Set access filters so each client sees only their own data.
In the portal’s page settings, use filters like:

Show only rows where Email = logged-in user’s email.

You can also create roles like Customer, Account Manager, and Admin for tiered visibility.
📘 Learn more: How to restrict users’ access to pages in your portal

Step 9 — Automate updates with on-update logic

Use on-update logic so whenever a client submits or updates a form, related records refresh automatically:

• When status changes → Notify account manager
  
  
• When renewal date updates → Send confirmation email
  
  
• When request submitted → Link to client record instantly
  📘 Learn more: What is on-update logic and how it works
  
  

Step 10 — Add smart notifications

In Settings → Advanced logic or Notify tab, create automated emails for important actions:

• To client: confirmation of updates or submissions.
  
  
• To team: alert when a customer adds new data.
  
  
• To admin: daily digest of client changes.
  📘 Learn more: How to send and receive conditional email notifications
  
  

Step 11 — Customize the portal layout

Personalize your portal’s look and feel:

• Add a cover image, logo, and brand colors under App Settings → Branding.
  
  
• Rename pages with clear, customer-friendly titles like My profile, My requests, or Support center.
  📘 Learn more: How to customize your portal with your brand identity
  
  

Step 12 — Analyze client trends with AI

Enable AI Analyze to identify engagement and request trends:

• “Most requested services by client type.”
  
  
• “Accounts with recent activity changes.”
  
  
• “Top recurring issues or requests.”
  📘 Learn more: Uncover insights and trends in your data with AI Analyze
  
  

Pro tips

• Use linked rows for real-time data across customer, request, and billing forms.
  
  
• Add Memory Forms for easy return visits.
  
  
• Create PDF summaries of client reports or monthly statements automatically.
  📘 Learn more: How to generate custom PDFs using templates
  
  

Example scenario

A client logs in to your Customer Portal, where they see their project details, invoices, and support requests. When they open Submit a new request, their name, company, and plan auto-fill. Once submitted, the request links to their record and updates the dashboard instantly. AI Analyze later reveals that 60% of clients on Premium plans submit requests every two weeks — helping you optimize service capacity.
📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can clients update their own information?
Yes, allow editable submissions in the Customer Profile form or via the data block setting.

2. Can I display different pages for different customer types?
Absolutely, use user roles or different visibility for segmented experiences.

3. Can I sync this portal with my CRM or Google Sheets?
Yes ,connect via integrations for automatic data sync.
📘 Learn more: How to add integrations on Formaloo

Your customer portal is live, personalized, automated, and effortless

You’ve built a fully functional portal where customers can log in, view their data, and submit prefilled forms. Continue expanding it with AI, linked forms, and branded layouts to deliver a seamless, self-service experience.
📘 Learn more: How to personalize ending pages and email notifications with AI

Last updated October 2025

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