Smart Forms

Overview

Smart Forms (/admin/smart-forms) turn a legal document into something a client can fill in and sign online. You write (or let AI draft) the document with fields placed inside the wording. The client fills the fields beside a live copy of the document, signs on screen and submits. You get the completed document as a PDF, can file it on a matter, and can send it back for corrections.

The same walkthrough, with pictures, is on the public page /smart-forms ("How it works").

Smart Forms list

The list shows every form with its access state (Live, Draft, Expired, PIN), how many responses it has, how many are new, and when the last one arrived. The cards at the top count your forms, the live ones, new responses waiting for review, and responses where you are waiting on the client to correct something.

1. Create a form, with or without AI

Click New form and pick how to start.

Create a Smart Form

Option	What happens
Draft with AI	Describe the document (parties, clauses, fees, signatures). AI writes the wording and the fields, then opens it in the builder. Uses AI credits.
Start blank	Opens an empty document in the builder.

The preset chips (Client Intake, NDA, Consultation Agreement, Fee Arrangement, Medical Authorization) fill in the name for you. Turn on Right-to-left for Arabic, Hebrew or Urdu documents.

2. Arrange it in the builder

Smart Form builder

Drag a field type from the left palette into the text, where the client's answer belongs.
Click any sentence to edit it. The top toolbar adds titles, subtitles, paragraphs, tables and spacers.
Click a field chip to set its label, options, validation and whether it is required.
Nine field types: short text, long text, number, date, dropdown, single choice, checkbox, file upload and signature, plus ID document and Selfie when your plan includes signer verification (see section 8). Date fields give the client a calendar picker and only accept real dates.
File upload takes a PDF, JPG, PNG or HEIC file up to 10 MB. The file is stored as soon as the client picks it (large photos are scaled down first). In the response's Answers view, click the file name to download it. Files are kept in private storage and only your firm's staff can open them.
Press Save form. The bar above the builder confirms Saved. Client preview opens the form as the client will see it (read-only).
On a laptop the palette and settings panels get narrower to leave room for the document. On a tablet or phone the builder stacks them: the field palette first, then the document, then the field settings, each scrolling on its own. Dragging fields into the text works best with a mouse or trackpad.

Click Share (on the list or in the builder).

Tab	What it does
Secure link	Copy or open the form's link. It contains a random 32-character code, so it cannot be guessed.
	Accepting responses: switch the link on or off (off = draft; the link shows "not found").
	Access PIN: clients must enter it before the form opens. Share the PIN separately. After 5 wrong tries a visitor waits 15 minutes.
	Link expiry: after this date the link shows a "closed" page.
Email	Send the link from Matterly with your own message.
From a matter	Explains sending from a matter's Forms tab: pick one or more forms, the client gets them in one email, and each response is filed on that matter automatically. The tab shows what is still outstanding and can resend.

Form settings (the gear icon) also covers the form name, the intro note shown to the client, the submit button label and whether staff are notified.

When you paste the link into email, WhatsApp or Slack, it shows a preview with the form name, your firm name and your firm's image. Form links never appear in search engines.

4. The client fills it in and signs

Client view

The client sees the questions on the left and the document filling in on the right. On a phone the questions come first and the live document follows below them. A progress bar shows how many required answers are done. If they press Submit with required answers missing, the form lists them, outlines each one and jumps to the first; nothing is sent until they are complete.

5. Everyone is notified

When a response arrives:

The client receives a receipt email with their copy of the completed document attached as a PDF (sent when the form captured a valid email address, including after a resubmission).
Firm staff get an in-app notification, and firm admins, partners and office managers get an email with the PDF attached. Switch staff notifications off per form in Form settings.
The Submissions tab shows a New count.

6. Review: approve it, or ask for changes

Open Submissions and pick a response. Read it as a Document or a list of Answers, download the PDF, link it to a matter, Accept or Archive it.

Request changes

Request changes: tick the answers that need fixing and/or add a note. The client is emailed a link that reopens their form with those answers highlighted ("Please update") and everything else kept as they submitted it. If there is no email on file, copy the resubmission link from the banner and send it yourself.

When the client resubmits, the response returns to New, and a Changes view appears:

Change history

Each round shows your note, the flagged fields, when you asked and when they resubmitted, and every answer that changed, old value struck through, new value beside it. Answers you had flagged are marked Flagged. Earlier versions are never overwritten.

7. Signed by several people (Owner, Co-owner, Witness)

Open Form settings → Signers and switch on Signed by several people (included in some plans).

Who signs, in order: up to six roles, for example Owner, Co-owner and Witness. Rename, reorder or add roles.
Signing order: One after another (each signer is invited when the previous one has signed) or All at once.
Who fills each field: pick a role for every field. A field without a role belongs to the first signer.
Sign on one device: everyone signs on the same phone or tablet. After each signature the screen offers "I am {next signer}. Continue". Emails become optional and no invites are sent.

There are two ways to start:

The public link: the first signer fills their part and enters the name and email of every other signer.
Share → Send for signature: you name every signer; each gets their own link by email.

Each signer sees the whole document, but can only fill their own fields; the other signers' answers are shown read-only and can't be changed. A signer who opens their link too early sees who they are waiting for. A signer can decline with a reason; signing then stops and you are notified.

In Submissions, a signed response shows every signer with their status, a Copy link and Send invite button for whoever is next, and the Signing history (invited, opened, signed, declined, with times and IP addresses).

Request changes works as before, with one difference: when the first signer resubmits, everyone else's signature is cleared and they sign again, because the document changed.

When everyone has signed, Matterly produces the final PDF once, with a signing record page at the end (each signer, when and from where they signed, the full history and a SHA-256 fingerprint of the signed answers), and stores it. Every signer then receives that exact file, and PDF in Submissions always downloads it, so the File SHA-256 shown there matches. If the PDF can't be produced, Matterly retries; after three tries you are notified and can press Retry.

A form that is not fully signed after 30 days stops collecting signatures (your server can change this with SMART_FORM_ENVELOPE_DAYS). Reopen for 14 days in Submissions gives it more time and reminds whoever is next.

8. Identity checks: ID document and selfie

With signer verification in your plan, the builder offers two more fields:

ID document: a photo or PDF of a passport, ID card or licence.
Selfie: a photo the signer takes with their camera on the spot. If the camera can't be used (no camera, the signer declines access, or the form is opened over http://), they can upload a photo instead. You see which: Taken with the camera or Uploaded from the device, not taken live. "Taken with the camera" is what the signer's browser reported.

Browsers only open the camera on https://. The builder warns you if a form with a selfie is served over http://.

ID documents and selfies appear as thumbnails in Answers, and on the signing record of a sealed PDF, each with its SHA-256. On the Smart Forms list, ID and selfie photos sets how long they are kept: until the response is deleted (default), or 30 days to 2 years after the form was completed. When they are removed, their fingerprints stay on the record.

9. Paid extras while signing

Clients can buy extras as they sign, such as a notarised copy, courier delivery or a translation (included in some plans).

Smart Forms → Extras: add each extra with a price in your firm currency.
Form settings → Extras at checkout: tick the extras this form offers, and for each choose Client chooses or Always included.
Payment needed to finish (optional): the client pays right after submitting, and other signers are invited, or you are notified, only once the payment is confirmed. Without it, the client can pay later from a Pay now button on the thanks page.

The first signer sees the extras with a running total and pays through your own payment gateway (Settings → Payments): Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal, LigdiCash or Paystack. Each response shows Extras ordered with its status, a Copy payment link for unpaid orders, and the gateway's transaction id. When the response is linked to a matter, a paid invoice is filed on it. If money arrives after the document was declined or expired, the order is marked Paid after closing so you can refund it.

Try it

The public demo links a live Smart Form from the homepage (Try a live Smart Form). Super Admins choose which form that is under Super Admin → Landing page → Hero → Showcase Smart Form; see the Super Admin Guide.

Best practices

Build your three most-used intake documents on day one.
Send forms from the matter whenever they belong to a case, so responses file themselves.
Use a PIN for anything sensitive, and set an expiry on one-off requests.
When asking for corrections, flag the exact answers rather than only writing a note: the client sees precisely what to change, and the Changes view shows whether they did.
For several signers, name everyone from Send for signature when you already know them; use the public link when the client brings their own co-owner or witness.
Ask for an ID document and a selfie only where you need them, and set how long they are kept.