ClickUp Form Workaround: Route One Form to Multiple Lists Automatically
- Ali Atif
- May 30
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 2
Managing multiple clients in ClickUp comes with unique challenges. One of the most common—and underestimated—is intake.
ClickUp’s form feature is powerful, but it’s designed with a catch: each form is tied to a single list. For businesses like ours at Bijli, where each client has a separate list to keep workstreams organized, this restriction introduces friction.
Dozens of forms. Manual routing. Higher chance of error.
So we built a system that bypasses those limitations—without sacrificing structure, data integrity, or user experience.
In this post, we’ll walk through the approach we’ve implemented for ourselves and our clients, show you how to replicate it, and share some thoughts on how to think about
ClickUp as a scalable client management tool.
Why This Matters
At Bijli, we help teams design workflows that scale without adding unnecessary complexity. That’s not just about automation—it’s about thoughtful architecture. We regularly work with agencies, startups, and service businesses where each client is treated as its own project or list within ClickUp.
In these cases, having separate forms for each client not only creates overhead—it increases the chances of misfiled work, duplicative automations, and inconsistent reporting.
We needed a system that could:
Accept submissions from multiple clients
Route them to the correct list
Require no action or decision from the client
Remain simple and maintainable
Here’s how we did it.
The Problem with ClickUp Forms (As of Now)
By design, a ClickUp form lives on a specific list. That’s great for internal teams with static workflows. But for agencies, this quickly becomes a bottleneck:
Each new client means creating a duplicate form
Updates have to be made everywhere, manually
It’s hard to maintain clean reporting or automation triggers
And while ClickUp’s public form feature is user-friendly, we didn’t want our clients selecting their name from a dropdown—that’s an error waiting to happen.
So instead of asking users to do more, we made the system do more.
Our Workaround: One ClickUp Form to Multiple Lists
We built a solution using a mix of ClickUp’s custom fields, automations, and some lightweight help from Make.com (formerly Integromat).
1. Centralized Holding List
We created a holding list in ClickUp called something like Client Request Tracker. This list doesn’t belong to any specific client. It acts as a temporary holding list where all form submissions land. This gives us a single form endpoint that’s disconnected from the final destination.
2. Hidden Dropdown Field
Within this holding list, we added a custom dropdown field that includes every client name. This field is hidden on the form, but still usable in automations and internal logic.
Why not show it to the client? Because the more decisions you ask clients to make, the more room you leave for error.
3. Pre-Filled Form Links for Each Client
Now the clever part: we generate unique URLs for each client where the hidden dropdown is pre-filled with their name or ID. These URLs are what we give our clients.
To do this, we use Make.com’s ClickUp module to fetch the list of options from the custom field and generate properly encoded form links.
Example:
The client only sees a clean form. Behind the scenes, ClickUp knows who they are.
4. Routing via Automation
Once a submission hits the Client Request Tracker list, we trigger a ClickUp automation based on the value of the hidden client field.
The automation:
Moves the task to the correct client list
Optionally cleans up temporary fields
Sends internal notifications or triggers related workflows
This turns one public-facing form into a scalable, client-specific intake system—without the creating forms for each client.
Benefits of This Structure
This setup isn’t just a workaround. It’s a sustainable pattern that can scale with your business.
Here’s why we recommend it:
✅ No Redundant Forms
You build the form once. No more copying, tweaking, or syncing changes across 10+ versions.
✅ Fewer Errors
Clients don’t have to select their name, project, or department. That logic is embedded in the URL.
✅ Cleaner Reporting
All requests pass through the same structure, so you can report holistically and still filter by client.
✅ Scalable Automation
ClickUp automations run cleaner when you're not juggling dozens of list-specific forms.
Thinking in Systems
One thing we emphasize with our clients is to design systems, not workarounds. The goal of any tool like ClickUp isn’t to enforce rigid processes—it’s to give you a flexible framework to reflect how your business operates.
Here, the key insight wasn’t “how do we beat the form limitation?”—it was:"What if we separated the idea of intake from the idea of ownership?"
That’s what the holding list allows you to do. It decouples where data enters from where it lives and gets acted on.
It’s a small shift—but it opens the door to more sophisticated architecture later: layered permissions, shared views, dashboards per client, unified reporting, and more.
When to Use This Approach
This setup works well if:
You have multiple clients or departments submitting similar types of requests
Each client has their own list or folder in ClickUp
You want a centralized intake process without compromising structure
You need to keep the client experience frictionless
You want one ClickUp form for multiple lists
It’s especially valuable for:
Creative agencies
IT helpdesks
Internal service teams
Client success or onboarding teams
Tools You’ll Need
ClickUp Business Plan or above (to access forms and advanced automations)
Make.com account (free tier is often enough)
Familiarity with basic field mapping in ClickUp
We’ve implemented this setup with small businesses and teams of 100+—and in both cases, it made ClickUp feel less like a task list, and more like an operating system.
Want to See It in Action?
We’ve recorded a full walkthrough of this system from form creation to automation setup. If you’re the kind of person who learns better by watching, this one’s for you.
Final Thoughts
ClickUp is a powerful tool—but its strength lies in how you use it. With thoughtful structure and a bit of creativity, you can build solutions that simplify your day-to-day and scale as you grow.
This one-form intake system is just one example of how we approach problems at Bijli—by designing tools that work for people, not the other way around.
Ready to Build a Smarter Workspace?
We help teams like yours build custom ClickUp solutions, whether you need better client intake, smarter automation, or an entire operational overhaul.
📩 Reach out to us at bijli.org to start your ClickUp transformation.
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