Introducing Amelia and IvyForms: A New Way to Collect Details Before Booking

Some bookings need more than a name, email, and appointment or event time.

A client booking a consultation may need to share their goals, preferences, or background details before the appointment. A customer registering for an event may need to choose a meal option, answer a few questions, or provide extra information before reserving their spot.

That is exactly why we built the new Amelia and IvyForms integration.

With the first version of this integration, you can connect an IvyForms intake form to an Amelia service or event, so customers can complete the form before they continue to the booking flow. 

The integration can be used free of charge, allowing Amelia users to start collecting additional booking details with IvyForms without needing a paid IvyForms plan.

Why We Built the Amelia and IvyForms Integration

We’re excited to introduce the Amelia and IvyForms integration, a feature many of our users have been asking for.

For a while now, we’ve heard from Amelia users who wanted more flexibility when collecting information before booking. Amelia custom fields are a great fit for simpler booking details, but some businesses need more room to ask detailed questions, collect structured responses, and create a more tailored intake experience before the customer reaches the booking steps.

That is exactly where IvyForms comes in.

With the first version of this integration, Amelia and IvyForms now work together to support pre-booking intake forms. Customers can complete an IvyForms form before continuing with an Amelia service or event booking, giving businesses an easier way to collect the right information at the right moment.

The integration creates a lightweight but powerful connection between the two products:

• Amelia continues to handle the booking experience.
• IvyForms handles the intake form.
• The integration links the form submission to the booking record once the booking is confirmed.

This first release is an important step toward bringing Amelia and IvyForms closer together. It gives businesses a simple way to collect more context before a service or event is booked, while keeping the Amelia booking flow clean, familiar, and focused.

What the First Version of the Integration Does

The first version of the Amelia and IvyForms integration focuses on pre-booking intake forms.

In practice, this means customers can complete an IvyForms form before they continue to the Amelia booking steps. Instead of asking for extra details after the booking is already made, businesses can collect important information earlier in the process, right before the customer selects a time, reserves a spot, or confirms their booking.

For event bookings, this could mean asking attendees to choose a meal option, share attendee details, answer event-specific questions, or provide any other information the organizer needs in advance.

For appointment-based bookings, it could mean collecting preferences, goals, notes, special requests, or background details before the appointment is scheduled.

This gives businesses more context from the start, while keeping the booking experience clear and organized for customers.

And just as importantly, this first version does not change how Amelia handles bookings, calendars, or availability. Amelia continues to manage the core booking process, while IvyForms adds a structured intake step before the booking is confirmed. Payments can be handled through Amelia, IvyForms, or both, depending on how you configure each plugin.

How the Amelia and IvyForms Integration Works

The Amelia and IvyForms integration is designed to keep the booking process simple, while adding an extra intake step when more information is needed.

Here is how the flow works:

When a customer visits the page, they first see the connected IvyForms form. This allows you to collect important details upfront, such as preferences, requirements, contact information, or custom questions.

To keep the experience visually consistent, IvyForms includes a pre-built Amelia Default Theme. This theme automatically matches the intake form to Amelia’s default styling, helping the form feel like a natural part of the booking flow without extra customization. 

After completing the form, the customer continues to the Amelia booking form, where they can choose a time, enter their booking details, and complete the booking as usual.

Once the booking is successfully confirmed, IvyForms creates the official form submission and links it to the Amelia booking record. From there, the business owner can view the submitted form details at any time.

This means all important intake details stay connected to the confirmed booking, making it easier to review customer information before the service or event takes place.

If the customer abandons the booking or the booking is not successfully confirmed, the temporary form data expires and no final form submission is stored.

Required or Optional Intake Form Details

One of the best parts of the Amelia and IvyForms integration is that businesses can decide how the intake form fits into their booking flow.

The amount of information customers need to provide before booking depends on how the IvyForms form is set up. 

Admins can mark specific fields as required, so customers must complete those fields before they continue to the Amelia booking form and select a service or event.

For bookings where details matter, this can make a big difference. Consultations, applications, event registrations, workshops, and appointments that require preparation can all benefit from required fields. Businesses can collect the right information upfront, prepare with more context, and create a more organized experience for everyone involved.

For simpler bookings, some of the fields can stay optional. Customers still have the chance to share extra details, preferences, or notes, but they are not forced to complete another step if it is not needed.

This gives businesses more flexibility and control, while keeping the booking experience smooth, practical, and easy to manage.

Benefits of the Amelia and IvyForms Integration

The Amelia and IvyForms integration gives businesses a more flexible way to collect the information they need before a booking is confirmed. Instead of trying to fit every intake scenario into the same booking fields, users can now bring a dedicated form experience into the pre-booking flow.

More flexible intake forms

With IvyForms, Amelia users get a more advanced way to collect information before a booking. This is especially helpful for businesses that need more than standard booking details, such as detailed questions, structured responses, preferences, notes, or custom intake steps.

Better booking context

When customers share important details before they book, business owners can understand their needs earlier. Whether it is a consultation, service appointment, workshop, or event, teams can review the right information before the booking takes place.

Easier submission management

Once the booking is confirmed, the intake form submission is managed through IvyForms and linked to the Amelia booking record. This gives businesses more ways to search, filter, review, and organize the information customers provide before booking.

Cleaner booking flow

Amelia continues to handle the booking logic, availability, and calendars, while IvyForms handles the intake form experience. Payment can be handled by both Amelia and IvyForms. This keeps the booking process focused, while giving businesses more room to collect the information they need.

Less manual follow-up

Collecting key details before the booking can reduce the need for extra follow-up emails. Instead of asking customers to send missing information later, businesses can gather those details as part of the booking journey.

Better event and service preparation

More context means better preparation. Event organizers can plan around attendee details, service providers can review customer needs in advance, and teams can organize each booking with more confidence.

A first step toward a more connected ecosystem

This is the first version of the Amelia and IvyForms integration, and we are excited about what it makes possible. The goal of this release is to start with a simple, useful connection between the two products, then continue improving the integration with future iterations.

Final Thoughts

The Amelia and IvyForms integration gives businesses a simple but powerful way to collect more information before a booking is confirmed.

For Amelia users who need more advanced intake forms, this first version creates a practical bridge between booking and form collection. Businesses can add an intake step before a customer books a service or event, collect the details they need earlier, and keep that information connected to the final booking.

Amelia continues to manage the booking side of the process, including appointments, services, events, and availability. IvyForms handles the intake form experience. 

Payments can be handled through Amelia, IvyForms, or both, depending on how each plugin is configured.

Together, they help businesses collect the right information at the right moment, so every booking can start with more context and less back-and-forth.

And this is just the first version. We are excited to keep improving the connection between Amelia and IvyForms, and to continue building a more flexible ecosystem for businesses that want more from their booking and form workflows.