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Timeline Tab

The Timeline tab allows you to automatically create a timeline entry when someone submits your public form. This creates a record of the interaction in the contact’s timeline history. Timeline Tab

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What is a Timeline Entry?

Timeline entries (also called timeline items) record interactions with contacts. They include:
  • Date and time of occurrence
  • Type of interaction (phone call, door knock, text, etc.)
  • Who made the contact (organizer name)
  • Assessment (coded value indicating level of support)
  • Notes about the interaction

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Overview

At the top of the Timeline tab, you’ll see: Create a timeline item for the person/organization created or matched by this form? Check this box to enable timeline creation. When enabled:
  • A timeline entry is created each time the form is submitted
  • The entry is linked to the new or matched contact
  • The entry appears in the contact’s timeline history in Broadstripes
When unchecked, no timeline entry is created (though the form submission itself is still tracked). When to enable timeline creation:
  • If the form represents a real organizing contact (door knock transcription, event sign-up, interest card)
  • When you want to track form submissions as organizing interactions
  • For debrief forms that organizers fill out after conversations
When to skip timeline creation:
  • If the form is just updating contact information without an organizing interaction
  • For simple data collection forms where the interaction isn’t meaningful

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Timeline Type

What type of timeline? dropdown Select the journal entry type that best represents this interaction. Common options include:
  • Phone call
  • House Visit
  • One-on-one
  • Group meeting
The list shows all timeline types configured for your campaign. Your administrator can create custom timeline types specific to your organizing work.
Create a specific timeline type called “Online Form Submission” or “Public Form - [Form Name]” to easily identify and report on these interactions later.

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Timeline Fields

Below the timeline type, you’ll see a table with two columns:
  • Timeline field: The fields you can add to your form
  • Custom label on form: The label that will appear to form submitters
Each field has:
  • A checkbox to include it on the form
  • A text input for customizing the label

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Date of Occurrence

Default label: “Occurred on” The date when the interaction happened. Displays as a calendar date picker with a “today” button. When to include:
  • Event registrations (to capture event date)
  • Incident reports (to capture when something happened)
  • Sign-ups for future actions (to record the action date)
Custom label examples:
  • “Event date”
  • “Date of incident”
  • “Action date”
  • “Training date”

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Time of Day

Default label: “Occurred at” The specific time when the interaction happened. Displays as a time picker with a “now” button. When to include:
  • Event registrations with specific start times
  • Shift sign-ups
  • Meeting registrations
When to skip:
  • Most general sign-up forms (exact time is not relevant)
Custom label examples:
  • “Event start time”
  • “Shift time”

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Contacted By

Default label: “Contacted by” A phone number or email address field that identifies who made the contact. Broadstripes will try to match this contact information (cell phone number or email) to an existing person in the app to find the organizer’s name.
You should relabel this field with a meaningful custom label, like “Organizer Phone” or “Organizer Email” to make it clear that the form submitter should enter the organizer’s phone number or email address, NOT their name.
When to include:
  • Forms distributed by specific organizers (so they get credit for the contact)
  • Events where you need to track which organizer recruited someone
  • Paper forms transcribed by organizers
When to skip:
  • Self-service online forms where no specific organizer is involved
  • Anonymous forms
Custom label examples:
  • “Organizer Phone”
  • “Phone of Contacting Person”
  • “Organizer Email”
  • “Your Phone or Email”

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Assessment (Code)

Default label: Your campaign’s code/assessment label (e.g., “Code”, “Assessment”, “Level”) The coded assessment value indicating the level of support or engagement. Displays as radio buttons with your campaign’s configured codes (typically 0-5 or 1-5). When to include:
  • Initial contact forms where organizers assess support level
  • Follow-up forms to track changes in support
  • Forms where you want the submitter to self-assess their level of interest
When to skip:
  • Forms where assessment is not relevant
  • Self-service forms where users can’t meaningfully self-assess
Custom label examples:
  • “Interest level”
  • “Support level”
  • “How likely are you to vote yes?”
  • “Commitment level”
The assessment scale in forms never goes to 100. Most campaigns use a 0-5 scale, sometimes extending to 7. The options displayed are based on your campaign’s configured assessment codes.

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Description/Notes

Default label: “Description/Notes” Free-form text area for additional notes about the interaction. When to include:
  • Almost all forms benefit from a notes field
  • Allows capturing context and details
  • Gives submitters a place to add information not captured by other fields
When to skip:
  • Very simple forms with a single purpose
  • Forms where you want to minimize length
Custom label examples:
  • “Additional comments”
  • “Questions or concerns”
  • “Tell us more”
  • “What issues are most important to you?”
  • “How can we help?”

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Timeline Field Configuration Example

Here’s a typical configuration for a worker interest card:
Timeline fieldInclude?Custom label on form
Date of occurrence☐ No(not needed - submission date is enough)
Time of day☐ No(not needed)
Contacted by☑ Yes”Email of organizer who gave you this form”
Assessment☑ Yes”How interested are you in learning more?”
Description/Notes☑ Yes”Questions or concerns”

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What the Timeline Entry Contains

When a form is submitted with timeline creation enabled, Broadstripes creates a timeline entry containing: Always included:
  • Submission timestamp (when the form was submitted)
  • Timeline type (as selected in the dropdown)
  • A note indicating it came from the public form
Conditionally included (based on which fields you enabled):
  • Custom date of occurrence (if field was enabled and filled)
  • Custom time of day (if field was enabled and filled)
  • Contacted by value (if field was enabled and filled)
  • Assessment/code value (if field was enabled and filled)
  • Description/notes text (if field was enabled and filled)

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Timeline Entry Visibility

Timeline entries created by public forms:
  • Appear in the contact’s Timeline section in Broadstripes
  • Are visible to all users with access to the contact

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Best Practices

Use timeline creation for organizing interactions: If the form represents a real organizing contact (door knock transcription, event sign-up, interest card), create a timeline entry. Skip timeline creation for data updates: If the form is just updating contact information without an organizing interaction, you may not need a timeline entry. Use meaningful timeline types: Create specific timeline types for your forms rather than reusing generic types. This makes reporting easier. Customize labels for your audience: Use language your form submitters will understand. “What got you interested?” is clearer than “Contacted by reason” for most audiences. Test the timeline: Submit a test form and check the contact’s timeline in Broadstripes to ensure it looks correct.

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Common Scenarios

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Worker Interest Card

  • ☑ Create timeline entry
  • Timeline type: “Worker Interest Card”
  • Include: Contacted by, Assessment, Notes

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Event Registration

  • ☑ Create timeline entry
  • Timeline type: “Event Registration”
  • Include: Date of occurrence (event date), Notes
  • Skip: Time, Contacted by, Assessment (not relevant for event RSVPs)

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General Contact Form

  • ☐ Skip timeline entry
  • (Or create minimal entry with just notes field)

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Shop Steward Nomination Form

  • ☑ Create timeline entry
  • Timeline type: “Shop Steward Nomination”
  • Include: Notes (for nomination details)
  • Skip: Date, Time, Contacted by, Assessment

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Next Steps

You can save or move on to the next tab to finish customizing your public form.