Send a client brief
When to use this
Use this guide early in a lead: before you price anything, let the client tell you about the day in their own words, on their own time.
Sending client briefs is included on every plan. Your public enquiry link, which collects the same brief from anyone who finds it, is part of the Studio plan.
What a brief is
A client brief is a friendly guided form you send from a lead. The client confirms the basics, describes the style they are after, uploads inspiration photos, and indicates budget, and it all lands back on the event ready for your proposal work.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Compose the brief from the lead
Lead cards on the events board suggest the brief as a next step. Composing mints a private link you can email from BloomBoard or copy into any channel you already use.
When you send by email, the composer shows a “Replies go to” line under the send buttons so you know where the client’s reply will land: your business email from Settings, or the account owner’s login email when no business email is set.
The Questions panel also holds the reply promise the client sees after they submit — within 2, 3, or 5 days, or simply “soon” if you would rather not commit to a number.
The client fills it in, at their pace
The brief opens by asking for the client’s email address — it is required, so even a brief you shared by copied link or WhatsApp leaves you a way to reach them. The form tells the client this plainly: you can still reach them even if they don’t get to finish. Then it walks them through short steps: the basics (date, venue, guests, which they confirm or correct), the people involved, what they need with simple counters and an honest “not sure” option, their style in chips and words, inspiration photos (with hearts for favourites), a budget band, and final notes, all reviewed before sending. If they close the tab halfway, the link picks up where they left off. After submitting they see a simple confirmation — their enquiry has been received, when you will be in touch (your reply promise), and that they can close the tab.
Because the email comes first, you keep it even when they never finish: the address they typed shows on the lead card and on the brief panel in the event workspace (with a copy button), so you can follow up yourself. For safety, BloomBoard never emails an address the form visitor typed — automatic nudges still go only to briefs you sent by email.
If you archive the event or move it to Cancelled before the client finishes, the automatic brief reminder pauses. Restore the archived event, or move the cancelled event to another column, to make it eligible again. The private brief link itself keeps working while the event is archived or cancelled; use Revoke in the brief actions if you need to close that link.
Review the submission
When the brief comes back you get the submission on the event, next to everything else about the job. The email the client gave lands on their contact card automatically — filled in when it was blank, or flagged for your review if it differs from what you had. From there, build the proposal on a foundation the client gave you themselves.
If the event has no arrangements yet, needs with a quantity become arrangement placeholders ready for you to cost. BloomBoard files each one into the best matching arrangement group already in your studio: for example, a bridal bouquet goes under Personal Flowers, while table centrepieces go under Dining & Tables. Your renamed groups are respected when their names still describe the same area. If there is no sensible match, the placeholder stays ungrouped; BloomBoard never creates a new group for you.
If you already started the event’s arrangements, the client’s needs appear as suggestions instead. Add the ones you want from the review, and BloomBoard organizes them into the same matching groups.
Need the client to change something after they’ve sent it? Use Reopen for edits on the brief card — it asks you to confirm, then their link starts working again. Nothing already sent is lost: the card keeps a View their answers button while they edit, and if they submit again the review panel lets you switch between every version they’ve sent. You only ever see completed submissions, never a half-finished edit.
Make the budget bands yours
The budget options the client sees come from Settings → Client brief, where you can shape the bands to your market and preview exactly what clients will see.
The same page has a What clients must answer section:
- Require a budget answer removes “I’d rather talk it through” from the budget step, so the client picks a band or types their own number. It applies to your enquiry form and to briefs you have already sent that haven’t come back yet. A client who chose “talk it through” before you turned this on can still finish and submit.
- Minimum spend is the lowest amount you take on. Every band below it disappears and a client typing their own number is held to it — so nothing a client picks can undercut your minimum. Leave it empty for no minimum.
A good brief saves a revision later. The style words, photos, and budget band all pay off when the first proposal already feels like the client’s day.