How Studio Source Yearbooks replaced PDF order forms with Airtable and Plumsail

Studio Source Yearbooks, a North American yearbook software company shares their experience implementing a sophisticated order form solution with Plumsail Forms.

When Studio Source Yearbooks acquired another company, they inherited a manual, PDF-based ordering system. To fix it, they built an online form with Plumsail, using complex calculations, conditional logic, and Airtable integration to automate the whole process.

In this article:

• About Studio Source Yearbooks
• Challenge of selecting the right forms tool
• Solution: Plumsail Forms with Airtable integration
• How the new Airtable-connected order form works?
• Key features: Airtable lookups, custom logic, real-time pricing, and more
• Why choose Plumsail Forms with Airtable integration?
• What changed after switching to Airtable and Plumsail
• Get started with Plumsail public web forms

About Studio Source Yearbooks

Studio Source Yearbooks specializes in yearbook software for educational institutions across North America. As a technology provider in the yearbook industry, they help schools create professional-quality yearbooks that capture graduating classes and school memories.

The company has expanded through acquisitions, recently purchasing an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) that sells specialized software called Memento. As part of integrating this acquisition, modernizing the order process became a priority.

Challenge of selecting the right forms tool

The acquired company was using an outdated, manual ordering system that created several inefficiencies:

• Customers had to fill out PDF forms manually
• Price calculations required manual lookup from price tables
• Customers performed their own quantity × price calculations
• Errors in calculations required manual verification by accountants
• No way to automatically look up returning customer information
• No integration with existing data systems
• No support for conditional logic based on customer type

Their ordering process was 'here's a PDF, fill out the quantity and the price.' If there's a price table, they would have to look up their own price and do the multiplication quantity times price, which is inefficient because if they get the numbers wrong, you have to catch it with an accountant.

Solution: Plumsail Forms with Airtable integration

After evaluating approximately ten different form solutions, the company selected Plumsail Forms to create a sophisticated online ordering system. The solution needed to:

• Handle complex pricing calculations
• Integrate with Airtable as the backend database
• Support JavaScript for advanced functionality
• Provide an intuitive, modern interface
• Implement conditional logic based on customer type
• Remember previous purchase history for returning customers

About you section of the form - only available to new customers

How the new Airtable-connected order form works?

1. Customer Identification
   • Customers select whether they are new or returning
   • Returning customers are looked up in Airtable via email address
   • System retrieves customer's "high watermark pricing" based on previous orders

Customer type selection with ability to lookup existing customers in Airtable

2. Dynamic Pricing Calculations

   • Prices adjust automatically based on quantity
   • Volume breaks are calculated through JavaScript
   • Subtotals and totals update in real-time

3. Order Submission and Processing

   • Validated data is written directly to Airtable
   • Order information is formatted properly for accounting
   • System maintains pricing history for future orders

Key features: Airtable lookups, custom logic, real-time pricing, and more

The order form leverages several advanced capabilities of Plumsail Forms:

• Custom JavaScript Integration: "I'm writing fairly involved JavaScript right now to manage these calculations. And it's perfect. You have page level scripts and events that hook up."

• Conditional Logic: "There's conditional logic - are you a returning or a first-time customer? If you're a first customer, you need to fill out information about your studio."

• Airtable Integration: "It talks natively to Airtable. We're doing gets and sets on Airtable and 'look me up' is calling an endpoint to find the customer and return their high watermark pricing."

• Advanced Calculations: "If you ordered 320 [licenses], this changes based on that. This is calculated from the two. This is a summation."

• Flexible Layout Options: "Being able to say the width of this is 2 twelfths - that's very difficult to do in most form generators. To get 3 [controls side by side] is a pain in most form tools."

• Cascading Calculated Fields: "This is a calculated field which is a dollar sign with two decimal points. In several platforms I would have had to manually format that."

Order price is calculated in real time based on selection

This here is the heart of why I found Plumsail in the first place. It's just basic price, quantity, total, final total. But it's a pain doing that without scripting. I surveyed Wufoo, Paperform, Jotform, Cognito - I'm going to say 10 tools, platforms, looking for something that could do it. And Plumsail has just nailed it.

Why choose Plumsail Forms with Airtable integration?

After evaluating numerous form solutions, Plumsail Forms stood out for several reasons:

• Powerful JavaScript Support: Unlike "no-code" solutions that become tedious for complex calculations
• Native Airtable Connection: Seamless integration with their existing database
• Modern Interface: Professional appearance that matches their brand standards
• Flexible Layout Controls: Precise sizing and positioning of form elements
• Superior Support: "I was delighted by the support. Truly wasn't expecting at the free tier to get personalized help."

What changed after switching to Airtable and Plumsail

The implementation of Plumsail Forms has transformed the ordering process with significant improvements:

• Eliminated manual calculations and associated errors
• Streamlined customer experience for both new and returning clients
• Automated data entry into backend systems
• Maintained pricing history for customer loyalty
• Reduced administrative overhead in order processing

Submit order with the form

I don't want to sound like a shill, but this is sincere. You've done a wonderful job.

Get started with Plumsail public web forms

Ready to transform your forms and integrate with Airtable? Check out our documentation to get started with Airtable Forms integration or see the following video:

And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to book a free call with our team or write us to support@plumsail.com.