Overview
Custom forms in Billy now support conditional questions — follow-up fields that only appear when a vendor selects a specific answer to an earlier question. This keeps your forms clean for vendors (they only see what's relevant to them) while still letting you collect the deeper detail you need when it matters.
A common example: if a Trade Partner selects Union on a labor classification question, a follow-up field automatically appears asking for the Union name. Vendors who select "Non-Union" never see that follow-up at all.
Who This Is For
Compliance admins building custom forms (like Vendor Prequalification) who want to:
Ask follow-up questions only when they're relevant to the vendor's situation
Keep forms shorter and easier to complete, improving submission rates
Collect specific detail (union name, certification number, license type, etc.) without burdening every vendor with the same question
How Conditional Questions Work
A conditional question is a question that's hidden by default and only appears when a specific answer is selected on a prior question in the same form. When the triggering answer is selected, the follow-up question appears inline beneath it. If the vendor changes their answer, the follow-up disappears.
Two questions are involved in any conditional setup:
Trigger question — the question whose answer controls visibility (e.g., "Are you a Union or Non-Union shop?")
Conditional question — the question that appears only when the trigger condition is met (e.g., "What is the name of your Union?")
How to Configure a Conditional Question
Step 1: Open Your Custom Form
Navigate to the custom form you want to edit (for example, your Vendor Prequalification form) and open the section where you want to add the conditional logic.
Step 2: Add or Locate the Trigger Question
Make sure the trigger question already exists in the form, above where the conditional question will go. The trigger question must use a fixed answer type (like a dropdown, radio button, or yes/no) so Billy can check the answer against a specific value.
💡 Tip: Conditional logic only works when the trigger question comes before the conditional question in the form. If you need to reorder, drag the trigger question above the follow-up. |
Step 3: Add the Conditional Question
Add the follow-up question (e.g., a text field for "Union name") directly below the trigger question.
Step 4: Turn On Conditional Display
On the follow-up question, toggle on Show this question conditionally. You'll be prompted to choose:
The trigger question this follow-up depends on
The specific answer that should reveal it (e.g., "Union")
Step 5: Save the Form
Save your form. The next time a vendor fills it out, the follow-up question will only appear when they select the matching answer on the trigger question.
Example: Union Name Follow-Up
Here's the most common use case, end to end:
Step | Configuration |
Trigger question | "Are you a Union or Non-Union shop?" (dropdown: Union / Non-Union) |
Conditional question | "What is the name of your Union?" (text field) |
Conditional rule | Show when answer to trigger question equals Union |
When the vendor selects Union, the Union name field appears inline. If they change their answer to Non-Union, the field disappears — and any value previously typed into it is cleared.
What Vendors See
From the vendor's side, the experience is seamless:
The conditional question is invisible until the trigger answer is selected
Once revealed, it appears immediately beneath the trigger question
If the vendor changes their answer, the conditional question hides again automatically
Vendors don't need any instructions — the form simply expands or collapses based on what they pick.
PRO TIP
Use conditional questions to keep forms short for the majority of vendors while still capturing specialty detail from the smaller group it applies to. This is especially useful for prequalification forms, where most vendors don't need every section.
Tips for Designing Conditional Questions
Keep the trigger answer set tight. Use dropdowns or radio buttons (rather than free-text) for trigger questions so the conditional logic has a clean answer to check against.
Place the conditional question directly below its trigger. This makes the form feel intuitive and keeps the logic predictable when you edit the form later.
Don't make conditional questions required at the form level if they only apply to some vendors. Billy will only require the field when it's actually shown — but it's worth keeping the logic simple to avoid confusion if you audit the form later.
Test before you publish. Fill out the form yourself with each possible answer to confirm the right follow-ups show or hide as expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a conditional question be triggered by more than one answer?
Each conditional rule maps a follow-up question to a specific trigger answer. If you want a follow-up to appear for multiple answers, set up the same conditional question with each rule, or restructure the trigger question so the relevant answers can be grouped.
Can a conditional question itself trigger another conditional question?
Yes — you can chain conditional questions. Just make sure each level's trigger question appears before the question it controls. Keep chains shallow when possible to make the form easier to maintain.
What happens to a conditional answer if the vendor changes the trigger answer?
If a vendor answers the conditional question and then changes the trigger answer so the follow-up no longer applies, the conditional answer is cleared. This prevents stale or contradictory data from being submitted.
Will conditional questions show up on the submission summary that admins review?
Yes. If the vendor saw the conditional question and answered it, the answer will appear in the submission summary. If the question was never shown to the vendor, it won't appear in the summary either.
Can I add conditional logic to an existing form, or only new ones?
You can add conditional logic to any existing custom form. Edit the form, configure the conditional rule on the relevant question, and save. New rules apply to all future submissions; previous submissions are not changed retroactively.
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