Overview
Partner referral forms let your partners send you new clients through a short public form, and each submission becomes a contact in Broki, linked to the partner who referred them. Each partner has their own form link, and your company also has one universal form where the client picks which partner they're working with.
Also called: realtor referral.
You can set a default lead stage so referrals land on your Leads board automatically, and turn on a welcome email that goes to the new client. Partners can also open their form from their portal with Refer a client.
At a glance
Partner referral forms turn a public submission into a contact linked to the partner who referred them.
Each partner has a form link. The company also has one universal form where the client picks the partner.
A new email creates a contact. An email already in Broki updates that contact instead of creating another one.
Set Default lead stage and the welcome email in Settings > Client Experience > Referrals. Settings belong to the partner's owner.
The owner's new lead email goes out only when automatic welcome email is on.
Before you begin
Before you share a referral form, check these requirements.
The partner needs a Partner category (or to be a realtor or lawyer) for their Referral card to appear.
To get the universal link, your Company name must be set in company settings.
Referral settings are found in Settings > Client Experience > Referrals.
Referral settings are saved per team member. A referral uses the settings of the team member who owns the referring partner.
Welcome emails are sent from the owner's Gmail or Outlook account when one is connected.
Step-by-step instructions
These tasks cover sharing a form, choosing a lead stage, and setting the welcome email.
Share a partner's personal form
Share a partner's personal form from the Referral card on the partner's Info tab.
In the left sidebar, select Partners and open the partner.
On the Info tab, find the Referral card. It shows how many submissions the partner has sent and how many were successful.
Choose how to share. Copy the link ("Link copied") and send it to the partner. Select Open to view the form. Select QR, then Download PNG for a printable QR code. Select Embed and copy the code ("Paste into your site HTML.") for the partner's website.
Share your universal form
Share your universal form from Settings > Client Experience > Referrals.
In the left sidebar, select Settings, then Client Experience > Referrals.
In Partner forms, under Universal referral form, select Copy link next to Universal link, or Copy next to Embed code.
On the universal form, the client searches for their realtor, lawyer, or advisor under Who are you working with? before filling in their details.
Choose where referrals go
Choose where referrals go by setting Default lead stage for the partner's owner.
In Settings > Client Experience > Referrals, open Partner forms.
Under Default lead stage, pick the Leads stage new referrals should land in, or Don't create leads automatically.
Select Save settings. "Referral settings saved successfully" confirms it.
Set up the welcome email
Set up the welcome email so new referrals can get it right after they submit.
Before you continue: With auto-send on, every new referral gets the welcome email right after they submit the form.
In Settings > Client Experience > Referrals, open Welcome email.
Turn Automatically send welcome email to new referrals on or off.
Choose whether to CC the referring partner on welcome emails.
Edit Email subject, Email header, and Welcome message. Add a Booking link to include a "Book Your Free Consultation" button.
Select Preview email to check it, then Save settings.
See what the client fills in
The referral form asks the client for a few fixed fields, then shows a thank-you screen.
The form asks for First Name, Last Name, Email, an optional Phone, and optional Additional Notes. On a partner's personal form, the client also sees "Your Mortgage Expert" (the partner's owner) and "Referred By" (the partner). After Submit, the client sees "Thank You!" and "Your information has been received. We'll be in touch shortly!"
See what happens after a submission
After a submission, Broki either creates a contact or updates the one that already has that email.
New email address: Broki creates a contact owned by the partner's owner, links the referring partner, and saves the client's notes as a contact note. If a default lead stage is set, the contact is added to Leads in that stage as Warm.
Email already in Broki: Broki doesn't create a new contact. It links the partner to the existing contact, warms up an existing lead (cold to warm, warm to hot), and may email the owner a "Re-Referral" notice.
Welcome email: if auto-send is on, the client gets the welcome email, with the partner on CC if that's turned on, and the owner gets a new lead email.
Practical examples and other ways to use it
These examples show an open house, a repeat referral, and a form embedded on a website.
Realtor open house. Jordan Example prints their QR code for an open house. A visitor, Alex Sample, scans it and submits the form. Alex appears in your Leads stage as Warm, linked to Jordan, and gets your welcome email.
Repeat referral. Jordan refers Alex again months later. Broki links the referral to Alex's existing contact instead of creating a duplicate.
Team office website. Put the universal form's embed code on your website so clients can pick their partner from one form.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
These mistakes come up when referral settings or the company name aren't set on the right account.
Turning off auto-send and expecting a new-lead alert. The owner's new lead email goes out with the welcome email. With auto-send off, check the Leads board or the partner's Referral card for new submissions.
Changing referral settings on the wrong account. Settings are per team member. Each owner needs their own default lead stage and welcome email, or ask the partner's owner to make the change.
Sharing the universal link before setting a company name. The link isn't available until Company name is set. Set it first, then copy the link.
Expecting a new contact for every submission. If the email already exists in Broki, the referral is added to the existing contact.
Troubleshooting
Use this section when a referral link fails, a referral is missing from Leads, or the welcome email doesn't arrive.
"Link Not Found" — "This referral link is invalid or has been deactivated."
You see "Link Not Found" and "This referral link is invalid or has been deactivated." when the form link doesn't open.
Possible causes
The link was copied incompletely, or the partner was deleted.
To fix
Copy the link again from the partner's Referral card.
Open it with Open to confirm it works.
Contact support if
The link from the Referral card shows this message. Include the partner's name.
"Referral form isn't ready yet"
You see "Referral form isn't ready yet" when the partner's form isn't available.
Possible causes
The partner was just added.
To fix
Wait a moment and refresh the partner's page.
Contact support if
It still doesn't appear. Include the partner's name and category.
"Set your Company name in Company settings to get your unique referral link."
You see "Set your Company name in Company settings to get your unique referral link." when the universal link isn't available.
To fix
Go to Settings > Branding & Assets > Company Profile and set your company name.
Return to Referrals and copy the universal link.
Referrals aren't showing up on the Leads board
Referrals aren't showing up on the Leads board after someone submits a form.
Possible causes
The partner owner's Default lead stage is Don't create leads automatically.
The client's email already belongs to a contact.
Check first
Search Contacts for the client's email.
To fix
Ask the partner's owner to set a Default lead stage and select Save settings.
The client didn't get a welcome email
The client didn't get a welcome email after submitting the referral form.
Possible causes
Auto-send is off for the partner's owner, or the welcome message is empty.
To fix
Check Welcome email on the owner's Referrals settings.
Make sure the owner's Gmail or Outlook is connected.
Tips and best practices
These tips make the welcome email and the form link easier for the client to use.
Add a Booking link so referred clients can book a call straight from the welcome email.
Use Preview email after every change to the welcome message.
Give each partner their personal link rather than the universal one, so the referral is tied to them without the client having to search.
Limitations and important behavior
These limits apply to partner referral forms and the emails they send.
Forms are public and don't require a login.
Duplicate check is by exact email only. A client with a different email becomes a new contact.
The thank-you screen looks the same whether a new contact was created or an existing one was updated.
There's no button to turn off a single partner's form.
The owner's new lead email is sent only when auto-send is on.
Frequently asked questions
These questions cover who owns a referral, the portal, and the form fields.
Who owns a referred contact? The team member who owns the referring partner.
Can partners refer someone from their portal? Yes. The portal's Refer a client button opens their form or copies the link.
Can I edit the form fields? No. The fields are fixed.
Related articles
These articles cover the Partners page, the partner portal, leads, and company settings.