> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Ways to Complete a Form
> The three ways a funding form can be signed and completed: online by the parent, on paper, or in person on your device.
Every funding form ends the same way: it is signed by each parent with parental responsibility, submitted for approval, and then approved and signed off by you. The only thing that changes is **how the signature is captured**.
There are three ways to do this, so no family is left unable to complete a form.
## The three routes
| | **Send to parents** | **Print and upload** | **Sign in the office** |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Best when** | The parent has email and can log in | The parent has no digital access, or brings in a paper form | The parent is with you in person but can't log in |
| **Parent needs an account?** | **Yes** — invited and logged in | No | **No** |
| **How it's signed** | The parent signs in their own parent portal | Wet signature on a printed form, scanned back in | The parent signs on your screen |
| **Form type** | Online | Manual | Manual |
| **Full steps** | [Creating & sending](/docs/managers/funding-forms/creating-and-sending) | [Print and upload](/docs/managers/funding-forms/approving-and-managing) | [Signing in person](/docs/managers/funding-forms/approving-and-managing) |
Open in app: [Funding Forms](https://pigeonholeapp.co.uk/app/admin/fundingforms).
## Choosing a route
**Send to parents** is the default and needs the least work from you. The parent gets an email with a link, completes their section, signs, and submits it back for approval. It only works if the parent has been invited and has logged into Pigeonhole at least once.
**Print and upload** and **Sign in the office** are both *manual* forms — the same form type, just finished differently. A manual form will accept **either** an uploaded signed document **or** signatures captured on screen, so you are never locked into the one you started with. If you printed a form and the parent then turns up in person, you can simply have them sign on screen instead.
## Switching between routes
You are not committed to your first choice. Any form can be switched between **online** and **manual** at any point before it is approved, using **Convert To Manual** / **Convert To Online** in the **More Actions (...)** menu on the funding forms list.
This means a form you already sent to a parent can be finished in person if they come into the office, and a manual form can be handed back to a parent to finish themselves.
While a form is **manual** and not yet approved, it is hidden from the parent's own portal. If a parent later wants to complete it themselves, convert it back to online first. Once approved, the form is visible to them again.
Manual forms don't send the automatic "submitted" and "approved" emails that online forms do, since you are completing the form alongside the parent. Let the parent know the outcome yourself if they need confirmation.
## Frequently asked questions
### Does the parent need a Pigeonhole account to sign?
Only for the online route. Both manual routes — printing the form, and signing on your device — work for a parent with no account, no email address and no invite.
### Which parents have to sign?
Every parent marked **Has Parental Responsibility** on the child's record. If the wrong people are being asked to sign, check that flag on the child's contacts. Both parents can sign in the same sitting, on the same screen or under one parent's login.
### Can I start one way and finish another?
Yes. A manual form accepts either an upload or on-screen signatures, and you can convert between online and manual at any time before approval.