Submittable Reviews

Submittable has made our publishing experience enjoyable, rather than laborious.

Pros:

Its ease of use makes it a joy to work with: it's a clearinghouse, a reply tool, and an organizational tool all in one.

Cons:

As it has in the past two years, I'm sure it will continue to improve it's functionality in a few of its features. For example, I'd like our readers/editors to be able to receive submissions immediately instead of me having to assign everything, but remain on a blind level, and also not be able to decline the work, just leave notes as they currently can.

Great for automating our application for services!

Comments: Submittable has enabled our application to be deployed via our website. We are able to keep a digital copy of a client "file". We are easily able to send emails to clients regarding their application and can send messages to a client's case worker within the agency.

Pros:

Easy for clients to access. Can handle our complex application. Able to use the same forms over all projects.

Cons:

I had hoped we would be able to correct/add information to the client's application. Our application is quite complex and when we need to make changes, it takes forever for the form to load and to make those changes because it is so "big". Forms do not print very well.

Alternatives Considered: Google Forms

Reasons for Choosing Submittable: Submittable has more features, better database. We can keep a client "file" in 1 place - upload forms, etc. Works ok with DocuSign.

Switched From: Google Forms

Reasons for Switching to Submittable: Google Forms no longer met our needs because our application is quite complex.

Submittable is user-friendly, but only for applicants.

Pros:

The product is easy for applicants to use, with simple forms and clear application guidelines. Generally, we have had many applicants have no issues while applying, which is definitely a positive about the platform.

Cons:

For administrative staff who work grant programs on the back-end, features such as advanced reporting are sorely lacking. It's difficult to build these reports and pull through the data you need. Additionally, there are many small issues that Submittable merely provides "work-arounds" for, rather than solving problems. For example - tables that are put directly into an application form export as a separate file, and then would need to be merged in order to package applications. While the platform might make the process of applying smooth for applicants, there seem to always be headaches for our staff when processing applications afterwards.

It Changes The Way I Do Things

Comments: Awesome. Very helpful, easy to use. Simple and straight forward interface. It saves a lot of my time and really help me organize my submissions, and the best of all, which I didn't expect to find, is the plethora of contests I didn't find anywhere else (or it will take me a lot of time to find).

Pros:

I wish I found Submittable earlier. I used to look for writing competitions through google and other search engines. The problem is they are sometimes outdated, inaccurate and very limited search result. I also have tons of bookmarks to help me remember which competitions I sent them too. When I submit a lot, I lost count and all I did was just wait for emails that inform me about the results. I found Submittable when some of the contests required me to use Submittable. It became a delight because the interface is very use friendly and I started to explore more, and I was in for pleasant surprises. I like the way it organizes my contests, I no longer forget which and where I submit them to, and the great thing is I'm also able to track the feedbacks for those contests instead of rummaging through my emails about forgotten or non-existent results. But the best thing is I can find way more contests through Submittable, and filter them the way I want to, from entry fees to genres. It saves a lot of time and effort and there are tons of contests.

Cons:

None so far. I haven't had chance to explore other functions like creating my forms, but from what I use Submittable for, everything is satisfactory. It's an apps that does what it promises and more.

Why Use Submittable

Pros:

1. Submittable is user-friendly. 2. Preparing to receive new documents for new projects is not time-consuming. 3. Submittable makes it easy to reach a broader audience by making projects searchable within the platform. 4. Readable for users. 5. Ability to generate reports.

Cons:

1. Window to reply to submitters is too small. 2. Difficult to deactivate payment feature if a submitter has paid.

Submittable saves us time

Comments: Our Institute is small and is not endowed. Thus the cost is a big issue. I believe we have a discount, but I don't know how much and that question on your survey didn't allow for the "I don't know" response. I am on the front-line and the applicants seem satisfied with the process.

Pros:

I like the way Submittable allows for use of multiple programs.

Cons:

The restriction on the number of reviewers we can have as 'active' at one time is a royal pain! I would prefer to use 3 reviewers per applicant on one project, but I cannot because the time overlaps with another project and we have separate reviewers for each.

Love the Ease of Sumittable

Comments: We've loved our experience with the Submittable team. They system and the team continue to impress us.

Pros:

Great Customer Service - and ease of the system for both applicant and reviewer are fantastic

Cons:

wish they had a more comprehensive CRM - which this is in the beta stage, it doesn't work for us because we do not require our applicants to have a UEI or be a non-profit.

Good experience

Comments: Very good overall, I can manage the platform by myself mostly

Pros:

Easy to manage, specially submissions and reviews

Cons:

Costumer service is not that fast and effective

Great platform, highly customizable

Comments: Smooth, positive, pricey but ultimately worth it.

Pros:

Our team loves the ability to make each form and application its own. This platform has allowed us to expand greatly the number of applications we can process and it has made the review process much smoother.

Cons:

Despite it being a great platform, we find it difficult to keep up with the expense. For what it provides and the way in which we use it, it's a very costly platform.

Efficient platform to keep track of many submissions easily

Pros:

It is easy to keep track of many submissions, and see what phase they are each in, and update that info easily. It also automates tedious form-filling processes very well.

Cons:

Sometimes the interface is clunky, and there could be more robust ways to customize form templates

Great versatile software

Comments: We have used Submittable to collect forms for auditions and I like that the faculty and coaches are able to review and evaluate the student in the platform. We have also used it to collect event information.

Pros:

I like that you can use this platform for any different reasons and you can create many different forms so that you can really customize them for the right purpose.

Cons:

At the moment there is not anything I dislike.

Submittable for ARPA Grants

Pros:

Submittable makes the grant process incredibly easy for applicants and for our reviewers. We have improved our efficiencies greatly since implementing this product.

Cons:

I wish some of the features had greater customization.

Point of view by IT person

Comments: -

Pros:

to create forms and work flow managing funcionality

Cons:

missing functionality: import picture and create data table online

Submittable Found a Need and Filled It

Pros:

I like that they function as a gatekeeper for our contests, add to our authenticity, and help us maintain a level playing field.

Cons:

Sometimes I struggle with posting contests, but when I ask questions I've gotten help. I wish you could help us put the word out. Loved being listed in your newsletter.

Great platform but could work better

Comments: In my opinion, user experience and interface matter. Submittable has a clean look that is welcoming to users. It's not a perfect platform and we've had to work around it. The team is very responsive, however, and seems open to improving their product. If only they could move a bit faster.

Pros:

Submittable is easy to use and intuitive. With drag-and-drop options, creating an application takes minutes. Logic branching also helps when you want to gather more info based on an applicant's response. The file upload features are also very helpful. Once your application is live, you can track and label applications as they come in. This is helpful since a quick perusal of an application can determine eligibility. One quick label and you can filter it out during the full review process. The reviewer portal is equally intuitive. With side-by-side views, your reviewers can read and answer questions or rate the application without having to switch screens. You can also set certain application fields (such as name, gender, etc.) to blind so that there is no bias based on these questions. Overall, Submittable is a great application portal and get your money's worth.

Cons:

Recommendation letter request emails don't get sent out until AFTER the applicant submit their application. This is fine in most cases but you do have to offer a small grace period to recommenders. It would be great if applicants can enter a recommender and hit a button "Request Letter." The forms can also become rather long if you have a lot of questions. It could affect completion rates. Finally, just as you are able to remind reference letter writers through the portal, it would be great to be able to remind those with incomplete application about the upcoming deadline. Right now, you can request a list of incomplete applications but you only get name and email addresses. It would be good to see some of the data that the applicants have completed so far.

Reliable and Effecient

Comments: I enjoy my work, and Submittable gives me confidence to stay organized and productive. I will learn to do more with it as I proceed and learn how to utilize what's available that I haven't tried yet (e.g. blind readings, running contests, etc.) The experience has been a very good, and as we grow our journal's submission rate which correlates to our growing readership, Submittable, I believe, will be an excellent tool for me as managing editor and the people who assist me.

Pros:

I am able to manage my submissions quite easily with Submittable. It has many sorting options, and several tools to make reading a large amount of work manageable. Working collaboratively with other editors is possible and efficient because of the filtering functions (such as the use of labels, storing submissions, ordering them by date, alphabetically, etc.) and team management tools (such as the assigning of certain tasks to certain individuals, easy messaging, dissemination of work, etc.) I like the basic look/visuals of Submittable, as it is relatively intuitive to use. Furthermore, when I encountered troubles or had questions, I was given friendly and quick help over the telephone, as well as through their chatlines. Editing our site is also very easy.

Cons:

I don't like that some services are offered to certain levels of subscriptions and not to others. I'd rather have a good, fair price for the use of Submittable's full functions. It's not always clear to me what I have in my subscription, even though not too hard to check, I suppose. Also, to "test" how forms will look to submitters seems a little complicated, but not too bad once going through it. I feel a little "blind" when sending out ACCEPT/DECLINE. Not sure what the solution is, however, and really does not present any real trouble for me.

Jentel Residency

Comments: Instead of handling applications by hand, we are able to focus on accuracy and applications increase annually. Makes life so easy!

Pros:

The product covers all the bases, ease of use for staff, review panel, and applicants. They are always listening and improving their product

Cons:

Any questions we have are always addressed. Support is amazing and we cannot praise them enough

Every publication should use this software

Comments: Submittable made life so much easier. We drastically improved collaboration and communication. We were able to cut down our response times to submitters. We also received more submissions.

Pros:

Pretty much every feature is a lifesaver. The workflows, templates, ratings, comments, etc. It's all very well thought out and makes collection and responding to submissions of any kind super easy. The ability to collect payment for contests or other submissions is also invaluable.

Cons:

Honestly, there's nothing I dislike about this software other than maybe the cost. It's one of the few tools that I think is pretty much perfect as it is.

Submittable use for literature contest

Comments: Great software for large number of entries (>1500 entries for one contest for one year). Could use some work on reports, as above.

Pros:

Sorting entries, keeping track of judges' progress, contest progress

Cons:

Unable to provide summaries of entries per judge (reviewer) in an Excel form, have images but primary data was disorganized, had to download it and do many sorts in Excel on my computer

Intuitive software

Comments: From the onboarding team to my account team, I think the service with submittable has been great. It's also easy for the submitter to understand the process as well.

Pros:

This software is easy to understand, easy to deploy, and intuitive for guest users who help us to evaluate the submissions that we receive. From there, it's easy to filter, sort, review and revisit the applicants that have made submissions, and keep track of where they are at each stage of the process. There are so many functionalities that are useful and I'm certain I'm only using a small portion of all that's available! I highly recommend this software as a solution for tracking submissions!

Cons:

Everything that I've experienced with submittable has been a plus.

Submittable Best Option of Several Grant Management Softwares Reviewed

Comments: As a small foundation we were looking for an affordable yet robust grant management software solution that would help us to automate our grant management processes, workflows, etc. Out-of-the-box Submittable was a great solution for us and they even went above and beyond to find workable solutions for our specific needs (multi-language support, etc.). Also, their on-boarding process and customer support has been tremendous.

Pros:

Relative to other grant management software solutions we looked at Submittable was the most modern and professional in terms of look/feel and the easiest to use both from an administrator perspective and grantee perspective. Plus, Submittable was by far the most affordable solution and offered the best value for money in our opinion.

Cons:

The only real downside was in terms of features/functionality; Submittable does not offer automated initial screening of applications. With that said, however, we were able to meet our specific business requirements with branching and Submittable was always willing to help us find workable solutions.

Ease of Use

Comments: Overall, very pleased with the product.

Pros:

The product is easy to use, and adaptable to organizational needs.

Cons:

I wish that e-signature can be incorporated into the initial forms. I also wish that there was an option to build your own bundle of features, since sometimes you may have to end up purchasing features within a bundle that you will not use because it has no impact on your specific organizational needs.

Submittable review

Comments: For our initial needs, it works great, but it is expensive for what we do with it.

Pros:

I started it three years ago, and it is very user-friendly. Has helped our group grant, review team.

Cons:

For what we use it for (3 grants) it is very expensive.

Online Submissions Are the Future

Comments: Many publishers use Submittable as a way to accept manuscript queries or submissions. There are several advantages to the author. Once you have an account, you can access all of your submissions. That makes it easier to find things again, versus e-mail submissions. And it's faster and cheaper than submitting through the mail, which many publishers don't even accept anymore.

Pros:

When submitting queries or manuscripts to publishers, this is a relatively fast and easy method. Because the publisher sets up the fields they want, it's easy to know what you need to include, and where to put it.

Cons:

The text windows are small, so when you paste in large blocks of text, you have to scroll to double check or change things.

Submittable makes life so much easier

Comments: I wish I had been acquainted with Submittable previously. I spent / wasted hours of time working with grants previously, and the ease at which the applications are built and reviews are submitted through this software would have saved me a great deal of time. I am incredibly appreciative of how Submittable works and how easy it was for applicants and reviewers to access information.

Pros:

In previous experiences with grant management and awarding, getting from application to review to award could be incredibly cumbersome. Submittable allows for a very streamlined process where everything is done under one umbrella.

Cons:

There's a lot to learn. A lot! It takes a little while to feel comfortable with the process, but once you get it, everything is pretty intuitive.