What is Dapple and who is it for?

Dapple is a submissions and workflow platform built primarily for the creative industries. It helps organisations collect, review, manage, and report on submissions, applications or entries in one place without relying on inboxes, spreadsheets, or outdated application tools. Dapple is for creative organisations such as art institutions, publishers, literary magazines, awards bodies, agencies, festivals, academic institutions and teams running open calls, contests, or applications. It's also designed with creators in mind, making submissions clearer and more transparent.

How does Dapple help reduce admin?

Dapple centralises everything—submissions, reviews, communication, statuses, and reporting—into one structured workflow. This removes manual tracking, cuts down on repetitive tasks, and saves teams hours of administrative work in the process.

Can multiple people review submissions?

Yes. Dapple supports collaborative reviewing with clear permissions, allowing multiple reviewers to assess submissions independently and remotely.

Is Dapple suitable for small teams?

Absolutely. Dapple is designed to scale with you—whether you're a small team managing a few hundred submissions or a larger organisation handling thousands.

How is Dapple different from other submission platforms?

Most submission platforms were built for generic workflows and bolted onto the creative world as an afterthought. Dapple was built from the ground up for organisations running awards, open calls, contests, and grants — and it shows in every feature. Where other platforms charge applicants fees just to submit their work, Dapple has no application fees. Payments go directly to your Stripe account instantly minus small transaction fees. Intuitive judging and visual kanban boards let your admin team move submissions through review stages the way creative teams actually think — not buried in spreadsheets or clunky list views. Combined with next-level filtering that lets you cut and sort entries by any field, attribute, or status, your team can go from hundreds of submissions to a shortlist in minutes rather than days. It's a modern, sleek platform that makes complex workflows feel simple. See how Dapple compares feature by feature on our competitors page.

Do applicants need an account to submit?

Yes, however, it's very quick and simple to create and can be done in a matter of seconds. When a creator opens a form, they will be prompted to create a free account. They can either use their Google/Microsoft account, or they will be sent a link via email to confirm. Once created, they will be able to use their account to track the status of all their submissions, any messages, payments made and download any attachments.

Can I communicate with applicants through Dapple?

Yes. Dapple has an inbuilt messaging platform enabling you to manage communication in one place, keeping inbound/outbound messages organised and linked directly to each submission. You are able to send single or bulk messages to multiple applicants, create message templates and configure whether an applicant can respond.

Yes. Dapple is built with modern security standards and role-based permissions to ensure submissions and data are handled safely and responsibly.

Is there a free trial?

You can create an account for free with no credit card details required. We allow this in order to try the system out, see how it works and set everything up in advance of setting your forms live. As soon as you want to make your forms active, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan. Please note that there is a 'demo mode' feature enabling you to create different projects and workflows, make test payments and submissions without affecting your live data.

I'm stopping submissions for a while. Can I pause my account?

Yes! You have the option to pause your account on every plan. We'll keep your account on ice, keep your setup complete and data safe so you can come back later.

Dapple | Submission Management Software

Every submission on Dapple has one of two top-level states: Draft (saved but not yet submitted) or Submitted. Once submitted, it also has a Stage — a custom label set by the organisation (for example "In Review", "Shortlisted", or "Completed"). Stages are not standard across Dapple — each organisation defines its own.

How to check your submission status

Sign in to your Dapple account at app.dapplehq.com. Your submissions dashboard loads automatically, showing every submission you've made along with its current status. Click into any submission to see the full details, attachments, and any messages.

What the top-level states mean

State

What it means

Draft

You started the form but haven't submitted yet. The organisation cannot see this submission — only you can. Your progress is saved so you can come back and finish later.

Submitted

The form has been submitted to the organisation. From here, the Stage tells you where it is in their review process.

Withdrawn

You recalled the submission before the organisation reviewed it. The organisation no longer has access to it. See the withdrawal article for details.

What are Stages?

Stages are custom labels each organisation sets up for their review process. There are no default stages on Dapple — one organisation might call a stage "In Review", another might call the same point "First Round" or "Being Considered". The organisation moves your submission through their stages as they review it, and you'll see the latest stage in real time in your dashboard.

Who decides the outcome?

Dapple does not make submission decisions. The organisation reviewing your work sets the stages, assesses submissions against their own criteria, and determines the final outcome. If you have questions about criteria, timelines, or results, contact the organisation directly through their website — or use the message feature on your submission if they've enabled replies.

Where to go next

What Does My Submission Status Mean?

How to check your submission status

What the top-level states mean

What are Stages?

Who decides the outcome?

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