Digital forms give you better control over your data

Fillable PDFs may seem to be all the rage in simplifying your business paperwork, but they have their limitations. Yes, a fillable PDF can help save your company costs on paper and printing, and can even help organize your data capture. But if you’re going to make the switch from paper to digital, do yourself a favor and invest in a digital form platform from the start. With digital forms, you’ll see easier accessibility, enhanced features, pre-built calculations, and automated form transfers, all while finally eliminating manual data entry. 

Eradicate Manual Data Entry

Manual data entry is a vacuum for your employee’s time. According to a 2021 Zapier survey, data entry is one of the most significant black holes for your team’s most valuable resource: Their time. With 76% of those surveyed attributing one to three hours of their day moving data back and forth, and 73% of workers spending an additional one to three hours simply searching for a document, that’s up to 75% of their entire workday simply managing data that’s already been captured. 

Yes, when you make a PDF fillable you provide the opportunity to put the burden on the individual filling out the PDF, and if you’re lucky, that could be a client, customer, or vendor instead of your own employee. But if you plan to do anything with that data, however, you’re stuck assigning that data entry to somebody on your team. This can include everything from building a mailing list from contact information, or manually entering those names into your CRM. Wherever you need it, a digital form gives you the ability to automatically route and populate that information into other platforms, keeping your employees focused on more impactful work.

Form Accessibility for All

In a world full of diverse devices, a PDF can be the better choice between a spreadsheet and a document, however, it’s far from easily accessible. From generational changes in mobile devices to inconsistencies between operating systems, digital forms provide more options for a better user experience. The best digital form providers have not only native apps with multiple viewing modes to adjust to unique screen sizes but also offer mobile web access for those without as many app options. 

Where digital forms continue to shine is in their ability to handle more features than a fillable PDF. With a traditional PDF, things like eSignature capture can become a burden, especially on varying devices and for those who don’t have a subscription to the same PDF-reading service as your company. A digital form takes the guesswork out of electronic signatures by providing a simple interface for any internal or external user, all while meeting E-SIGN Act guidelines. The best platforms will include this feature at no additional cost, which can save you money over many PDF providers.

And while it may be tempting to lean towards a fillable PDF for the familiar formatting of your existing paper forms, keep in mind that top-tier digital form solutions have a way for you to upload that form image directly. From there you can simply drag and drop your form fields, customize it as needed, and then send out digital forms that look and act exactly like your paper forms. All of this is simple and easy to implement if you’ve picked the right digital form provider.

Embrace Automation

If you haven’t already seen it flooding your search engines, cars, news outlets, and social media apps, automation is key to streamlining your business. It frees up your team to focus on their creative and impactful work, provides real-time data for better business decisions, and can even provide a more streamlined customer experience. In a world with automated digital forms, why would you consider downgrading to a fillable PDF? 

Digital forms can provide automation in capturing your data, removing calculation errors, and ensuring your data ends up in the hands of those who need it. Whether you’re looking to pre-fill returning customer information within your forms, automatically calculate the part and labor costs on your work orders and invoices, or even email completed form copies to key stakeholders, digital forms give you the flexibility to do so much more than a PDF. 

About GoFormz

GoFormz is a digital forms solution that helps bring your data into a single, actionable place. We believe that everyone should be able to fill out their forms online and deliver products and services that redefine how people and businesses collect and process information. Whether you need sign-in sheets to track safety metrics or forms for inventory tracking, GoFormz can bring your processes to the digital realm. Complete with an open API and multiple native integrations, you can rest assured that your data is always ready, whenever you need it.