Forms

7 Examples of Creating Forms & How to Craft Your Own

Posted on April 4, 2021October 10, 2024 by Danny Kanev

7 Examples of Creating Forms & How to Craft Your Own

Field Operations | Forms | Inspections

Creating forms to capture data is one of the most important components of business today. When you design a great form, your business is collecting data that then becomes an asset you can use for reports and analysis.

But if you’ve ever experienced creating a form, you already know that how you structure the form will impact the data that’s collected. You want to be very thoughtful in how you design your forms, making it easy for people to respond, while also getting the required information in the correct format.

This blog post will introduce you to some of the most common form fields and we will explain some of the best practices for creating an effective form. We will also highlight some of the specific types of forms to consider and examples of how they can be used to collect information.

While there are many options to choose from, it’s good to remember that forms are simple and with some practice, you can become an expert in no time. With the form builders on the market today, you’ll be able to create forms, improve workflows, and automate key business processes to become more efficient. Keep reading for an overview on creating forms and additional resources to get started.

What are the most useful form fields for different types of forms?

Modern form builders have many different types of form fields that can be used for different business purposes. Some common examples of field types are things like:

Dropdown menus
Checkboxes
Multiple-choice selections
Scale sliders
Text inputs
And much more!

People have many different reasons for using forms, so it makes sense to have a form builder with a wide variety of form fields to fit every data collection need. With so many options for the types of form fields you can use, it may be helpful to also think about them in terms of categories:

Text and Numbers
Choices
Multimedia
Date, Time, and Location
Other miscellaneous field types

In the next section, we cover some of the most common types of forms and a brief summary of the types of form fields that are most commonly used. This should give you an idea of how these form fields are put into practice for some of the top business use cases for collecting data.

1. Contact Forms

It’s quite common for businesses to collect contact information from their customers. Contact forms typically use text and number fields to collect a name, telephone number, email address, and similar types of information.

A good practice to remember in forms is to think about how data is collected and designing your forms to standardize the data. For example, instead of using an open text field, you may want to consider using a choice field with a drop-down that lists the available options.

A great example of this is for fields like “State,” where you would want to list a drop-down of formatted states. In this example, if you were to leave the field open-ended, you could get a wide variety of formats for the same state (e.g. NY, New York) or you could have misspellings that happen by mistake. Giving people a drop-down ensures that data is formatted correctly for when you need to report on it later.

Contact forms can also be used for longer text fields that allow people to submit more extensive information, such as the reason that they are submitting the contact form.

2. Invoices

Invoices are used as forms to collect payment information, typically in a table-style format. These can be used to highlight an item name or description, the quantity of an item purchased on the invoice, a price per unit, and a total cost for each line item.

This type of form typically uses text and number fields, as well as a calculation field that can automatically perform math calculations to make it easier for people by pulling in dynamic information like prices and sales tax.

These types of forms are particularly useful if your business has dynamic pricing that is stored in a separate database. Instead of requiring employees to look up the current price, it can be automatically populated with real-time information to make the process more efficient when processing invoices.

Other advanced features include payment authorizations and signature form fields so that customers can sign for credit card transactions or sign off on agreements. Many digital forms can also accept credit card information that people can integrate through payment processors like Square, PayPal, Stripe, and other similar solutions.

3. Surveys

Surveys are one of the most popular use cases for forms and they are used to collect answers or feedback from a group of people. Common examples include asking customers to rate your level of satisfaction or collecting feedback from employees on ways to improve your business. With so many possibilities for types of surveys, it makes sense that they leverage many different types of form fields, including:

Choice fields such as a drop-down
Multiple-choice questions
Single choice checkboxes
Multiple choice buttons
Open text and number fields
Calculation and summary fields to tabulate scores
Slider and rating options (like 1-5 stars)

If you have a more complex survey, you can also consider using conditional logic in your form. This means that people will be navigated to different options that are dynamic based on their answers to the questions.

For example, if someone answers “Yes” to a question, they may be prompted later on with the option to provide a more detailed explanation for their answer. If they selected “No,” then they may be directed to a different set of follow-up questions. This type of logic allows you to make the form more dynamic and relevant based on the information that is provided in real-time.

4. Inspections

Creating forms for inspections provides form builders with many options to create highly effective and powerful inspection tools.

Like many forms, inspections often begin with different Text and Number fields where an inspector can add their information and the relevant details about what they are inspecting, such as the address or the reason for the inspection. Inspection forms also include a number of advanced options:

Checkboxes to check off items
Choice fields to provide pre-selected input related to the inspection
Text and number fields to provide descriptions, context, or numerical values to the inspection
Photo fields to upload an existing photo or add new photos using the camera functionality found on mobile devices
Track GPS locations if required to log the physical location

5. Logs

Creating a log is a fairly simple use case for a form. Logs typically are in the format of a table and people can log certain information, but most commonly are seen with companies that need to log work milestones, like keeping track of time or materials.

Log forms vary in the type of information collected, including text and numbers, multimedia, date, time, location, and others. Using digital logs, companies can ensure that projects stay on time and data can be collected from a large number of people for reporting purposes.

6. Records

It’s very common that businesses need to create records. This can be for tracking a certain event, documenting specific actions that have occurred, or even for recording physical items.

When creating a record, forms can help to standardize the data that is being collected. This will depend on what type of record is being created, but most commonly text and number form fields are used to track specific details about the record and the date/time of the event.

Companies may also use automated notifications that remind individuals when to generate records. For example, if a record needs to be generated every month for a certain action, calendar alerts for the future can be set up when logging a record.

One familiar example is creating a customer record for a CRM system. Companies create a customer record form to intake information about a customer or update existing information about a customer. The form builders often integrate directly into the customer relationship management (CRM) systems so that companies can use these forms to update and maintain records seamlessly.

7. Checklists

Checklists are widely used in different industries as forms to collect information. The simple nature of a checklist allows people to select from a multiple-choice checkbox item or a single checkbox item. Many times these will use the required field option so that every checkbox requires you to select an answer before you can submit it.

Inspections will frequently use checklists so employees can certify that a long list of items has been inspected. This is another example where conditional logic is particularly useful, giving people the ability to request additional information on the form depending on the check box response.

Should I use templates or state with a new form?

After reading this article, you can see how forms can go in many different directions and there are endless ways to customize the information that’s collected. Many people find that it’s helpful to start from a pre-built template and then customize the form to fit your specific needs. Other people prefer to start totally from scratch, so there is really no right or wrong answer to the question. At GoCanvas, our form builder provides a great deal of flexibility to fit all of your form-building needs and we have an extensive library of templates to help you get started.

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

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Constructions Digital Transformation

Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…

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See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

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Form Builders and Templates – What You Need to Know

Posted on March 16, 2021November 14, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Form Builders and Templates – What You Need to Know

Analytics and Data Collection | Business Operations | Forms

Forms can be complex and many times they can be more nuanced than you might expect. But with properly designed layouts, you can improve workflows, facilitate automation, and enable your business to customize and enhance its data collection practices. Continue reading this blog post for:

Information about forms
A summary of different types of forms on the market today
Examples of industry use cases for forms

What is a form?

A form is a tool that has fields where individuals can write text or select from various options. The end use of forms can vary significantly, but most often they function to register for something, fill out a statement, create a request, or submit an order.

Forms may also be multi-purpose by design, and they can even lead end-users to different outcomes based on how they respond to the form fields. While most forms are provided blank, some form designers may also leverage placeholder content in digital forms that can prompt users to provide certain types of data.

Forms can also have advanced features like dynamically populating content using data that is being referenced from a database, often referred to as reference data. Reference data can help pre-populate form fields, simplifying the process for people filling out the form by leveraging data that is already known.

The benefit of using forms to collect data is that they help to make data consistent and uniform for storing, processing, and analyzing the data. One common example of using forms is when businesses need to collect data from their customers to store inside a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

Integrating the form with the CRM database allows a business to dynamically populate the form fields based on the data they already have from the customer. It then allows them to collect a standard set of data fields from customers, ensuring that they are bringing in consistent and standard data that can be used when creating reports and performing analysis.

What are the different form builders on the market, and how are they used?

There are different types of form builders available to the market today. Some of these form-building tools have more niche-specific uses, while others have a broad set of use cases. Here’s a quick overview of some of the different form builders on the market today:

Mobile App Forms

Mobile app forms are specialized forms that function as mobile apps. GoCanvas is a leading firm in developing mobile app forms for data collection and sharing. Users can access the form builder to create custom apps that can be used on tablets and smartphones or through a desktop app available on Windows and Apple computers.

The data from these forms is stored in the cloud and it can help businesses reduce their paper usage. The functional capabilities of GoCanvas apps include GPS location capture, photos, custom form fields, signature capture, and reference data, among others. Users can share form submissions through a .csv file or a PDF report.

GoCanvas also integrates with a wide range of platforms, including Quickbooks, Salesforce, Dropbox, Google Drive, PulseM, Netsuite, Zendesk, and much more. Through Zapier, GoCanvas can integrate with over 3,000 apps to automate workflows and increase workplace productivity.

WordPress Plugins

There are countless WordPress plugins available that form writers can use to develop and deploy forms accessible from websites. Some of the most popular ones include Gravity Forms, Formidable Forms, WPForms, Jetpack Forms, and others. These form builders are drag-and-drop plugins that are dynamic in their applications. It is relatively easy to embed these forms directly into websites designed on the WordPress CMS.

Most often, people use these types of forms as a contact form, registration form, or marketing form to collect information for email marketing campaigns. These forms can also function as a submission tool for file uploads or a payment authorization tool that can integrate with PayPal or Stripe systems.

Form data collected through these plugins are typically accessible in various formats, including an online dashboard or exportable format through .csv or XML format. Users can customize these forms by using more advanced CSS or HTML code to define specific looks and functionality.

Email Marketing Forms

Most email marketing campaigns will use lead capture systems and CRMs for marketing and sales purposes. Some of the most well-known email marketing providers include Hubspot, Mailchimp, and Constant Contact – all of which have forms that can integrate with various types of websites, mobile apps, or through stand-alone systems.

In general, these forms are somewhat limited in their capabilities, although it is possible to automate workflows based on inputs and conditional logic. Most commonly, these types of forms are meant to collect basic information that can inform marketing and sales teams about interested customers or prospective customers.

Survey Tools

Google Forms and SurveyMonkey are two popular tools for sending out free or low-cost surveys. These types of forms can be built with conditional logic, automation, and other capabilities to collect data from groups of all sizes.

Reporting dashboards are also available in these platforms so that users can generate actionable and insightful data from results. Google Forms integrates directly with Google Sheets so that these forms can quickly aggregate data into a cloud-based Google Sheet.

Use cases for different form builders

Given the various types of form builders available to the market, it may be helpful to compare the different uses for each form builders we’ve covered in this article. Here’s a quick summary:

Mobile App Forms are helpful tools for businesses that require checklists, reports, data collection tools, evaluations, guidelines, and other tools for recording, reporting, or sharing information.
WordPress Plugins can be used in various use cases but are often deployed for contact capture purposes, as registration forms, contact forms, and other somewhat simplistic use cases.
Email Marketing Forms are niche purpose forms, mostly related to capturing contact information for users.
Survey tools are great for collecting responses from respondents and aggregating data into easy-to-understand insights such as charts and graphics.

How different industries can use forms effectively

Nearly every industry today uses forms to improve its business processes and outcomes. Here are some of the innovative ways that companies are using mobile forms to streamline their operations:

Work orders for companies in the construction, repair, and improvement industry may be generated through a form builder to integrate with systems such as Quickbooks so that accounting departments can approve expenditures or authorize work quickly.
Building inspection forms can utilize conditional logic and automation to rapidly dispatch the correct maintenance personnel depending on the nature of an issue during the inspection.
Estimate sheets can be used to help businesses to bid effectively on projects, using calculations that can be performed automatically through the form.
Time tracking can be automated for staff when companies may leverage GPS capabilities integrated into forms to ensure that inspectors are at the correct job site at the right time
Field service reports can streamline communications between workers and their offices, ultimately minimizing miscommunications and improving service outcomes. Field service technicians can use technical service orders to automatically request specialized service types while including pertinent details such as images of problem areas, GPS coordinates of where a problem is, and much more.
Forms for Human Resources departments to effectively track employees’ time, ensure proper training sessions are attended, or even authorize vacation and time-off requests with ease.
Compliance and safety management for organizations that need to comply with OSHA requirements. These companies use forms for inspection checklists to maintain employee health and safety by ensuring that facilities are in compliance and that proper safety inspections are occurring regularly.

Mobile apps and forms can make an impact on businesses of all types and sizes. If you are looking for other types of forms to use for your business, GoCanvas has done the work for you already – we have over 20,000 mobile app forms that are pre-built for many different industries and use cases to help you get started for free.

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

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Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

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Why Go Paperless and the Benefits of Doing So

Posted on March 10, 2021November 26, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Why Go Paperless and the Benefits of Doing So

Business Operations | Forms

More and more, businesses are moving from filing cabinets and arcane paper files to going paperless. What are the benefits of going paperless, and what does it mean for an office to become a paperless office? How can businesses become paperless effectively?

Ten Benefits to Going Paperless

Improvements to Document Management Practices: When someone needs a document in a paper-based office, the process of tracking down that document can be a nightmare! Does an employee need to find it in a filing cabinet or archives? What happens if the filing of a document occurs incorrectly? Some businesses even maintain Document Management Specialists or Records Custodians teams to handle the retrieval and filing of documents. The workflow process for simply finding or requesting a document can create a lengthy and exhaustive process. Paperless offices can avoid these issues by having streamlined document management practices. The use of specialized document management software can free up personnel resources and incorporate version controls, digital editing, flexible search options, easy sharing of files, and more.
More Efficient Use of Office Space: Commercial real estate can be expensive, and storing paper is an incredibly inefficient and wasteful use of that space. Some estimates indicate that storing paper takes up between 50% and 70% of office space. Rows of filing cabinets, office archive space, and bankers boxes full of documents take up an incredible amount of space and representing a constantly growing cost. With paperless offices, file cabinets worth of data can be easily stored either in an onsite server with a fairly minor footprint or, as is more common, in the cloud where there is absolutely no loss of localized office floor space. The limitation of storage space is also a worry of the past as both physical servers and cloud storage are easily scalable.
Availability of Digital Documents for Remote Workers: Remote working has become a given for many businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic, which quickly forced many businesses to change operations and implement work from home opportunities for employees, highlighted the potential pitfalls with reliance on paper documents. While the COVID-19 pandemic may subside soon, work from home is here to stay for many businesses, which means that paper files may not cut it when it comes to productivity. Having a paperless office can ensure that employees working remotely can operate effectively and efficiently.
Availability on Mobile Devices: For many businesses, having accessible documents on the go is critically important. For example, construction companies may require to access work or change orders remotely, or field service technicians may need service reports while at a facility – the potential needs for documents on the go are endless. Paperless offices ensure that important documents, digital forms, and other key files are available on-the-go and in real-time.
Automation of Business Processes: A critical component of going paperless is capitalizing on process automation. The use of document management software or process workflow solutions allows companies to manage, route automatically, and act on information through built-in rules.
Accessible Data through Optical Character Recognition (OCR): Optical character recognition has changed how businesses can handle paper effectively. Before using OCR, paper documents that businesses digitized were not of much use other than being stored digitally – the information on them was inaccessible in a meaningful way. OCR, a technology that has been steadily improving over the past several years, has made scanned or archived files accessible through indexing and searching. Modern OCR technology even can turn handwriting into accessible and recognized characters with a reasonable degree of reliability.
Cost Savings: There are multiple ways that going paperless creates cost savings – printing and copying documents is resource-intensive, requiring paper, toner, ink, staples, and more. Printers, fax machines, and copiers can be major expenses for an office requiring ongoing maintenance, repair, and replacement. Additionally, as already has been covered, the storage space for files is wasted floor space that generates no revenue for a business. Many companies can improve their bottom line by going paperless while improving business operations in a true win-win situation.
Digital Files and Digital Signatures: When requiring physical signatures on documents, it may take days for copies to be mailed or sent by courier, extensive follow-up may be necessary for obtaining a signature, or signing these documents may require multiple people in a room together. This antiquated process can be time-consuming, expensive, and an inefficient use of time. With digital files, signing documents can occur through a computer or mobile device with verification processes to ensure that the signing of documents occurs securely and with identity verification practices in place. These electronic signatures, or esignatures, are easier and more secure than traditional pen-to-paper signatures.
Safety and Security of Important Documents: The safety of documents comes in different stripes, but the most notable include safety against damage or destruction, as well as securing them from unauthorized access and viewing. Paper documents are susceptible to damage from water, fire, mold, and even from pests such as rodents or insects. Furthermore, prying eyes can easily access paper documents whether or not they are authorized to; however, businesses can encrypt digital documents accessible to the appropriate individuals only.
Going Green: It is becoming more and more important to businesses’ identities to be environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly. Going paperless is a great way to reduce a company’s carbon footprint while promoting sustainability. Manufacturing paper takes a toll on the environment by harvesting and treating lumber – even recycled paper negatively impacts the environment. Similarly, toner and ink used in printers and copiers can damage people and the environment. Paperless offices can significantly reduce, or even eliminate, environmental and personnel exposure to these harmful chemicals.

How to Go Paperless

So it is clear that a paperless office has benefits to business owners, employees, the environment, and the bottom line, but going paperless can seem like a challenging undertaking. The effort required to become a paperless office can vary between businesses depending on many circumstances, including the volume of existing physical paper documents, record-keeping requirements, existing filing systems, and business processes, among other factors.

Records and Archives

Suppose a business has extensive records and archives that need to be digitized. In that case, there are plenty of third-party service providers available that can quickly and cost-effectively digitize records. Modern digitization firms can scan up to tens of thousands of pages per scanner, per day. These records can run through OCR software to make them indexable and searchable through a capable document management system.

Handling Forms

Companies that currently rely on paper forms may want to explore shifting to digital forms as a part of going paperless. GoCanvas has pre-developed form templates available in its application store for deployment quickly and dynamically to fill this need for nearly any business. If the form your company needs is not available, it is not difficult to easily and quickly design that form have it ready to use. Companies can integrate these forms within their existing systems, such as financial backends, CRMs, and more.

Document Management

The key to having an effective paperless office is a modern document management system. These software platforms enable businesses to organize, secure, capture, digitize, and tag files. Additionally, these systems incorporate process automation features to improve business workflows. Document management systems can track who has access to files, when files are accessed, changes made to files (version tracking), and more.

Transitioning Gradually

It is not typically realistic to decide to become paperless and then immediately become paperless. Businesses that accomplish becoming paperless offices do so gradually, involving personnel in the digitization process to understand how the process works and are not overwhelmed. Small businesses may benefit from using storage solutions such as Dropbox or Google Drive at first, while eventually transitioning to more dedicated document management systems.

Be Flexible

A paperless office is not necessarily an office without any paper – it just means a business has worked to minimize paper use, focusing instead on digital documents. Offices will still have file cabinets, and employees will need to print things from time to time – it is a reality that is unlikely to change any time soon. But by being flexible in defining paperless offices, businesses can begin to benefit from digital files and paperless practices.

Handling Existing Paper

Some businesses may have sensitive information on paper that requires specific handling during digitization. These documents can often be shredded after scanning of them has taken place. In cases with high-security requirements (such as medical records, bank statements, or tax forms), a shredder company may offer certification and verification of the secure destruction of the documents.

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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A person sits at a desk holding their phone showing a graph, while their laptop sits on the desk showing more charts and graphs.

How TE3CO Leverages Data Analytics to Unlock Business Potential

TE3CO provides mission-critical pressure relief technology and services to customers across the oil and gas industry. They employ a highly trained and capable workforce of field technicians and engineers. Before working with GoCanvas, TE3CO relied on spreadsheets and emails to manage their ticketing process but found the system time-consuming and difficult to track.

Two men in hard hats look onto a tablet.

VIP Lighting Gains Business Efficiencies with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance company that services retail chains across Australia and New Zealand. The business has been operating for 25 years and now services 10,000 retail sites across both countries. Prior to joining GoCanvas in 2018, the business had multiple systems running different aspects of their technician and contractor network.

Man in a hard hat inspecting HVAC vents.

Three HVAC Maintenance Checklists that will Reduce Errors and Grow Your Bottom Line

For HVAC technicians, so many errors within their daily tasks come from using outdated paper forms while completing a job. Using these HVAC inspection checklists will prevent issues before they happen, so your technicians can collect comprehensive and consistent data at every job.

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Analytics and Data Collection | Forms

Go Paperless – There is an App For That

Posted on November 22, 2019November 26, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Go Paperless – There is an App For That

Go Paperless – Mobile Forms for Your Business

In the current digital era, paper processes are often rendered more useless, inconvenient, and expensive than accessible digital variants. For companies that are looking for areas of improvement for efficiency and a decrease in costs, going paperless is a reasonable solution. While this may seem like a daunting transition, the GoCanvas app is designed to make going paperless a breeze. Learn more here about how GoCanvas can help you transition your company to a completely paperless system.

Creating custom forms is simple with GoCanvas. The app creation process is intuitive, with on-screen guidance, abundant available resources, and responsive customer support on standby. Using thousands of pre-built templates, many designed for specific businesses and industries, you can also choose to edit an existing template instead of building your own app from scratch. Once you are finished creating your custom forms, they are immediately accessible from your mobile device and ready for use in the office or the field.

Advanced Features and Integrations

One of the primary benefits of transitioning to mobile forms is the efficiency they provide. Mobile form applications are digital variants of your existing documents, with the added enhancement of advanced features. Features include GPS location confirmation, signature capture, barcode scanning, mobile payments, and image capture, among others, which can all be integrated directly into your mobile application. The dynamic nature of mobile forms allows you to condense multiple steps of your internal processes into a single app. In this sense, going paperless allows you to streamline your workflow processes to create ease and efficiency.

Save Money By Going Paperless

Not only does a paperless work system save you time and convenience, but it can also help you cut back on your company’s overhead costs. Studies show that the paper industry brings in billions of dollars of revenue each year, much of which is derived from corporate spending. Converting to a paperless system allows you to save money on paper, shredding, ink, and storage costs, while eliminating the hassles that come with paper forms.

Resolving Legibility and Submission Issues

As an additional benefit of going paperless, readability is higher on digital interfaces. This eliminates legibility issues and problems with lost or damaged forms. Digital form submission is also much quicker than paper variants. By going paperless, you can send documents to clients, sub-contractors, and others instantly, reducing the need for snail mail, scanning, and the time and costs associated with these processes.

Going Paperless: How You Can Make it Work

Are you wondering if the paperless system is feasible for your business? Here is a recent success story to provide insight into the accessibility of the paperless process. US Inspect, the leading residential inspection company in the United States, made the switch to a paperless system this year using GoCanvas. The digital process conversion was a success, leading to an increase in ease, efficiency, and profitability for this company. US Inspect now saves more than $720,000 each year, as well as more than 9,900 annual hours of productivity, by using GoCanvas. Read the full details about US Inspect’s transition to a paperless system here.

Get GoCanvas

If you are ready to take your business paperless, sign up for GoCanvas today! This advanced system and our attentive network of customer support can support you through the transition to a paperless company. You can try GoCanvas for free to experience all of these benefits today!

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Create your own Android mobile app with digitial signature capture in 5 minutes

Posted on February 26, 2019November 14, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Create your own Android mobile app with digitial signature capture in 5 minutes

Analytics and Data Collection | Business Operations | Forms

How to Build an App in 5 Minutes!

GoCanvas allows you to easily create your own apps for Android, iOS, and Windows PC. Today, I wanted to walk through a quick and simple example of how to do this in 5 minutes. This app will allow you to capture a digital signature on your mobile device in just seconds. Below, you can see what the result looks like on Android mobile device. We already have over 20,000 pre-built data collection mobile apps in our GoCanvas Application Store. Each of these can be customized, but in this article we are focusing on how to create one from scratch that can capture digital signatures.

The goal of this article will be to walk through signing up for GoCanvas, building a simple mobile app which captures some simple information (first name and last name) and a digital signature, fill out the app on an Android device and view the results as a PDF document.

If you aren’t already a GoCanvas customer, sign up for free GoCanvas account.

Step 2 – Install GoCanvas

Once you sign up for GoCanvas you should receive an e-mail with a download link for your device. If you didn’t get the email, you can go to https://www.gocanvas.com/m to download GoCanvas.

Login to the GoCanvas website with your new login on your desktop computer to begin building your digital signature capture mobile app.

Step 4 – Build your GoCanvas signature capture application

On the ‘Apps’ tab in the GoCanvas website, click ‘Create New App’. Below, you’ll see the button to click inside the blue box:

Enter a name for the new app, let’s call it “Sample Signature Capture.” Click ‘Save and launch app builder’.

Drag a ‘Signature’ control from the left-hand palette. In the popup for the text input, enter ‘Please sign your name’.

The outline of your ‘Sample Signature Capture’ GoCanvas mobile application should look like the below screenshot.

To add additional fields to your new signature app drag a ‘Text box’ from the left-hand palette. In the popup for the text box, enter ‘First Name’. Drag another ‘Text Box’ control from the right-hand palette. In the popup for the text input, enter ‘Last Name’.

Step 5 – Save and publish your GoCanvas signature capture application

At the top of the GoCanvas app builder, click ‘Save’ and select ‘Save and publish’. Once the GoCanvas app builder has finished saving, you will be prompted what users should have access to the new application. Make sure to check your login and click ‘Publish’.

Start GoCanvas on your Android device and log in using your e-mail and password that you registered with.

Step 7 – Fill out the ‘Sample Signature Capture’ app

Fill out the ‘Sample Signature Capture’ mobile app and once done, click ‘Yes’ to upload your submission.

Click on the signature field, and sign with your finger or stylist.

After the signature is captured you will see the box turn green as shown below.

Step 8 – View your data online

If you logged out of the GoCanvas website, log in again and click on the ‘Submissions’ tab. You will find the data you just filled out on your Android. You can now view it online, download it as a PDF, export it as a CSV/Excel file, or integrate it into a backend system.

Wrap Up

Hopefully the above example demonstrated how easy it is to go paperless with GoCanvas. All of the applications created with GoCanvas work across all of the mobile devices we support. These include Android, Windows PC, iPhone and iPad. You can get rid of filing and data entry and save your business time and money.

Interested in learning more about how you can automate your data collection? Visit our Tour Page and sign up for your FREE FOREVER account of GoCanvas today!

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Three Mobile Forms That Every Commercial Paving Company Needs to Have

Posted on April 5, 2018October 29, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Three Mobile Forms That Every Commercial Paving Company Needs to Have

Analytics and Data Collection | Business Operations | Forms

Paving Over Your Inefficiencies

Whether it be commercial, private or infrastructure based – the construction industry continues to grow along with the size of projects. And as the scale and complexity of construction projects continue to increase, the need for efficient document/data management has become critical to the success of any given construction project.

This is the primary reason today that you see many of the top tier construction companies ($100M+ revenue) moving towards ‘enterprise’ construction software, and removing paper-based documentation from their project sites.

But, what about the small and mid-sized firms? And what about the contractors who support these firms and their projects? In many cases, this group is the lifeblood of the Construction industry.

The issue? The majority of these firms are still collecting and sharing data the same way they did it 50+ years ago.

The reason? They feel like they can’t see the ROI in the multi-thousand dollar investment in an enterprise level solution. And this is the reason why GoCanvas was created.

With GoCanvas, you can now create a mobile form platform that fits your budget and data collection needs. This type of flexibility is perfect for people like Sandee Pierce, Admin Director at Sierra National Asphalt, who was looking to streamline her crew’s daily reports and time sheets.

Sierra National Asphalt Increased Productivity by 50% – Read How

Since fully ditching their paperwork for GoCanvas, Sandee stated that Sierra National Asphalt loves GoCanvas because “Supervisors do not have to go to job sites to track down and collect time sheets (anymore). The reference data and validation tables have reduced the errors that previously caused corrections by the supervisors and office staff”.

For small to mid-size construction contractors like Sandee Pierce, GoCanvas has become the go-to solution for companies looking to replace their outdated paper processes without blowing the budget.

Three Essential Mobile Forms for the Paving Industry

If your exploring going paperless with your daily operations process, we have the perfect forms for you!

The specific mobile forms below are handpicked for the Asphalt/Paving industry and are as simple as “Click and Submit” to use. But also keep in mind that all our mobile forms are completely customizable using the GoCanvas App Builder, and can easily be tweaked to fit your existing data collection processes! You can even change the entire look and feel of the output PDF report using the PDF Designer.

Check out these three mobile forms:

None of these Paving mobile forms a perfect fit? No worries! We have over 20,000 mobile forms in our App Store to fit any use case and/or industry!

Alternative Ways to Go Paperless

For some businesses, their operations are so complex that starting from a mobile form template wouldn’t make sense.

In instances like this, GoCanvas has a special ‘white glove’ program called ‘Send Us Your Form’. This service allows you to scan and email a copy of the current form that you are using today, and we will convert it into a mobile version!

That means that you won’t have to search through our Application Store to find a mobile form that matches your existing process, or take the time to build it out from scratch using the App Builder. We take on the work of digitizing your current paper-based process for you!

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Running on Empty? Learn How Fuel Costs Are Killing Your Bottom Line

Posted on January 25, 2018November 18, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Running on Empty? Learn How Fuel Costs Are Killing Your Bottom Line

Analytics and Data Collection | Business Operations | Forms

Can Paper Forms Be “Gas-Guzzlers”?

Yellow Hummer When you try to think of items that burn up a lot of gasoline, what first comes to mind?

SUVs. Lawnmowers. Generators. My yellow H2 Hummer (kidding). But seriously, all these things tend to burn more gas (and money) than their actual value to you.

But what about paper? It doesn’t really sound like something that would cause you to suddenly grab your wallet. But indeed, similar to my yellow H2 Hummer (still kidding), paper forms are actually one item that can significantly cost your business both time and money.

Read on below to learn how a single paper-based process can cost your business not only 100s of hours in lost efficiency, but also cause leakage on your bottom line.

The Unlikely Connection Between Paper Forms & Fuel Dollars

Corolla Most common people are conscious about their mileage, how much they spend on gas and the fuel economy of the vehicle they purchase. This is probably why the economically designed Toyota Corolla is still the top-selling car of all-time.

But when it comes to running a business, the majority of people can’t haul loads or supplies in the backseat of their leather interior Corolla. This doesn’t mean though that we should simply throw all economic sense out of the window when it comes to managing a fleet of vehicles.

Most companies within the Field Service or Construction industries are, due to their work, forced into purchasing less fuel-efficient vans and trucks. This is the point at which most companies feel resigned to the fact that they will have to spend a ton to fill up those vehicles, because “that’s just what everyone else does”. But this is just the point in time when companies should instead say, “What CAN we do to cut down on our costs, and where CAN we streamline our process?”.

So this begs the important question, how and where is money being lost in transit?

Remember that work vehicles are used for two primary purposes, driving to and from job sites. Every time they are on the road burning fuel, the company is slowly losing money.

Why are they on the road? 50% of the time it’s because they need to return paper forms back to the office, hauling their gas-guzzling fenders miles across town to do so. This is the critical correlation between paper forms and fuel dollars, and where a business hemorrhages money without truly realizing it.

But how much is it really costing your business? Let’s calculate below exactly how much a single paper form can cost your organization.

Insert [GoCanvas]. Delete [Paper Forms]. Save [Fuel Dollars].

So, we’ve talked about how fuel inefficiency can increase costs within your business, but how does a single paper form effect those costs? By using paper forms you’re forcing each field tech and/or supervisor to manually fill out each report and return the contents back to HQ for processing. This means if your field tech is sent to a site 15 miles away, they’re going to be burning cash all the way back to the office in order to return those forms.

But we can break it down even further.

For example, say a field supervisor has 4 job sites to inspect every single day. At each of those job sites, he/she has to complete a detailed Job Safety Analysis (JSA) report, with the average distance from the main office to each site being 15 miles.

Money Now take into consideration the average mile per gallon range for a standard pickup or van is 15 to 20 mpg, with an average cost of a gallon of gas being $2.30. With a total of 50 standard work weeks in a year(accounting for vacation), that field supervisor will waste around 300 gallons of fuel traveling between the worksites and the main office. That alone will account for close to $700 in fuel dollars lost annually, and that’s just for a single field supervisor!

But what about the actual process of filling out and collecting all the data on paper forms, how much time and money does that waste the field supervisors?

Take into consideration that the average paper report can take between 15 and 30 minutes to fully complete by hand. Why so long? Think about it. When it comes to a safety-related form like a JSA, or even something as simple as a timecard, detail is everything. And with paper, nothing can be pre-filled or auto-populated like it can with a mobile form.

You have to capture photos, signatures and even GPS coordinates for the report to be verified as accurate. When you use a platform like GoCanvas, all these features are built right into the mobile form. With paper, you are forced to bring extra pieces of equipment to capture these readings, and then take the time to compile them all together for a final report. This extra 30 minutes a day, across 4 sites, for 50 business weeks can cause that single field supervisor to waste between 200-300 hours every year!

Not impressed by hours lost?

Add into the equation how much they are being paid, let’s say $17 per hour, and that equates to between $3,400 – $5,100 in lost productivity every year. Now multiply that number across all your supervisors and watch as the losses pile up!

Filling Up the Revenue Tank with Mobile Form Data

Now that we’ve talked about the doom and gloom that paper forms can bring upon your business, it’s only right that we show you how to solve the issue!

A mobile form platform like GoCanvas is essentially built to negate all the negative traits that come with paper-based data collection.

GoCanvas Mobile With GoCanvas, your employees (including field supervisors) can reduce their drive time by 50% or more because of real-time data sharing. As soon as a report is completed onsite, all of the contents including GPS, Photos, Signatures, Barcodes, and more will be automatically sent to the GoCanvas cloud and available for immediate review by the main office.

Employees, like field supervisors, can also cut down on trips between sites by setting up safety inspection approvals with the GoCanvas Workflow feature. This allows for employees from other sites to complete inspections with detailed photos, and transmit that data directly to the field supervisor’s GoCanvas device for final review and approval. If any mistakes or issues are found, the field supervisor can reject the report and send a note back to the original submitter. This type of process can further cut down on unneeded mileage, and improve daily efficiency across multiple job sites!

Whether it be a timesheet, work order or site inspection – paper anywhere is dysfunction everywhere. By simply implementing the few simple changes outlined above, you could end up saving your business close to $4,000 per employee annually!

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

How TE3CO Leverages Data Analytics to Unlock Business Potential

VIP Lighting Gains Business Efficiencies with GoCanvas

Three HVAC Maintenance Checklists that will Reduce Errors and Grow Your Bottom Line

View checklists

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Reduce Data Entry & Billing Errors with Automated Calculations from GoCanvas

Posted on August 10, 2017November 19, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Reduce Data Entry & Billing Errors with Automated Calculations from GoCanvas

Analytics and Data Collection | Business Operations | Forms

Automate More With Mobile Forms

Math is hard. Yes, I’ve finally said it. I still use the calculator on my phone to even conduct the simplest of calculations because I’m afraid of making the slightest error (and I simply write content all day)! Imagine the pressure that field users deal with when they are trying to put together estimates or invoices for materials that cost more than I could ever imagine.

Having to look up material or service costs from a catalog, transport that information to a paper form, and then manual calculate it all up is a process that is extremely open to error.

This is why GoCanvas has the Calculation field!

This “quick-calc” field essentially allows your field users to input any sets of numbers into their mobile form and have those values run through the formula you have pre-created, which then results in an accurate final total. There is no need for calculators or doing math in your head, GoCanvas does the work for you instantly!

And if you’re using the Reference Data feature of GoCanvas, you can have all of your company’s materials and price lists be pre-populated into your mobile form as well! This means no more catalogs and no more manual calculations!

Eliminate Manual Errors with Quick Calculations

The best part about using the Calculation field in GoCanvas is that it’s incredibly flexible to use within many different processes. The Calculation field allows you to create formulas using any combination of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division.

With these different mathematical rules, you are able to create calculations using a variety of different form fields including Number, Time, and Date.

This means you have the option to create simple or complex calculation formulas for determining everything including:

Quantity
Cost
Time
Days

The Biggest Benefits of Automated Calculations

If you are going down the path of using mobile forms, then you should definitely be using Calculation fields.

You will immediately realize the time (and reduced headache) benefits that come from taking the calculator out of your field users’ hands and letting the smart device do what it was meant to do.

Some of the additional benefits that you will realize include:

25% Less time spent reviewing reports
25% Increase in data collection speed
50% Increase in data accuracy
100% Less time honing your math skills

Also, remember that if you are using an inspection-type form that you can create built-in scoring using Reference Data and the Calculation field! This essentially means that you can have each question on your mobile form have an assigned point value based on each individual response. Once the mobile form has been filled out, each question’s point value can then be automatically calculated to give the report a final score! This is an amazing way to give you, your users, and even your customers instant insight into their performance! You can click here to learn more about setting up scoring!

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Boost Truck Fleet Efficiency and Profitability – 5 Ways Mobile Apps Can Help

Posted on July 11, 2017October 10, 2024 by Danny Kanev

Boost Truck Fleet Efficiency and Profitability – 5 Ways Mobile Apps Can Help

Analytics and Data Collection | Forms | Inspections

Mobile apps are designed to make everyday tasks more efficient. You can document and file car insurance claims directly from your phone in real-time, right at the scene of the accident. With a mobile boarding pass, you can bypass the ticketing counter at the airport and go straight to your gate. You can bank with an app, book hotels with an app, and order pizza with an app.

Now, motor carriers — and any businesses that employ trucks and drivers — can experience those efficiency gains regarding inspection reports. With mobile inspection apps, carriers and drivers can trade in the burden of paper forms for the ease of mobile forms and cloud-based data through their mobile devices. But those apps don’t only increase efficiency — they also drive additional revenue. Here’s how.

1. Eliminate Paper Forms While Increasing the Inspection Process

When drivers and carriers enter information in mobile apps, that data is stored in the cloud. With reduced paper files, carriers can eliminate much of their physical storage including file cabinets and shelves. That means more space in the office, less clutter to work around, and an easier time accessing the information you need the minute you need it within your mobile application — especially if you’re pulled over for an inspection.

Cloud-based data storage can automate workflow and give owners and managers instant access to inspection documents, including work orders, inspection checklists, and audits and maintenance reports as soon as drivers complete them — regardless of where the driver is — providing accurate, up-to-date knowledge on all equipment.

In the short term, the benefits of those changes may seem marginal — but if you aim to grow your business, mobile technology, and a digital documentation system can help you scale efficiently and stay profitable as you expand.

We recommend creating invoices through our mobile app for Trucking Invoices for an easy way to keep track of your financials.

2. Increase Driver Compliance and Business Workflow

Drivers already work up to 70 hours in an eight-day period. For carriers to be the most profitable, however, that time must be spent driving, not fulfilling peripheral duties like completing or filing paperwork. A mobile app on a smartphone or tablet can save time and increase convenience for both the carrier and the driver.

With paper forms, drivers must fill out duplicate information every time — like vehicle make, model, year, and DOT registration number. Mobile forms, however, may be pre-populated with this kind of information, saving the driver the headache of having to fill in that information time after time and reducing the chance that they’ll get sloppy and skip portions of the forms completely. Mobile forms can also require users to fill out one field before they are able to move to the next.

The time savings can equate to additional driving time (and revenue), and completing paperwork is a win for everyone when it comes to roadside inspections, traffic stops, and especially if your truck is involved in an accident.

3. Demonstrate Accountability in the Event of a Lawsuit

Even though large trucks represent only 2 percent of drivers, they’re involved in 11 percent of road fatalities. Driver error accounts for 87 percent of those accidents, and vehicle issues, such as brake problems, account for 10 percent.

If one of your trucks was involved in an accident tomorrow, would you have accurate, up-to-date information readily available to prove that your vehicles have been inspected, have received regular maintenance, and that your drivers meet all training and certification requirements?

This kind of information can be vital at the site of a crash and may be able to help exonerate your company of any alleged wrongdoing in the event of a liability suit or lawsuit.

4. Increase CSA and SMS Compliance to Enhance Your Company’s Functionality

The law requires truck fleet owners to keep records of hazardous material carriage, vehicle inspections, driver records, health management, and more. The penalties for failing to do so can be steep — ranging from fines to termination as a business entity.

Companies that don’t keep maintain the required documentation pay out millions of dollars each year. Recordkeeping violations, for example, can carry a fine of up to $1,100 per day while the violation continues, up to $11,000. Hazmat fines can stack up to $75,000 per violation.

If drivers receive a serious violation during a roadside inspection, their trucks can be placed out of service (OOS) — taking them completely off the road until the violation is remedied. And that can be an expensive delay, considering you’re losing revenue for every hour the truck is sidelined.

You also have to consider the broader impact on your business. The public can see carriers’ violations and fines on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (EFMCSA) website and too many penalties against your company could cause your customers to take their business elsewhere. Using a mobile app to keep updated, accurate, and accessible records can help you avoid those penalties and keep your business profitable.

5. Improve Overall Driver Fleet Management

Drivers are expected to carry and manage a long list of documents — including a driver’s license, medical examiner’s certificate, a driver’s record of duty status, documentation of an annual inspection, hazardous materials paperwork, and permit credentials.

Rather than maintaining these documents on paper, a mobile app can streamline the process, helping drivers and carriers become more efficient. On a grander scale, that can help your company become more competitive and continue to attract drivers that will stay compliant and drive profitability.

Utilize GoCanvas for Your Own Mobile Inspection App

Paper forms aren’t just inconvenient. Relying on paper forms can open your truck fleet up to fines, lawsuits, and downtime. Learn more about how mobile inspection apps can benefit your business in the interactive eBook, “4 Ways Mobile Inspection Forms Can Keep Your Trucks on the Road.”Then get started by trying out GoCanvas free (no credit card or contract required). We’ll help you create your first app, whether it’s for regular inspections, maintenance logs, or managing documentation.

About GoCanvas

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

How TE3CO Leverages Data Analytics to Unlock Business Potential

VIP Lighting Gains Business Efficiencies with GoCanvas

Three HVAC Maintenance Checklists that will Reduce Errors and Grow Your Bottom Line

View checklists

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.