Online forms save time for administrative staff, improve accuracy and open up new possibilities including sharing data with other business software and using forms to initiate automated workflow. Built-in logic ensures all form fields are filled out correctly before the user clicks submit. In addition, outsourcing data entry to each person who fills out a form significantly reduces errors and eliminates time spent deciphering messy handwriting or tracking down missing information.
There are lots of other reasons for replacing paper forms and difficult to managed PDFs with an eform. Here are just a few examples.
1. Manufacturing: onboarding
A new employee fills out one online form and the data populates in your HR record, IT request and other employment forms.
The onboarding process includes industry-related training to be completed in the first four weeks of employment. Each week, new employees receive a form with links to online courses and other new employee information specific to that week. They complete the courses and take a test. Their score is recorded on a web form.
HR receives notification on whether each weekly assignment is complete, so they can follow up as necessary.
2. Insurance: underwriting and quoting
Previously, one multi-page paper form included coverage for employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, miscellaneous professional liability, and network security.
Now using eforms and built-in conditional logic, only the questions that are pertinent to the coverage that the broker is quoting are shown on the eform. Depending on their answers to initial questions, applicants respond to as many as 20 questions or as few as 5. Information is stored electronically, and company-side data entry is eliminated.
3. Healthcare: medical billing
At a medical billing practice that manages revenue for 100 physicians, their account follow-up team investigates when an insurer denies a charge. It may be a simple fix because of an address change or incorrect date-of-service. If the bill can be resubmitted, the team uses eforms to document the change.
Key are also able to build a list of adjustments, so the bill can be corrected and resent for payment. If a charge should be written off, the accounts receivable group completes an additional form designed for that purpose.
4. Education: parent portal
An online portal implemented in this school system enables students, and their parents, to access grade books, attendance records, schedules and other information. Teachers also send parents progress updates via the portal. Parents use a web form to register for the portal online and receive an email with their username and password. Schools also use web forms to request information or schedule teacher conferences.
5. Leasing: new customer on ramp
All sales personnel bring tablets when visiting a customer site. They enter customer contact information, the lease term, and products ordered. The customer signs the online form. This authorization kicks off a workflow that notifies the warehouse that equipment should be shipped. The sales team is no longer traveling back and forth to the office with paperwork. This automation reduced turnaround time from order to delivery from 2-3 weeks to 4 days.
Our customers use eforms to resolve information challenges and take advantage of the benefits of automated workflow. Your team will no longer waste time bringing paper documents from desk to desk. Digital signature capabilities make online forms even more useful providing a contactless way to get forms completed. By combining electronic forms with digital workflows, you can launch follow up tasks, escalations and alerts based on form completion. Uses for electronic forms are as varied as your business needs. If increased profitability and improved productivity are your goals, then eforms are for you!
For more information about how automation and workflows could help your business, click here.