Going digital might be a frightening change for many people. Transforming your paper-based culture into a digital one might flood your mind with questions and hesitations. Is it really necessary? Are mobile forms safe? Where is information stored?
We understand the digitalisation process can be challenging. However, sticking to a paper-based working system is not the best long-term decision. In this blog, we’d like to share with you 3 reasons why paper forms represent a risk.
Paper documents get lost
What is the first thing that comes to mind if we say “paper documentation”? For us, it’s storage rooms. Paper forms, and documents, require a huge amount of space to be kept in. Depending on this space, not only impacts an organisation’s budget but also its efficiency. Think about how difficult it is to try and find a specific document, and have to look through hundreds of boxes until the correct one appears. Doing so can be frustrating and significantly time-consuming.
In addition, paper forms might easily get lost. Just by someone accidentally throwing it in the trash, or misplacing it in the wrong folder, these documents might never be found again. This can have dramatic consequences.
Have you thought of the environmental impact?
Every year, over 30 million acres of forests are destroyed in the production of paper. Also, paper production facilities use large amounts of water. In addition, most pieces of paper end up being burned somewhere on our planet therefore emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The list could go on and on. But instead of focusing on the negative side of paper forms, we’d like to present you with a solution: mobile forms. These work just as paper ones do, with the slight difference that instead of being handwritten, you will design them using a form creator on your computer, and fill them out on any mobile device.
Mobile forms apps have come to revolutionise the way we work. These are some of the benefits they convey:
- They boost productivity and efficiency
- They promote teamwork, by allowing multiple users to open the same document simultaneously
- They guarantee data loss prevention
- They encourage precise and detailed data collection
- They reduce an organisation’s impact on the environment
Today, there are several mobile forms apps available. One of the most popular is Kizeo Forms. This application is popular for its numerous features and its ease of use. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits this solution provides, check it out here.
Are paper forms the most efficient alternative?
Let’s be honest. While filling out paper forms, mistakes can easily be made. If whoever is filling them does not have legible handwriting, this might lead to errors and misinterpretations. Additionally, all of the information collected through paper forms will later have to be digitalised. This process is time-consuming, and risky, as more mistakes can be made during it. All in all, traditional forms are very error-prone and inefficient.
Once again, mobile forms are the best solution to all of these issues. By using pre-filled forms, with limited possible answers, there are fewer chances of mistakes being made. Also, as digital forms are filled out on mobile devices, there is no risk of misinterpretation due to sloppy handwriting.
Some mobile form apps include smart features that promote efficiency. Some of the ones Kizeo Forms offers are:
- Checklists: help users keep track of important tasks and prevent them from skipping any one of them.
- The drawing element: allows the user to make a sketch, take a photo or choose a picture from a mobile device (Photo Library) and then annotate it to report a problem, for example.
- Barcode scanning: allows the user to scan or manually enter a bar code or a QR code on your form.
- The offline mode: allows users to collect data without being connected to the Internet.
- The geolocation element: allows the user to locate himself or other users by recording their geographical position
As it has been demonstrated, the paper forms era is reaching its end. Although this system has been an amazing partner during the past years, it is slowly becoming a threat to organisations’ potential.
Together with this ending, comes a new beginning. Mobile forms have come to stay, and make our everyday work easier. This technological solution arrives with a huge stack of features that will allow us to improve our team’s efficiency and productivity.
If your organisation is ready to make the switch, don’t forget to visit Kizeo Forms’ website. Learn more about the perfect partner to guide you down the digitalisation path!
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