We have lots of paper forms, which one should I start digitalising?

Are you spending time filing paper copies of invoices, contracts, or contact forms? Have you lost important data because a paper form has been misplaced? Are you struggling to find space for the storage of paper documentation? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it sounds like you need to start digitising your paper forms.

If you’re not wholly convinced to retire your paper forms, here are some reasons why you might need to rethink:

• Hard to decipher - paperwork written in a hurry is hard to transpose and there’s a high chance you will inaccurately interpret something.
• Slow data transfer and analysis - once a paper form is completed it needs to be uploaded manually and sent to a central system, this process takes time and therefore costs money.
• The difficulty of analysis - you cannot analyse a paper form without having to re-enter the data into excel or another online tool.
• Security risks - there is no easy way of protecting or encrypting paper forms short of locking them in secure cabinets. 

If you’re part of a business with paper forms at its heart, the thought of moving away from them might seem daunting.  Start out by identifying the processes in your company and which places are a priority for you to digitise and improve efficiency. Remember, these will be the areas where you will be able to save the most time and money, not necessarily the easiest places to start. Find out more on which paper forms you could digitise here and read on for how to get going.

Some examples of paper forms you may be familiar with in your role:

• Timesheets
• Expense payments and invoicing
• The signing of contracts and CDAs
• Contact forms

Determine what benefits you would get from digitising these processes and having the data in digital format. Where there are links there will be added value. For example digitising your expense forms, allowing for instant upload of receipts with the image function, and having the ability to set up invoices. 

With any change in process, you will need buy-in from senior management and other stakeholders across the business. Ensure that you have built a business case for moving away from a historic process and make a game plan for how you will execute the move away from paper forms.

Build your team with representation from all areas of the business including IT, HR, and finance. Ensuring that you take into consideration multiple viewpoints and needs such as data security, ease of completion, and data accuracy will set you up for digitisation success.

Once you’ve defined the scope, the priorities, and your team, you’ll need to do some research into the right digital form builder. Things to consider when selecting your digital forms builder:

• Security: Do you have a need to protect the data you are collecting for audit or legal purposes?
• Form fields: Will you be taking and uploading photos within your forms?
• Integration: Will you need to integrate the forms with other digital software such as finance or CRM tools?
• Adoption and reporting: Is it important for you to monitor the usage of forms and improve adoption?

Kizeo Forms is a digital form builder with an accompanying mobile app to complete forms on the go. There are a number of solutions available to support the digitisation of paper forms within your business. 

Kizeo Forms has a number of cool features including:

• Geolocation
• Photo Upload
• Attaching documents to forms
• Completing forms offline
• Add signatures to reports
• 100% customisation and freedom to add your own branding 
• Secure data collection
• Instant notification and the ability to send pre-filled forms to colleagues

Kizeo Forms is a self-service tool where you’ll be able to build your own forms and connect them to multiple business processes. Unlike other form builders on the market, our customer service and technical support are second to none. You purchase licenses and not forms, this means with your first license you can create multiple forms, unlimited submissions, and unlimited data storage all from just €12 per month. 

Adam Henrichs, Executive Director from Creatio sums up his experience of introducing Kizeo Forms. “By using Kizeo Forms, Creatio was able to save a lot of time during their representation at various conferences. It eliminated the arduous effort of writing everyone’s name down manually and automated this process by replacing it with simple digital forms that are quick and easy to fill and can be easily uploaded to the database.” 

For more information on the benefits of Kizeo Forms click here. Start your paper form digitisation today and retire your time-consuming outdated processes now.