How to save time & increase productivity with online forms

Integrating online forms into your daily workflow and across teams that you work with is the time-saving gift that keeps giving. You just have to create forms once, and they can automate your data collection tasks and processes going forward. Instead of emailing your co-workers, pinging them on Slack, or holding yet another meeting — simply streamline your processes and watch your collected data automatically populate the dashboard or spreadsheet of your choice. Let’s discuss how online forms can help you give back valuable hours in your week.

1. Send fewer emails and hold fewer meetings

I think we can all agree that we would be more productive with fewer unnecessary emails and meetings where not much gets accomplished. Use Jotform to increase your productivity by replacing or enhancing some of your emails and meetings with a customized information collection approach.

Before holding a meeting to discuss a project, for example, create a custom form and collect information from the meeting participants. This can include what’s going well and what’s not, roadblocks, resources needed, and more. The submitted information can be sent to all participants for review, and it can be determined if a meeting is necessary.

2. Save time with templates

Although you can create forms from scratch quickly and easily, starting from a template can save you time. Jotform offers thousands of templates, organized by industry and type of form. You can save time by selecting a fully customizable ready-made template, and making it your own. Once you have your finalized form, you can easily spice it up with easy design options including: a variety of color schemes, fonts, and the ability to upload your own logos and images. There’s no coding required to get a fully functional form ready to collect data.

3. Streamline workflows with integrations

Streamline your workflow with Jotform’s 100+ integrations, including Square, Stripe, Paypal, Salesforce, Google Sheets, and more. Take advantage of everything these integrations have to offer, from processing payments to automating tasks to creating onboarding flows to populating your favorite spreadsheets for analysis.

When your lead collection and contact forms are integrated with a CRM, your customer data gathered from your online forms is automatically added to Salesforce, Insightly, or another CRM of your choice. When your order forms are integrated with a payment processor, your custom payment forms are able to collect money online, on a one-time or recurring basis. Integrate your signup forms with an email marketing automation platform, and send your captured leads and customer data to MailChimp or Constant Contact to develop and keep engaged relationships with your subscribers.

4. Collect information at scale

Save time on many internal and external processes by sending out a form to collect the information you need. For example, hospitals and medical practices can ditch paper forms and collect patient data online. Forms can be electronically submitted before an appointment on any device or filled out at the office on a handy tablet. Jotform offers features that help with HIPAA compliance, so even the most sensitive data is sure to be safe. HR teams can use online forms to collect applications, onboard new employees, provide an anonymous feedback solution for collecting employee feedback, issue PTO request forms, and more.

5. Finalize contracts without the paper

Working with partners and external agencies often require contracts that are to be printed, signed, faxed, etc. Nip the hassle in the bud by streamlining how you send and receive contracts. With Jotform, you can easily create contracts and collect electronic signatures online. Jotform’s e-signature widgets include Docusign, Adobe Sign, and more. You can even upload files and collect any necessary information to kick off a contract right within a form.

How do you use forms to increase your productivity and get things done more efficiently? Share your tips in the comments!