In my role as Director of Strategic Sales for ProntoForms, I’ve busted my fair share of myths when it comes to mobile forms. Paper forms may seem like a tried and tested way of collecting information. But if you dig a little further, you realize just how much they can be holding back your business.
Common sense tells us that digital processes are faster than paper processes. And who doesn’t want to speed up workflows, right? But a great misnomer still exists among many company executives that mobilizing a business process is cost prohibitive. It’s simply untrue. Both in the short and long run, mobile forms can mean significant business cost savings.
No new devices needed
With ProntoForms leading technology, data collection and submission by field users can be accomplished with a variety of mobile devices. Be it smartphones or tablets, ProntoForms works with iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone, meaning that organizations don’t necessarily have to purchase one type of device. By employing the principle of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), users can fill out mobile forms on their favorite existing devices – no new device purchasing required.
The underestimation of data entry costs
The choice isn’t between mobile forms and paper forms, it’s between mobile forms and paper forms + data entry. In other words, each and every paper form must then be manually entered into the company back office system – not exactly a great case of ROI. Think of the amount of labor costs that are associated with hours and hours of data entry each month. Wouldn’t that budget be better served by investing in the mobilization of business processes?
Imagine tying collected data immediately with the back office system and cutting out data entry altogether – our 2,500+ business customers are doing it daily. At less than $20 per month per user*, it’s a virtual no-brainer to go the mobile form route.
The other paper costs
It’s easy to forget about all of the other contributing expenditures associated with paper forms. Whereas mobile forms collect data and send the information back to managers right away, paper forms have to be physically brought back to the office, resulting in unnecessary fuel charges and additional commute labor hours. Add in paper and ink costs, and it’s more than an ample argument to go mobile.
ProntoForms is an out-of-the-box, ready to go solution
Another misconception that I hear is that it will take too long to get up and running with mobile forms. The fact is that ProntoForms can be fully deployed in days, not months, depending on business process requirements, meaning the learning curve and implementation isn’t as long or as steep as some might think. With free Webinars, a robust support portal, a dedicated support team and professional services available, you have all the possible resources required to deploy ProntoForms – no matter your scalability requirements.
So let’s get started
In the end, there really isn’t any legitimate budgetary or resource reason not to switch to mobile forms. If you have several employees out in the field amassing data, then you have to keep up with the pace of business and mobilize your workflows.
You owe it to your business to see mobile forms in action.
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*pricing is dependent on the chosen wireless carrier
