Release Notes: GoCanvas Windows App

Release Notes: GoCanvas Windows App

At the very end of 2015 we made a strategic decision to support 3 platforms for filling out GoCanvas apps.  Android, iOS and the Windows operating system. We decided to NOT support Windows Phone and Blackberry any longer.  Our goal with these 3 platforms is very simple: To 100% support them. This means that all GoCanvas features (Unless not applicable) would be available across them and the design of the interface would be simple and easy to use.

We are now happy to announce that our GoCanvas Windows App is now available!

You can install this version of GoCanvas on any laptop/desktop/tablet that is running Windows 7, 8 or 10. For those of you that have been using the GoCanvas Desktop Client, this will be a massive improvement for you.  There are tons of new features availabe on this version that were previously only available on iOS or Android. Here they are!

  • Folders
  • Table of Contents
  • Grid view for loop screens
  • Viewing and editing past submissions (History tab above)
  • Receive dispatched Loop items
  • Draw on an image you captured or pulled from your gallery
  • View PDF after sync
  • Departments
  • Web link field
  • GPS field
  • Sync after tapping submit
  • Blank date and time fields

Now your team members that have Windows laptops/desktops/tablets can use GoCanvas just like your Android and iOS users and get the same experience. This opens up a world of additional opportunity for your organization to save even more time using GoCanvas.

  • Complete submissions on Android or iOS and edit them later with the Windows App.
  • Better incorporate your office-based team members into your GoCanvas processes.
  • Office-based team members can consider GoCanvas for their processes now. Human Resources forms, approval forms, request forms and more can all be filled out with the Windows App.
  • Mobile users that have laptops or Surface tablets (We do NOT run on Windows RT, which is used by older Surface tablets) can now use those devices instead

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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3 Ways Mobile Checklists Can Keep Your Healthcare Organization CQC Compliant

3 Ways Mobile Checklists Can Keep Your Healthcare Organization CQC Compliant

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DoctorThe Care Quality Commission is a major regulatory body in England that was established under the Department of Health in 2009. Its role is to monitor and inspect all organizations that provide medical care and ensure that patients are being given high-quality, safe treatments. In the case of healthcare organizations that are found to be in non-compliance with CQC regulations, they are at risk of substantial fines, legal action, or being shut down.

This type of government regulation is not just specific to England or the Healthcare industry, but similar to the likes of the USDA, OSHA, and the HSE in other countries. These organizations and more operate to ensure public safety and set fundamental standards for service quality. Sometimes these regulations can take a toll and hurt smaller businesses who don’t feel they have the resources to properly self-regulate themselves.

But there’s good news! Simple changes to the way data is captured and processed on a daily basis can drastically reduce the risk of failing an audit and increase compliance to a whole new level.

With GoCanvas, you are able to build your own mobile checklists and forms to meet the specific needs of your organization or facility. You are also able to online that you use and we will build them to get you started in just a couple of days. All it takes is using one mobile form to see a dramatic increase in operational efficiency!

The reason why most organizations fail Care Quality Commission inspections is because more often than not someone failed to report an issue within their facility to the proper personnel. These issues reside for weeks and months without resolution until they become so big that either management finally sees them or a CQC auditor finds them and it’s too late.

What is the cause of this? This is the failure of the two P’s – People & Paper. 

stack of paper

When inspections or checklists are filled out on a piece of paper, inherently the quality of the data is compromised. That is because there is no data validation with paper. Fields can be missing, unreadable, or incomplete when they eventually show up to the office for review. That is WHEN they actually show up to the office. It can take days and sometimes weeks to get a fully completed form back to the office, and then another couple days for that form to be fully reviewed and input into the company’s backend system. Ultimately this means that upper management won’t get a full report of these for at least a business week, meaning issues are going to take a while to be identified and properly resolved.

So, how can mobile checklists assist with this process?

The beauty of mobile forms is how quickly and easily it turns static data into easy to access information that can be reviewed and shared in real-time. That is why mobile forms, especially checklists, are perfect for organizations and facilities that want to stay CQC compliant.

Here are the top reasons to make the switch to GoCanvas mobile checklists and forms:

Mobile checklists with GoCanvas not only allow your employees to quickly verify that everything throughout the facility is in working order and compliant, but also allows them to easily document issues by snapping a photo and capturing a GPS stamp of the location of the deficiency. This information, along with a date and time stamp of the report, will then be instantly sent to a supervisor who can review it, note compliance issues, and schedule a same-day follow-up. This ensures that issues don’t linger on for weeks or months and reduces the organization’s, as well as patients’, exposure to potential risks.

Gif of trucks and buildings

With the GoCanvas platform, organizations are able to setup both simple and complex information automation for the review and approval of data. This is a feature we call Workflow. For organizations trying to stay CQC ( OSHA, USDA, etc) compliant, Workflow is a tool that allows for checklists to be filled out by field employees and transmitted to a supervisor’s mobile device for instant review. The supervisor can see exactly what was filled out by the employee, make changes if necessary, or even reject the report and send it back to the originator with a note as to why it wasn’t approved. This type of automation can instantly replace the need for needless phone calls, text messages, emails and ensure that reports are review and approved in a timely manner. An online dashboard is also available to view the status of all tickets so that nothing ever slips through the cracks.

The power of using mobile checklists truly comes from the quality of data that is able to be collected. Creating mobile checklists through GoCanvas allows your organization to create fields that are required to be filled out before a report is allowed to be submitted by your employees. This means that photo verification, signatures, time stamps, and more will always be a part of the reports that are submitted and that there will never be another incomplete submission ever again.

Cloud, lock, gear

But the quality also comes from the fact that the data is collected instantly on the cloud and made accessible to the people who need to see it when they need to see it. There is no more waiting hours, day or weeks to view reports and the data is available to be connected to the systems that you already have setup for in-depth analysis. GoCanvas allows your organization to make real-time, data-informed decisions that can increase operational efficiency and dramatically reduce the risk of violations and/or fines.

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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3 Ways to Use the Brand New Delete Dispatch Action in Zapier

3 Ways to Use the Brand New Delete Dispatch Action in Zapier

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        ZapierNew Update Increases Task Automation 

The latest update to Canvas’s integration with Zapier is small but extremely powerful. It essentially changes how other systems interact with the GoCanvas database, by allowing them to automatically push in data that will update existing tasks within the Dispatch Manager.  If you want to learn how Zapier connects GoCanvas to over 300+ different web platforms, be sure to click here.

When you setup a connection with Zapier, or as they call it a “Zap”, one web program acts as a “Trigger” and every program connected after it is setup as an “Action”. In the case of our latest update, we added a new action to Canvas’ toolbelt.

Previously your only “Action” available for GoCanvas was “Create Dispatch”. An example of this is pretty simple.

Say you wanted your “Initial Inspection” app to automatically schedule a dispatch to your “Follow-Up Inspection” app every time you completed a job. This Zapier “Action” would eliminate the need to manually create and assign a follow-up dispatch task after each job. This could potentially save dispatchers 100s of hours in scheduling every month.

If you’re interested in setting up the “Create Dispatch” Zap, you can check out the tutorial here.

The newest “Action” added to the Zapier platform for GoCanvas is the ability to delete a dispatch. This ability can be triggered by almost every one of Zapier’s 300+ web connections and gives clients the ability to further automate the way tasks are created, scheduled, and resolved within the Dispatch Manager. All you have to do is ensure that the Item Description of the Dispatch from GoCanvas is connected with the “Trigger” of the web application you’ve connected via Zapier.

Don’t worry, this will be clearly explained and defined when you creating your zap! Click here to learn how to get started setting up this Zap.

Setting up GoCanvas in Zapier

With the addition of “Delete Dispatch” to the Zapier action list, companies now have the ability to have their existing systems interface with GoCanvas a lot more smoothly. This is because their existing systems can essentially communicate back and forth with GoCanvas, letting it know whether a dispatch needs to be created or deleted.

Here are the top 3 ways to start using the new Zapier action:

Zapier and Canvas Inspections: We touched on this a little bit earlier in terms of creating NEW DISPATCHES, but we thought it was important to highlight how deleting dispatches could be extremely beneficial during the inspection process.

In some situations, your office dispatcher may assign the same Inspection ticket to multiple employees, not knowing who is first available to get to the client’s location.

With this new Zap, whoever completes and submits the inspection will automatically trigger the Canvas Dispatch Manager to automatically delete and un-assign the duplicate tickets from the other technicians. Now the dispatcher won’t have to worry about manually going through each job and un-assigning the duplicates, and the technicians won’t show up on a job site that has already been serviced.

Zapier, Google Calendar, and Canvas

 Client Cancellations: Almost every company deals with clients who reschedule on them for one reason or another. This process of creating, modifying, and deleting appointments can cause frustration for both the office and field staff. With the new “Delete Dispatch” functionality, you can connect the GoCanvas Dispatch Manager with your company’s Google Calendar to help streamline the appointment modification process.

This Zap is perfect for any situation where a client needs to reschedule their appointment to a new date. Instead of having to manually change both the Google Calendar event and the GoCanvas Dispatch Manager task, all you have to do now is change the event date on your calendar and GoCanvas will automatically delete the current task assigned to you.

Now you or the office can reach back out and re-confirm with the client before setting up the new Dispatch task.

Zapier, QuickBooks, and Canvas

 Accounts Payable: Zapier already provides you the ability to quickly connect your backend systems with your GoCanvas mobile apps and forms, but now it also gives you the ability to integrate them with your Dispatch manager as well!

The perfect use case for this zap is a situation where the office has assigned a dispatch to a technician in order to perform routine service, with a follow-up dispatch to collect payment. After the service is performed, the client informs you that they would like to pay immediately. They call the office and an invoice is created within your company’s QB system.  Now, with the new Zapier “Action”, GoCanvas will delete the scheduled dispatch that matches the customer’s name on the QB invoice that was generated.

This will help avoid any unnecessary trips by your technicians and eliminate the need for your office staff to reconcile dispatches with paid invoices. 

The best part about our integration with Zapier is that the possibilities are endless. You can use any of your GoCanvas apps or mobile forms as the “Trigger” and have your data push into over 300 web platforms including QuickBase, Salesforce, SQL, Google Business Apps, and more!

Check out a couple of our most popular Zaps below:

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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Feature Focus: Create Custom Reports with the PDF Designer

Feature Focus: Create Custom Reports with the PDF Designer

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When you go paperless, that doesn’t mean that you lose the need for reports. For many businesses, it is still extremely critical that their clients are able to receive a copy of the services that were rendered.

At GoCanvas, we developed the PDF Designer with those concerns in mind. This tool gives clients the ability to customize their output reports to replicate the style and design of their original forms without the limitations and issues of paper. The PDF Designer allows companies to create specific output reports based on each of their GoCanvas mobile forms.

Customers frequently create unique PDF reports for different types of mobile forms including:

  • Invoices
  • Timesheets
  • Work Orders
  • Job Safety Analysis (JSA)
  • and more

Similar to the GoCanvas App Builder, the PDF Designer is a simple to use tool that requires no IT or design-based knowledge. It’s an easy to use drag and drop builder that allows you to map the data from your mobile form to your PDF report. The PDF Designer automatically syncs all the data fields from the app builder so that all you have to do is simply drag the data to where you want it to show up on the PDF!

PDF Designer

Aside from just simply dragging the data fields to where you want them on the PDF, you are also able to add:

  • Social Media Icons – Facebook, Home Advisor, Google Reviews, etc
  • Images, Logos, and Graphics
  • Static Text
  • Borders
  • Background Colors
  • Hyperlinks

The best part about the PDF Designer is that we have given you a number of ways to get started in designing the perfect report.

The first way to get started is by choosing one of our five most popular form templates! These templates include a Work Order, Invoice, Inspection, Waiver, and an Estimate. This is perfect for users who are just getting started creating a new mobile form and want to save time! The template will give create the app and the output for you automatically, and give you quick headstart for tweaking anything you feel that needs to be changed.

Mobile Form Templates

The second way to get started is by using our new “Auto Layout” feature. This is an amazing feature that can take any of the forms that you have already built and give them a custom designed layout in just seconds! All you have to do is access the PDF Designer for the mobile form that you wish to create an output report. Once inside the PDF Designer, click the button that says “Auto Layout”. You will instantly see the report be created based on the data fields from the mobile form. All you will need to do is add your logo and connect any of your company’s social media accounts(if you wish).

Auto Layout

The third way to get started with the PDF Designer is by going with a blank template! Just like when you are building your first mobile form with GoCanvas, you can start with a blank slate and build things from the ground up if you prefer. As you are customizing your report from scratch, you may use the “Preview” button within the PDF Designer so that you can confirm how your creation looks and tweak things in a flash.

This is the ideal way to start if you are going to be creating a report that needs to look a very specific way, and don’t want to waste time having to deconstruct a pre-built template that doesn’t fit the design you were envisioning.

Design your PDF

And keep in mind, the 20,000+ pre-built mobile form templates in our Application Store all have professionally designed PDF reports assigned to them as well!

The biggest benefit in designing your own reports is obviously the fact that you are able to control the look, feel, and layout of your company’s information and brand.

Many services similar to GoCanvas will force your information to be placed into a generic looking document that serves only to show your information one way. With GoCanvas, we give you the power to control the way your information is presented to your customers, vendors, and internal staff. You now control how your forms are filled out, shared, and formatted with GoCanvas.

Take full advantage of this core feature of GoCanvas, and start customizing your reports today!

Burning Paper

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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Release Notes: New Functionality for the App Builder & PDF Designer

Release Notes: New Functionality for the App Builder & PDF Designer

I’m not even sure where to start with this release! There are a lot of new things along with some enhancements to the user interface in our App Builder and PDF Designer in the spirit of making them easier to use. A number of these changes were done to make the controls inside the App Builder identical to the controls inside the PDF Designer so there is familiarity between the two tools.

I’m sure you’re more interested in the brand new stuff, so let’s start there.

We added a number of new things to help you save even more time using GoCanvas!

Now you can make a barcode field “Read Only”. This might be a misnomer, but what this allows you to do is force your user to use the camera and actually scan a barcode. They are not able to manually type in whatever value they want. Customers have wanted to ensure that their mobile users are actually scanning a barcode and this will do the trick.

Our “Grid” functionality is an alternative way for your mobile user to use a “Loop” or “List” screen. Now you can see what that Grid will look like on mobile inside the App Builder. One thing to note is that you cannot edit when viewing the Grid. It just shows you a preview so you can see how things will look for your mobile user.

***NOTE***: Grid functionality must be enabled for you by our team here at GoCanvas. If you want it turned on, please email us at support@gocanvas.com. We are happy to enable it for your account.

One thing that can be rather painful is not knowing which screens and fields are set to be conditional. We have added some icons so you can easily identify them now. This will save you a lot of time when building and editing your GoCanvas Apps!

Here is how a conditional screen will be identified…

Here is how a conditional field will be identified…

For years and years we have provided the ability to make a field on the mobile device “invisible”. This is used for all kinds of reasons like triggering conditional screens or fields or hiding calculations from mobile users because they don’t need to see them and much more.

The challenge was then knowing which fields were invisible when working inside the App Builder. Problem solved!

We have added a dotted line around a field that is invisible.

The name of this setting was changed to “Mobile Visible”, too. We wanted to clarify that this setting impacted the field on the mobile device only. You can always see it in the App Builder so you can edit it.

We continue to add functionality to our PDF Designer so it is faster to create beautiful PDFs and so you have functionality that makes the PDF more engaging for your audience.

We really want to encourage you to use your customer-facing documents as additional marketing tools. Encourage your customers to connect with you on Facebook, review your services on Angie’s List (Or Google or Yelp), follow you on Twitter and more. I know this might be new to many of you, but you will grow your business doing this.

Outside of that you can link people to your website, of course. Or link them to specific pages on your site to provide additional information outside of what is in the PDF.

  1. New social icons: We added Angie’s List, Google Reviews, Home Advisor, and Yelp.
  2. Alignment: You can now align the social icons just like any other Element.
  3. Vertical Spacing: This control is on other Elements and fields in the PDF Designer, but it allows you to control the spacing around the social icon itself. Play around with it to see how it works.

We made some changes within both tools to make them easier to use and a lot more understandable for newer users.

You’ll notice some new “Tool Tips” placed throughout the App Builder to help folks understand how things work. Sometimes there will be a question mark you hover over and sometimes you’ll just hover over the word or icon associated with the feature. Here is an example for Screen Conditions.

GoCanvas is really powerful, which makes it harder for folks to understand. So we have made changes to the More area under Field Settings.

  1. Mobile Visible: As mentioned above, we changed the name of this feature. Previously it was called “App Visible”. We wanted to more clearly call out that this impacts behavior on the mobile device.
  2. Place value in…: Previously these were all presented as separate choices. We wanted to group these together to help folks understand that the behavior for each is somewhat similar. You are placing the value entered in the field in the areas listed.
  3. PDF & Web Label: Previously this was called “Report Label”. No one really knew what the “report” was, though! The report is the PDF and the label would show up on the web view, too. So we wanted to make this clearer.

The Standard PDF is the default design that all GoCanvas Apps use initially (Although this has started to change, too!). Some of the controls in the App Builder impact behavior on that Standard PDF. Previously this was not clearly communicated to our users. It is even more confusing now that we have the PDF Designer.

So we created a new section under Field Settings called “Standard PDF”. Any controls in that section impact the Standard PDF ONLY. You will find this under any field that has controls that only impact the Standard PDF.

We moved the buttons that were previously on the top left up higher to create more space inside the editing area. The buttons are now on the right and are higher. You’ll also notice a very slight change to the “Add Screen” button.

You will also find some “Tool Tips” throughout the PDF Designer to help folks understand how things function.

We changed the buttons around to match what is now in the App Builder. These buttons are also found at the top right instead of the left.

And we moved the Auto Layout controls to the left side.

Feedback

Phew! That is a lot of stuff! Please tell us what you think! You can send feedback to feedback@gocanvas.com anytime. We love, love, love hearing from you. Tell us what YOU want GoCanvas to do to save you even more time.

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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