Business Operations

Investing in Mobile Form Builders: How to Calculate the ROI

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Investing in Mobile Form Builders: How to Calculate the ROI

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If you are thinking about investing in a , it’s important to understand what that means for your business and the potential return on investment (ROI). Form builders help field service companies to digitize their processes and improve workflows between the field and office. Simple, yet powerful software built for the field can become your competitive advantage, with a digital experience for customers and tools to improve productivity for your employees. This article will cover some of the types of questions to ask yourself to understand the potential ROI that can be achieved through direct cost savings, productivity gains, and much more. You can also access our free ROI calculator here, that shows you the impact of GoCanvas on key business outcomes.

8 Considerations for Calculating ROI

While calculating return on investment is a fairly simple calculation, there can be some nuance to understand the different ways software impacts your business outcomes. The basic concept of ROI calculations is to understand the cost savings or revenue growth achieved when implementing software, minus the cost of the initial investment. The difference is your return on investment and it helps provide justification for the time, effort, and money spent on building out these business processes. With most form builders and field service management software, there is a clear return on investment in the form of cost savings, productivity gains, and competitive advantage by going digital over paper. While each business is unique, here are some helpful questions and categories to consider:

1. Number of Employees on Staff

Starting with the number of employees you have is important for understanding your ROI calculation. For example, if you only have two employees that are managing your operations, the calculation will be very different than if you have one hundred employees. As a company scales its growth, it becomes a larger impact to implement form builders and software built for the field to help eliminate manual processes. Manual processes on a smaller scale are manageable, but become increasingly difficult as your business grows.

2. The Cost of Paper

It’s often overlooked, but the direct cost of paper can be more than you think. You should consider things like how many paper forms are filled out by employees each day and what are the costs per form. This will allow you to calculate the direct cost of paper spent on a daily basis, so you can get a true cost of your paper processes. GoCanvas is often priced below what a typical company spends on buying paper forms, not to mention the impact that office paper has on the environment.

3. Time Spent Delivering Paper Forms

Do your employees spend time traveling between the field and office to manage paperwork? If so, then you could be losing valuable employee time that can add up into a significant cost to your business. To calculate the total daily cost of form delivery, you can multiply the number of hours per day spent delivering forms by the average hourly wage for a field technician. Form delivery is often one of the most expensive components of paperwork and manual processes. Going digital allows employees to upload their documentation instantly to the cloud, giving real-time visibility into operations and reducing the need for travel time.

4. Time Spent Manually Entering Data

Another cost that is often overlooked and difficult to calculate is the time employees spend in the office to manage paperwork and perform manual data entry. To calculate the total daily cost of manual data entry, you can multiply the hourly pay of office administrators by the number of hours per day employees spend  entering paperwork into your back office or accessing paper based forms.

By pushing data collected from field service management software to your other back office software tools, you can eliminate these very manual processes of data entry and paper form collection. Don’t forget the cost of hard to read paperwork, or even having to pull that paperwork afterwards to confirm information. Rework is often another culprit when it comes to dealing with manual processes that are a drain on productivity.

5. Time Spent Fixing Incorrect Forms and Tracking Down Information

Form builders like GoCanvas can help you to eliminate the time spent tracking down missing or incomplete information and trying to decipher handwritten data and information. Understanding the daily cost of fixing errors and tracking down information is an important consideration. Be sure to ask yourself how many hours a day are spent by your data entry specialist tracking down info and/or fixing errors. While this may be hard to calculate, having an estimate is a useful measure for understanding how employees on average are spending their time fixing problematic paperwork.

6. Time Spent Calculating Costs and Looking For Data

Form builders like GoCanvas will save you a large percentage of the time spent doing manual calculations and looking up data that would normally have been in paper-based customer lists, product catalogs and price lists. Be sure to calculate how many hours per day are spent by each of your mobile workers looking up information. For examples this could be in Parts Catalogs, Patient Files, Price Books, Tax Lists, Delivery Schedules, and more. This will allow you to better understand the total daily time savings by switching from paper forms to a digital form builder like GoCanvas.

GoCanvas will save you a large percentage of the time spent doing manual calculations and looking up data that would normally have been in paper-based customer lists, product catalogs and price lists.

7. Job Write-Offs

Many businesses that lose important documents like work orders and invoices have to write these costs off. Software can help you to eliminate this issue and helps you recoup this lost revenue. For example, how much business do you write off because of lost, damaged or illegible paperwork each week? While this may be harder for you to calculate, having an estimate of the write-offs that happen while on the job can help you get an idea of lost opportunities that can be avoided with better processes.

8. Other Soft Savings to Consider

In addition to helping organizations recoup lost revenue and save time, tools like GoCanvas enable businesses to realize a variety of soft savings that may or may not be able to be directly measured, but can be extremely valuable. Here are some key considerations:

  • Are efforts to improve your company’s going green initiatives important to you and your company?
  • Is the ability to access real time data from the field important to you or your company?
  • Field service software does the math for your workers, eliminating errors. Is this important to you and your company?
  • Technology can collect information not possible on paper (e.g., the actual time of events, GPS locations, photos, payment capture) and give you advanced functionality to Dispatch forms to employees and improve collaboration. Are these features important to you and your company? 

Now that you have an understanding of what factors go into calculating the business impact of software built for the field, be sure to fill out our free online calculator to see the potential ROI of GoCanvas. You can also reach out to our team at any time and we can walk you through the ways GoCanvas can make an impact for your business growth.

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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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Top Checklist Apps for the Construction Industry

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Top Checklist Apps for the Construction Industry

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Embracing technology is one opportunity for contractors in the construction industry to increase their productivity and streamline operations. Construction project management software is one category of software solution that can be deployed on job sites to manage how work gets done. This article covers some of the top construction checklist apps in the construction industry, with links to examples and templates you can access on the GoCanvas site. We will also share some of the key benefits for using construction checklist apps and the top use cases within the construction industry.

Why Go Digital with Construction Checklist Apps

Historically, companies used paper forms as the primary mode of collecting data, but more firms are beginning to move away from paper-based processes. Companies are now switching to digital apps that can simplify the process for everyone involved and eliminate the headaches of using paper forms. Bringing the process into the digital world is beneficial to organizations in a number of different ways. Here are some of the key benefits:

Improve Workflows Between Field and Office

Construction apps help to streamline work between the field and the office. Eliminating paper forms helps to reduce the time spent on manual and error prone processes that can waste time and decrease productivity for everyone involved. All data can be easily captured using a mobile device or tablet, without requiring an internet connection. Digital construction apps transform how teams work, both in the field and in the office, with a suite of tools designed to improve and manage workflows.

 

Enable Best Practices for Data Management and Analytics

Digital construction apps for contractors help to ensure that data is consistent and accurate every time, with standardized fields for collecting information and best practices for data capture. Businesses also need greater visibility into their operations in real-time. Digital construction apps allow you to track issues in the field and have a quick turnaround time if another action needs to be taken, like scheduling further maintenance or repairs, for example. Construction apps for contractors promote best practices for data capture in the field and allow companies to easily roll up and summarize information for reporting.

Top Use Cases for Construction Checklist Apps

There are many types of construction checklist apps available for job sites today. These can help with safety, quality, project management, and much more. Here are some of the top use cases to consider:

Safety and Risk Management. Checklist apps are useful for converting your paper forms into digital safety programs. Perform inspections, report incidents, assign toolbox talks, perform safety audits, and much more. Digital tools help you to assign and manage your safety programs, helping to formalize these programs and minimize your risk.

Quality Control. Construction checklist apps are widely used to ensure that quality standards are met. Quality control inspection checklists can be utilized during all phases of construction projects, and PDF reports can be generated automatically for key project stakeholders. Managing quality control checklists using construction management software can help your business avoid rework and delays. Construction checklist apps ensure this work is completed and can be monitored using dashboards and analytics.

Equipment Inspections. Routine equipment inspections are another popular use case for checklist app software. Preventative maintenance and equipment inspections can be performed from a mobile device or tablet, bringing this information directly to the cloud. Companies have found that real-time insights into field operations can help them become more proactive and address problems before they lead to larger issues for the project. Construction apps enable data analytics and help to make your data actionable.

Project Management. Checklist apps are commonly used by project managers to ensure that processes are being followed on every job site. Common checklists like pre-project and project close out checklists help to keep work organized and provide a digital way to manage workflows.

10 Examples of Construction Checklist Apps 

There are many types of construction checklist apps available for job sites today. These can help with safety, quality, project management, and much more. We have compiled a list of the top construction checklist apps used in the construction industry. 

GoCanvas provides a central platform to manage all of your job site operations.  Follow the links to access the construction checklist apps on the GoCanvas App Store and sign up for a free trial to see all of our digital checklist apps for contractors.

1. Job Site Safety Inspection Checklist App 

This worker safety app also helps ensure that all construction work employees comply with OSHA standards in order to reduce workplace injuries and increase overall standards for workplace safety.

2. Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Compliance Checklist App

The safety data sheet app enables employers to develop a hazard management program of occupational safety measures, including training, which is specific to the individual workplace, and to consider any measures that may be necessary to protect the health and safety of the work area.

3. Equipment Inspection Checklist App

Construction equipment operators and others who are responsible for preventive maintenance and equipment safety can use the electronic inspection form to perform complete equipment safety reports from anywhere in the field.

4. Personal Protective Equipment Inspection Checklist App

Personal protective equipment must be used and worn in many work situations in order to protect employees from harm and potential hazards. Use this convenient construction checklist to make sure that occupational safety guidelines are being enforced to ensure the safety of your employees.

5. Electrical Safety Inspection Checklist App

The electrical work inspection app for employee safety provides an electronic self-inspection checklist that covers all aspects of electrical installations, including personal protective equipment, circuit breaker safety and electrical cords. 

6. Quality Control Inspection Checklist App

Contractors, subcontractors and construction project managers can use the construction app to complete a new construction quality control inspection. The app inspects the pre-start phase, foundation phase of construction, rough phase, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pre-finish phase, and finish phase.

7. Building Inspection Checklist App

This checklist includes a building inspection checklist and tracks all aspects of a building including exterior, heating systems, electrical systems, housekeeping, fire safety, evacuation plans, and other miscellaneous areas ensuring compliance with building codes.

8. Construction Pre-Estimate Checklist App

This checklist helps track all the necessary steps to complete before submitting new construction estimates. Capture all the details of different construction projects, including listing the preferred vendors, permits required, material prices and more. Use the information to create the final estimated cost for new construction contracts.

9. Project Startup Checklist App

The startup checklist app is a smart alternative to project management software and paper forms at the job site. The construction project plan checklist covers everything from defining the scope of work at the job site, to developing the construction project plan and timeline. Once completed, the general contractor, management and other stakeholders can sign off on the project requirements electronically to ensure that all quality standards are met.

10. Project Closeout Checklist App

This helpful checklist is designed to help construction management teams and independent contractors. Use the construction checklist to make sure that all details are covered when handing off project work for quality assurance purposes, and that requirements from the general contractor and project managers have been met.

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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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Guide to Mobile Inspection Forms for the Trucking Industry

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Guide to Mobile Inspection Forms for the Trucking Industry

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Trucks are the backbone of the global supply chain. According to the American Trucking Association, about 70 percent of all freight and cargo in the United States moves by truck. Without these vehicles, the U.S. economy would grind to a halt within a week. 

However, keeping that workforce moving comes with significant risks. Five million truck drivers share the roads with 250 million motorists — but even though large trucks only represent 2 percent of drivers, they’re involved in 11 percent of all road fatalities.

Passing inspections and complying with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations is key to keeping drivers and motorists safe — and trucks moving and generating revenue.

But that’s often a challenge in and of itself. To pass inspections and meet regulations, carriers and drivers are required to keep a long list of records related to their operations. If, during an inspection or investigation, they can’t produce accurate, up-to-date documentation, carriers and drivers may face fines or have their vehicles taken out of service.  

Using mobile forms can help you maintain and monitor vehicles, repairs, and drivers, and can make it easier for employees to conduct frequent, regular inspections. In this article, we will cover how the information you collect can help you:

  • Keep your Safety Measurement System percentile low
  • Pass roadside inspections and keep trucks generating revenue
  • Understand and manage CSA interventions 

What Carrier Documentation is Required?

Carriers must maintain records including, but not limited to:

  • Accident registers
  • Hazardous materials shipping papers/logs
  • Vehicle maintenance history
  • Annual lists of driver violations
  • Driver’s medical examiner certificates
  • Driver safety performance evaluation certificates
  • Vehicle identifying information: DOT registration, vehicle make, serial number and tire sizes
  • Vehicle inspections: schedule, type and date
  • Pre- and post-trip inspection reports  

How Does Driver Safety Impact Carriers? 

Drivers themselves are not rated, but their inspections, accidents, and violations impact the carriers’ safety measurements.  The data from inspections while a driver works for you remains part of your safety record for two years. Carriers do not inherit any of a new hire’s past violations — only violations received while driving under your authority. 

Why Use an App to Manage Critical Data? 

Pre- and post-trip inspection forms, regular maintenance inspections, and even regular tire inspections are all part of keeping your trucks moving. Logging all of this data onto paper forms means lost paperwork, manually re-entering data, and then storing all of those forms in one of many file cabinets. 

With mobile forms, data entry is more accurate because there is no duplicated data entry, form fields can be required so that nothing gets skipped, and that data is all stored in the cloud, and accessible to you and your drivers anytime and anywhere. And while paper forms get lost or can be destroyed in an accident, data securely archived in the cloud is easily accessed in the case of an accident or legal suit. 

Getting your team to complete regular inspections is key to keeping your vehicles moving. 

Here are some examples of the types of mobile form inspections:

  • Pre-trip inspections. Seven of the top ten CSA violations could be prevented with a thorough pre-trip inspection.
  • Maintenance inspections. Average downtime can cost $100 per hour, so a preventive maintenance system can save money in the long run, help avoid violations, and keep drivers safe.
  • Hazardous materials inspections. A serious violation of hazardous materials transport regulations can cost you more than $77,000.

1. Why Compliance, Safety, and Accountability Matter

 

Keeping Your Vehicles in Check

All vehicles that meet the description of a motor carrier are bound by FMCSA’s regulations, including Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA), FMCSA’s data-driven safety compliance and enforcement program. CSA is designed to improve safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The core element of CSA — the Safety Measurement System (SMS) — measures carriers’ safety performance. Poor safety and compliance can prompt two other elements of the program: interventions and Safety Fitness Determination.

What You Need to Know About CSA’s Ranking Systems 

Identifying Carriers for Interventions 

The FMCSA uses historical data, such as number of crashes or compliance violations, to identify carriers for interventions. Through interventions — which could range from warning letters to investigations — inspectors work with the carriers address those issues. They then use a rating system to designate the safety of motor carriers and remove those unfit to operate on public roads.

Safety Measurement System Percentiles

CSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) assigns carriers a Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentile in seven categories. Carriers are grouped by the number of safety incidents (e.g., crashes or violations) they’ve had in each category, then assigned a percentile. The higher the percentile, the worse the performance. This percentile does not affect the carrier’s safety ranking; it simply prioritizes them for interventions.

Safety Rankings 

Safety rankings may be assigned after an on-site investigation. Carriers can be assigned the ranking satisfactory, conditional, or unsatisfactory. A carrier ranked as unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a CMV in interstate commerce. 

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assigns a BASIC percentile in seven categories: 

  • Unsafe driving
  • Crash indicator
  • Hours-of-service compliance
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • Controlled substances/alcohol compliance
  • Hazardous materials compliance
  • Driver fitness

SMS Prioritization & Public Reporting

Your company’s safety data is publicly available online in FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS). FMCSA updates the SMS once a month with data from roadside inspections, crash reports from the last two years, and investigation results. Some of what the SMS considers includes:

  • Number of safety violations and inspections
  • Number of trucks/buses a carrier operates and number of vehicle miles traveled
  • Severity of safety violations

How Do You Maintain Your Records?

To comply with the FMCSA’s CSA and SMS programs, and keep vehicles moving and companies generating revenue, it’s important for company owners and managers to evaluate the quality of their records and record-keeping systems. Mobile inspections help your crew stay up to date on maintenance, compliance, and keep trucks on the roads instead of out of service. 

Using a mobile app to enter, digitally record, and store data electronically eliminates vulnerabilities common to paper records and expedites the record-keeping process. 

2. Minimizing Roadside Inspection Downtime and Avoiding Fines

FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program is designed to keep the roads safe. 

Part of keeping your company’s CSA ranking as low as possible is making sure that all of your vehicles pass roadside inspections with flying colors.  

How Do You Make Sure Your Drivers and Vehicles Pass Inspection?

Make the pre-trip inspection process quick and painless for your drivers. 

Use mobile apps to check, double check, and document all the basics like lights, mirrors, horns, etc. Remember that passing inspection is specific to the category of what is being transported. Instruct your drivers to pay special attention to their vehicle’s brakes, tires, and cargo security (as these are some of the leading causes of large truck crashes), and use a mobile app to document specific areas (including taking photos) pre-trip. 

Make documents easy to inspect.

Crumpled and incomplete documentation that a driver digs out of a messy glove compartment don’t leave a good impression on an inspector. A mobile inspection form gives your drivers access to inspection documents at their fingertips. If an inspector knows the paperwork is organized, he or she will have a better initial impression of your truck overall.

Cooperate.

This may seem like common sense, but it’s not always common. The more cooperation the officer receives, the smoother things go. An officer doesn’t have to go through with a full inspection just because he or she pulls a driver over, but does have the right to cite the driver, the company, or both, so attitude pays. 

How can mobile inspection checklists make your company more efficient (and successful) when it comes to roadside inspections?  

  • Much faster to complete than traditional paper forms
  • Cloud-based forms are instantly accessible for the inspector, anywhere, anytime 
  • Forms can be created to require drivers to fill in all sections so nothing gets skipped  
  • Fields can be pre-populated with company data for efficiency
  • GPS tracks and confirms where the inspection took place
  • Date and timestamp features keep drivers honest and prevent any backdating 
  • Image captures at point of inspection may be later used to substantiate compliance in the event of a crash or accident

What Does Non-Compliance Cost?

  • Improper or lack of recordkeeping violations can soar up to $14,502 per violation
  • Operating in violation of an out-of-service order carries a fine of $22,587
  • Violation of hazmat material regulations generates fines of no less than $463 but up to $77,114 per violation

Beyond the Fine

Non-compliance hits your bottom line beyond just the fine. Your loss of revenue will vary, but you can estimate it using the following equation:

Travel Speed x Revenue Per Hour x Downtime for Non-Compliance = Total Revenue Lost

So, for example, if your truck travels 50 miles in an hour, and your revenue is $1.75 per hour, you will lose $350 if your truck sits for only four hours. And that doesn’t include repairs on the spot, which are more expensive than if planned in advance. But as violations, roadside inspection violations, and fines are logged, they are added to the FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS).

As your ranking climbs within the SMS system, it is more likely that you will be targeted for intervention by FMCSA, which can affect your insurance and contract rates, and ultimately, your ability to attract new customers.

Worried that roadside inspections will take your vehicles out of service? Here are three of the most critical areas for drivers to be aware of to pass an inspection:

  • Completing a full pre-trip inspection. Besides the basic vehicle inspection, drivers should check any load securement devices if the load falls into any special categories. 
  • Knowing the working load limit. The limit requires that drivers use enough weight-rated tie downs to equal at least half the weight of the load. If they are under the limit, they will be out of service (OOS) until they correct the problem. 
  • Using the 10-foot rule. The general rule is that you need at least one tie down for every 10 feet of what the driver is hauling. The tie downs cannot be more than 10 feet apart. Inspectors will measure. Drivers should carry extra tie downs just in case. 

3. Understanding and Managing CSA Interventions 

FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program uses the Safety Measurement System (SMS) to identify carriers that aren’t complying with safety regulations. When carriers earn high enough rankings, CSA uses intervention tools to step in and assist those owners and drivers — or take more serious action if carriers still fail to improve. 

Interventions fall into three categories:

Early Contact 

These initial actions include warning letters, which notify carriers of their performance issues, and targeted roadside inspections to look further into a carrier’s specific safety concerns. 

Investigation 

Safety inspectors (SIs) conduct investigations on site or off site to identify and address safety compliance issues and help carriers identify ways to improve. 

Follow-On 

Following an investigation, CSA may issue a follow-up action, which could include a cooperative safety plan, a notice of violation or claim, or an operation out of service order (OOSO), which instructs the carrier to immediately cease trucking operations.  

What Triggers an Intervention?

Carriers are selected for interventions based on the following:

  • Number of BASIC percentiles above a certain threshold 
  • A critical or acute violation in the last 12 months 
  • Commodity hauled (e.g., passengers or hazardous materials)
  • Intervention history 
  • Time since last intervention
  • Complaint or fatal crash 

Types of Investigations 

On-Site Investigations  

SIs conduct on-site investigations at the carrier’s place of business, where they can interview employees, perform vehicle inspections, and ask carriers to produce documentation to prove compliance. Using mobile forms, you can produce any requested data on demand, on any device. Relying on paper forms, you’ll likely have to spend time before the inspection planning, collecting information, and making copies.

During an on-site investigation, SIs may choose to conduct vehicle inspections to make sure your fleet meets safety performance and compliance regulations. To assess the extent of any issues, SIs may request documentation including roadside inspection reports, vehicle maintenance files, annual vehicle inspection reports, equipment repair receipts, and accident reports.  

Off-Site Investigations 

SIs can also request copies of carriers’ documents to review remotely as an off-site investigation. The SIs use these documents to identify safety performance and compliance problems.

What Happens When There’s a Crash? 

A trucking accident can be costly to a company in a range of obvious ways — such as loss of cargo or vehicle damage. But an accident can be the cause of many indirect costs as well, including lost customers, lost sales, and poor public relations. Crashes also impact carriers’ percentile ranking in CSA’s Safety Measurement System, which can increase the likelihood of an intervention or investigation. 

 And that introduces another potential cost: If carriers can’t produce copies of roadside inspections or repairs records when the accident is investigated, they may face steep non-compliance penalties, civil penalties, and even criminal charges.

Armed with mobile apps, drivers can immediately access inspections records and forms at any time, from any location. In addition, when carriers keep accurate and updated information, they’re better equipped to make sure each truck has been inspected and is in working order — which can help prevent accidents in the first place.   

Do you know how to handle an intervention?   

If you receive an initial warning letter, what should be your next step? Here are three things to consider:

Should you respond to the letter?

Actually, no response is necessary. FMCSA will continue to monitor your performance — it’s your job to immediately take steps to improve your safety performance so no further intervention is necessary. 

Should you prepare for an investigation?

A warning letter is just that — a warning. It does not indicate that FMCSA will conduct an investigation. However, if your safety performance and compliance don’t improve, FMCSA may decide to conduct additional interventions, which could include an investigation.

Take steps to improve your safety 

Now that you have received a warning, it’s up to you to improve your safety performance and compliance, and regularly monitor your SMS data to make sure you don’t put your company at risk for additional interventions. 

Using Mobile Inspection Data to Grow Your Business

Operating trucks of any size is essential for many businesses. Keeping them (and their drivers) on the road has a profound impact on profitability, so maintaining those vehicles is key. It directly affects your ability to compete and win new work in the market.  

Mobile apps can not only help you manage everything from preventive maintenance to daily and weekly inspections — they can also give you valuable insight into your data, which can help you find more business efficiencies and generate more revenue. 

  • Which drivers are most profitable?
  • Which ones routinely “forget” to do pre-trip inspections?
  • Which vehicles break down the most and at what time of year?
  • What are the most common problem areas found during inspections?

With GoCanvas apps, drivers can perform critical inspections for maintenance, pre- and post-trip, with ease. And you have the peace of mind that data is always available to access to keep your vehicles on the road generating revenue and your employees safe. 

The right tools can not only help you stay compliant, but also competitive. Compliance gets easier and vehicles stay on the road when inspections are completed on mobile apps. Key features of GoCanvas include:

  • Photos with inspections. Mobile apps allow the user to photograph wear, tear, and damage during a maintenance inspection.
  • GPS tracking. Knowing where an inspection took place helps you keep tabs on both your equipment and your employees.
  • Required fields. Requiring certain fields to be filled in ensures that all critical information is filled out on maintenance or pre-trip inspections. Data is more accurate, your company is more compliant, and your equipment keeps running.

Want to get started with inspections using mobile forms and apps? Sign up today for a free trial of GoCanvas or contact our team to learn more.

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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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Are You Overpaying for Overtime?

Are You Overpaying for Overtime?

Whether a federal law is forcing you into it or not, getting on top of more accurate time tracking is good for your company. Paper time-tracking processes are still prevalent in many businesses, and studies show that employees don’t like or trust those systems. Learn what steps you can take to improve how employees feel about overtime pay, better account for overtime hours, and boost the bottom line.

Here’s what you will learn in this eBook:

  • How your business can benefit from switching from paper to digital and mobile apps for time tracking.
  • What employees say about digital and mobile time tracking.
  • How you can use the data you collect for decision-making, planning, and more.

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Best Apps for Painting Contractors

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Best Apps for Painting Contractors

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Contractors are leveraging digital technologies to improve their workflows both in the office and in the field. For painting contractors,  mobile apps and forms can be used to improve how information is collected, shared, and stored. Going digital provides an opportunity for painting contractors to improve the customer experience and streamline their operations. Continue reading this article for examples of the top apps used by painting contractors to improve workflows between the field and office.

Is there an app for painting contractors?

There are many types of apps that painting contractors can use on their mobile devices. Many painting contractors are leveraging a platform for mobile forms and apps to better manage all of their data collection needs in the field. 

For example, GoCanvas is a mobile data platform that is used by thousands of companies to create customizable apps for the field. Most contractors will start with a pre-built template for their industry and customize the app based on their specific business needs. This type of software tool is beneficial for contractors because it gives them the ability to create many different types of apps for the different jobs and tasks that need to be completed on a job site.

A common scenario for many contractors is the process of working with a client on a painting job. Typically in this process you would have an estimate or quote go out to the customer, a work order that gets initiated when work is approved, and an invoice that gets generated once work is completed. All of the steps in this scenario can be done on mobile apps, rather than paper work that can be lost or contain errors. 

How Digital Apps Work for Contractors

Digital apps are designed to digitize your information and eliminate paper sheets from the daily workflow of contractors and business owners. All of the paper forms your business uses today can be transformed into digital and mobile forms that can be completed from anywhere and stored securely in the cloud. Here’s how apps for contractors work:

Digitize Your Paper Forms. The first step is to digitize your paper forms. Most contractors start with one use case like paper work orders, inspections, or estimates. Once you start digitizing your paper forms, it’s easy to see how going digital can save your business time and money. Using the GoCanvas form builder, you can start with a template or build your digital app from scratch.

Dispatch and Collect Information. Apps for contractors will also allow you to assign tasks and dispatch work to employees in the field. Since the information is collected in a standard way, you ensure that information collected is consistent and accurate every time. Data can be collected from the field on a mobile device or tablet, and no internet connection is required.

Report on Your Data. Once data is captured from the field, it’s instantly available in the cloud. This helps you share reports, create dashboards and analytics, and send information via email as PDF documents. Having information digitized in real-time allows your business to move faster and helps to automate your business processes and eliminate manual work.

Top 5 Apps for Painting Contractors – Examples and Templates

Looking for a specific app to help streamline your business? Here are some examples and templates used by painting contractors to automate how work gets done.

1. Painting Estimate with Quick Checklist Mobile App

The Painting Estimate app with Quick Checklist provides a simple way to total up the estimated cost for customer invoices before and after an interior or exterior painting job has been completed. Painting companies can customize the estimate template form to include the square footage of the areas to be painted, a list of services to be performed by the painting contractors, estimated gallons of paint to be used, specialty materials needed, labor and other details for the customer. The business can also add more specific details about the job as needed, including paint colors to be used and the number of coats to be applied.

2. Painting Work Order Invoice with Dispatch Mobile App

The Painting Work Order Invoice with Dispatch mobile app is an easy to use tool for painting contractors and professional painting services. Track all customer details, capture basic painting services details, terms of service and calculate the final costs with the easy to use the work order form designed just for you. Additionally, the application also features Dispatch functionality, making it possible for scheduling managers to assign different jobs in the painting business to the right employee while in the field.

3. Painting Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Report Mobile App

The Painting Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) app provides a simple way for painting contractors and project managers to evaluate test methods, surface preparation, product application and other applicable project procedures.The visual inspection and evaluation of procedures helps ensure that painters deliver work that meets all project standards, and that the objectives and quality assurance guidelines are followed throughout the painting process. 

4. Room Measurement Calculator with Dispatch Mobile App

This Room Measurement Calculator with Dispatch Mobile App replaces the manual process of measuring rooms by hand and provides a wide variety of helpful features. The room measurements form app is perfect for painting companies who need accurate measurements about floor plans. Instead of using graph paper or a computer to chart out room measurements and add notes, the room measurement calculator app does it for you. 

5. Painting Time and Material Form Mobile App

The Painting Time and Material Form is an invoice template app (also exports as a pdf doc) which allows for any painting company or independent contractors to invoice a client for painting jobs completed.This service invoice form can be used by any painting firm that offer services that need to create an invoice (electronically or as a pdf doc) for customers or for billing clients for painting jobs. The form then has a final total painting price for all the services performed on the project, as well as signature fields for who prepared the final invoice, and who accepts it from the client. 

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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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Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

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Going Digital With Home Inspection Checklists

Inspection companies are moving toward digital apps rather than using traditional paper forms. By going digital, inspections can be completed from a mobile device or tablet, so information is instantly available in a PDF report. For home inspections, going digital allows you to have all of the necessary forms available within an app for inspectors to use from anywhere. These can be run without an internet connection, giving your business the ability to digitize information from remote locations. Here are some of the main benefits of going digital:

Eliminate paper forms and errors

Paper forms are notorious for becoming lost or misplaced over time. This can cause issues for a business when information is unavailable and it can create rework to fix the problems. Handwritten paper work is also known to contain mispellings, have incomplete sections, or other types of data entry mistakes. While paper work can be difficult to manage, digitizing this information solves many of these problems. Data becomes standardized, accurate, complete, and easy to access from the cloud.

Generate reports in real-time and reduce manual work

One common challenge with paper forms for inspections is the process of taking the paper work and turning it into the final report to share with clients and stakeholders. This process can be manual and time-consuming, requiring employees to dedicate their time on work that can be automated. Going digital with inspection apps allows you to generate the reports in near real-time. Share PDF reports instantly with clients and cut down on the time it takes to complete the reporting process.

Central system for data capture and sharing

Having a centralized system for capturing, storing, and managing your data is a key benefit of going digital with home inspection checklists. You can manage all of your core business documentation from a single platform for field operations. Continue reading this article for examples of specific home inspection checklists using the GoCanvas platform for mobile forms and apps. You can follow the links to view the checklists and sign up for a free trial to see the inspection checklist templates in our PDF designer. GoCanvas has thousands of pre-built templates for all different inspection types and you can easily customize the forms to fit your unique business needs.

10 Best Home Inspection Checklists – Examples and Templates

1. Home Inspection Checklist

This app is designed as a comprehensive tool for inspection companies to use when performing home inspections during real estate transactions. Each checklist can be quickly and easily accessed from a smartphone or tablet for follow-up, or can be generated into a PDF inspection report and submitted to real estate agents, the homeowner, or other appropriate parties. 

2. Residential Electrical Inspection Checklist

This mobile app replaces paper inspection forms that are used to inspect areas of electrical installations prior to installing insulation, sheet rock, paneling and other materials that cover wiring. The perfect tool for electrical inspectors, building code enforcement teams and others who deal with electrical safety and electrical wiring at job sites, this electrical inspection form is easily accessible from any smartphone or tablet and can be customized to meet different building codes and electrical safety regulations.

3. New Home Water Inspection Checklist

Contractors and housing developers can use the new home water inspection app to ensure that a new home has been constructed to meet water conservation standards and regulations. Using a mobile app allows you to automatically generate PDF reports for clients and streamline the inspection process.

4. Home Energy Audit

With the energy usage app, inspectors can perform energy audits quickly and easily right from their smartphone or tablet, making it easy to recommend cost effective energy conservation solutions. The comprehensive energy usage audit app covers a variety of audit data items that can affect energy consumption in the home, including the water heater, insulation type, number of windows and doors and number of floors. 

5. Home Sewer Inspection Checklist

The Home Sewer Inspection Checklist is designed for plumbers, inspectors, and the Do It Yourself (DIY) individual who want to inspect their home sewer. This app includes inspection criteria as well as possible recommendation bases in the findings.

6. Mold Inspection Checklist

The mold inspection app covers indoor mold growth testing, monitoring indoor air quality, checking for excess moisture and water damage and signs of existing indoor mold spores and more. Once the professional mold inspection has been completed, the mold inspector can save the results electronically for their records.

7. Radon Mitigation System Inspection Report

The Radon Mitigation System Inspection Report mobile app is used for performing detailed examinations for inspection reports. The app is designed to be used by inspectors as a reference when conducting an assessment on a radon mitigation system.

8. Residential Swimming Pool Inspection Report

Use this pool report to inspect the area for swimming pool safety hazard issues, safety certificates, diving board depth, pool safety barriers, storage of pool equipment, drain covers, leak detection, lighting system, and electrical equipment. The pool inspector can add notes about the pool structure, water chemistry, equipment and other notes as needed.

9. Fireplace and Chimney Inspection Report

Using this checklist helps ensure that all areas of the chimney are in good repair and that the fireplace and chimney inspection checklist identifies any defects that need repair. If you provide fireplace inspections, professional chimney sweeping services, chimney cleaning, chimney restoration, chimney flue inspection services, chimney repair, or a variety of other chimney services, then this chimney inspection form is the app for you. 

10. Wood Destroying Insect Inspection

The Wood Destroying Insect Inspection mobile app was designed for pest control company inspections. The app can be used for all types of wood destroying insects, including carpenter ants, termites, carpenter bees and beetles. Once completed, the pest control company can save the results for their records.

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight on their business operations. GoCanvas can be easily customized by any type of business to empower their workforce, unleashing the value in data across the organization to help them connect better with colleagues and engage more effectively with customers.

GoCanvas is trusted by thousands of organizations throughout 70 countries, automating millions of workplace activities, making it one of the fastest growing mobile platforms in the world.

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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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What is the best app for construction daily reports?

Posted on by Danny Kanev

What is the best app for construction daily reports?

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Construction daily reports serve to keep all project stakeholders updated on the progress of construction work. In the digital era, construction sites have embraced more mobile and digital technologies to capture important information from the field. Construction project management apps are now available for project and site managers to record updates using a mobile device or tablet. By instantly bringing information to the cloud, project stakeholders can easily access updates in real-time.

The best construction daily report apps will enable your job site to easily collect data, share reports, and improve data accuracy and quality. Construction daily report apps should also be connected with other forms and reports produced on a job site, like inspections, timecards, and safety. Having a comprehensive solution for managing data on a construction site can help to increase productivity and streamline your operations. Continue reading this article to learn more about GoCanvas for construction daily reports and related construction job site management apps.

Construction Daily Report Software – What You Should Know 

What makes a best-in-class platform for construction management software? Here are some key considerations when selecting technology for daily reports. 

Ease-of-use

Construction daily reports should be easy for employees in the field to complete. Likewise, it should be easy to assign work and manage workflows from the office. Having an easy-to-use platform for construction job site management will help to improve productivity and eliminate manual processes. In the field, employees will want the ability to easily complete forms on a mobile tablet and have the ability to access relevant information, all in one spot. In the office, construction management software will help managers to assign and view the status of work, with reporting and analytics on key trends from job sites. Prioritize solutions that are easy to use for your staff and this will help to increase their adoption of the new technologies.

Customization

Every company has different ways of working and software should be easily customized to fit your unique job site needs. When thinking about digital forms, the platform should allow you to customize how data is collected from the field. Best-in-class software for construction daily reports will allow you to build custom forms to ensure your data is consistent, accurate, and completed on time. All of this can be done without needing to invest heavily in additional IT resources or time. Construction daily report software should be easy to customize by any end user of the software, giving you the ability to make changes quickly and see a fast time to value.

Comprehensive Solution for the Field

Most software tools today that help with construction daily reports are offered as part of a larger ecosystem of apps and solutions for the field. While you may want to start out with a pilot project to get started, consider how the construction management software can help you expand into other use cases. For example, you may start with construction daily reports, but later decide to roll out other construction apps for safety, inspections, and other operational tasks. Additionally, you may need to integrate data collected from the field with other data and systems that your business uses today. A comprehensive solution for the field is essential, so you can integrate your data systems and create a suite of tailored field solutions based on your business needs. 

How GoCanvas Works

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight on their business operations. Construction firms rely on GoCanvas to digitize their work orders, inspections, construction daily reports, safety programs, and more. Get started for free with our construction daily report template or contact our team to learn more.

Construction Daily Report Example and Template

The Construction Daily Field Report app provides a customizable daily report template that is accessible from anywhere in the field. This daily report template allows the project engineer and subcontractors to track all activities at the work site, including the job site report from the foremen, change orders and work orders, site accidents or delays, equipment status, time cards for team members and more. This construction daily report template can be modified to meet the needs of your team members and for different types of construction work.

With the construction daily report app, users can check daily time cards, track project status and more, all from the daily log app. Accessible from any mobile device, you can use the app from any job site and make changes to the template to meet your reporting needs. Once the daily log form is completed, team members can sign off on the information and save it for their records.

As a contractor, use this daily field report template to track progress and work performed on site location. Document and record essential activity data and hours worked through this log form in real time, reducing paperwork and cost.

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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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Top 4 Workplace Safety Apps

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Top 4 Workplace Safety Apps

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There are many great reasons to invest in workplace safety apps. Digital technology for safety can help modernize your operations and provide greater insight into safety issues and patterns. 

A digital workplace safety management program will lead to better overall outcomes for your business. Apps help to keep workers safe and productive, ultimately lowering risk for your business and ensuring safety compliance. This article highlights the top workplace safety apps to roll out in your workplace.

#1. Covid Safety Apps

Employee health screening apps have become standard for businesses during the pandemic. This category of safety apps has been particularly useful in industries like retail, construction, manufacturing, and similar types of businesses that have needed to operate in-person.

The purpose of the technology is simple. It helps to screen employees daily to record their temperature, symptoms, and potential exposure to the virus. 

Key features include:

  • Alerts based on thresholds like high temperatures or symptoms
  • Photo capture (or manual entry) for thermometer readings
  • Required signatures
  • GPS location capture
  • Symptom tracker
  • Secure cloud storage
  • Online and offline data collection
  • Pre-populated info like employee names and badge numbers
  • Screening dashboard showing near real-time results
  • Employee health screening advice and resources
  • Vaccination Log
  • HIPPA Compliant to protect sensitive information

When workers are exposed to coronavirus, it can create delays and cause downtime or lost productivity. Minimize these risks by deploying simple health screening apps that can protect your business and your customers. With real-time reporting, you can hear about potential risks as soon as they are reported to minimize further exposure.

You can learn more about employee health screening apps by following this link.

 

#2. Safety Meetings Apps

Safety culture is a top priority for the construction industry and field crews. This category of safety apps is designed to digitize safety meeting content, so employees can watch videos and complete forms on their mobile devices.

Safety meetings, sometimes referred to as toolbox talks, can cover a wide range of topics. Apps can be used to formalize these programs and measure employee engagement with the meetings.

Key features include:

  • Workflow tools to manage and assign meetings
  • Toolbox talks available to complete from any mobile device
  • Digital signatures to record compliance
  • Real-time reporting on safety meeting attendance across job sites
  • Alerts to identify non-compliance
  • Program results stored in the cloud
  • Online or offline capabilities
  • Pre-built templates with hundreds of existing toolbox talks to choose from

When toolbox talks are run using a safety meeting app, it gives your employees an easy way to access critical safety information. Since safety meeting apps are digital, it gives your business an easy way to track and report on safety program data like meeting attendance and incidents. 

You can learn more about safety meeting apps by following this link.

#3. Incident/Accident Apps

Incident and accident reporting is a requirement set by OSHA. Safety apps can be used on job sites to provide the required forms to complete in case of an accident or near miss. By going digital with these forms, it ensures proper reporting procedures are followed and apps provide an instant way of reporting accidents through the proper channels.

Key features include:

  • Customizable mobile forms 
  • Required form fields to ensure data accuracy
  • Easily capture images, GPS stamps, and sketches of the actual site of the accident
  • Central cloud-based system for reporting and documentation
  • Access and share PDF files via email to stakeholders
  • Dashboards and reporting to analyze safety incidents across job sites
  • Pre-built templates for OSHA forms 300, 300A, 301, and more
  • HIPPA Compliant to protect sensitive information

Going digital with incident and accident reporting is a great alternative to using pen and paper. While paper forms can be easily lost or misplaced, digital apps and forms ensure that data is never lost and is shared in real-time with anyone that needs it.

Learn more about Incident and Accident Reporting apps by following this link.

#4. Safety Inspection Apps

Routine safety inspections are designed to audit and assess job sites. Safety apps can be used for safety inspections, using digital checklists and mobile forms. This type of app helps to streamline workflows by managing and assigning safety inspections in the field. Some common safety inspection apps include job safety analysis, PPE checklists, equipment inspections and more.

Key features include:

  • Easy-to-use digital checklists and image capture
  • Barcode scanning for equipment 
  • Digital signatures and GPS tracking to ensure locations
  • Dynamic form fields for faster data collection 
  • Data integrations to pre-populate any known fields
  • Pre-built and customizable templates based on use case

Using apps for safety inspections is a time-saver for inspectors in the field, making it faster to complete forms and eliminating the need to deal with manual-processes with paperwork. Apps also help operations teams to manage and assign work in the field, with instant reporting back to the office once work has been performed. 

Learn more about all of the types of safety inspection apps by following this link.

Software and Forms with GoCanvas for Construction

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight into their business. Construction firms rely on GoCanvas to increase productivity, promote workplace safety, and create a competitive advantage. You can learn more about all of our safety management software solutions and forms here on our website.

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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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How Safety Meeting Apps Can Help Lower Costs

Posted on by Danny Kanev

How Safety Meeting Apps Can Help Lower Costs

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Digital apps for construction safety can help your employees access toolbox talks on their mobile devices and tablets. Many companies have found that regular toolbox talks can help to decrease the number of accidents on site, when employees are more informed about potential safety risks. Investing in apps for construction safety is good for your employees well being and it can help to lower costs for a business in the long run. This article covers an introduction to how safety apps can help you keep down costs and avoid accidents.

Understanding EMR

The construction and manufacturing industries have some of the highest workers’ compensation costs, according to statistics from the Department of Labor. Employers in construction and a few related industries spend about $1 per hour per employee on workers’ comp, compared to the national average of $.45 per hour per employee for all other industries. 

How are workers’ comp premiums determined?

Workers’ comp premiums are determined by multiplying a rate set based on the class of employee (there are thousands of class codes, for everything from “construction of dwellings not over two stories in height” to “installation of air conditioning systems”) by an experience modification rating (EMR). The EMR adjusts premiums based on your previous three years of injury records.

A small improvement in your EMR — even just a .1 decrease — can translate into a 10-20% reduction in insurance premiums. 

What’s Average for EMR? 

The industry standard EMR is 1; a company with a better-than-average safety record will have an EMR of .9 or .8, which means their premiums will be 10-20 percent lower than the “average” company. A company with a worse-than-average safety record could have an EMR of 1.2 or higher, leading to higher premiums.

Sometimes the number of accidents is more important than how serious they are, for calculating EMR. This can be frustrating — why should your premiums rise based on a bunch of insignificant slip-ups? — but it also means it’s easy to lower your EMR by instituting a good safety program that can reduce those minor mistakes.

Keeping Your Accident Rate Down

Having a low EMR doesn’t just save you money, it also can make you more money by making your bids more competitive. One insurance broker lists five things you can do to keep your accident rate down:

  1.     Implement a formal written safety procedures manual.
  2.     Hold regular “toolbox talks” about different workplace safety topics.
  3.     Train employees how to use available safety equipment properly.
  4.     Reward employees for demonstrating safe workplace habits.
  5.     Apply for and achieve a Drug Free Workplace Certificate.

Why Go Digital with Safety Apps?

Mobile forms let you immediately track and document which employees attended each talk, with date, time, signature, and GPS stamps. Mobile forms are also stored in the cloud and can be searched and printed instantly if an OSHA inspector shows up (read: no more sifting through file cabinets to find documents). And mobile safety checklists (we have hundreds of pre-made templates for contractors and manufacturers that can be customized for your business) give employees a memory aid to follow those safety procedures you stressed in your talk.

Key Stats to Keep in Mind:

  • Total Injury-Related Costs. OSHA reports that companies around the U.S. spend $170 billion each year on work-related injuries and illnesses. 
  • Safety Programs Pay. Implementing a safety program can reduce injury and illness costs by 20-40%.
  • Delayed Injury Reporting. A study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. showed that delayed injury reporting can increase comp claim costs up to 51%.

See How Mobile Safety Apps Work

Mobile apps can make your safety program more effective by helping you deliver toolbox talks effectively (anywhere and at a moment’s notice) and document who was there with a signature, date, time, and GPS stamp (to prove frequency and jobsite location). GoCanvas offers mobile templates for several popular toolbox talk topics, or you can easily create your own. 

Sign up today for a 30-day free trial of GoCanvas or contact our team to learn more. 

The Takeaway: Investing in Safety Programs Benefits Your Business

Having robust safety programs can benefit your business in a number of ways. While there is an upfront investment for these programs, the long term benefits will make your employees safer and more productive on the job. Here are three key takeaways on the benefits of safety programs:

Workers’ Compensation Premiums

Creating a culture of safety can improve your EMR, which can lead to lowered workers’ compensation premiums.  

Legal Costs Due to Employee Injuries

Employees who are more knowledgeable about safety requirements are less likely to get hurt — which makes you less likely to get sued.  

OSHA Fines Due to Safety Violations

By continually teaching your employees about safety requirements, you can avoid costly OSHA violations.

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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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We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Timesheet Forms: Why Going Digital is Better than Paper

Posted on by Danny Kanev

Timesheet Forms: Why Going Digital is Better than Paper

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Timesheet forms are commonly built out using simple tools like Microsoft Word or PDF files that are printed out on paper for employees to record their hours worked. While this may seem like a simple solution for timekeeping, there are several key drawbacks that make paper timesheet forms less desirable for business operations. Continue reading for the top reasons to digitize your timesheet forms, rather than using paper time cards and sheets in Microsoft Word Documents or PDF files. 

Why Going Digital is Better than Paper

Digital timesheet forms can be used as an alternative to paper forms and provide an option for employees to fill them out on a mobile device, PC, or tablet from anywhere with no internet connection required. Keep reading to learn the key difference between paper and digital forms for timesheet cards.

Paper timesheet forms can be error prone

Timesheet forms using paper are known to be error prone. A common scenario is for employees to fill out their hours on a paper form, but then an error is discovered later by an office manager or administrator. In the worst case scenario, errors can lead to improper payments to employees or incorrect billing amounts to clients. Even if errors are identified early on, the best case scenario is that employees have to track down employees and spend the extra time and effort to correct these mistakes. In either case, errors can be costly for productivity and can lead to accounting mistakes that you do not want to happen as a business owner or manager. 

What causes errors to happen on timesheet forms?

There are many things that can go wrong with a timesheet form that is filled out by hand using paper. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by employees:

  • Calculation errors. Mistakes that happen when math is incorrect or numbers are filled out incorrectly.
  • Missing or incorrect fields. Many times employers need to require information in a timecard, like category of work performed or client to bill. If information is missing or incorrect, it creates additional work to track down and correct.
  • Buddy punching. While most mistakes on timesheets are purely accidental, buddy punching is a form of misleading hours worked. This most often happens when employees clock in or out early to cover for fellow team members, creating errors in the true number of hours worked.
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How do digital timesheet forms reduce errors?

No matter the cause of errors on timesheets, it’s important to limit these issues to ensure that proper data is being used for accounting purposes. Here is how digital timesheets help to ensure errors are avoided:

  • Automatic calculations. With digital timesheet forms, the software system is able to handle automatic calculations that ensure hours worked and labor rates are calculated correctly every time.
  • Standardized fields. With digital time card forms, data is collected in a standardized way to ensure that fields are correctly filled out by employees. Drop down lists, required fields, and other features allow you to control what data is collected and ensure accurate timesheets the first time.
  • Unique login and digital signatures. With a unique login to digital timesheets, you ensure that employees are clocking in their time accurately and signing off with their own digital signature to send for manager approval. Some timecards can even use GPS tracking on the mobile device for an added measure that work has been performed on site for a set number of hours and logged digitally using GPS.

At the end of the day, technology provides many benefits for employers and timesheets performed digitally are less error-prone compared to paper forms for time cards.

Paper timesheet forms can get lost over time

It’s very difficult to keep track of paperwork over time. It’s common for paperwork to be lost entirely or misplaced by staff. Even if paperwork isn’t lost, it can become an added cost to store in filing cabinets, on top of the direct cost of printing the paper in the first place. Although paperwork seems to be a low cost solution, the hidden costs over time can be quite high for a business. Lost paper timesheet forms can be a headache to manage, whereas digital forms simplify the process and bring information automatically to the cloud.

Here’s how digital timesheet forms ensure information is never lost:

  • Cloud storage. Digital timesheets are automatically saved to the cloud, meaning your employees can input hours from a mobile app and have it available in real-time to the cloud.
  • No internet connection required. Many businesses today that have contract or hourly workers are doing jobs out in the field or in remote locations. Digital forms do not require an internet connection, allowing employees to input their data into the app and have it sync whenever they are back on WiFi or cell service becomes available.
  • Automated data sharing. Data can be synced with other apps your business uses like Dropbox, Google Drive, Quickbooks, and much more. This ensures data is accessible in all of the tools you already use today and automatically synced to reduce manual work.

Paper timesheet forms create manual work, whether that happens because of an error or due to manual data entry that is required to get accounting or billing processed. Going digital helps to streamline the timesheet process, both for employees and operation teams. Contact the GoCanvas team to learn more about digital timesheet forms or sign up for a free trial to see how easy it is to digitize your forms.

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