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.

There are many software solutions available to help your business create forms. Forms are used to capture data for a specific business purpose. Deciding on the best software for your business will require you to examine what features and functionality you need to accomplish your desired outcome. Software for creating forms should be both simple and powerful enough to help you capture all types of information needed. This article covers some of the top considerations when selecting the best software to create forms for your business.

4 Data Considerations When Creating Forms for Business

The basic purpose of creating forms is to collect data. When deciding on a platform for creating forms, consider how data is captured, stored, and made available for reporting. 

#1. Data Capture

All form builders are designed to capture data. But there are some important distinctions to make and not all form builders are created equal.

Understand how data is captured from users. You will want to determine how you need to collect data from your employees, customers, or partners. For example, if your teams largely operate in the field, having mobile forms will be required to capture data from a tablet or phone. You may also want the ability to collect data offline when in remote locations and have it sync to the cloud when WiFi becomes available. Knowing how you plan to collect data will help you determine what software solutions and features are needed to support your use case.

Consider what types of form fields are needed. You will want to understand the types of fields that can be used when creating forms. For example, some software solutions will allow you to build custom form fields like:

• Image capture for users to upload a photo
• GPS capture to log the location of the submission
• Signatures to document agreements and records
• Calculations for automatically performing math based on form fields
• Barcode scanning for equipment or inventory
• Drop down and multiple choice fields
• Required fields to ensure accurate data collection

Balance ease-of-use and customization. Most businesses need forms to be customizable, yet easy to use. Some of the basic form solutions are easy enough to use, but fall short when it comes to making customizations to the forms. Best-in-class solutions today are designed with a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to quickly and easily develop mobile forms for data capture. Having the ability to make customizations (without requiring help from developers) empowers your team to move faster.

#2. Data Integration

It’s important to understand how your business needs to use the data once it’s captured in the forms. For example, you may want need to integrate with:

• Cloud storage and databases
• Accounting systems to process payroll
• Finance systems to process billing
• CRM systems to access customer data
• Other similar types of cloud-based systems

Syncing data between systems can improve data quality, reduce manual work, and enable data insights. As you evaluate technology, make sure to inquire about the types of integrations available. Some will be simple data connectors, while others may require a webservices API to connect your data. 

While there may be some upfront work involved to get your data integrated, there can be significant time savings in the future achieved through a connected data ecosystem.

#3. Data Analytics

Data analytics provide a way for your company to look for business trends and patterns. Identifying trends allows your business to take the appropriate next step and address any concerns or opportunities.

Capturing data through forms should enable and promote data analytics. This allows business leaders to dig into the data to better understand project performance, financials, and opportunities to drive business growth. 

Best-in-class form builders should allow you to both capture data and use that information for analytics and reporting. Make sure to understand how data captured can be used for analytics, so you can take advantage of the opportunity to leverage data to inform business decisions.

#4. Data Processing

It goes without saying that apps and software should have the highest level of security and data privacy. The technology should be secure and enable compliance with any applicable regulations. 

For example, your business may need to be HIPPA compliant if you are processing medical information. Or maybe you may need to be GDPR compliant if you are processing and storing customer data. Best-in-class solutions will have the highest level of security and compliance, helping to ensure that your organization is following best practices for data security. 

The best software for your business will prioritize the data needs of your organization. This will ensure that you capture accurate information, integrate data into your processes, and share data to any one that needs it.

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for any business to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on all smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others and gain real-time insights on their business operations.