Many companies, whether they have gone paperless or not, struggle when it comes to processes that require the review and signature of multiple people within the organization. Often this, the collection of signatures, can be the most frustrating and time-consuming part of any data collection process. You are often forced to wait around until someone shows up with the forms for you to sign, or you have to become a detective and attempt to track down the last known whereabouts of the paperwork you need in order to get something processed. It can take a real toll on productivity.
Workflow was created to eliminate the need for the manual transportation of data.
Typical examples of forms that are involved in this type of approval process include Change Orders, Time cards, Safety Inspections, Expense Reports and more.
Industries that paper-based workflow procedures are most commonly found in today include:
Essentially Workflow allows you to create a step by step procedure of how a form should be filled out, completed, and submitted using a mobile device.
The online “Workflow Manager” allows you to setup how each part of the mobile form should be filled out and who should receive each section of the form for review. This creation process ensures that when a form is being filled out on a project site that it will be reviewed and completed the proper way every single time.
It works as simple as a technician opening a GoCanvas mobile form on their smartphone and filling it out. Once the technician reaches the pre-determined end of that section, they will be notified that the data is being transferred to their supervisors’ device for review.
In real-time, the supervisor will get a push notification (similar to a text message) alerting them that they have a GoCanvas report to review. When they open it, they will be able to review all the past data and even add comments or reject it if they deem necessary. Once finished, the supervisor can submit the final report to the main office or transfer it to the next supervisor(depending on how the Workflow was created).
Why You Will Benefit
You will notice the impact on your business almost immediately. Instant benefits include:
Ability to review, sign, and submit reports in real-time
Recover 100’s of hours spent tracking down employees or reports
Eliminate the need for annoying texts, calls, or email reminders
Share photos, signatures, GPS coordinates and more directly from one device to another
Workflow gives your company a structured way to communicate data from the field to the proper supervisors in real-time. No more delays due to travel or human error. Get all the data that you need, when you need it.
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
Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program
Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.
Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.
When it comes to the Field Service industry, time means everything. Many companies charge customers a flat rate fee instead of an hourly rate, so it’s in the best interest of the service technician to complete as many jobs per day as possible.
So how do mobile forms come into play? Efficiency!
Using mobile forms instead of paper has proven to be a faster way to collect, share, and learn from your data in real-time. GoCanvas has an app store of over 20,000 mobile form templates from various industries.
So the only question is, which forms should you get started with first?
The Top 4 Mobile Forms for Field Service Technicians
#1. Field Service Report– This form is key to getting any job done, no matter what service you are performing. With this mobile report, you have the ability to capture key data points like Time on Site, Project Images, Customer Requirements, Project Costs, and more. The best part is that you can create tasks to be assigned to technicians that are already out in the field by using GoCanvas Dispatch. The technician simply has to open up the Field Service Report on their mobile device, read the assigned dispatch, and complete the rest of the report when they arrive on the job site.
#2. Invoice – A crucial part of any business is getting paid. But most companies still struggle with collecting payment in a timely manner. That is why the mobile Invoice form is critical for those who struggle with this issue, and for those who no longer want to wait days or weeks to get jobs processed. Another feature is the ability to collect payment instantly using our integration with Square! You can have your data flow from GoCanvas directly into your existing invoice software including Quickbooks.
#3. Change Order Form – The ability to make quick changes on a job site is key. With the mobile Change Order Form and our calculation functionality, you can quickly display the costs of the proposed change to the customer and get their digital signature in seconds. A copy of the form will be sent to the customer, the back office, and to the parts supplier for immediate delivery.
#4. Daily Time Sheet – The hardest thing for any company to accurately capture is an employee’s work hours. The problem is that this data is usually captured on a weekly basis but rarely turned in on time. If this data isn’t turned in on time, then no one gets paid. With the mobile Daily Time Sheet form, an employee can simply input their hours each day and submit it to the office. At the end of the pay period, the office accountant can simply export every employee’s work hours into an Excel spreadsheet. We can even help you create an automated dashboard or report that neatly organizes and totals up each employee’s weekly hours for you!
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.
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Plumbers and electricians are not just the men and women you call when you have an issue in your home, they are the same people who get contracted on commercial construction projects in cities and suburbs all across the world.
For these larger projects that involve permits, zoning, and large contracts it’s essential that data be properly collected and stored for documentation.
Over the years as technology has progressed, so has the complexity and speed of these construction projects. Yet, when we look at how companies process, share and analyze their data on these job sites we find that they are still using the same methods from almost a half-century ago. They are still stuck using paper!
What Paper is Actually Costing You
It might seem obvious, and something you have heard a MILLION times, but using paper is negatively impacting your company’s overall efficiency.
What does this mean? Take a look at some of these figures and facts:
1.) The average company spends $80 per employee annually and loses 2 hours per day just on paperwork
2.) TechRadar reports that up to 70% of business would fail within 3 weeks if their paper records were destroyed in a fire or flood.
3.) A study by Penn State University found that 49.6% of time spent in construction is “devoted to wasteful activities” like looking for tools, errors in communication, attempting to locate forms, etc.
How Can Mobile Technology Help?
There are a variety of ways that mobile tools will and currently are making an impact for Plumbers and Electricians. But when we focus in, we can clearly identify 3 primary ways that mobile tools affect a business’ bottom line.
According to the 2015 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index, approximately 47% of electricity generation in the United States came from renewable sources including wind and solar. Projections for 2017 and beyond have made it clear that the shift towards renewables is not a wading fade, but a systematic change.
When it comes to the services of a Plumber or Electrician, they are not immune. Understanding of the new “high-efficiency” parts and materials that are required by government regulations are now a key for being competitive in the industry and mobile apps can help! Mobile apps can assist technicians with looking up product manuals and documentation with just a scan of a barcode, finding the solution to common questions about pricing or equipment, and even help with the calculation of common service charges!
Mobile technology is great because it allows for the sharing of data in real-time without having to worry about driving or scanning the contents to the office later. A platform like GoCanvas gives Plumbers and Electricians the ability to send and receive job orders from wherever they find themselves.
Tools like Dispatch allow the office to schedule customer appointments and assign task directly to the technician’s device out in the field. Once the technician receives the notification on their smart device, he or she can read where they need to go and begin completing the work order! To track the status’ of all their tasks throughout the day/week, the office can view the Dispatch Manager online and view what has or has not been completed in real-time. No more guessing or trying to track down employees to find out if something has been completed. All the information is sent directly to your GoCanvas database.
Another great example of streamlining communication is with Change Orders! With any big job, Change Orders are normal but time-consuming. With GoCanvas you can send an order, have it processed, and get paid within minutes. No need to wait around for paper invoices to make their way to everyone, GoCanvas sends it to the right people in seconds.
In today’s highly engaged business world, Electricians and Plumbers can’t afford to work in informational bunkers. They need to have the information that they collect be communicated to the right people and systems in real-time.
An example is an Electrician completing a Work Order or mobile Invoice form that requires supervisory approval before it can be completed. How can this be done faster without paper and having to drive all the way back to the office for a signature?
Simple! With GoCanvas and our Workflow functionality, the document that was completed on the technician’s device will be transmitted to the supervisor’s device for digital signature approval and then sent to the customer in real-time. The supervisor can even add comments and reject the work order back to the original Electrician if he/she feels it is incomplete in some way.
But this is not the only way that mobile apps like GoCanvas help foster collaboration. The simple act of a dispatcher being able to create, assign and track assignments to technicians in the field is another great example. Another way is the simple ability for a technician to go out to a job site, fill out a mobile document, and be able to send a PDF copy to a customer, supervisor, and the office staff before they even start their truck to go home.
This is the essences of going mobile and fostering collaboration with GoCanvas, and how on average we increase our customers’ productivity by 30%!
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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Apps Used
Club Store Price Survey
Display Compliance Report
Grocery Price Survey
Retail Team Sales Summary
The Background
MOM Brands® was the largest family-owned cereal company in the United States until its acquisition by Post Holdings in 2015. Family-owned since 1919, MOM Brands built on an unwavering commitment to providing consumers with products that are of the highest quality, delivered at a better price to help consumers save money, and manufactured and distributed in a way that has a limited impact on the environment. MOM Brands and its team now operate underneath the global brand, Post. This is their story of transitioning from a paper-based operation to a streamlined mobile platform.
The Problem
Prior to their acquisition and implementation of GoCanvas, MOM Brands’ latter mission – developing innovative, environmentally sound business processes that benefit the consumer – was evident with the firm’s Bag The Box™ campaign, which emphasizes the environmental benefits of using less packaging by enclosing cereal in a bag instead of the traditional bag-and-box.
Not only is bagged cereal less expensive, but the bag-only packaging also uses 75 percent less consumer packaging than the traditional bag-and-box combination.
In the same way, MOM Brands addressed the negative cost and environmental impact of cereal boxes, the company sought to improve the way in-store audits were conducted at the 30,000+ retail outlets in which MOM Brands products are sold.
MOM Brands has a team of sales professionals who are responsible for reporting and auditing in-store conditions. These include ensuring each item’s brand standards are being upheld, that products are placed where they are supposed to be, and that there is full compliance with distribution and retail standards.
At the same time, MOM Brands relied on these sales professionals in the field to identify new potential retail sales partners and manage relationships with existing ones.
Historically, auditing and sales management processes were done with paper forms. As a result, MOM Brands’ decision-makers did not have access to real-time data to make rapid, informed decisions. MOM Brands wanted a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to their 3-part forms.
The Solution
In 2010, MOM Brands decided to go with GoCanvas, the global leader in mobile apps for business. With their free trial, they received full support from GoCanvas as they moved from paper to mobile apps.
Each and every account gets a dedicated senior mobile app consultant. With their consultant, MOM Brands was able to explain what they wanted and to create a mobile experience for their unique needs.
MOM Brands found itself in the same position thousands of GoCanvas customers have; the GoCanvas platform—with 14,000+ customizable mobile apps, the app builder and real-time app management—strengthened their internal processes.
Their initial apps focused on enabling auditing professionals in the field to collect in-store data at retail locations for both MOM Brands’ products as well as those of competitors. Then, they could use iPads to transmit the data in real time to decision-makers via the GoCanvas cloud.
Over the past 6 years, MOM Brands has grown to over 130 users with iPads on GoCanvas, transforming how MOM Brands’ eight sales teams collect data and report this information to others in the organization. They have experienced real, measurable benefits from implementing GoCanvas, including significant efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and environmental benefits. Key results include:
Real-time access to data
MOM Brands has leveraged GoCanvas’ cloud-based, “as-a-Service” mobile app to enjoy real-time, actionable intelligence. At the same time, the ability of sales teams to transmit in-store data from their iPads via the GoCanvas cloud has allowed MOM Brands to shift from ad hoc reporting to a systematic process for data collection that can be converted into actionable intelligence.
Making their work even easier, was integration with EnterBridge. EnterBridge was able to pull in GoCanvas submission information, format it into source data and roll it right into expanding monthly pivot table views at the click of a button.
GoCanvas frequently integrates with systems and clouds of all types and sizes. While the list is constantly growing, the platform has the capability to integrate with more than 30 systems to date. Some of the most common include SalesForce, SAP, SQL Server Database, Oracle, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, Microsoft Office, and Quicken.
By being able to access dispatch, reference data, and submission data right from Excel the team at EnterBridge was able to seamlessly integrate raw submission data from GoCanvas into a vibrant workbook filled with slice-and-dice visuals.
Because of Enterbridge’s integration, Post Consumer Brands receives documents filled with information and visuals in real time.
The submission data pulled by data range and form flowed into pivot table-ready structures. Core data was hidden and the resulting business intelligence dashboards could be used across the organization to understand and explore the data being collected by GoCanvas.
The full power of GoCanvas in the hands of the business team was now on display and dashboards could be refreshed with the latest information on demand.
Rapid app deployment
GoCanvas’ intuitive mobile app platform has enabled MOM Brands to create apps in a matter of days. It was intuitive enough that apps could be created and deployed by “non-IT” professionals within the organization quickly and sustainably.
Flexibility to meet evolving business needs
As a cloud-based mobile app platform, GoCanvas provided MOM Brands with the flexibility to easily add features and functionality to each app as user and business needs evolve. With other mobile app alternatives, making even minor changes within each app proved cumbersome and diluted the effectiveness of the tool.
Today, Post Consumer Brands (MOM) products are sold in more than 30,000 retail locations, from major recognizable chains to small, mom-and-pop stores. For that reason, MOM Brands needed a tool that was flexible enough to meet the diversity in the size, needs, and locations of their retail partners.
For instance, with seasonable factors or a new product launch, MOM Brands wanted to be able to add a few retail reporting questions to an app for a month and then remove or change those questions later.
GoCanvas allows MOM Brands to do this quickly and easily. This flexibility allows them to be nimble and nuanced in understanding the needs of their retail partners, and ultimately, their customers.
The Outcomes
With more than 20 apps and over 130 users, MOM Brands uses GoCanvas for detailed data analysis that can be collected and shared in real time throughout the organization. Users have the ability to reference historical data, segregate data, and pre-populate app forms on their iPads with information related to each retail partner.
As a result, MOM & Post Consumer Brands can decide each day from which of its 30,000 retail partners it wants to view real-time data.
The origins of MOM Brands as the fastest-growing cereal company date back to 1919 when John Campbell took $900 of poker winnings and started a company. While Campbell’s bet paid off, organizations today cannot afford to gamble when it comes to having access to accurate, real-time data. In 2018, MOM Brands is part of the 1 billion dollar Post Holdings company. The GoCanvas mobile app platform allows the sales team to have complete, accurate information in real-time, helping them achieve even more success as they continue their rapid expansion!
Ready to Rethink How You Work?
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Founded in 1970, Smarte Carte has grown into a global enterprise of 1,300+ employees that service over 1,900 locations worldwide. Their inventory of self-service luggage carts, lockers, strollers, and more can be seen in almost every major airport, train station, mall, amusement park, resort, and fitness club across the world. With their ever-expanding footprint across the world, it quickly became a top priority that Smarte Carte was able to view and access field data in real time.
The Problem
Every day, hundreds of Smarte Carte service technicians are dispatched to various client locations to inspect and service equipment. When service technicians were previously using paper forms, data would routinely come back to the office late or with data errors. These mistakes made it almost impossible for team leaders like Eric Zitelman, Retail Regional Manager, to be able to efficiently track the daily production of their field employees.
The Solution
This is why Eric and several other team leaders at Smarte Carte decided to deploy GoCanvas mobile forms in order to increase the consistency and accuracy of the data collected at client locations
For Smarte Carte, the deployment of GoCanvas mobile forms started with a pilot of 450 fitness clubs across the United States. The reason? Eric Zitelman and his fellow regional team leaders needed a better way to track the daily productivity of their field service technicians.
With GoCanvas, Smarte Carte was able to create mobile forms that require service technicians to collect all the key pieces of information about the equipment they are inspecting before they are able to submit it. Once completed, the technician reports now automatically transmit directly from their mobile device to their regional supervisor. This allows for the instant analysis of each report in real-time, as well as the tracking of the productivity of each technician on a daily basis. Due to the success of the pilot program, Smarte Carte now uses GoCanvas across 1,600 fitness clubs!
The Outcomes
Since then, Smarte Carte has expanded its use cases to include everything from Field Service Reports to Driver Time Logs. These mobile forms utilize features such as:
GPS Capture
Photo Capture
Reference Data
PDF Designer
These features help Eric and the upper management at Smarte Carte to quickly verify the accuracy of all the data being collected, as well as to generate highly detailed reports. This enables them to track critical performance KPIs on the backend and to make proactive decisions within their global operations process.
Since starting with GoCanvas in 2017, Smarte Carte is still finding new ways to integrate GoCanvas mobile forms into their various departments and workflows. In their first year of using GoCanvas to replace paper reports, Smarte Carte has captured and stored over 26,000 digital records. This has resulted in a recovery of over 200 hours per month in productivity!
Ready to Rethink How You Work?
GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.
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When new users ask, “what makes GoCanvas so different than paper?”, I immediately point out Reference Data. The reason is that with paper, you are always stuck in 2nd gear filling out your form. There is no faster way to manually fill out a piece of paper unless you grow a 3rd arm. With Reference Data, you are instantly putting your employees into 5th gear by giving them access to your company catalogs and database from right within your mobile forms.
How it works
Reference data is a core feature that is available for all users of the GoCanvas platform. You simply upload a .CSV(Excel) file with the information you wish to connect to your mobile form(s) and use the App Builder to connect that datasheet to the relevant data fields. After this quick update has been made, your users will be able to dynamically pick from these values when filling our their mobile form.
For example, say your employee selects the value “John Doe” from a drop down field in the mobile form. By selecting “John Doe”, this will automatically populate the Address, City, State, and Zip Code fields that correspond to that specific value. Below is an example of the datasheet that would have been uploaded and connected to the mobile form.
Best use cases
The great thing about Reference Data is that it can be applied to almost every industry and process.
The most popular use cases are:
Customer & Vendor Lists
Project Locations
Parts, Price, and Material Lists
County or State Tax Rates
Employee Names
Inspection Scoring
Each of the above would typically reside in an Excel sheet (like the one above), so Reference Data simply takes that data and makes it accessible through your mobile forms. No more carrying around spreadsheets or catalogs.
Benefits
The first obvious benefit of using Reference Data is the time savings. Instead of having to look up and fill out multiple fields manually, you can simply just fill out a single field (usually a drop down) and have it automatically populate the rest of the form. This can easily save you 5-10 minutes per section compared to manually filling out each field.
The second benefit is data quality. When using Reference Data, you are eliminating the need for data lookup or hand typing. What this means is that since the information is being populated from a company spreadsheet, the likelihood of a misspelling or incorrect value is essentially eliminated. Therefore you no longer have to worry about things like incorrect client addresses or inaccurate service quotes since all the information is pulling directly from the corresponding spreadsheets.
The third benefit is automated scoring and reporting. Many customers use Reference Data to create inspections with simple sometimes complex) scoring based on how each user fills out the form. This is most prevalent within inspection forms where you are reviewing a number of items and need to get a final score/rating.
Reference Data allows you to assign a numerical value like “1” every time an item is marked as “Pass” and then automatically total up each item into a final score. This scoring functionality not only allows you to get instant insight as soon as one of your employees fills out an inspection, but it also saves you the time of having to manually review each form and count up their score.
With automatic scoring, reporting is made a snap. Now a manager can receive a PDF report, see if it “Passed” or “Failed”, and immediately start making corrective actions if necessary.
Overall, Reference Data is for anyone looking to cut down on mistakes, speed up data capture, and increase the quality of their data. If you are not currently using this feature, reach out to Info@gocanvas.com to learn more!
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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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.
Brand New Functionality
I’m sure you’re more interested in the brand new stuff, so let’s start there.
App Builder
We added a number of new things to help you save even more time using GoCanvas!
Barcode Field – Read-Only Capability
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.
View Grid
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.
Identify Conditional Screens and Fields
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…
Identify “Invisible” Fields on Mobile Devices
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.
PDF Designer
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.
More Social Icons & Styling Tools
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.
New social icons: We added Angie’s List, Google Reviews, Home Advisor, and Yelp.
Alignment: You can now align the social icons just like any other Element.
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.
User Interface Enhancements
We made some changes within both tools to make them easier to use and a lot more understandable for newer users.
App Builder
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.
Field Settings – More
GoCanvas is really powerful, which makes it harder for folks to understand. So we have made changes to the More area under Field Settings.
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.
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.
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.
Field Settings – Standard PDF
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.
Top Controls
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.
PDF Designer
You will also find some “Tool Tips” throughout the PDF Designer to help folks understand how things function.
Top Controls
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.
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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The Background
As a packaging and manufacturer of everything from deodorizers to medical-grade equipment, TekPak had a paper form for everything. The ability to produce so many things was leading them to accumulate stacks and stacks of paper forms that could not be properly filled out and reviewed on a daily basis. This was resulting in a ton of inefficiencies occurring within their manufacturing process, especially in the areas of Safety, Operations, Engineering, and Quality Assurance. These are the same areas that Ryan Hutson, Technical Services Director at TekPak, wanted to focus on improving when he first met with the Senior Mobile Consultants at GoCanvas.
The Problem
Ryan Hutson needed GoCanvas’ help in streamlining the process of 5 different departments including Safety, Operations, IT, Engineering, and Quality Assurance. These 5 departments shared the same common issues. These issues included the inability to view and analyze data in real-time, the inability to properly organize and manage documents, and having no adequate way to track and review employee time.
The Solution
GoCanvas worked with the TekPak team to begin creating dynamic mobile forms and processes based on their old paper copies. An important part of this process was the implementation of “Workflow“.
This functionality of GoCanvas gives TekPak the ability to have one employee fill out a portion of a form on their smart device and automatically send it to their supervisor’s device for review/approval. It also can be used for employees working at stations on the manufacturing line who are inspecting products. This helps speed up the transfer of information without sacrificing accuracy. Employees no longer have to write everything on a clipboard, leaving their station, and track down a supervisor. Now everything is automated for them right on their tablet.
TekPak also utilized the “Folders” functionality of GoCanvas which allows them to easily manage, organize, and assign data both for their employees and their back office staff. When employees sign into their mobile devices, they just click on the folder of the department that they are assigned and fill out those specific mobile forms. No confusion, no mistakes. The back office can also retrieve, analyze, and export data on these department or workgroup folders as well!
The Outcomes
Since fully deploying Canvas almost 2 years ago, TekPak completed over 48,000+ mobile form submissions and reduced their paper costs by almost $7,000 annually. GoCanvas has given the supervisors like Ryan Hutson at TekPak the ability to not only receive accurate and timely information from their employees on the manufacturing line but also have the ability to view and create real-time reports. These reports are critical for keeping up with quality control and assurance standards and reducing mistakes that could cost the company thousands.
In all, TekPak has developed over 50+ mobile forms using the no-code, drag-and-drop form builder. They have been able to take almost all their process mobile with GoCanvas, which has led to a 50% increase in productivity and a $126,210 annual Return on Investment.
Ready to Rethink How You Work?
GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.
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There is a popular saying that goes “time is money”, and nothing is truer when it comes to the Construction industry. For Sierra National Asphalt(SNA), and their asphalt and engineering experts, they realized they were losing hundreds of hours on a monthly basis due to inefficient data collection processes. This was turning into longer projects, which resulted into more expensive projects, and resulted in a loss on their bottom line. With GoCanvas mobile forms, the SNA work crews are now able to collect and transfer their daily reports right from the work site. Resulting in fewer lost forms, quicker processing of reports, and virtually zero data re-entry by office staff. More time, more money.
The Problem
When the GoCanvas team first met with Sandee Pierce, Administrative Director at Sierra National Asphalt, the goal was not to sell a solution but to understand what parts in the process were breaking down and how they could be made more efficient. The Senior Mobile Application Consultants worked with Sandee and her team to map out a success plan that included fixing the areas in which they were losing valuable time, increasing the speed of billing and invoicing, and increasing the visibility of data across all departments.
The Solution
The GoCanvas mobile platform that was customized for SNA included a dual Timesheet and Daily Report application. This allowed the field users to record both their time and the activities completed on their specific job site.
Sierra National Asphalt took advantage of Canvas’ Reference Data feature by connecting their internal Project, Material, and Employee lists directly to the mobile application. This allows their users to simply select values from a drop-down instead of manually typing data into each individual field. This has significantly cut down on inaccurate, misspelled reports being sent back to the office.
And now, when a report is completed on the field user’s mobile device, all the information is automatically submitted to the office and stored in Sierra National Asphalt’s secure Canvas cloud database for immediate review by the office staff.
“The Supervisors do not have to go to job sites to track down and collect time sheets [anymore]. The reference data and validation tables have reduced the errors that previously caused corrections by the supervisors and office staff,” remarked Sandee Pierce. “Output reports have reduced the time it takes to enter time data into payroll.”
The Outcomes
At the end of the day, it all comes back to the old saying. With the automation of their frontend data collecting and backend reporting, Sierra National Asphalt has recouped over 845 hours in productivity annually since implementing GoCanvas. They’ve cut out over $4,000 in paper costs and saw a full return on their investment in GoCanvas within the first 6 months of deployment.
With the right platform and support, SNA was able to implement a system that is now managing their data, increasing their productivity by 50%, and making them money.
Ready to Rethink How You Work?
GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.
How Karl Storz Saved $115kby Switching to GoCanvas
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The Background
Karl Storz – Endoskope, founded in 1945 and headquartered in Germany, is a global manufacturer and distributor of endoscopes, medical instruments, and devices. For the past 70+ years, Karl Storz has been servicing the healthcare industry across the globe with their top-of-the-line medical equipment.
The Problem
But like any company that has been around for almost 8 decades, Karl Storz found themselves holding onto some of the processes of the past. The most problematic of these processes was the act of collecting data with paper. Paper was causing them to run into issues including hours being spent on data re-entry, slow invoicing times, lost or unreadable forms, and the inability to retrieve reports in real-time.
When working with the team at Karl Storz, it was important to fully scope out the process and departments that were being most affected by the slow data collection methods. It was recognized and decided that the Project Management team was being the most affected in their daily work lives and needed a better way to manage/complete their inspections, checklists, and customer-facing documents.
Overall, we identified that the biggest challenges that Karl Storz was facing included the ability to properly manage projects, processing client invoices in a timely manner, and having the ability to review/share reports in real-time. To address these issues, it was important to develop a platform that would encompass all the processes and functionality that were currently missing from their paper-based process. This would include the implementation of features like Dispatch, App Folders, Reference data, and more.
The Solution
A little over a year ago, Karl Storz went live with GoCanvas in order to replace the out-dated data collection processes that were stunting the growth of their business. Karl Storz chose GoCanvas, the global leader in mobile apps for businesses, because of the platform’s ease of use, superior features, and excellent account support. This has led to a mass adoption of mobile technology throughout the business and a full deployment of GoCanvas to their facilities.
“We are getting documents completed faster and more accurately (with GoCanvas)”, remarked Ericka Flores, Karl Storz.
The Outcomes
Since implementing GoCanvas, Karl Storz has seen a huge impact on their organization. With their process now digitized, Karl Storz is now saving 3 hours per workday by using GoCanvas. With those extra three hours per day, operators can now spend time focusing on things that will make the company more money! And since all the information is collected on their mobile device and automatically transferred to their secured GoCanvas cloud database, there are no longer lost or incomplete forms. Managers now retrieve and review forms in real-time, and invoicing can begin right away.
Increasing Organization – Karl Storz has created over 15+ different mobile processes since fully deploying GoCanvas. To help their employees complete the right forms, Karl Storz has utilized the “App Folders” functionality of GoCanvas to help organize everything. They can name these folders by process or project, and place specific mobile forms in these folders to access when they are on their mobile devices or the website. And on the backend, they can now search and export data based on each folder.
Increasing Productivity – Since implementing GoCanvas, Karl Storz is now able to track everything within their business. Everything from inspections, checklists, industry compliance forms, and even customer acknowledgment reports have been turned into mobile forms that can be filled out and shared right from their mobile device. In turn, this has decreased the time it takes to capture, share and analyze all this data on a daily basis. Overall, it has increased their productivity by up to 34%.
Ready to Rethink How You Work?
GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.
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