When you set up an appointment with a new business, such as a doctor’s office, you’ll often hear, “Please arrive 15-20 minutes before your appointment time to complete the required paperwork.”
This process is needlessly inconvenient and time-consuming. When you arrive, you’re handed a clipboard full of paper forms with barely enough room on each line for your answers, and a pen that is likely running out of ink.
Further, not only is this process inconvenient for customers and patients, but it’s also expensive and inefficient for businesses to collect and input data from paper-based forms. Manually processing paper forms can often cause additional problems with delaying check-in and data entry errors.
The costs to the business add up as well. Companies in the US spend more than $120 billion on paper forms annually, and most forms are outdated within three months. One multi-national study found that office workers spend 552 hours a year completing administrative or repetitive tasks - resulting in global lost productivity of over $5 trillion per year.
The whole data gathering process can be made much easier and user-friendly for customers and patients - as well as more efficient for businesses themselves - by using digital data collection via Online Forms Management from Global Payments Integrated.
What is Online Forms Management?
Our online forms solution provides businesses with a modern, digital experience for capturing and managing customer data. Our solution allows customers to enter their information anytime, anywhere from an Internet-connected device.
How does it work?
Businesses send a link via text or email for customers to complete electronic forms at their convenience - usually prior to the customer’s visit to the business. Businesses can also provide an option to complete forms electronically upon arrival at a designated device. These digital forms are automatically submitted to the business software application and tied to the customer record.
Benefits to ISVs
Online forms from Global Payments Integrated offer many benefits to independent software vendors (ISVs). It provides them with new revenue-sharing opportunities, leverages data across their ecosystem, and allows them to have one provider for their payments functionality and customer engagement tools.
In combination with other commerce enablement tools from Global Payments Integrated, online forms enhance the value of ISVs’ software offerings by enabling engagement at every touchpoint all along the customer journey. For example, forms can be provided at the time of appointment scheduling in conjunction with the online appointment booking, or streamlined check-in via QR code.
Benefits to ISVs’ merchant clients
- Modern convenience - Automated, digital experience that saves time and resources by eliminating paperwork and data entry errors
- Maximized efficiency - Provides a streamlined workflow by having forms completed prior to arrival or service delivery and/or product exchange; saves businesses time and money on administrative tasks
- Superior experience - Provides an enhanced customer experience with increased communication and personalization, including signatures for consent or opt-ins
- Robust security - Online Forms is both PCI and HIPAA compliant, providing businesses and their clients the peace of mind that data collection is secure and effortless.
Use cases across industries
Online Forms Management is a tool that can be used across a wide variety of industries. Dental and healthcare providers can use them to collect a patient’s medical history, consent to treatment, and more.
Sports and recreation organizations can use them for registration, liability waivers, and consent for minors to participate. Automotive service shops can use them for pre-service approvals and consent to service vehicles.
Online forms can be used for digital surveys across verticals, to gain valuable customer feedback. In addition, they can provide an intelligent, interactive questionnaire that can ask questions and offer additional forms based on previous answers.
Conclusion
By incorporating our online forms product into their software offering, ISVs can provide merchants with a more efficient workflow and a better experience for their customers. Contact us today to discuss how we can help integrate this and other commerce enablement tools into your software offering.