Mobile form automation is a relatively new term to the industry in North America. The term really started to become a ‘thing’ back in 2013 but recently has skyrocketed in popularity. Just take a look at this Google Trend graph showing the popularity of the term worldwide over time:

But what is mobile form automation exactly? What defines it? Is it a thing? A process? Let’s find out.

What is Mobile Form Automation?

Mobile form automation is a phrase that you can define as automated fillable digital document processes. Hang on, what? That sounds a bit confusing. And we wouldn’t want to misunderstand each other, so we’d better define this in more detail; after all, this is a relatively new term in the industry in 2021.

Mobile Form Automation Defined

Mobile – An adjective, in this case, defines an object’s movement or the ability of motion. Being ‘mobile’ means lacking a fixed position, being inherently capable of movement if not moving at present.

Form – A noun meaning a document that requires completion by a user. Traditionally one would assume a form to exist printed or written on a paper document. 

Automation – A noun meaning the addition of mechanical or other non-human components within a system that allow part or all of a process to run unattended. 

“The action or process of introducing automatic equipment or devices into a manufacturing or other process or facility; (also) the fact of making something (as a system, device, etc.) automatic.” Oxford1

What are mobile forms?

Mobile forms are the fillable documents used on mobile technology devices such as smartphones, tablets, or even laptops running on battery power. One might argue that a form printed and placed on a clipboard is also a mobile form. Technically this may be correct, but for our purposes, we will use the more commonly accepted modern definition of a fillable document displayed and completed on a mobile device.

What is form automation?

Form automation is the process of using software to complete aspects of form completion and use. The automation might include pre-filling specific fields committed to memory like Google might do if you’ve chosen to save form data. Similarly, and more commonly, a great example is a feature most of us know as auto-complete. It is a type of form automation.

Similarly, there is a multitude of other types of form automation. Another common type is the submission of data like your email address when you subscribe to a newsletter on a website. Hitting the ‘send,’ ‘submit,’ or similar buttons will trigger automation within the form. It might notify the webmaster of form submission. In many cases, it triggers a notification or email to a sales team. We know this as a part of lead generation. So you see, form automation has many faces, many purposes, and has already made its way into various aspects of businesses.

How Does Mobile Form Automation Work?

Now that you have a good idea of what mobile form automation is, it is wise to understand next how it works. Although some aspects might be pretty obvious, others are not so much apparent. Let’s take a deeper look.

How Mobile Form Automation Works

The concept of mobile form automation works in a series of steps in the real world. Let’s take an incident report like an employee injury report form as an example (find out more about steps to writing incident reports here).

1. An application like 1st Reporting is loaded onto a mobile device.
2. The device is taken out into the field, and the need for a form occurs. In this example, we’re using the Employee Injury Report Form.
3. The software application is opened on the device, and the appropriate form is selected from the built-in template library. Better applications like 1st allow for customization of the templates to further support your business’s individual needs.
4. The individual completes the report, inputting information into the fillable digital document in the application. The best applications, like 1st, allow the user to upload even more information via audio, image, or video taken using their device. This way, a form can include the most recent forms of data capture using technology.
5. The form is submitted upon completion. In the case where there is no access to the internet, the app saves the form within the device to be uploaded to the cloud-based server form data repository at a later time when internet connection functionality is returned to the device.
6. The submission process is a major and relevant aspect of the form automation process because it can often trigger further processes. These additional automated processes might include examples like:
7. Automatic notifications – these sorts of automation will notify specified individuals once the submission of a form is completed.
8. Automatic form sharing – given the cloud-based nature of remote server technology, automatic sharing of the fillable document is possible with anyone provided access upon form completion.

Types of Mobile Form Automation

As mentioned earlier, there are a number of different types of mobile form automation. Processes such as auto-completion, auto-saving, or even submission of a form itself, technically all fall under the umbrella of mobile form automation.

We’ve recognized and defined mobile form automation. Still, to really understand the different types, we need to realize that there are multiple types based on purpose or intention and specific process needs.

The basic types of mobile form automation we are familiar with are:

• Auto-complete
• Automatic spellcheck
• Form submission
• Automated notifications

Depending on the requirement, you can truly limit the type of automation to the technology and its purpose. Anything you can program a computer to do, you can technically create automation to do as well. However, the most common types of form automation have to do with additional functional automation like customized notifications or similar automated programs responses of the software to stimuli such as button click (submit button, for example).

Who Uses Mobile Form Automation? Who Should Use It?

Many industries are adopting ways of becoming more efficient by using mobile form automation. Industries most benefiting from this technology include:

• Utility Corporations
• Service Companies
• Emergency Services
• Healthcare Organizations
• Government Organizations
• Property Management Firms
• Manufacturing
• Maintenance

These are but a few types of organizations, companies, groups, or industries that significantly benefit from using mobile form automation software.

If we are to create a rule for who should use this technology, we’ve got a simple rule to follow:

You will benefit from mobile form automation software if your organization uses any fillable document.

Why Use Mobile Form Automation Software In Your Organization

There are many reasons your organization should switch to mobile form automation software. Simply staying compliant with organizations like OSHA is a good reason to start.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that organizations like yours are seeing from using these mobile data capture platforms like 1st Reporting.

Benefits of Using Mobile Form Automation

The benefits of MFA software include, but are not limited to:

• Streamlining the process of finding information in paper filing systems
• Providing an easier way to submit forms
• Providing a secure method for capturing data that the user can’t easily manipulate or change
• Providing a process for seamless integration into existing systems and software design needs.

Features of a Good MFA Platform

An excellent mobile form automation software platform will offer a variety of features that will help your organization complete essential tasks. These features can include:

• The ability to have the program automatically process the data
• The ability to have the data saved or auto-completed, so all you have left to do is simply review
• The ability to switch forms even without a network connection
• A built-in template library so you’ve got a great base to start reporting

When Should I Switch To A Mobile Form Automation Platform?

There is no better time than right now to move towards a more efficient way of processing forms within your organization.

If you’re still using paper forms to capture data, you’re doing it wrong. There’s no better way to get your company within compliance and save time than with an MFA platform.

Mobile form automation software is the most cost-effective and efficient way of collecting data today.

The paper world is dead, and most companies would greatly benefit from switching over to a paperless environment.

More importantly, we need to protect sensitive data in this digital age, and a secure MFA like 1st Reporting is the best way we know how to do that right now.

How To Shift To A Mobile-First Reporting Environment

If you’re still using paper for data collection, it’s worth evaluating whether or not it would make sense to switch to a mobile form automation platform like 1st Reporting. If you decide that switching is the best option for your company, here are some steps:

• Find out if your company has any existing documents (contracts, invoices, and so on) that could be converted into blank templates with the MFA software.
• Decide which forms would be most appropriate for a digital format
• Train staff on how to input data into the forms digitally
• Review the automated reports that will populate based on this data
• Look at how easy it would be to integrate new templates going forward
• Determine if there are any other reporting processes that you might not be able to automate
• Consider how this new data, and its accompanying reports, will impact your decision making

Mobile form automation allows companies to quickly gather the information they need without the use of paper. After all, many studies show that businesses can save time, money, and resources by switching over.

There are also several ways to improve security with MFA software. You can lower your overhead costs by using mobile forms for data collection rather than paper because it reduces ink use and eliminates the potential for human error in transcription.

Finally, by moving away from unnecessary printed content like forms and manuals, you’re reducing the amount of physical waste generated on a daily basis.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mobile Form Automation

In case you still have some questions about MFA, we’ve compiled some of the most commonly asked questions.

How Much Does Mobile Form Automation Cost?

Depending on the platform chosen, the costs of a mobile form automation platform vary from next to nothing to several hundred per month. The variables that affect pricing for these sorts of platforms include:

• platform security and stability
• platform usefulness
• platform complexity
• number of users
• number of features

At the end of the day, the cost is often negligible compared to costs for ink, paper, printers, and other necessities when completing forms manually within a business. Often there are further associated costs as well including:

• printing costs
• labor costs (organizing and filing reports)
• labor costs (form retrieval)
• rent or property costs for filing systems like cabinets – for businesses, this can add up to a large amount of real estate merely to store paperwork

So, the question shouldn’t be how much an MFA will cost your business. It should be how much is not having an MFA costing you already!

Is Mobile Form Automation Software Secure?

Mobile form automation software is only as secure as the weakest link in the system. With a robust IT security infrastructure in place in your business (phones with installed anti-virus and further security), an MFA can be highly secure.

All cloud-based applications for business use should only come from developers who embrace the strictest of ISO standards, like EmmAppetizer Inc, the creators of 1st Reporting do.

Do You Need Internet Connection For Mobile Form Automation Software to work?

The top mobile form automation software platforms will offer the ability to save form data captured even when not in range of an internet signal. 1st Reporting has this built-in feature standard to the application, so when your staff is out of range, their data is stored on their device until they log in again when connected. Then the captured data is automatically uploaded to the cloud-based server for secure storage and retrieval.

Do I Need To Know Coding To Use Mobile Form Automation Software?

The user experience is critical to a seamless transition of your team members from a paper-first environment to a digital-1st reporting environment. With 1st Reporting, no coding or special computer skills are required. Your team members will find using the software easy and intuitive – speeding up their data capture and form completion processes with ease.

Sources and References

1. “automation, n.”. OED Online. September 2021. Oxford University Press. https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/13468?redirectedFrom=automation (accessed October 16, 2021).
2. Poulymenopoulou, M., Malamateniou, F. & Vassilacopoulos, G. Emergency Healthcare Process Automation Using Mobile Computing and Cloud Services. J Med Syst 36, 3233–3241 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-011-9814-y (accessed October 16, 2021).
3. Madhu C. Reddy, Sharoda A. Paul, Joanna Abraham, Michael McNeese, Christopher DeFlitch, John Yen, Challenges to effective crisis management: Using information and communication technologies to coordinate emergency medical services and emergency department teams, International Journal of Medical Informatics, Volume 78, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 259-269, ISSN 1386-5056, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.08.003. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386505608001494) (accessed October 16, 2021).