When you collect big amounts of data from dispersed sources, any improvement to the form filling process makes a difference. Data prefill is one of such improvements that eliminates the necessity to enter the same data over and over again.
With prefilled forms, you’ll rely on valid external data, helping teams complete their assignments faster. Your data will be consistent, forms easier to fill out, and office and field teams happy.
Contents:
- What Is Forms Prefill?
- Examples
- Benefits of Forms Prefill
- How Forms Prefill Works in Fluix
How to Set Up Prefill
- More Help
What Is Forms Prefill?
Forms prefill is pre-population of fields in fillable forms such as checklists, work orders, etc. with the data from the already filled forms or a third-party storage.
If you use the same forms repeatedly, prefilling similar or duplicated fields will save you much time.
And if you have a CRM with all the client data, you may prefill the information you already know about your clients (for example, in sales contracts), and give you sales teams more personalized data to work with.
Prefilled data doesn’t necessarily have to be the answers submitted as final. You can always change or edit it manually.
Examples
Prefilled forms can help you manage any process that involves similar documentation:
- Contract e-signing. Admins take order details from a CRM, and prefill a contract form with information like the customer name, address, and phone number Sales team only need to fill in several fields, and send it to the customer for e-signature.
- Work order approval. Dispatchers prefill a work order template, and send it to technicians who fill them in after finishing their tasks.
- Inspection workflow. Field technicians complete prefilled documents and inspection checklists faster, speeding up the inspection process.
Benefits of Forms Prefill
Like any automation tool, prefill helps eliminate unnecessary manual effort, and lets you stay focused on high-value tasks instead.
- Saved time for your team. With prefilled documents, your teams can focus more on error-checking the new information instead of having to re-enter what has been already done.
- Better experience for contractors. Data pre-population can make the life easier for your partners and clients. Prefill PDF form fields in advance, and make work with you a smoother experience.
- Data accuracy. Automation always beats manual effort when it comes to error-proof data.
- Consistency. Prefill ensures data is consistent and synchronized across your forms and databases.
How Forms Prefill Works in Fluix
Currently, there are two methods of forms prefill in Fluix. You can choose one of them or both, and use each one where needed.
- From form to form. Data for pre-population is taken from the already filled forms submitted through previous workflows.
- From third-party service to form. Connect Fluix to any tool as long as it can send data via API, and extract any data from it.
How to Set Up Prefill
For both methods, the setup requires several steps. This is what the basic stages of the process would look like for any method.
1. Create a workflow with tasks and forms.
Build a task sequence with predefined rules required to complete a business process, and add forms to the corresponding tasks.
2. Choose the form and prefill method.
Choose the form you want to pre-populate, and pre-fill it with one of the above methods. Find the detailed guideline for each method at the link below:
- From form to form.
- From third-party service to form. (coming)
3. Map the fields for pre-population.
You can choose any number of fields you want to be pre-populated.
4. Test the setup.
Test the form, and see how much time you’ll save with prefilled fields.
More Help
In case you have extra questions on prefill or need assistance with settings, contact us at support@fluix.io, and our managers will be happy to help you.
And here is more info for you to explore about forms and form filling:
- How to recreate in Fluix a complex, multipage form originally designed in Microsoft Word.
- How to fill in mobile forms.
- How RWE Renewables reduces daily form completion time by 45%.
With Fluix, you can build smarter forms for your teams, send them straight to their devices, approve, and then store them in any depository you choose. Your data will be safe and tasks completed faster.
And our assisted onboarding that includes a 1:1 consultation with a manager and ongoing support will help you get started quickly, and start seeing results in several weeks.
