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Posts Tagged ‘electronic forms’

10Sep

Digital Forms

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in BPM and Workflow, Terminology

Digital forms are an important component to any BPM or workflow application.  Electronic forms present information and allow data entry, and facilitate the “people to system” interaction between end users and the BPM/workflow engine.   Most BPM systems have 4 pillars:

  • Data
  • Workflow
  • Forms
  • Reports

The digital forms pillar provides access to data, workflow and reports.

In any digital transformation project, the introduction of electronic forms can speed up the reduction in paper, and provide a path to a “paperless office” environment.   Both iWorkflow and K2 have forms pillars that provide a user interface, through the use of a web browser for forms.

Read more on Digital Forms

Paperless office strategy
19Jul

The Castle Analogy: Core Strategy for a Paperless Office

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

Build Your Moat and Drawbridge: Document Capture, Digital Forms and Workflow

When you look at the medieval castle, it had all the protective measures to insure the occupants were protected from outside threats.  In our modern office, the threat is to efficiency and productivity, especially when examining the flow of paper both in and out.  A core strategy is to surround your organization with a virtual moat, that allows no paper to cross.  Below outlines the use of 3 technologies to help with the goal of the paperless office.

Document Capture and Scanning – Today, it is almost impossible to forbid inbound paper.  Whether it is a small business sending paper invoices, a law firm that sends a FedEx package of contracts or a paper bill of lading for a shipment, paper will still exist for most organizations at some level.  The goal here is to create that virtual moat, across which “none shall pass”.  This can be your mail room, with a core policy of digitizing any paper for distribution within the organization.

Digital Forms – Forms technology can insure minimal creation of paper, through the use of a “born digital” mindset.  Want to request vacation?  Fill out a digital form.  HR new hire paperwork?  Go to the new hire portal and fill out the required electronic forms.  This technology can help eliminate new paper creation internally, and can be expanded for external paperwork as well, reducing the need for scanning and document capture.

Workflow Software – workflow provides the ability to fully digitize any work process, and can integrate with both electronic forms and document capture.  This provides a powerful multiplier effect, letting you combine the advantages of all technologies, and enhancing your efficiency and productivity to a whole new level.  Documents and work can now be digitally routed both internally and externally.

These three technologies can be implemented in stages, one by one to start the improvement process, and begin the elimination of the paper threat.  Thoughts?

 

26Mar

inForm Decisions Home Page

Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Uncategorized

Let us answer your questions…


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  • Generate forms, reports, and checks natively on the IBMi

    Upload document designs and mapping instructions to our iDocs software on the IBMi and immediately utilize our iDocs Engine or use our API commands to start generating your forms, reports, and checks.

    Automated Forms/Checks Generation

  • Distribute generated documents, reports, and files natively from the IBMi

    Automatically deliver documents and reports in a variety of different formats including .PDF, .XML, .TXT, .TIF, and .XLS via email, fax, FTP, SFTP, FTPS, as wells as into local and remote directory. Additionally delivery Positive Pay reports to banks, and more.

    Document & Report Distribution

  • Capture documents and data to convert into useful electronic versions

    Import files from scanned documents, email attachments/email body, shared folders, or directly from originating systems. Identify different incoming documents, extract useful data from imported documents, run database look ups, validate collected data, and export to a repository and accounting/ERP systems.

    Document Capture & Retrieval

  • Automate and manage the flow and circulation of documents, forms, and files.

    Controlling how the flow and circulation of documents moves in, out, and around of an organization is a critically important to the efficiency of an organization. Automatically route files based on triggers and conditions to help improve the speed of the flow of information.

    Document Management & Automation


  • iCapture provides all the required features for any scanning or document capture project. OCR, copier integration, and automated extraction can help you convert your paper to digital format.

    Document Capture

  • The K2 no-code Business Applications Platform provides workflow, forms, reports and data integration capabilities to any organiztion. It is an essential piece to any digital transformation strategy. With K2 blackpearl you can provide workflow in SharePoint, mobile forms and powerfulw reporting dashboards in a snap.

    K2 Workflow and BPM

  • iDocs monitors Output Queues for spool files , database files or XML data to process and route based on user-defined business rules on the IBM iSeries.

    iDocs

  • iWorkflow is a powerful workflow engine for enabling the iSeries and AS400 for business process management.

    iWorkflow


BPMBPM

BPM


    Going paperless
    06Mar

    Where Did the Paperless Office Go?

    Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Blog

    Why Haven’t More Companies Made Paperless Progress?

    Here we are, in 2016, and the Paperless Office topic is still key in many business owners minds.   But why the lack of progress?  In an AIIM Paper Wars study, there were some pretty amazing statistics:

    1.  44% of organizations cited they are only 10% of the way towards paper-free process
    2. 23% cite they have yet to achieve any progress towards the Paperless Office
    3. 17% are making progress of 5 or more processes per year

    So why are we only inching our way towards the ultimate paperless goal?  Checkout the chart below:

    Paperless Office Strategy

    AIIM Paper Wars: Why Lack of Progress on Paperless Office

    As you can see, there are a wide variety of barricades preventing progress, many of them are people/culture based.  So how do you tackle these paperless blockades?

    1.  First off, management support is absolutely critical, and it starts from the top down.  If there is no commitment to your paperless office initiative at the executive level, it will fail.
    2.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, “My staff just wont buy into that.”  This quote is common place, and indicative of a broader cultural issue.  Use of paperless technology is not optional once there is a commitment, and management needs to make that totally clear.
    3. Dispelling myths about legality and physical signatures can be a challenge, and there is a lot of misinformation out there.  The fact is, electronic signatures have been utilized for many years now, and there is complete and total legal precedent for their use.
    4. The paperless landscape, and the technology available, can be quite overwhelming, and examining document capture/scanning software, digital/electronic forms products, workflow software and business process management software can be a daunting task.   Having a great technology partner that can guide the way is critical.
    5. There are a wide variety of solutions, and cost is really no longer an issue.  Paperless solutions have come down so far in price, that any size organization can get started today.  Whether you want to print to PDF with an iSeries Forms solution, or create a digital workflow, there are affordable solutions in the market.

    Want to learn more about paperless office strategy and products that can help you revolutionize the way you do business?  Contact inForm Decisions today.

    IBM Forms for Print
    16Apr

    iDocs Designer

    Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in iSeries Products

    iDocs Designer

    A powerful user-friendly forms designer for multi-platform environments

    iDocs Designer is an evolution of 20 years of document design tool, and user interface experience.  Through the years,  each new version of IFD’s designer has simplified the forms design process while increasing the flexibility to create and communicate more.

    iDocs Designer works with both the IBM iSeries native iDocs as well as inFORM’s iDocs Open Platform Document Management solution.  iDocs Designer allows you to create any business form, MICR check, report, scalable and three dimensional barcode and Chinese (Unicode) characters (or DBCS double byte).

    COLOR Document Support is built in as well as support for XML and encrypted PDF formatted documents for both the open platform and the IBM iSeries.

    Users can draw rectangles, ovals, text boxes, fonts, MICR fonts, scalable barcodes (including QR codes), and import multiple graphic formats.  Properties can be applied to any drawn object, including fill, size, borders, colors and textures.

    Mapping Print or Spool Data onto the Designed Form

    Depending on the platform iDocs Designer will work with a GUI (Graphical User Interface) mapping tool to map data from a print or spool file onto the designed form, which will store this information for ongoing form-data merge operations (see iDocs and iDocs Open). Print files or IBM spool files can be downloaded into the right pane to be dragged and dropped into appropriate locations on the form.  Multiple properties can be applied to the mapped data,  including fonts, routing conditions, colors, burst and sort conditions, object and signature merges and more.

    Unique features of iDocs Designer

    • XML code is the source of designed forms used for storing text and graphics
      (this powerfully gives the user the ability to manually create and modify designed forms)
    • Ability to import documents from most Windows applications
    • Ability to import and convert iMap projects into iDocs Designer
    • Ability to create PCL and PCL Macros for merge applications
    • Ability to create PDF metadata as well as encrypted PDF’s
    • QR Barcodes, Scalable and 3 Dimensional barcode support

    Designed Mapped Form Using iDocs Designer

    idocs-designer-screenshot

     

     

    22Oct

    Tax Forms

    Written by Ken Kramer. Posted in Uncategorized

    Available iForms Tax Form Overlays (2024)

    • 1099-B Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
    • 1099-DIV Dividends and Distributions
    • 1099-INT Interest Income
    • 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income (3 varieties available)
    • 1099-NEC Non-Employee Compensation (5 varieties available)
    • W-2 Wage and Tax Statement (3 varieties available)

    IMPORTANT, please read below Notice/Disclaimer:
    Contact your software provider to ensure compatibility and updates to support the 2023 forms.

    We offer tax forms in just about every paper median for all your tax season preparation needs. W2, 1099, ACA, and many more are available as blank laser forms, pressure seal forms, continues forms, and more. Please call (949) 709-5838 Ext.123 to order your tax form paper and envelopes, email Erin at erin@informdecisions.com or submit the form on the right for your order.

    Terms and Conditions:

    inFORM Decisions has no affiliation or contract with Computer Guidance Corporation or any other ERP company, and we are not responsible for their spool file content which can be modified at any time without our knowledge or consent. Since we do not have access to current customer spool files, we are providing the tax form overlays only. The Tax Forms are being provided on an AS IS basis and inFORM Decisions is not responsible for any damages arising out of the use of the overlays made available under this agreement. Testing for suitability by the individual user is required. inFORM Decisions makes no expressed or implied warranty as to the overlays, spool file content or the data mapping. Any request for data mapping or modifications will be done as a billable service.

    Download the overlays:

    Click I ACCEPT to accept the terms and conditions as shown above and DOWNLOAD the current tax forms. A complete list of the available forms as well as the installation instructions can be found the included READ_ME_ZIP document.