This is one of those products you had no idea you needed until you tried it out. Then you're hooked and wonder how you ever did without it. This is a business product that's not exactly forms management and not exactly fax software. To state it simply it allows you to design forms to be filled out by other people and faxed or scanned into your computer with the data being automatically entered into a database you have set up beforehand. After I spent some time using Teleform and thinking about it a bit I got excited with the possibilities it opened up for my business. Let's see what our imagination can dream up for something as basically dull as faxable forms.
If I describe the ways I use Teleform and plan to use it, and the ways others are using it any business person is bound to come up with some ideas for using Teleform to save money and make money. I'm a publisher and receive several types of forms that need to be read and input into data files where the data can be massaged and used. On page 38 of this issue is our subscription form created with Teleform 2.0. If you fill this out and fax it to us all the little boxes you checked will automatically be translated into our database so you can not only start getting a subscription to National Computer Tectonics but can start receiving just exactly the types of junk mail that match your demographics. If you mail it in we'll scan it to achieve the same result. We used to hire temps to spend hours typing in this information but, now that we're using Teleform, someone needs only to check the data to look for errors where someone got sloppy and went outside the lines. This is a money saver and, we believe, the ease of faxing causes more people to respond. I personally find it much easier to pop a form in the fax machine than to put it in an envelope, address it, put a stamp on, and then take it to the mail drop. A quick fax, even long distance, doesn't cost much more than a stamp. We save money on temps and get a better response rate. We do the same thing with reader surveys. Our reader survey is now much more detailed and thorough than it has been. Paying a temp to enter data from responses to 40 or 50 questions on a form was out of the question. Now we have over a hundred data points in our surveys, our labor has gone way down, and we are able to perform much more detailed analysis of our readers' interests and buying habits. This helps us sell advertising and makes us money. At National Computer Tectonics Teleform saves us money and makes us money.
If your business does any sort of market research, Teleform can speed up response, give you more detailed data, and save you money on data entry. Fax back surveys are a fairly new technique for gathering information and can involve enormous amounts of time spent extracting data from hard copy forms. At an environmental company I consult for Teleform was used to collect data about hazardous wastes generated at hundreds of military installations around the country. Before using Teleform the company was gathering the data over the phone and had a very low rate of actually getting to speak with the right person. Smart marketers know that voice mail can be gotten around by sending a fax and the dealing with the military is no different. Teleform allowed the company to fax their form to the numbers in their computer phone book and track responses. Teleform knows when someone hasn't sent back their form and can be set up to send reminders. This use of Teleform saved us, the taxpayers money.
By now you've probably thought of a few ways you can use Teleform in your business. Here are a few applications Teleform is being used for:
-Fax in sales order forms
-Product/event registration
-Insurance forms processing
-Credit application processing
-Collect expense reports
-Collect payroll information
-Surveys
-Market research
-timesheets
If you use your imagination, and hopefully we have started it working, you can probably think of other uses specific to your business needs.
The program is fairly easy to use considering the complex task it performs. It does take a fair amount of time dedicated to setting up your database and designing the forms so that the two match precisely and you get the data you want in the way you want it. This isn't a program you're going to get really good at in ten minutes or so. The manual is spectacularly thorough and is one of the best written software manuals I've run into, and I've run into a bunch of them—often head first. I took me awhile to set up my first few forms and databases but I was quite pleased with the step by step approach of the manual and the plain, straight forward language. The extensive appendices, advanced topics section, glossary and hints sections are a valuable resource for the serious Teleform student.
Teleform installs easily and modem/fax board configuration is handled automatically as part of the installation program. After installation an average user could start to work right away although setting up the database to coordinate with forms may take a little time to get just right. The program consists of four main parts.
-Teleform Designer—This is the main part of the program and is where forms are created, attributes set, export options configured, schedules are set up, dictionaries and databases defined, scripts are written, and the Teleform Phonebook accessed.
-Teleform Reader—The reader detects and interprets incoming faxes and scanned images and sends outgoing faxes.
-Teleform Verifier—The verifier is used to check returned information for accuracy before it is exported to the database. Your forms can be set to require verification or export directly.
-FaxWorks—This is the well know fax program by SoftNet, Inc. (included with Teleform) and can be used by itself as your regular fax program and is used with Teleform to utilize FaxWorks phone books, send and receive log, and the fax setup utility.
The form designer is much improved over version 2.0 with the usual Windows button bars and an improved align feature. All the major database types are supported including dBase, Paradox, Access, DIF, and delimited files. Data can be exported to NetWare SQL, Oracle, SQL Server and IBM DB2. The new 3.0 version allows you to select groups of data fields on your forms to be exported separately. This would allow us to combine our survey with our subscription application form and store the data in two separate databases. The included fax broadcast capabilities not only allow you to send forms to large groups from your phone book but also to track returned forms, add a cover sheet, and automatically send a reminder after a specified time. Many commonly used business forms are included that can be used as is or customized to suit your particular use.
Cardiff isn't a huge company but they may just have a hit with Teleform. Most of the major computer publications have given them very favorable coverage. Teleform may never be a common business application seen in every office but the potential uses boggle the mind. When imaging technology matures Cardiff's Teleform should be right in the middle of everything. If you are in business the chances are great that Teleform can change for the better many of your data entry practices.
