Understanding Forms in Ontraccr: Purpose, Functionality, and Core Concepts

📄 Understanding Forms in Ontraccr: Purpose, Functionality, and Core Concepts

⚡️ Executive Summary: Understanding Forms in Ontraccr
 

Forms are customizable workflows used to collect and action field or office data (e.g., safety reports, change orders, time tracking).

Every form includes:

• Form Details (setup + behavior)
• Form Fields (content)
• Workflow (approval, notifications, cost entries, and more)
• PDF Designer (allows you to control how a submitted form appears when exported or printed, ensuring the final document is clean, organized, and professional for internal or external use.

You can create forms as:

• Global forms (reusable, managed from Forms > Templates)
• Project-specific forms (created within a project, scoped to that job only)

Forms integrate across the platform:

• Trigger notifications, tasks, and follow-ups
• Create time entries and cost updates
• Store PDFs and records in project folders

Well-built forms increase efficiency, reduce errors, and automate operations across teams and job sites.

🧭 What Are Forms in Ontraccr?

At the core of Ontraccr’s system, Forms are the primary way that users collect, manage, approve, and action field or office information across projects.

They are custom-built workflows that can capture anything from:

• Safety inspections
• Invoices
• Daily logs
• Time and material tracking
• Purchase orders
• Change requests
• Equipment logs
• Client signatures
• Payment authorizations

Every form is a dynamic data collection tool, customizable to meet the operational needs of your company and projects.

🎯 Why Use Forms?

Forms allow you to:

• Standardize processes across teams, sites, and divisions
• Streamline communication between field and office
• Capture project-critical information in a structured, reportable way
• Trigger workflows automatically (approvals, task creation, cost entries)
• Store and track documentation for compliance, safety, financials, and audits

In short: Forms turn everyday operations into structured, actionable, and trackable digital workflows.

🛠️ How Forms Function Conceptually

A form in Ontraccr is made up of four key building blocks:

Each form acts like a self-contained workflow engine:

• Users input information
• Rules and logic control routing and access
• Outputs (PDFs, cost entries, tasks) are automatically generated

🧩 How Forms Fit Inside the Ontraccr System

Forms are deeply integrated into almost every major part of the platform:

In Ontraccr, forms aren’t just static documents—they drive operational activity throughout the system.

🏗️ Types of Forms

There are two major types of form structures depending on where and how they are created:

Choosing between a global form or a project-specific form depends on whether you want standardization or customization for a particular job. Project specific forms are typically used only when a project requires a unique workflow, or perhaps different data fields for a form such as RFI’s or Change Orders as an example.

🔁 How Forms Drive Automation

Once a form is submitted, Ontraccr can automatically:

• Send notifications (in-app and by email)
• Create tasks or board cards
• Trigger follow-up forms
• Push time entries into timesheets
• Push cost entries into budgets
• Generate contracts or change orders
• Request and collect payments
• Store documents in project folders
• Update Equipment or Inventory

Forms are the engine that powers operational automation across your teams.

📈 Why Forms Matter (Beyond Just "Filling Out" Information)

Without forms, critical information would stay scattered—emails, spreadsheets, paperwork.

Forms in Ontraccr centralize all field and office data into a live, auditable, and reportable ecosystem.

You gain:

• Faster turnaround times (e.g., form → approve → bill same day)
• Reduced manual entry errors
• Audit-ready documentation for compliance or client reporting
• Real-time project tracking for field status, costing, and labor
• Process accountability with full visibility over who submitted, who reviewed, who approved

🧠 Best Practices for Using Forms

• Always add a Project field if the form is tied to a project (for better tracking and storage)
• Use Status Blocks to label form stages clearly (e.g., Submitted, Approved, Filed)
• Leverage conditional field logic (show/hide rules) to simplify forms for users
• Use the Form Trigger Block to automate complex multi-form workflows
• Standardize your Global Forms, then customize as needed with project-specific imports
• Preview and test your form thoroughly before publishing
• Use external access carefully (QR codes, public links) when forms need client or vendor input

📌 Quick Summary