SeamlessGov

We're going on our second year with SeamlessDocs, and the system has been very positively received by both citizens and staff. Before SeamlessDocs, any City form that required a signature had to be hand delivered, mailed, or faxed. That is steadily becoming a thing of the past as we load our existing Word and PDF forms into SeamlessDocs and turn them into fillable and signable online forms. It saves time for everyone. As the principal form builder, I love the ability to create web-based forms as well. I can build a web form so fast, the staff can hardly believe it. SeamlessDocs is built on the idea of a paper-free office, although that hasn't been realistic for us'at least not yet. Customer service is top notch with highly knowledgeable and friendly staff. The level of care and attention certainly softens the blow when a particular form scenario can't be accommodated. And fortunately, new features keep appearing. SeamlessDocs is very much a growing and improving platform. Getting what you need is sometimes a matter of just waiting a few months. The developers are eager to meet your needs.

Puntos a favor

- Online signatures
- Online payments (no set-up fee, just transaction fees which can be passed on to citizens and result in no expense to you)
- Mobile friendly
- Good value for the money
- Ability to load existing Word/PDF forms into the system (don't have to re-create forms you're used to)
- Ability to gather signatures electronically from one department to the next (Ex. Citizen > Department A > Department B > Department C)
- Customization of forms (easy branding)
- Easy-to-use tools to add form elements and signatures to PDF forms including an "auto-detect fields" feature
- Fast and easy web form creation
- Outstanding customer service
- Features improving and being added regularly

Puntos en contra

- Some form requirements are just too complex for SeamlessDocs, so we have not been able to convert everything to the platform
- Loading forms into SeamlessDocs is NOT the quick load-and-go process that it may appear during an online demonstration; to get everything just right, each form requires about 1-4 hours of configuration time
- The back-end database (aka "the pipeline") is not accessible to everyone unless you pay for additional "users," so we rely on staff to print or save the PDF files they receive by email instead of giving them access to the forms through the database
- Some processes have been quite slow in the past, but it is getting better; security is improving as well

Consejos útiles

SeamlessDocs is an excellent choice if you want to put the forms you already use online and add the ability to take online signatures and online payments. If you are hoping for a complete forms management system where everyone can log in and track form progress, then the potential exists, but you may be disappointed.

The cons
--> Some of the terminology is not what one would expect. Ex. "Pipeline" vs database.
--> a few bugs have been found, although it should be noted they were fixed very quickly.
--> The "lobby" loads slowly (approximately 30 seconds), which can be frustrating for a user who is used to working fast.
--> Conditional statements are very important to us, which can not currently be done with this program. Ex. If I click this, then this set of choices are available. If I click another, a different set of choices are available. I have been advised this is potentially coming later this year, which may determine weather or not we renew our service.
--> There have been a few complaints from end users about the printing feature. Work-around for this: I tell them to open the PDF they receive in the email confirmation and print that in stead.

The pros
--> They are highly responsive to customer complaints, inquiries and questions. Everyone from the CTO to the random person answering the phone is knowledgeable, personable, professional and willing to help. In my opinion, this alone makes up for the majority of the cons listed above.
--> Reasonable price. Databases of this complexity can be quite costly because they take A LONG time to build. Considering what we get for the price, it's very reasonable.
--> Willingness to implement new ideas and truly listen to their customers. Ex. when we started authorize.net was not an add-on. We asked for it, we got it. It was that simple. Of course that's not to say every request can be honored and some of ours have not. But if it is within their power, I believe they will do it.
--> The features contained within this database are pretty cool. I would go over them, but your account rep can do a much better job of explaining their product than I can.

Overall, I have been pleased with the product and the company and would highly recommend them to both experienced computer users (like myself) or novices.