ActiveDocs is a document management software offering from ActiveDocs.
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Formstack Documents
Score 7.3 out of 10
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Formstack Documents (formerly WebMerge, acquired by Formstack April 2019) is an online service that automates the document creation process. It allows users to create customized PDF and Word documents for contracts, applications, government forms, and more.
I often use ActiveDocs for team building materials. During the day to day rush, we really like to use the models provided, we can be agile with that ease. And the team can share different documents. We no longer have to spend hours in front of the computer typing up a document that can easily be created in minutes.
[Formstack Documents (formerly WebMerge) is] well suited for a mid-size organization that has multiple data inputs and needs to provide structure and professional document generation. As helpful as it is, the cost would prevent smaller businesses from realizing the cost savings that a larger one will.
It consumes PDF applications and prefills them from a database or form. If your file is not in PDF form it can work from applications such as Microsoft Word.
It has logic that enables you to bundle applications based on criteria. For example you could bundle state specific applications with a new business applications if a state criteria is met.
It has several integrations partners in the fields of E Signature and Forms.
If you don't know anything about these types of programs, it can be hard to learn it at first. There is a bit of a learning curve, especially when you get into the designer. It looks like MS Word, but not as expansive.
Lingo. There have been times I've delved into the more complicated pieces and the lingo used wasn't easy to understand. This hasn't occurred much.
I would like it to keep up with current upgrades for MS Office, but I also realize they can't be trying to match other companies while trying to maintain the innovation of their own.
Very good usability overall. Any user can pick this up and run with it. HotDocs, the closest competitor, has similar end-user usability, but from a designer of templates perspective, ActiveDocs definitely has the edge in this regard. I would recommend this for any company that mass produces documents from templates as deliverables.
The software overall is very excellent. It responds quickly and produces documents well. The integration with systems makes data input easy. Questions can be designed to allow further expansion of template creation/customization. The rules section is very useful for complicated If/Than/Else style templates. Although experience and training help, the software is very user-friendly out of the box.
ActiveDocs can be a considerably complex product because your use cases can be potentially endless. In our experience, when we have come across a problem or issue with the product ActiveDoc's support has always responded to our queries within 24 hours. Support is only provided via email in 95% of cases. Each year your support and maintenance includes support hours. These are used when you contact support and your issue is not found to be a bug or problem with the product (completely fair and understandable). When we've identified or discovered bugs (mainly with the latest version of Word) it is patched by the next release. They typically release about 4-5 updates per year.
ActiveDocs and HotDocs are very similar. HotDocs requires training or a technically savvy mind to pick up and run with. ActiveDocs seems much more user-friendly and easy to use. HotDocs, however, can produce some very intricate documents based on the templates. Both use rules and question-based information intake. Another benefit of ActiveDocs is its integration with numerous systems including Office 365.
Formstack Documents [(formerly WebMerge)] has better overall integration with third-party integrators at a very competitive cost. That allowed us to have a broader range of choices than something like SharePoint at a better cost point than something like DocuSign. It was simple to implement, flexible, and gave us what we needed without a lot of extra fuss.
Formstack was an absolute necessity for us and during our busy season, it saves our client team approx. 15 hours a week. This is MASSIVE and allows us to take on more clients.
Formstack wasn't crazy intensive to set up timewise, but it took a team member a day to set up and a few days of testing. Once it was set, we have no reason to look back unless we want to add something on.
