Dropbox Paper is a web-based, co-editing tool that includes word processing, document creation and coordination features.
The tool is free to use and allows multiple people to collaborate on a document.
N/A
Formstack Documents
Score 7.3 out of 10
N/A
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.
Dropbox Paper is suited for creating very simple documents, where you are collaborating with other users. It is particularly useful in a work environment that primarily uses Dropbox as a storage and file management solution. If you need to create documents where you need more enhanced formatting features, you would need to use Google Docs, or Microsoft Word.
[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.
Its presentation capabilities can definitely be improved, including how page-by-page presentation is to be done & how aspect ratios are maintained for different resolutions.
More flexibility in text editing would be a great addition to the text editing functionality, for example, additional fonts would be a nice thing to have.
Introducing additional to-do list software capabilities or task management functionality would enhance the software greatly as well.
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.
Paper is a good option for those people looking for a lightweight content creation & collaboration tool & especially if you are already using dropbox. However, all the capabilities that Paper has are not so powerful in-depth of flexibility & range of functionality, for example, for to-do lists or task management there are many other better options out there.
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.
Dropbox Paper has allowed all of our employees to be much more productive and on track even when we can't be in the office, which from a management standpoint is a huge positive impact. They know that productivity isn't slowing or lacking when everyone isn't actually sitting in the office under their watchful eye.
It has had a huge impact on our turn around time and speed of getting more work and projects completed. The more work you can effectively get done in a time period means more money for the bottom line.
It has made the majority of our team members more accountable and reliable when they know everyone is working together on something and each person has their own checklist of items to complete. It is especially helpful that everyone can see the same checklist, so everyone knows what each other is accomplishing.
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.
