Chapter 22

Forms Design and Control

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
1 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Objectives of Forms Control Programs

1. To guard against the development of unneeded

forms.
2. To eliminate unneeded existing forms.
3. To assist in the development and design of
efficient forms.
4. To consolidate and simplify existing forms when
appropriate.
5. To provide a continuous review of existing
forms.
6. To facilitate the development of efficient work
procedures that involve the use of forms.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
2 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Steps in Designing a Forms Control Program

1. Catalog forms.
2. Classify forms.
3. Analyze forms.
4. Eliminate forms.
5. Consolidate forms.
6. Develop design guidelines.
7. Develop forms.
8. Print forms.
9. Maintain perpetual supply inventory.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
3 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Cataloging Forms
(1 of 2)
Enables those individuals responsible for the forms
control program to determine the nature, type, and
purpose for forms used throughout the organization.

Reveals the Following:

1. Primary purpose of each form.

2. Forms used by each department or work unit.
3. Frequency of use of each form.
4. Number of copies of a multiple-copy form set.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
4 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Cataloging Forms
(2 of 2)

Reveals the Following:

5. Routing of each copy of a multiple-copy form

set.
6. Final disposition of each copy of a multiple
copy form set.
7. Primary method of entering data on each of the
forms.
8. Relationship among various forms.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
5 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Classifying Forms

Forms are typically classified by

function and by number.
Forms are organized according
Function to their specific purpose.

Forms are organized according

Number
to the identification number each
is assigned.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
6 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Analyzing Forms

Often results in reducing the cost of creating and

processing a form.
Provides answers to these questions:
1. What is the primary purpose of the form?
2. Does the form contain the necessary information
to fulfill its purpose?
3. Do the design specifications on the form accom-
modate its data entry, transmittal, filing, and
retrieval requirements?
4. Does the form contain any extraneous information?
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
7 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Eliminating Forms

When analysis indicates that certain forms are either

no longer used or need to be used, their
elimination should be considered.
In some instances, new forms take over the function
of old forms.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
8 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Consolidating Forms

Forms analysis may reveal that certain forms

contain like information.
If they contain enough like information, then two or
more forms can perhaps be consolidated into one
new form.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
9 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Developing Design Guidelines
(1 of 2)

These guidelines dictate the design of new forms.

Guidelines should be developed before new forms
are designed to help assure the uniformity and
compatibility of forms.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
10 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Developing Design Guidelines
(2 of 2)
Guidelines
1. When the same information appears on several
forms, it should appear in the same location on each
form.
2. Information that is to be transferred from one form
to another should appear in the same sequence on
both forms.
3. When control of forms is important, the forms
should be numbered sequentially.
4. The design of the form should be guided by such
characteristics as simplicity, practicality, and
ease of use.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
11 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Developing Forms

Before a new form is developed, its need must

be justified.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
12 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Printing Forms

Forms are printed both in-house and

externally.
Availability of needed printing equipment is
generally the deciding factor.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
13 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Maintaining Perpetual Supply Inventory

This helps ensure that forms supply is never

depleted.
When supply reaches a predetermined
minimum level, it is replenished.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
14 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Types of Forms Used in Offices

Continuous
Unit-set
Carbonless
MICR
OCR
Mark-sense
Electronic

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
15 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Continuous Forms

Are attached to one another, although they likely

have perforations to separate each form.

Types of Continuous Forms

Fan-fold
Roll
Removable side strip
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
16 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Unit-Set Forms

Are maintained as separate forms.

May be either single or multiple copy.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
17 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Carbonless Forms

Use a process in which the backside of one copy

and the face side of the next copy are coated.
When pressure is put on the top form, a chemical
reaction occurs between the coatings, which
produces the image.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
18 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 MICR Forms

Are used primarily by financial institutions to

expedite the processing and storing of
numerical data.
Imprinted numbers are magnetized.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
19 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 OCR Forms

Use both alphabetic and numerical data.

As forms are read, the data are transferred to a
computer.
Handwritten characters can be read by scanners.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
20 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Mark-Sense Forms

Contains shapes (rectangles, circles, squares)

that are darkened.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
21 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Electronic Forms

Are a new, fast-growing type of form used in

organizations.
Two types: software-based and Web-based forms.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
22 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Software-Based Forms

Are created by:

Scanning a paper-based document using
OCR equipment.
Entering data into fields displayed on a
computer screen.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
23 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Web-Based Forms

Are used both internally and externally in many

organizations.
Forms are created using HTML coding.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
24 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Advantages of Using Electronic Forms
(1 of 2)

Filling in the variable information on an

electronic form is quicker than handwriting or
using a typewriter to fill in a paper form.
Need to keep an inventory of paper forms is
greatly diminished because fewer paper copies of
forms will likely be prepared.
Need to enter redundant information on several
forms is greatly reduced.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
25 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Advantages of Using Electronic Forms
(2 of 2)

Need to file paper copies is greatly reduced.

Information stored on electronic forms can be
retrieved more readily than that stored on
paper copies.
Template of an electronic form can be easily and
quickly revised as the need arises.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
26 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Forms Design

Efficiency with which information is entered on a

form depends on its design.
Care needs to be exercised in designing forms.
Forms are designed both internally and
externally.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
27 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Prerequisites to Forms Design

1. The purpose of the form needs to be

determined.
2. The nature of the equipment on which the form
will be processed needs to be determined.
3. The relationship between the form being
studied and any other previously developed
forms must be assessed.
4. The length of time that various copies must be
legally retained needs to be determined.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
28 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Purpose of Form

Determines these elements:

1. Type of information to be included.
2. Number of copies that will be needed.
3. Routing of each copy of the form.
4. Nature of completion directions or
instructions needed on the form.
5. Need for any control procedures.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
29 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Nature of Equipment

Equipment on which form will be processed may

restrict its size.
Equipment will also determine whether automatic
feeding of the form is possible.
Equipment will also determine whether paper on
which the form is printed has to possess
certain characteristics.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
30 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Relationship Between Form Being
Studied and Other Forms

If the new form and an existing form are related,

they need to be compatible.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
31 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Length of Time Copies Have
to be Retained

Some forms have a legal life as specified by the

statute of limitations.
Forms have to withstand that length of time.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
32 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Design Elements
(1 of 2)

Adequate identification
Alignment of items
Preprinting
Prenumbering
Instructions
Identification number

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
33 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Design Elements
(2 of 2)

Type of carbon
Data-entry method
Paper
Color
Size
Print type size
Shading
Adequate margin size
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
34 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Adequate Identification

Needs to include name of form.

If form is an external one, name and address
of organization should be included also.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
35 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Alignment of Items

Various items should be aligned so only a

minimum number of tabs have to be set,
especially if form is typically filled in on a
typewriter.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
36 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Preprinting

Forms should have as much preprinted

information as possible.
This makes form fill-in much more economical.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
37 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Prenumbering

If forms have a control concern, they should be

preprinted with numbers in sequential order.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
38 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Instructions

On complex forms, instructions may need to be

included.
They should be placed as closely as possible to
information to which they pertain.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
39 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Identification Number

The identification number typically includes the

department number, the form number, the
date on which it was last revised, and the
quantity printed.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
40 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Type of Carbon

Several factors help determine the appropriate type

of carbon.
1. Frequency of use of form.
2. Number of copies of the form that must be
made.
3. Confidentiality of form.
4. Opportunity for tampering with data on the form.
5. Method for entering data on the form.
6. Equipment used in processing the form.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
41 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Data-Entry Method

Data-entry method has a bearing on the spacing

and design of the form.
Different design features should be used when the
primary data-entry method is handwriting than
when the form is filled in using equipment.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
42 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Paper

Paper must be considered because it determines

how long the form will last, how well the paper
feeds through equipment, etc.
Paper considerations:
1. Weight of paper.
2. Grade of paper.
3. Grain of paper.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
43 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Color

Should keep the color of paper and ink to a

minimum when printing forms.
Should not use either colored paper or colored ink
just for appearance sake.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
44 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Size

Proper size of form is determined by data-entry

method, etc.
Form should be as small as circumstances allow.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
45 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Print Type Size

Should keep the number of different type styles to

a minimum.
Print size should not be a detriment to reading ease.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
46 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Shading

Areas of the form can be shaded for emphasis

purposes.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
47 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Adequate Margin Size

Data-entry method determines margin size.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
48 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Forms Design Software

A number of software programs are now available

that facilitate the design of forms.
Factors to consider in selecting program include:
1. Hardware on which it will be used.
2. Ability of software to accept scanned
information.
3. Format features the software accommodates.
Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
49 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
 Professional Forms Services

Provide a number of services for their clients,

Including:
1. Forms design.
2. Forms production.
3. Forms storage.
4. Forms replenishment.

Administrative Office Management, 8/e ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

by Zane Quible Pearson Prentice Hall
50 Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458