Enjoy 50% OFF your first month!  Use code: 2023BLOG

What Forms Do You Need In a Small Business

Having a small business or a one-person company can be one of the best ways to achieve financial independence and finally put your ideas on the market. You may be looking for techniques, systems, and tools such as online forms for small businesses, that can assist you in your needs in order to help your business grow.

Small businesses are more important than you think

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 30.7 million small businesses in the country, or, 99.9% of all United States businesses.

Small companies are responsible for 47.3% of all employed Americans. This means that as an entrepreneur you also have a great responsibility. You may not be feeling very original right now, but remember, your idea is unique, and the way you implement it has a big impact on its success.

small businesses in the USA infographic

Building your small business with online forms

In this article, you can find pieces of information you need to start your business, and to build your branding by using something you probably haven’t thought much so far – web forms.

Forms are useful to assist you with external communications, like improving the client intake process, onboarding new hires, and aiding you with your IRS update. Not to mention its importance in generating new leads and increasing your subscriber list.

Internal communications also benefit from custom forms. By using online forms you can track your incomes and expenses, see how your staff is doing and how the workplace environment is faring.

We will describe the most common small business forms that you can use to save company time and money.

How web forms can help your small business grow

Whether you are a one-person operation or a small business, you strive to grow with security and quality. In doing so, you wonder what kind of simple things, or quick actions can assist you to achieve your goals.

Having a well-designed and optimized website is something worth striving for since it allows your clients to get to know your business wherever they are. Besides all the SEO techniques that bring new clients in from their Google search, there is one more thing that can aid you to reach your lead-capturing goals: web forms.

Grow lead generation

Web forms can be embedded in your website or shared in social media or email campaigns by themselves. Everything about your web form design can be optimized to increase conversions. Plus you can incorporate functionalities like Real-time Data Capture, so you never lose a lead.

Get Feedback

Imagine a case scenario where you have a great product, how can you prove that it is actually great? With a feedback form where your client will be able to say where the experience was as good for the user. By having a feedback form you can track the quality of the service you are offering, that way you can improve significantly.

Easy employee management

If you have employees it is also important to think about how they feel at work, therefore, an HR form to see employee satisfaction can be proven useful. With it, you can establish what is needed to be improved, changed, included or removed from your workplace. This also shows your employees that you care about them.

The best part is – this is all digital, which makes you eco-friendly, can be easily automated and you can save time by creating all your forms with an online form builder.

Sales Business

Digital forms help save money

As an entrepreneur, you are concerned about optimizing expenses, and digital forms are a great way to help you with that.

Wide-net audience reach

A good form helps you to reach more people. Just remember to share it on the proper social media platform for your kind of business. You can share your company’s forms on social media, email campaigns, or on a landing page.

Segmented marketing campaigns

With customized fields to get specific information about your large-scale audience that will aid your growth. And with that data, you can create the right marketing campaign for each segmented audience that signs up for your newsletter.

Efficiency in digitalization

By making your forms all digital you can save money on papers, printing, and avoid lost information. You should also incorporate automation and integrate your data with productivity tools. This way you also save time and potentialize your system, facilitating your organization and records keeping.

Boost branding efforts

If you are a one-person or a small business, a startup striving to begin, just remember that there are all kinds of forms to assist you to start and grow. Forms to keep your business organized with data and information that you can collect and use quickly.

MightyForms offers several free form templates you can use, adding your business personality, making people associate your branding with your colors, typography and anything else that shows who you are.

With everything in order you can have organic growth and be well prepared for any complications or situations, your company may face.

Small Business Tax forms, Legal Forms and HR forms

As an entrepreneur you may already know this, but, here is a quick summary of tax forms for small businesses. No matter the size of your company, it can be just yourself or you can have employees, but you need to know and pay all the taxes so your development can work normally and legally.

There are forms you need to have in order when owning a small company, and the state forms can vary. But you can find these forms on the IRS website. It is essential that you have in mind all you need in order to structure your business. They are not as complicated as they sound and the IRS website has all the information to assist you.

small business tax forms

Federal Tax form for small businesses

The first thing you need to open your small business is an ID for your business, the Employer Identification Number (EIN) or also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number. This is the number for your state and federal that will identify your company. That can be done in your state’s department of taxation. If you have employees, remember to include them.

You need to file your company on the right kind of business you are, according to how the business is structured. Remember that those different kinds of entities file taxes on different days of the year. Make sure when you have to file your company’s tax.

Bank accounts for small business

Even a small company needs a bank account. Keep your records on track so you can do your best while filling your company taxes. You can always hire a good accountant, in-house or outsource to a qualified agent.

On the next topics, we discuss other kinds of forms that are important for you to build your small business

Your Small Business Also Needs Legal Forms

Every business needs legal forms. Even a one-person, a partnership or small business. According to the IRS, you have different procedures and legal documents depending on how your business is structured: if it is a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a small corporation.

You need to have a company’s bylaws. Be very concise and direct on how it’s structured and how the company is to be governed. It can prevent future discussions on how decisions are made, preventing unnecessary stress for the team.

A small business also needs, like any other business, a non-disclosure agreement for all private information, and a memorandum of understanding that displays any agreement made with partners, employees or consumers.

No matter what kind of document that you use, it has to be quick to fill, specific and simple to read and understand.

Human Resources Web Forms for a Small Business

Of all the forms you need and use at your small business none is more important than your Human Resources forms. HR carries the biggest responsibility in your business. It is responsible for anything involving humans, as the name says.

What HR forms can do for your small business

Your HR forms can tell you where in your company you need to improve in order to keep your staff healthy, hard-working and happy. It also considers where you need to save money or when you can do some investment or not. By having all the right HR forms in your small business you can track the growth of your company.

They can assure you of the real issues that your company has and where you need to keep improving.

Reasons for having HR forms in your small business

There are several reasons that make this the most significant web form you may use in your company. Some of them are:

  • To conduct surveys: The employees are the face of the company. By having surveys conducted regularly you will maintain your business competitively.
  • To register and store employees files: You also must keep records of your employees, like the I-9 file, a government file that says if a person can work in the U.S.; also a medical file from each one of your employees.
  • To set your company standards: HR dictates the company culture, tone, environment, how your staff communicates and how each area works together.

It has a lot of responsibilities and your small company needs to be concerned about all of it. You have to think about anti-discrimination policies, safety, and security, benefits, work schedules, vacations. For all that you can choose to use forms in order to be organized.

HR is usually responsible for hiring, and you need the right job application form, as we discussed above.

Below you can see a few of the most important HR forms for small businesses.

Employee Satisfaction Forms provide a reliable workplace

As an employer, you have to consider the welfare of your employees, even if your small company has only a few of them.

A research conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) in partnership with the Young Entrepreneurs Council, concludes that 65% of millennials (adults born between 1980 and late 1990) believe that personal development is more relevant than money.

Therefore, an effective satisfaction survey form helps you listen to the needs of all kinds of employees your small business may have. And it improves performance by listening to what your collaborators have to say, creating a democratic space, guaranteeing your staff their personal growth as well of your company.

Employee Surveys allow you to know better your business

By conducting surveys you can create plans of action to work with all the personnel that is with you day in and day out. They are all part of your business.

You can build a great company, a safe workplace, with staff engagement. A place that grows by itself and the perfect HR form can assist you to construct that kind of place you think your company should be.

What kind of questions can you ask on an employee satisfaction form?

This is the feedback from your staff. Always remember that the people who work with and for you are representatives of your brand, and (sometimes) consumers of your products. If you don’t promote a safe environment, people will lose trust in your product.

Nowadays people believe that is more important to be recognized in their workspace than make a lot of money, as already stated.

With that in mind, you can make surveys regularly. Ask about how the person finds the environment safe, how are the relationship with superiors and coworkers, what they believe that can be changed, what can be improved, if there is need for something new or if something has to be removed.

It can be simple things, like a new coffee machine, it can be something more complicated, like someone who does not belong there any longer.

Having descriptive and quick forms you can easily discover how your company can grow with a more healthy environment.

Create a job application form - MightyForms

Small Business job application forms

So you begin as a solopreneur. But your idea is great and, sooner than you think, you are in need of employees. Or your business idea requires you to start with people working for you right away. How to find the right person?

This is a very important question because hiring means expending a lot of your resources and time. As a small company, you may not have all that budget.

So you have to optimize your hiring process by using the right web form. This can save you a lot of money. All you have to do is use a responsive HR form specific for your small business, simple and direct, with which you can gather all the information you need from job seekers.

Online Job application questions

The standard employment application form asks for key pieces of information, like name, email address, phone number, and work experience. But you can look for more specific topics and ask for things that can make it easier for you to find the right person for the open position.

Make sure you don’t violate Federal Labor Laws or even the specific State Labor Laws applicable to your business when choosing your questions.

You can add form fields that ask questions like how many hours that are available to work per week and which shifts are preferable, certifications achieved, job skills, eligibility to work in the United States, years of related experience, etc. Naturally, try to ask only for what is relevant and required for the open position.

Other kinds of questions that allow you to know the candidates better and evaluate the best ones for your company. You may ask:

  • How did you hear of the position?
  • Why do you want to work here?
  • Are you able to commute to our location?
  • Describe yourself in a few words.
  • How can your experience assist you in this position?
  • What were the most important accomplishments in your life? It can be at work or personal.
  • What was the most difficult challenge you have faced?

You can create more questions or vary the ones above, adjust your form according to the position for which you need candidates, and keep in mind the profile of your small business.

Make a checklist with the job requirements

It is a great resource for when you have a vacancy and you are looking for a specific kind of worker. You will be able to fill your business requirements and look directly for those who complete the checklist.

The process can vary from business to business. By using the web form you should consider all the aspects that are required for filling the vacancy, like intellectual and physical abilities and how they apply to the work environment.

Save your lists on files that each position your business has so when you need to hire you can look for it and use it. Since it is all digital you can facilitate the storage of data speeding up access to them when needed.

Create a useful and proper job application web form

With an effective form, you can save both yours and the applicant time. It has to be simple, direct, easy to read and answer, with a professional design.

Hiring can be a very expensive and long process. Which is why we offer your small business free job application templates. While we have multiple theme templates you can use, you can always create your own, and customize your forms to make them match your brand.

Make your job application mobile-friendly

You must also think about candidates that are using mobile devices as a way to fill out the application form. The form must be responsive to suit all candidates who access your form on devices such as laptops, desktop, tablets, and smartphones. By considering this you show concern for the accessibility of your business candidates. That is an action that reflects in your brand.

According to a Glassdoor survey, the number of candidates using a mobile phone to seek a job is high. Among the people with a bachelor’s degree, 47% of them use mobile devices to job hunt.

Thereby, it is important to realize the relevance of using mobile-friendly form templates for your applications. Forms created with MightyForms are responsive by default.

responsive online forms - MightyForms

Customer Growth Forms

As an entrepreneur or small company, you need to invest in marketing so you can grow. One way to do so is to have a mailing list so you can send promotions, pieces of information about new products or services, everything that helps your client gain loyalty and trust in your company.

Build a Mailing List Form

Sometimes the saying is true: you have to spend money to make money. Marketing is proof of that. Email marketing is not only the most usual method of marketing but is also the most efficient. It has the most returned investment. Studies show that for each $1 invested in email marketing you have $40 in return, which means 4000% of return on investment (ROI). Therefore, you must have to do this investment.

How a mailing list can help my small business?

By e-mailing your leads you can transform them into clients. Through special and customized offers, you also work on customer retention.

Unlike social media advertisements, the email list sets a connection between your business and the client. Through the emails, you hold the user’s attention and can lead to the process of purchase.

But to create a mailing list you need to get subscribers. And a well-made, lead-capturing web form can get them for you. You can convince new subscribers with some kind of incentive, but if your form is a mess, they won’t stay on your website or become subscribers.

Remember: always keep your form within the design of your company identity, clean and effortless to identify.

Optimize your mailing list form

It is through email marketing that you can get to know your user tastes and needs, and become able to send the proper offers by emailing everything that the user can possibly feel like purchasing.

It is a personal approach in marketing and guarantees efficiency. In time you will make special offers for those in your mailing list since they are your users and they are part of what you stand for.

Make sure that you have a “subscribe here” box very visible so you do not waste time from your user and eventually miss subscribers. It is more efficient and effective if you have that box on every page of your website.

Real-Time Data Capture for lead generation

One more tool to assist you in personalizing your mailing form is our Real-time Data Capture. With this tool, you can check abandonment from your forms and look for solutions. That can aid you in your pursuit to offer the best service and generate lead. You can see how many people abandon your forms as well as keep tracking of all submissions concluded.

Mailing list and budget

Small businesses usually don’t have much budget to spend on mailing lists. According to Clutch’s 2018 Small Business Survey, 47% of small companies spent less than $10,000 with digital marketing, including email marketing.

Most of the small businesses – 61% – use their website as marketing. So it’s essential to add a very good and responsive web form for new subscribers on your website.

Remember to check our mailing subscription form templates for your small business here, made to help your company grow.

Enhance Your Contact Form to generate leads

Your company deserves a good website and, with it, a contact form. This allows your visitors to keep in touch with your business needs and will lead your actions to improve what needs to be improved. It also creates a better connection with your brand. Because of that, you have to create a contact form that is easy to associate with your company colors and typography.

With a contact form, you can be gathering all the essential information about your user and clients. You can choose to have a standard contact form or add more relevant fields, creating a more specific form that can allow you to gather more information for your business.

MightyForms is also available as a WordPress plugin and can assist you on the path to get the best contact form for your small business or enterprise.

Hello contact form - MightyForms
Creating a Contact Form for a small business

Your form must be intuitive and optimized to start a conversation. This is in order to create trust in your branding.

Since it is the main way users can find you, it has to be clearly visible. The contact page is commonly one of the most visited pages on a website since it is how a business can connect with its audience. You can have fields with pieces of information from your business like phone and address and even can have a map. As a small business, you have to work harder to make it efficient and effective.

How to structure your contact form

Remember to consider all aspects when creating a small business contact form, such as:

  • Design – it must reflect your brand
  • Form Fields – make it simple
  • Optimize – quick and easy to fill out

You want to be contacted, right? Then, make sure that people can find the right place fast, make the button visible and, again, easy to access.

That creates a conversation between business and client. Which is one of your business goals and is also great for your company’s growth.

Online Order Forms for Small Businesses

If you are selling something on your website or offering some kind of service, it is imperative that you have an Order Form, even if you’re still a small company or one-person business. These kinds of forms can guide you during your sales, by keeping track of your product stock, manage your time and income.

Why use order forms?

An order form is something like a contract between a company and its client. It has all the terms agreed on, like price and date of the expedition and delivery, and address to deliver the product. It is a legal bonding among the two parts. It is advantageous for your business to have this legal support.

Another benefit of using the order form is that it improves your fiscal control, building a mechanism more efficient for your IRS income tax.

What are must-have fields in an Order Form?

There are important things you need to make a good order form, and a clean design can make it more efficient. It must have your branding design, just as your contact form.

Some form fields that your order form can include:

  • Company name
  • Physical address
  • Purchase sector
  • Payment information and terms
  • Agreement space

You can add more information if your product or service requires so. Remember that every form you use in your company has to match with your business stands and image. That is the company identity.

Feedback Forms on Improving your Business

A good feedback form can more efficiently improve your product and service. By using a feedback form, you show responsibility and concern with your client, revealing that your small business stands upon an efficient policy that values improvement and better meets the customer expectations.

Get to know your clients through feedback forms

The feedback enables you to keep the company productive and competitive. It is important to know who your users are, what they need and want, what they approve, and what they dislike, so you can change and do it better.

This also helps you know how the user came to know your product and whether he would refer you to someone. Not to mention you can find out what reasons would lead him to suggest your product or service, and what parts he believes can be considered flaws in your company. This gives you direction on how to act in order to improve and always offer the best.

Why your small business needs a feedback form

The feedback is your quality control system that conducts your company to reach the goals that have been set.

Your feedback form can be for your product, service, for employees’ performance or for how the website is built and organized. It can also be for the newsletter you send.

What fields are important in a feedback form

Feedback forms usually have patterns questions about the quality, if expectations were achieved, if the service went well and if the consumer had any doubt that was not solved, among other common questions.

You use a feedback form to learn and improve your business, to stand out in the market and always offer the best to your customer.

Expense Forms: keeping records of your company’s money

You are an entrepreneur and you know that money matters. It is important you keep track of every expense your company may have. It can be the chair your employee has requested or the trip for a conference.

You need forms for all kinds of expenses. Trough these forms you can to keep track of things like equipment, staff, rentals, loans, or any other expense you may have, it needs forms and records. Never forget about your monthly expenses like bills, salaries, and benefits.

It can also include all the freelancers your company may require in order to function. Basically, any expense you may have you must keep records, for your control and for IRS.

Business Policies Forms and Company Rules

You know this. Every time you subscribe to something new you have to agree with its terms. The same goes for your company.

Even a small business requires a policy and your employees must know and agree with it. It is a legal matter.

These are the company rules, including privacy policy, if it requires a dress code or not, behavior, check-in time, hours of work per day or week, use of the mobile phone during work hours, computer and internet use, legal aspects in general.

Your small business can have a Terms of Use and Privacy Policy form or add it to existent forms where all personnel can check the business policy and agreed with it.

Attendance web forms

You may wonder why your small business needs a clock-in-and-out attendance system. And we give you four reasons to use web forms as a way to check your personnel punctuality.

  1. The first reason to consider is that an online form is the real-time data collecting, which assists you on keep track of the hours of each employee is doing by day. This way you can follow your personnel working schedule
  2. You can easily organize your records on absences and time-off requests using online data.
  3. We have stated this a few times in this article: save money. It is a digital form that supports your system and you do not need to spend money on a punch clock or biometric device to monitor the entry and exit of your staff.
  4. Manage overtime. By using a digital system you get to know when an employee is doing overtime, facilitating your payroll, and even bonus considerations.

As we can see there are good reasons to have a clock in and out method, even if you have a small company with few people working for you.

Small business and online forms

During this article, we presented you with the most common forms you will be using while administrating and conducting your small business.

Web forms can facilitate your job, help you optimize time and organize everything, keeping a safe record of your company tracks.

It is very important that you keep your branding present, something people can associate immediately to your business and use that on your website and your forms.

Remember to always make your forms as simple as they can be, concise but informative.

Your business is original in its details and you can gain trust by having the right tools.

You can find on our website free templates for any kind of form you may need in your small business, and edit then as you wish, according to your business personality.

Good luck with your new path.

WRITTEN BY

Heloise Montini

Heloise Montini is a journalist and SEO specialist. She writes about travel, news, and, as a hobby, creative writing. She is always available for new challenges and learning.