When you’re debating which software to use for your forms and registration, it can be hard to decide which software is the best fit.
Deciding which features go on your “must have” list and what options each software can provide that help solve your pain points, takes some research.
Formstack and Regpack are both great options if you need to create an online form, collect payments, and create reports to help manage your programs.
Regpack is a full-service online Registration software, and includes a more robust system for reporting, payment flexibility such as payment plans and automatic payments, and more.
Formstack is very much a “form” software than a full registration and payment suite. They do offer integrations that allow you to collect payments, and produce reports from your data.
Pricing
If you’re trying to decide between Regpack and Formstack, chances are pricing is fairly important to you.
Formstack is definitely has cheaper options that Regpack, with the cheapest option being just $19 per month. However, this only allows the creation of five forms.
Regpack also works on tiered pricing with the lowest tier being $89 per month. That’s more expensive than many Formstack options but also gives you unlimited forms as well as all of the other services that Regpack offers included.
Integration
The online world seems to have connected everything and registrants want those connections to be as simple as possible. Regpack and Formstack attempt to make this the case in different ways.
Regpack connects registrants to the user’s website through a process called Embedded Registration. In this process, the Regpack processes required are hosted on the user’s website. This only requires a single line of code, which Regpack sends to the user. Statistics show that when registration and payments happen on YOUR website, you will increase enrollment by 27%.
Regpack also offers a hosted option if you don’t have a website or do not want to place your registration flow on your website. Having multiple options allows each client to customize the experience their users will have.
Formstack doesn’t have an option like that, so registrants will have to leave the user’s website to fill out the required forms and connect over to their Formstack system. However, Formstack is integrated with a number of other websites including Dropbox, Hubspot, and others. This makes it easier for users to organize information that they have spread out over a variety of other webpages and services.
Data Analytics
Forms are a way to organize information but they should also be a way to learn about how people use your services and how you can improve those services. This can be done by pen and paper but both Regpack and Formstack offer advanced analytical tools that can do this work for you.
Both Regpack and Formstack offer analytical and organizational tools that allow users to sort and organize information based on a huge number of metrics based on their forms and filled in documents.
Formstack goes one step further, however, by offering special tools for “AB testing.” This is the most basic form of what’s called “multivariate testing.” In multivariate testing, multiple versions of a single document or artifact are available to users at a time. This allows administrators to determine what aspects of the document are working better than others so that the document can be gradually improved. It’s a wonderful feature, if you need it!
Regpack allows for dynamic reporting, which is a fancy way of saying that you can report on any data point in your system in a dynamic way. Regpack’s filter tools allow you to filter and find the specific users in your system, and run any number of custom reports on that data. In this way, unlike a static report, Regpack’s reporting tools allow you to view your data in anyway that makes sense for your team and work more efficiently.
Form Creation
Form creation is an important part of the administrator’s job. It is also a significant part of the software solutions offered by both Regpack and Formstack. They both approach this presumably basic task in very different ways.
The Formstack system works by providing a number of different common form elements which can then be dragged and dropped into a working document. This allows users to create custom forms from scratch.
Regpack allows you to build out an unlimited amount of forms, with a customized flow using their conditional logic functionality. A client’s first project is built out by a Project Manager with experience in the client’s field. Forms are custom built and can be copied over into future projects for ease of use year and after.
Regpack also provides form templates, so you can skip the build process and get straight to work. Form templates are offered for camp registration, course registration, class registration, trip registration and more!
Payments
Both Regpack and Formstack allow for registrants to pay through the platform.
Regpack has payments integrated right into the registration flow, which ensures that payments and data collection happen on your website.
Regpack offers processing starting at 1.5% with no additional transaction fees. The system also allows for saved cards on file, automated payment plans and robust payment reporting.
Both Regpack and Formstack offer a secure way to pay online. Both systems offer a way to add discounts to a user’s cart and confirmation emails when a payment is made.
Platform
One of the biggest differences between Regpack and Formstack is that Formstack is meant for form generation and Regpack is meant for registration.
That means that Regpack has a number of registration tools and features that Formstack doesn’t. These include Schedular and Check-In, a tool that lets users give their potential registrants a number of windows that they can register for. This helps registrants sign up for multiple events or events that are still far off on the calander. It also helps for users to keep track of when they have registrants signed up for events, how their registrations match set quotas, and other metrics.
Another useful tool offered by Regpack is the Group Registration feature. This tool makes it easier for groups to register under a single account, whether it’s a couple signing up for a cruise, a parent signing kids up for camp, or a group of friends signing up for a tour together. Formstack has a similar tool that allows registrants to share documents between members of a group but it still requires that each member of the group have their own profile.
Which One Is Right For You?
That’s not for us to say. Organizations that are document heavy but don’t require frequent or advanced event registration can likely get by with Formstack. Organizations that do have frequent or advanced event registration needs will find that Regpack has everything that they need to craft most documents as well as added utility and versatility that doesn’t come with more limited – if cheaper – software options.
