If you’re tired of dealing with clunky paper forms, long data entry times, and disconnects between your field and back-office teams, you’re not alone. According to Quickbase’s 2025 Gray Work Research, 56% of professionals say the amount of manual work in their job has increased, and 59% feel it’s harder than ever to be productive. It’s clear that the old ways of managing field data just aren’t working anymore.
That’s why our FastField updates—like OCR and the AI Form Converter—are such a game-changer. These features are built to save time, reduce busy work, and give field teams what they really need: speed and simplicity. Here are the key takeaways from our recent FastField Feature Focus webinar.
What’s New in FastField?
FastField just rolled out some exciting features designed to make your field operations faster, smoother, and more accurate than ever. The goal: bridge the gap between field and back office and reduce the time and effort it takes to process data. With the introduction of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and the AI Form Converter, you can now convert paper forms to digital ones in a flash and auto-fill fields based on scanned data. All this, while maintaining the accuracy and reliability that field teams need to operate at their best.
OCR: Scanning Made Simple
Anyone in the field knows how much time is wasted manually entering data, especially when dealing with model numbers, serial numbers, and other repetitive info. Enter AI-powered OCR. Just scan a label or barcode, and the OCR feature grabs the details and auto-fills fields like model numbers or serial numbers for you. No more typing long strings of numbers and codes—just faster, more accurate data with less room for error.
You saw it in action at Empower: one quick scan, and the right info dropped straight into the form—like magic. It’s currently in beta for iOS, with Android support coming soon. That means less data entry and more getting things done.
AI Form Converter: Goodbye, Paper Forms
We all know the pain of dealing with paper forms—whether it’s trying to decipher bad handwriting or manually entering data from old paper forms into your system. The AI Form Converter is here to change that. This feature lets you upload a paper form or PDF and converts it into a fully functional digital form ready for deployment in minutes.
Snap a photo of a paper form (even a sketch on a napkin) and within seconds, turn it into a ready-to-use digital form that’s completely editable. It auto-recognizes the sections, assigns the right field types, and makes the form fully usable in FastField. This means no more spending hours (or days) re-creating forms from scratch.
FastField in Action
During the webinar, we got a live demo of how these new features work in action. FastField expert Matthew Frye showed us how it’s done, live. He used an HVAC inspection form that was previously filled out by hand with a pen and a clipboard. With FastField’s AI Form Converter, he simply uploaded the PDF of the HVAC inspection form, and within seconds, the system generated a working digital form. He was able to tweak it a bit, then send it to the field team—no coding required!
Real-Time Integration with Quickbase
Once the field team submits a form, the data is automatically synced with Quickbase, where it can trigger workflows, create new tasks, and alert the right people in real-time. This tight integration ensures that field data is immediately actionable, making it easier for teams to stay on top of things.
In the demo, we saw how a field tech could fill out an inspection form on-site, and as soon as they hit submit, the data was sent to Quickbase. If there was a critical issue, like a broken part, it would trigger an automated task for a technician to follow up. This level of integration saves you so much time, keeps your data flowing, and helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
And it’s not just about efficiency—it’s about visibility and control. Our latest Gray Work report shows that 75% of workers say multiple project management tools make it hard to see all their data in one place. FastField’s real-time syncing with Quickbase brings everything under one roof, so teams aren’t left chasing information across a dozen disconnected platforms.
What Makes This a Game-Changer
These updates don't just make your field team’s life easier—they help improve the accuracy and speed of your operations, too. When forms are digitized quickly and automatically, you’re reducing human error and increasing data quality. And with real-time syncing between FastField and Quickbase, you can ensure that every action is tracked and that decisions can be made faster.
Here’s what you need to know about the new capabilities:
- AI Form Converter: Turn paper forms into working digital forms in minutes—no manual input required.
- OCR: Scan labels to auto-fill fields—reducing data entry time and human error.
- Real-Time Data Syncing: All field data flows directly into Quickbase, triggering workflows and tasks automatically.
- Smarter Workflows: Once a form is submitted, it can trigger follow-up tasks, automated alerts, and more.
Together, these updates directly tackle common field ops challenges head-on, cutting down on repetitive work and giving teams valuable time back to focus on meaningful, high-impact tasks.
What’s Next?
FastField’s latest features—like the AI Form Converter and OCR—are just the start. These tools are already making a huge difference for teams that rely on fast, accurate field data. And there’s more coming. With upcoming AI-powered enhancements like global workflow automation and smarter routing, FastField is only getting more powerful.
Whether you're in construction, HVAC, or any other field-heavy industry, these upgrades are built to streamline your work and connect your field and office teams quickly, accurately, and with less effort. Want to see it all in action? Watch the full webinar on-demand here.
