Google Forms vs. Square 9 Softworks

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Forms
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Forms is an app for creating forms and surveys, and is part of Google Apps for Work. The product focuses on ease of use; the interface is similar to a document editor, with drop down lists of options and drag and drop question re-ordering. Users can embed images and video into surveys. Users can also program the question flow with custom logic. Google sends users basic summaries of the survey results automatically, or users can export the raw survey results data and analyze it via…N/A
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
N/A
For document-intensive companies looking to improve business efficiency, Square 9 Softworks develops solutions for process automation that aim to drive increased productivity across all business applications.
$45
per month per seat
Pricing
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Process Automation Essentials
$45
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Digital Transformation Essentials
$68
per month per user (5 User Minimum)
Square 9 Enterprise Essentials
$75
per month per user (10 User Minimum)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details—Offered via a three-tier pricing model that allows customers to scale their solution up or down based on the changing needs of their organization. Pricing excludes professional services and implementation fees
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons

No answers on this topic

Features
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Survey Format & Appearance
Comparison of Survey Format & Appearance features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
7.6
106 Ratings
3% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Survey templates7.799 Ratings00 Ratings
Themes7.599 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom logo/branding7.785 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Content
Comparison of Survey Content features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.1
104 Ratings
6% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Changes to live survey8.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Question design help7.886 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple question types8.5103 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Logic
Comparison of Survey Logic features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
7.8
94 Ratings
7% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Survey logic flexibility7.894 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Survey Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.0
105 Ratings
3% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Response tracking8.2103 Ratings00 Ratings
Data export8.599 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.198 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports7.777 Ratings00 Ratings
Analytics7.781 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Administration & Security
Comparison of Survey Administration & Security features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.2
99 Ratings
2% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Access controls8.397 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance8.176 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Distribution
Comparison of Survey Distribution features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
7.6
73 Ratings
6% below category average
Square 9 Softworks
-
Ratings
Vendor-offered crowdsourcing7.534 Ratings00 Ratings
Respondent restrictions7.771 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
PowerDMS by NEOGOV
Score 9.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Medallia
Medallia
Score 9.1 out of 10
M‑Files
M‑Files
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(109 ratings)
9.6
(42 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(3 ratings)
9.1
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(49 ratings)
8.6
(4 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.2
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(48 ratings)
8.6
(22 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
3.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google FormsSquare 9 Softworks
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Google Forms works really well when you need to quickly gather information and store it in a standardized format. It also works well if your organization is already using other Google products.
If you don't use other Google products, another service may be a better fit for you. Additionally, if you need your forms to be highly customized for marketing purposes, for example, you might have an easier time with other tools.
That being said, Google Forms is well supported and is highly flexible and would likely work well for many companies.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks is great in data management and flow. For us, they've done an excellent job with the Health Screening Tools, Cloud Storage/Management and Online Applications. It seems to be a very diverse product. I think because of that, you can talk with Square 9 Softworks about what you are envisioning to see if they are capable of it. I would not do that with many other products - they just don't have that flex.
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • Live results: When a user completes the form the results are added instantly.
  • Easy to create: Google Forms has a simple interface that allows for a wide range of question types. Google will even try to guess the question type based on the question (but this can be overridden).
  • Answers export to Google Sheets: It is easy to have each response to your form add a row to a Google Sheet, allowing for further analysis or processing.
  • Ability to automatically collect email addresses within a domain: If you have a form that has been shared with users in your domain, you can set it to automatically collect the users' email addresses without them needing to type it in. Makes checking whether all students have completed the form easy.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • Fast Manual indexing with what we consider the best in point-n-click OCR indexing.
  • Webserver that incorporates Full-Text Content Searching, Workflow Queues, Full Document Management and Live document Signing on any mobile device or location.
  • Fast workflow designers for rapid implementation
  • Broad range of capture and information processing tools, easy to configure
  • Loaded with essential security options
  • Low price, and about 10X more powerful than MS SharePoint right out of the box.
  • Multi-database support for a very low price with disaster recovery licensing, this is very rare in the industry.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Sometimes finding the output -- a Google Sheet with all responses-- is a little difficult. It's also sometimes confusing to figure out how to get back into the Google Form Survey itself.
  • As always, sharing among an institutional Google account and your personal Google account can be frustrating. You have to make a copy and can't share across the two different accounts very easily.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • Some of the administrative/security configuration with Windows Active Directory can be tricky when managed by separate corporate IT personnel (alignment in strategy)
  • User adoption with any new process can be challenging, but overall user friendly menus
  • As Database sizes grow (200,000+ records) paging through records can be cumbersome, probably need to migrate to an archive process to offload some of the data.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Google
I will definitely renew my use of Google Forms because I really like the ease of use and the number of tools that Google forms provide. I also love that I can administer a test in real-time and get results in a timely manner
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
We absolutely can't imagine not continuing software maintenance as there are always new additions that improve the system not to mention the excellent tech support when issues are encountered. Response times for troubleshooting are very quick and usually, my issue is resolved in less than an hour after connecting with support.
Read full review
Usability
Google
Google Forms is a very intuitive and easy to use tool, it is not necessary to have a complex knowledge to create advanced forms, it is enough with the functions and aids that the tool offers for the creation of these, even children and students can do it, also the way to export the data is really simple, simply an incredible tool.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
Super simple software to operate and configure. Very granular permissions and controls. Browser based setup with everything and very intuitive visual workflow building makes it easy to set things up. Troubleshooting document workflow issues is also made easy via the batch manager when you can track each document as it moves through the workflow.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Google
In the years I've used GoogleForms I've never ran into any issues with the reliability or availability. Google is a gigantic company with essentially limitless resources which makes it very easy to trust that I will continue to be able to enjoy the same reliability I've come to know and expect from GoogleForms
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
Square-9 can get this product out to you in almost the same hour your order it. We got ours very fast.
Read full review
Performance
Google
One of the things that comes as a benefit of the lack to create complex logic branching and truly custom design is that there isn't lot of room to bog down the software. GoogleForms has always loaded just as fast as my internet service and device would allow it. I'm not sure about front end integrations or integrations into the form itself, as I've never explored it, but on the backend, I've never had any issues with integrations channeling from GoogleForms from the GoogleForms's end of things.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
With the PDF projected viewer, the document retrieval-to-display can drag for a second more than some systems, and the capture workflow if you overload a server array can also drag, but those are the only two issues we've ever seen with this product, and they are not serious issues at all.
Read full review
Support Rating
Google
Google has a support team but it isn't the most helpful with Forms. I find most of my answers by searching online and watching tutorial videos. I would recommend utilizing online resources before contacting their live support team for help. Just make sure that they are recent videos or directions. Google is constantly updating their interfaces so it is easy for things to get out of date
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
The support we received from Square 9 Softworks was exceptional. From deployment to implementation, we always felt supported. The team we worked with had patience and exceptional response time. They were amazing to work with, I always felt supported. No matter how simple or complex my question was they always delivered.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Google
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
It would have been higher, but the training is a bit muted for the lesser qualified office equipment vendors who signed up as partners to sell and support it. The more experienced ECM vendors and customer end-users will find the training very good, but a bit slow.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Google
No answers on this topic
Square 9 Softworks
I think the implementation could have gone a little smoother than it did. Now that I know how to use the software, I could do it myself. I feel that as an organization, we could have been a little better prepared. If the consultant was more aware of what we were looking for, they could have assisted in setting up some workflows for us as per the contract. But because we were not prepared, the initial implementation process was a little painful. That said, adding a document management system to ANY business kinda means everyone has to re-think the way they do their work which can be difficult for some staff.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Google
We have also used FormAssembly, which is far more advanced with security, analytics, and functionality, but is also more expensive and takes a greater resource investment to train others to use. While FormAssembly can provide a lot more features, and is definitely the better choice for more complex surveys, forms, and applications, Google Forms is a very approachable and easy to use platform. We would recommend Google Forms for smaller businesses with simpler processes, and everyday use for any organization.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
A similar product I have used was Time Matters. For a Law Firm, I think Time Matters is more useful as it keeps track of everything for a client, including billing. However, since I now work for a legal department of a corporation, SmartSearch is definitley more useful. It is not possible to seperate the documents we have internally in neat client files. We have various miscellaneous documents for many different services and customers or vendors. SmartSearch allows us to organize in broad categories that make sense to internal employees using it and to make sure security is set on specific documents. Time Matters would not have been sufficient for our managers to have access to, since it uploads all documents to the file - some of which are confidential.
Read full review
Scalability
Google
GoogleForms lacks the ability for complex logic branching and the ability to truly design it in a custom manner. It's pretty obvious when you land on a GoogleForm that it is in fact a GoogleForm. This rating solely reflects the lack of flexibility which in turn makes it something that wouldn't usually be scaled. That being said, if needing to scale a simple solution, GoogleForms would be up for the job.
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
The scale-ability is quite good actually, but you need competent sales/support folks providing it to you, so the scale is set right for the demands of your system use. Some resellers are not good at doing this, some are fantastic. If you are scaled correctly at first implementation, you'll be very happy with this system.
Read full review
Return on Investment
Google
  • It's difficult to track ROI since Google Forms is used less formally
  • [The] positive impact is the actionable results we receive from surveys
  • [The] impact is highly dependent on how well the questions are asked, and how seriously the survey is taken by employees
Read full review
Square 9 Softworks
  • OCR capabilities allow users to quickly and accurately index files without data errors from manually keying in data
  • Administrators can update users access through active directory without ever opening Square 9 and without generating accounts in yet another system
  • Users can find files needed without ever leaving their desk
Read full review
ScreenShots

Square 9 Softworks Screenshots

Screenshot of GlobalSearch, which is used to organize and sort documents based on extracted data.Screenshot of indexed data, where users can performs a 3 way match against an order receipt and purchase order.Screenshot of GlobalCapture, which is used to build workflows and automatically assign tasks to users.Screenshot of a front-facing Portal for new hires and applicants. This lets them fill out important employee documents such as job application, Direct Deposit and W-4 forms.Screenshot of the hiring and onboarding portal, where new hire documentation is completed.Screenshot of GlobalForms, which has new hire government forms such as I-9 and W-4 forms.