How Ottawa Valley RV turned repetitive service forms into a client portal customers actually use

How Ottawa Valley RV turned repetitive service forms into a client portal customers actually use

Ottawa Valley RV needed more than another service request form. Their returning customers were getting frustrated with entering the same personal and RV information every time they needed help.

With Formaloo, they built a branded client portal where customers can sign up once, log in, and submit new service requests without repeating the same details again.

Now, returning clients can move faster, the team gets instant order notifications, and Ottawa Valley RV has a more professional workflow for managing service requests, payments, and future invoicing.

Industry: Mobile RV repair and service
Use case: Client portal, service request forms, returning customer workflows
Formaloo features used: Portals, Memory Forms, email notifications, payment options, customer profiles

The company

Ottawa Valley RV is a mobile RV repair and service company based in Canada. The team helps RV owners with service needs across technical repairs, propane, electrical, plumbing, and structural work.

Instead of asking customers to bring their RVs into a shop, Ottawa Valley RV sends service vans to the customer’s location. That makes the experience easier for customers, but it also creates an operational challenge for the team: every service request needs the right customer details, RV details, job information, payment status, and preparation notes before the technicians arrive.

As demand grew, the old way of collecting and managing that information started to break.

The challenge

Returning customers had to start from zero every time

Before Formaloo, Ottawa Valley RV first managed service requests manually: phone calls, notes, work orders, and spreadsheets.

That eventually became too much. The team moved to JotForm so customers could enter their information online, submit service requests, and pay in advance.

At first, it worked.

But by the second year, William noticed something worrying: the business was busy, but returning customers were dropping off.

The problem was simple but costly.

Every time an existing customer needed another service, they had to fill out the same information again:

• Name
• Address
• RV type
• RV details
• Service information
• Payment information

For a customer who had already worked with Ottawa Valley RV before, that felt unnecessary.

As William put it on the call, if he were the client, he would not want to re-enter his home address and RV information every time either.

This created friction, frustration, and lost returning business.

The team needed a portal, not another form

Ottawa Valley RV realized the solution was not just a better form. They needed a client portal where customers could log in, keep their information saved, and request new services faster.

They first tried another portal builder, but the project stalled because support could not keep up with the complexity.

They needed a platform that could handle the workflow and a team that would help them actually get it launched.

The solution

A Formaloo client portal with Memory Forms

Formaloo helped Ottawa Valley RV build a client portal designed around repeat service requests.

Instead of forcing every customer to start from scratch, the new portal remembers the customer’s core information.

Here’s how the flow works:

1. A new client visits Ottawa Valley RV’s website and opens the service portal.
2. They sign up or log in with a one-time code.
3. They enter their personal and RV information once.
4. After that, they can choose from the available service options inside the portal.
5. Returning clients log in and see a returning-client flow instead of the initial service request flow.
6. Their saved information is already available, so they only need to review or update what changed.

This solved the core problem: customers no longer had to repeat the same information every time they needed service.

It also helped Ottawa Valley RV build trust with returning customers. When a returning client logs in, the portal recognizes them and shows the right flow, making it clear that they do not need to pay the new-client admin fee again.

That small detail matters. It tells customers: we remember you.

The outcome

Customers feel more confident

The biggest customer-facing improvement was convenience.

Returning clients can now log in, request another service, and avoid repeating basic details they already provided before.

According to William, customers appreciate being able to enter their information once and move on. The portal makes the service experience feel more organized, more professional, and more trustworthy.

The portal also gives customers more payment flexibility. Ottawa Valley RV added e-transfer as an option alongside card payments, which has been especially important for customers who are cautious about entering card details online.

Payments are coming in faster

The e-transfer option has also helped Ottawa Valley RV’s cash flow.

William shared that customers are sending e-transfers faster than they did in the previous year. At the time of the call, he said he was not waiting on a single e-transfer.

For a mobile service business, that matters. The team can reduce payment chasing, protect cash flow, and keep service operations moving.

The team sees new orders instantly

The portal also improved internal visibility.

When a new order comes in, the team receives an email notification with the details. That helps them see:

• Who the customer is
• What type of order came in
• What job they may be preparing for
• What might be coming tomorrow or in the next few days

William said this gives the team better preparation and a smoother understanding of how the business is running.

The business looks more professional

For Ottawa Valley RV, the portal is not just an internal system. It also shapes how customers perceive the company.

A branded client portal, remembered customer details, multiple payment options, and faster communication all contribute to a more polished customer experience.

As William said, the portal makes the company look good.

Why Formaloo

Support was the deciding factor

For William, Formaloo’s biggest differentiator was not only the product. It was the communication.

After dealing with slow or unhelpful support from other providers, Ottawa Valley RV needed a team that could respond quickly, understand the workflow, and keep the project moving.

Formaloo’s support became the deciding factor.

William said Formaloo’s response time was faster than his own response time with customers. When something needed attention, the team was there to help fix it.

For a business trying to make money, that speed matters. A stuck workflow can become lost revenue.

“You delivered as you said you would”

William’s feedback came back to one theme: trust.

Formaloo gave him a timeline, worked with him through the project, communicated throughout, and stayed available after launch. As he says, "You delivered as you said you would, and you’ve been there with me ever since. I can’t ask for more than that."

William Makort

President & CEO

‘‘Formaloo gave us the client portal we needed and the support to actually get it launched. Our returning customers no longer have to re-enter the same information every time they need service, and the communication from the Formaloo team has been outstanding. You delivered as you said you would, and you’ve been there with us ever since.’’

That confidence is why Ottawa Valley RV does not feel the need to look for another solution.

What’s next

Ottawa Valley RV plans to keep expanding the workflow.

The next improvements include:

Automated work orders

William currently copies order information into a separate service order. The next step is exploring Formaloo’s automated work order generation so the team can reduce manual copying.

The main requirement is optimizing the print layout so the generated order is shorter and more practical for field use.

On-site invoicing

Ottawa Valley RV also plans to train the team to use the portal on tablets while they are on the road.

This would help technicians generate invoices for additional on-site hours directly from the portal, instead of waiting until later.

The training is planned for the fall.

The takeaway

Ottawa Valley RV did not need just another online form.

They needed a service workflow that remembered customers, reduced repetitive data entry, gave the team better visibility, and helped payments move faster.

Formaloo helped them turn service requests into a client portal that works for both sides:

Customers get a faster, more convenient experience.

The team gets cleaner records, instant notifications, and a workflow they can keep building on.

For service businesses with repeat customers, the lesson is clear:

A form should not make customers start over every time.

With Formaloo, your forms can remember them.

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