Ok, as web professionals we know this mantra, print ≠ web. It's probably been permanently branded to our collective consciousness. Yet, it can be hard to convince the client who is limited by the constraints of their frame of reference (plus we're the ones being paid to "think outside the box"). At any rate, hands-up those of you who have been required to replicate a paper-based process online using the same logic and flow as the paper process. "Make it look and work exactly like this paper form" (for example). Ouch. It's painful on many levels. For the user, and for the designer - trying to accommodate online for paper based logic can be a nightmare. Time to stop this insanity. It's way past time to strongly encourage convince the client to harness the power of interactive design and develop an online process that works in a non-linear format. The tools are readily available to create a real web experience that is intuitive on the front end and smart on the back end, delivering a positive user experience up front and the all important clean, accurate data on the back. This is a battle that needs to be won.

Resources:
Creating Usable Forms
Efficient creation of sensible and usable forms

Related:
Beyond the Browser: The Next Generation of Rich Internet Applications
Designing Powerful Web Applications: An Interview with David (Heller) Malouf