Electronic Signatures

[datahead]

I have been working with an Android app called Cellica Database Wifi Edition. It is a pretty handy interface (if somewhat limited) to my Access=SQL database as it allows me to un-tether from my desk. I can use it to access the SQL database directly or work through the Access front end. I am also testing it for possible deployment to the other two members of my department. One of the cool features of the app is that it has a native signature capture function. You can create a box on the form that when tapped launches a window where people can sign their name on the screen of the tablet. It presumably stores the signature as a Bitmap or JPEG (need to verify this). On the SQL backend I have a varbinary(MAX) field where the signature ends up.



So what I would like to do is create a donation form/waiver like we already use on paper that is electronic. I have not found much info about how to start this process. I would like to be able to duplicate a copy of the signed form if it is requested at a future time. I already use a simple semi-dumb form that auto populates the person's address and phone number. We still have to fill in the items they are receiving.

I want to create a new table that will capture the consumer's name, address, items they receive, date and their signature. I will probably also include a boolean that shows acceptance of the electronic signature. I am going to lock this table down for read/write only. I wonder if I need to store the text of the form (the waiver language) in a field along side the rest of the information?

Anyone ever setup an electronic waiver form that stores the actual physical signature before?

[June7]

Never done, but thought about how to deal with digital signature. One approach is to create an image file of each person's signature. Then have some sort of password authentication of a signature. Display the signature image only if the proper authentication is provided. This reduces db bloat caused by storing images in table. But this does not seem suitable to your situation.

Why store text of waiver in table? Does the waiver statement change? The statement can just be text in a label or textbox on report. However, since data (waiver statement) can be changed in either place, I am not sure this digital documentation carries any weight in the legal arena. You should probably talk to a lawyer.

[kagoodwin13]

There's already a few electronic signature solutions out there (EchoSign and DocuSign are the big ones, others I'm sure). In addition to being ESIGN Act Compliant, they might be able to develop a custom solution for you. If your app involves any sort of legal or financial documents, I would definitely recommend going that route compared to a customized route, because of legal implications.

I like the app by the way!

[datahead]

Why store text of waiver in table?

My thought there is in case we change the language of the waiver down the road we could preserve the consumer's acceptance of the previous wavier. If we donate another item to them they would sign again and check the box to indicate they accept the language/terms of the new waiver.

I know storing images in the table is bloat but I plan to prune and archive this database annually.

[June7]

Alternative to repetitive storage of the same text is to have a table of the 'boiler plate' text and save only the record ID into the customer record. If the language changes, create a new record in BoilerPlates. Older records can be flagged as 'inactive' and excluded from selection by filtering on that status field.

Small images of signatures might not be too much for the db. How many customers are there?