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I'm building a web app that will be used by employees. The employee will show up at the customers home and when the work is done the customer will sign there ipad using this http://thomasjbradley.ca/lab/signature-pad/ (maybe unless there is a better way) and i want to be able to generate a pdf using php if the customer wants a copy or if we need to go back and look at it for some reason ( I might do contracts also) .

After the customer signs should i store the pdf for later use or should I not store the pdf and generate one every time? It won't be very often that the contracts (maybe) are pulled up but I don't want to slow the server down by always generating pdfs (and pdfs take up more space)

Which method should i go with

Store a copy of the pdf and take up space on a server? or Generate a pdf every time?

user1339889
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    store a fs cached version of the file for x days in a folder structure that denotes the age of the folder along with some other descriptors. Also factor in compliance in regards to doc retention and doc liabilities. – NDBoost Apr 17 '12 at 22:21
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    There are more important legal than technical issues - ask your accountant and lawyer, the legal requirements for such documentation varies. –  Apr 17 '12 at 22:21

4 Answers4

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If you're getting customers to sign these PDFs, even virtually, you're best off storing the actual generated PDF. If there were later a question over the document, your records would show a timestamp and a clear and exact copy of the PDF. Although this isn't indisputable proof, it's as good as anyone can expect.

However I'm not a lawyer, I don't know what jurisdiction you're in etc., so if there are serious amounts of money involved you should consult a professional.

jimw
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  • So you would store a PDF instead of pulling the information from the database with the signature and generating a PDF when needed? – user1339889 Apr 17 '12 at 23:16
  • I would, but not based on any solid legal knowledge. To a skilled person, altering a PDF is no harder than altering the data in the database; perhaps that's how a court would see it, but I'm sure it's not how a disgruntled customer would see it. Many would be automatically distrustful of a re-generated PDF, whether it makes technical sense or not. – jimw Apr 17 '12 at 23:21
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There are a few ways to go about generating PDF files:

As far as storing the PDF, it would make good business sense to maintain records. It may take up space, but space is cheap these days.

Jeremy Harris
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IDEA:

You can create a pdf using html

Convert HTML + CSS to PDF with PHP?

about the signature, the "plugin" you mentioned for the signature uses a canvas. You can export the contents to base64 png and place it on a form. Then submit the form to php and php converts it to pdf

Community
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chepe263
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Honestly, it depends on what industry you're working in. I can tell you right now that your method of doing things would not stand a chance in hell of being considered a validated system of record in my industry.

For an electronic record to be considered valid in the pharmaceutical world it has to meet criteria including but not limited to:

1) Timestamped audit log 2) Limited access to authorized users 3) Periodic user recertification 4) Ability to generate accurate copies of records in both computer and human-readable format 5) Backups to guarantee that data will not be lost 6) Etc.

So like other people have already mentioned, this question should be going to your legal department because it is inherently not a computer issue. You already know that either approach is simple enough, although obviously the PDF retention method is more costly in terms of space. If you're working in even a moderately regulated industry, I'm fairly certain any competent auditor won't accept your system as a valid retention system for electronic records.

Johnnyoh
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