{"id":458,"date":"2012-03-26T11:29:01","date_gmt":"2012-03-26T16:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/?p=458"},"modified":"2012-03-26T11:29:01","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T16:29:01","slug":"wichita-it-support-digital-signatures-make-going-paperless-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/2012\/03\/26\/wichita-it-support-digital-signatures-make-going-paperless-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Wichita IT Support – Digital Signatures Make Going Paperless Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For more information about computer and network support in Wichita KS<\/a>, visit our homepage at Proper Technology Solutions.<\/p>\n

A Digital Signature Case Study<\/h2>\n

Recently, a customer asked us to help them\u00a0streamline their paperwork flow\u00a0and get important data where it needed to be quicker an\u00a0more efficiently.<\/p>\n

The Scenario:<\/p>\n

Field service techs for the company travel in a multi-state area to service and repair the equipment sold by the company.\u00a0 After each service call, the tech\u00a0fills out a service form that is signed by the customer.\u00a0\u00a0When the service tech returns to the office, the forms are delivered and an invoice is generated by the Accounts Receivable department.<\/p>\n

The Problem:<\/p>\n

Service techs\u00a0often go from one case to the next, spending\u00a0a week or more in the field\u00a0repairing equipment.\u00a0\u00a0Billing of the end-user can’t take place until the service form is received\u00a0at the main office.<\/p>\n

The Solution:<\/p>\n

Most field locations have\u00a0Internet access, so the decision was made to try to\u00a0make the current process as digital as possible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The project needed to fill some basic needs:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A digital equivalent of the Service Form that could be filled out and saved in the field.<\/li>\n
  2. A signature from the end-user would be required on the form.<\/li>\n
  3. Ease of use and portability of equipment by the service techs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Digital Service Form<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In this case, we were able to give the best results by locating the original electronic document used to sent to the printer for the paper three-part form (An Excel spreadsheet).\u00a0 Though we could have scanned the printed copy with good results, the digital copy provided the cleanest translation.\u00a0 After the source material was located, we were able to convert the document to a fillable Adobe PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Professional X.<\/p>\n

    Digital Signature<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Adobe Acrobat X provides multiple forms of digital signatures.\u00a0 The first is a true digital signature,\u00a0effectively using passwords and encryption without a physical John\u00a0Hancock.\u00a0 To more accurately represent the original process of the service techs, we opted for what Adobe calls\u00a0an Ink Signature<\/em>, a physical representation of the customer’s signature\u00a0imprinted directly on the digital copy of the form.\u00a0 Once the signature is in place, the document is automatically saved and any further editing of the document will effectively invalidate the signature.<\/p>\n

    Ease of Use and Portability<\/strong><\/p>\n

    For the technicians in the field, the most important aspects of this project was how easy it would be to carry and use this new technology.\u00a0 Fortunately, we were able to keep it simple.\u00a0 By using Adobe X Pro, we were able to create a PDF that could be signed and saved in the free Acrobat Reader, already installed on their laptops.\u00a0 From there, we just had to provide a portable and rugged device to add the signature to the document. Enter the Topaz SignatureGem 1×5:<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"Topaz<\/a>

    Topaz SignatureGem 1x5<\/p><\/div>\n

    Small and easy to carry, this device offers portability and ruggedness, as it has not screen to scratch and the digital pen stores conveniently in the unit.\u00a0 A quick install on the tech laptops gives them plug-and-play reliability.\u00a0 Once they fill in the PDF service form, all they have to do is click on the signature box, bringing up the Topaz interface, letting them view and accept the signature before attaching it to the document.<\/p>\n

    Currently, the techs are emailing the completed form back to the home office.\u00a0 We are currently developing a help desk solution for the customer, so the technician can attach the service form to a ticket, allowing them to track previous service orders for the machine.\u00a0 We’ll be posting another blog entry once that project is complete.<\/p>\n

    If you’re looking for IT support in the Wichita area, give us a call at (316) 337-5628.\u00a0 Our certified network consultants can show you ways to make your business more efficient, while keeping your information technology costs under control with service rates starting at $70\/hour with no minimum charges.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    For more information about computer and network support in Wichita KS, visit our homepage at Proper Technology Solutions. A Digital Signature Case Study Recently, a customer asked us to help them\u00a0streamline their paperwork flow\u00a0and get important data where it needed … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":464,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458\/revisions\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.properwichita.com\/consulting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}