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Generating PDF Reports from the Field

June 5, 2013

Generating reports from anywhere

A couple of months back, we added a feature to the Fulcrum platform that allows you to generate reports from records captured in the field. Using your custom apps created with the Fulcrum app designer in your web account, after collecting data in the field, you can generate a PDF-based report from a record right from the mobile device. Reports can be emailed or printed right on the spot, on the go, whether they’re inspections, asset reports, or door-to-door questionnaire survey results.

Adding a signature field to your app also can give you the ability to print signatures on printable documents of your data. For applications like proofs of delivery, building inspections, or other use cases requiring signature verification, the ability to accept digital signatures right on the mobile app is a powerful way to streamline field data processes and reduce the need for paper even further.

In this video at the very bottom of this blog, using a custom Roof Inspection form I set up, I’ve captured a resident signature, and can generate a printable PDF report in real time.

Not only can you capture digital signatures from the mobile device, but within your app you can also include customized “disclaimer” text to display to the user; a statement which they’re agreeing to sign for. In this screenshot, a homeowner is signing off that the inspection was performed correctly on their property:

Signature field

Report generating is available on both of the mobile apps, for iOS or Android devices.

Check back more about report generation, and how we can customize your reports to fit corporate report templates, incorporating corporate branding and custom data. And as always, get in touch with us at support@fulcrumapp.com if you have any questions or suggestions.

Update:

Want to learn more about how generating reports natively from Fulcrum app saves time and money? Before switching to Fulcrum, client Carrington Risk performed customer risk analysis studies by using a report generated from the previous year, making changes on it with a pen as she went along. When the inspection was done, the inspector would have to go back to the office and create a new report of the findings, adding recommendations and matching up photos. Writing a report took forever – usually about double the amount of time it takes to perform the physical inspection.

Today, when surveying a property, the inspector will simply take a mobile device preloaded with the data from the previous year’s inspection, and makes changes to the report on the spot. Instead of taking 30-60 days for reports to get to the client, it now is done almost instantly – “Now we can send them a report immediately and they’re getting recommendations completed that haven’t been done for years.”

Read more about how report generation was a game changer for Carrington Risk here!