Published on May 24, 2021.

Last month I wrote about a project that I had been working on for one of my NetSuite clients. The project involved developing a custom mobile solution for the client's sales team. What made the project interesting was that the app was developed using the FileMaker platform, and specifically FileMaker Go. The sales team uses FileMaker Go on iPhones to work with a local FileMaker database, allowing them to work offline when necessary, and sync their data with NetSuite when they have an internet connection.

That project was such a success, that the client also decided to move forward with development of another mobile app. In this case, it's an app for their fulfillment and delivery team, giving them everything that they need to make deliveries to local customers. That includes driving instructions and maps, contact information, and even a function for capturing signatures for delivery receipts. In this post, I thought I'd share some information about how the signature capture function works.

Capturing Signatures

To capture a customer's signature, I used FileMaker's "Insert from Device" script step. A customer simply uses a finger to sign for a delivery. I'm also using the FileMaker "Location" function to capture the latitude and longitude of the device at the time that the signature was captured. Here's a screen shot of the app's Signature Capture layout.

Uploading Signatures to NetSuite

When syncing, the signatures that have been captured on the device are uploaded to a folder in the NetSuite File Cabinet. The upload is handled using a RESTlet and the SuiteScript "N/file" module. The signature images are Base64-encoded, and used as part of a call to a RESTlet, which in turn saves the file to the File Cabinet. It's very similar to the "File Cabinet API" RESTlet that I shared in August of 2019.

When needed, the signatures are included in custom "Proof of Delivery" PDFs.

Wrapping Up

This was another interesting project to work on, and I was pleased and impressed by how easy FileMaker made it. With FileMaker Go, you can build solutions that truly leverage the capabilities of an iOS device, whether it's an iPad or iPhone, and whether you're wanting to take photos, scan barcodes, get geographic coordinates, or capture signatures. And with SuiteScript / RESTlets, the integration of FileMaker Go with NetSuite couldn't be easier.