Learn How To Develop a Web Based E-Statement Solution using PHP and MySQL

If you have ever visited this website, you definitely have come across  a whole series of blog posts showing how to develop VB 6 E-Statement solution. Most of you where resistant in embarrassing the idea because of the programming language used i.e VB 6.

So in this new series I will show you the foundation of How to Develop a Web Based E-Statement Solution using PHP and MySQL at a basic level from scratch.

Why E-Statement Solution

Most companies specifically banks and other financial institutions are trying to save the cost of printing monthly statements by embracing the technology and going green. In this brand new series we are going to develop a web based E-Statement Solution using open source technologies i. e PHP and MySQL

What is an e-statement?

An e-statement is just an electronic means of receiving your regular monthly (or quarterly) account statement(s) from your bank , SACCO etc. Instead of receiving a paper statement by mail, you’ll receive an e-mail notifying you that your statement is available for viewing online or an e-mail with the e-statement attached. The statement  will look exactly like the paper version.

What are the benefits of receiving an e-statement rather than a paper statement?

There are several benefits to receiving an e-statement rather than a paper statement. E-statements:

Save time – E-statements are available the first business day of the month, up to a week sooner than mailed statements. Open and view your statements when it’s convenient for you.

Fight clutter – A paper statement is just one more thing for your files (or that pile on your desk), while an e-statement can be quickly and easily stored on your PC or a disk. If you need a statement copy for any reason, just print one from your disk.

Provide security – Identity theft still tends to be a low-tech crime, often the result of bills, credit card solicitations or financial statements swiped from a garbage can or mailbox. E-statements mean that less of your financial information is vulnerable to identity thieves, since you access them through a secure Internet connection, and only after you enter your unique  access code to open the PDF.

Save money – Printing and mailing statements costs a significant amount of money. When you select to receive an e-statement, the credit union saves. Since credit unions are cooperatives, those savings come back to you as lower loan rates, higher deposit rates and new products and services.

What We Will Need?

1. Basic HTML,CSS ,PHP and MySQL Knowledge
2. Apache, PHP and MySQL enabled computer
3. Text Editor to write the code

So what will the end product be able to do?

1. Login to the Admin Area
2. Setup your SMTP server and other Application Settings
3. Send thousands of emails to different users with their attached PDF E-statement automatically by picking customer`s email addresses from the database and the  E-statement from a folder
4. Have advertisements on each email sent to a user in the HTML body
5. Have the HTML email body customized for each user with the “Dear so and so”

I would like to here from you, kindly leave your comments below.

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