Timestamping for freelancers: a dated record of the work you send

Why timestamping for freelancers is worth a routine

Disputes with clients are rarely about whether you did some work. They’re usually about which version, when, and what was agreed at the time. File dates on your computer are easy to change and are reset by copying. Our guide to date created vs date modified vs date taken explains why. Cloud history and email help, but they live in accounts you control, and that’s the first thing a doubter will point out.

A TimeBind adds one more record that doesn’t depend on your own computer clock. It shows that the exact file existed no later than the time recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain. Your files are fingerprinted on your own device and never uploaded, so client work under a confidentiality clause stays with you.

A weekly routine that fits Essential

1. Friday: gather what went out this week. Collect the files you actually sent or showed a client: concept boards, drafts, code builds, copy, invoices if you like. Use the exact files you sent, not re-exports.
2. Make one Pooled TimeBind. Add up to 10 files. A Pooled TimeBind uses 1 Token and is usually recorded within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity. Name it after the client and week (for example “Acme – week 44”).
3. Use ASAP for the moments that matter. Use it for final handover, a pitch to a new client, or work you think might be disputed. An ASAP TimeBind uses 3 Tokens. It gets its own Bitcoin transaction, broadcast straight away, and can be checked independently from the certificate and the Bitcoin blockchain, without relying on TimeBinder.
4. File the certificate with the job. Keep the Proof of Time Certificate next to the contract, the invoice and the email that sent the work. Keep the original files unchanged. A re-saved copy won’t match.

Four weekly Pooled TimeBinds use 4 Tokens. Essential gives you 5 Tokens a month, which covers that, or 1 ASAP plus 2 Pooled. On Essential and Expert, the pricing page says unused Tokens roll over every month, so a quiet month needn’t be wasted.

Which plan fits a freelancer?

A paid plan replaces the Free plan’s monthly Token, so Essential is 5 Tokens a month, not 6. If you only send something once a month, stay on Free. That’s genuinely enough.

What each record does for a freelancer

Contracts and emails do the heavy lifting in most payment disputes, and version history is automatic. A TimeBind is the piece that dates the exact files without relying on your own accounts. More detail: Git commit dates as proof, cloud version history as proof and emailing yourself as proof.

By type of freelance work

• Designers: timestamp each concept and revision round before it goes to the client. See design file timestamping and protecting your design before sending it to a client.
• Developers: timestamp release builds or source archives at each milestone. See source code timestamping.
• Writers: timestamp each draft as you hand it over. See manuscript timestamping.
• If a client has already used work you weren’t paid for, start with what evidence helps when a client uses your design without paying.

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You don’t have a written agreement. Fix that first. A clear scope, payment terms and an ownership clause matter far more than any timestamp.
• The client needs a signed acceptance. An e-signature or a signed statement of work records who agreed to what. See DocuSign certificate of completion vs a timestamp.
• Your work already lives in Git with a shared remote. Commit history may be enough for day-to-day work. Timestamp releases, not every commit.
• You rarely send work. Stay on Free, or buy a Token when you need one. A plan isn’t worth it.
• You’re already in a dispute. Records made at the time count most. Get advice from someone qualified rather than relying on anything created now.