Timestamp business documents: a simple record of what you sent, and when

Why small businesses timestamp documents

Most disagreements with customers and suppliers aren’t about whether a document exists. They’re about which version was current on a given day. Which quote did the customer accept? Was the price rise in the terms before or after they signed? Were those scratches on the hire trailer already there when it went out?

Your own files can’t settle that well on their own. File dates come from your computer’s clock and are easy to change (see date created vs date modified vs date taken). A timestamp gives you a date for the exact file that doesn’t depend on your own system.

What to timestamp, and when

Timestamp at the moment a document leaves your hands or is locked in:

• Quotes and estimates, when you send them. Include any drawings or scope documents attached.
• Contract versions, each time a draft goes to the other side, and the final signed copy.
• Terms and conditions, policies and price lists, each time you change them, so you can show which version applied on a date.
• Condition photos and videos, for hire equipment, vehicles, sites or premises, at hand-over and return.
• Supplier agreements and specifications, when they’re agreed or changed.
• Your own designs, processes and reports, at each milestone.

Each TimeBind holds up to 10 files, so a quote with its drawings, or a set of hand-over photos, can go into one.

A weekly routine for business documents

1. Save the final version first. Export a PDF of the quote or contract exactly as sent. Don’t re-save it afterwards, because the timestamp matches the exact file.
2. Timestamp it. Choose Pooled for routine documents, or ASAP when someone else may need to check it without you (see below).
3. File the certificate with the document. Keep the original file and its Proof of Time Certificate together, in the same folder as the customer or job.
4. Keep your normal records too. The official guidance below still applies.

How to timestamp business documents: Pooled or ASAP

• Pooled (1 Token). Your fingerprint is recorded with other users’ fingerprints, usually within 24 to 48 hours, and often sooner, depending on Bitcoin network activity, and checked through TimeBinder. For quotes, policy versions and routine hand-over photos, this is usually enough.
• ASAP (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. Consider it for a signed contract, a large job or anything you expect to share with a lawyer or the other party.

What official guidance says about keeping records

Timestamping is optional. Keeping records isn’t. The Australian Government’s business.gov.au Record keeping page says:

“You need to keep most business records for 5 years. This period starts from when you either got the records or completed the transactions or actions they relate to, whichever is later.”

It adds: “You must keep some records for longer than 5 years. For example, you need to keep company records and some employee records for 7 years.”

On storage, it says: “Whether you have digital or paper records, you must store them in a way that prevents any change or damage to them.” And: “Back up your digital records and, if possible, have a secure off-site storage location. This may include cloud storage.”

A TimeBind doesn’t store your files, so it can’t meet those obligations for you. What it can do is let you show later that a stored file still matches what existed on a given date.

Your options compared

For more on the other options, see emailing yourself as proof, cloud version history as proof and a DocuSign certificate of completion vs a timestamp. For every method of showing a file existed by a date, see how to show a file existed before a date.

Industry pages

If you work in one of these areas, these pages go further:

• Hire and rental document verification
• Insurance
• Engineering and construction documents

When TimeBinder isn’t the right tool

• You need a signature or proof of agreement. Use an e-signature platform or a signed contract. A timestamp only dates the file.
• You need a records system. Accounting software, a document management system or cloud storage keeps and organises your records. TimeBinder doesn’t store anything.
• You need to show who sent what to whom. Email or a registered post receipt records delivery. A timestamp doesn’t.
• The dispute is already under way. A timestamp made today shows what your files look like today, not last month.
• You won’t keep the original files. A TimeBind is checked against the exact file. If you edit or lose it, there’s nothing to match.

Which plan suits a small business?

A business sending a few quotes and contract versions a week will use more than one Token a month. The pricing page lists Expert at “$50 / month” for “15 Tokens a month: 15 Pooled TimeBinds, 5 ASAP, or a mix”, and Essential at “$20 / month” for 5 Tokens. The pricing page says unused Tokens on both plans roll over every month, and you can cancel any time. If you only need a TimeBind now and then, the Free plan gives you 1 Token a month (no rollover), and extra Tokens can be bought when needed. For larger teams, the pricing page describes Enterprise as offering custom Token limits and dedicated support. Service terms for every plan are set out in the TimeBinder Terms and Conditions. All prices are in US dollars.

For firms and teams that timestamp every week, Business is USD $149 a month for 60 Tokens, about $2.48 a Token, with one company account, a monthly invoice and help getting set up. Business Plus is USD $299 a month for 150 Tokens. API access is included in the Business, Business Plus and Enterprise plans. To start, email support@timebinder.io. See TimeBinder business plans for firms and teams.