What does a receipt prove, and what does it not?
A receipt shows that your files arrived and gives you something to hold on to in a dispute. This is what it does and does not prove, in plain words.
Anyone who sends important documents wants to be able to show afterwards that they arrived. A good receipt saves you a long email thread, stops you from guessing what happened and gives you something concrete when a client says they received nothing. But proof is only as strong as what it really shows, and that is where it often goes wrong: people think a receipt says more than it does.
In this article you will read what a TransferGuard receipt does show, what it expressly does not prove, how to use it in practice and how to build in extra certainty if you need it.
Why an ordinary email is not enough
When you email an attachment, all you really know is that your message was sent. Whether it arrived, ended up in spam or sits unread in a full inbox, you cannot see. A read receipt helps little, because the recipient can decline it and because it says nothing about the attachment itself. If a client says a month later that they never saw the draft annual accounts, you are left empty-handed.
The problem is that sending and receiving are two different things. A receipt fills exactly that gap: it records what happened on the receiving side, not just what you did.
What the receipt does show
With Certified Delivery you get a PDF report for every transfer: a log with every step that matters, with date and time. That way you see at a glance what happened. On the free plan you get an email once everything has been downloaded, and you see the status in your dashboard for 5 days. The report shows:
- When the link was opened and the files were collected.
- That the files arrived complete and unchanged. The recipient's browser checks that when collecting them.
- Which check the recipient went through, for example an email code, an SMS code or an identity check.
- The course of the transfer, in a log with a chain of checksums, so any later change shows up straight away.
- Timestamps from an independent party, so the times do not rest on our own clock alone.
Why does the chain of checksums matter? Every line in the log is tied to the line before it. If you change one line afterwards, the chain no longer adds up and anyone can see that something was altered. That makes the log more reliable than a list someone could edit later in a spreadsheet.
What it does not prove
An honest receipt is clear about its limits. That helps you: whoever promises too much gets into trouble in a dispute when the other side points at exactly that weak spot.
- That anyone read or understood the files. It proves they were collected, not that anyone looked at them.
- That the person at the keyboard is the recipient, unless you asked for an identity check.
- That the recipient agrees with the content.
An example: you send a quote and the recipient collects the files. The report shows that it happened. If they later claim they never went through the quote, the report cannot say anything about that. It does show that they had the chance, and in many conversations that is enough to end the discussion.
A second example concerns the person. With only a code by email, the report proves that someone with access to that mailbox collected the files. A colleague with access to the same mailbox could therefore have done it. That is not a flaw in the report: it is simply what an email code can show.
Which check fits which level of certainty
The more you check, the more the report can say about the recipient. How much certainty you need depends on what is at stake.
| Check | What the report shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|---|
| Code by email | That someone with access to that mailbox collected the files | Who that person was |
| Code by SMS | That the code sent to the given mobile number was entered | Who that person was, if the phone is shared |
| Identity check | The checked name of the recipient | That the files were read |
How to use the receipt in practice
- When sending, choose the check that fits how sensitive the documents are. For a passport or a mortgage file, an identity check with Certified Delivery is sensible.
- Send the transfer and let the recipient collect the files. You do not have to do anything else.
- Open the report afterwards if you want to know what happened. It shows the times, the chosen check and the result. On the free plan, the key facts are in the email you get once everything has been downloaded.
- Keep the PDF report, or on the free plan that email, with the client's file. That way the proof is there if someone asks later.
- If a client says they received nothing, look at the report, go through the times together and resend if needed.
A practical example: an office sends a client the annual accounts for approval and hears nothing for three weeks. When the client says they received nothing, the employee opens the report and sees that the files were collected on Tuesday at 2.12 pm, complete and unchanged. The conversation is then no longer about who is right, but about what the client wants to do with the documents. That saves time, and it keeps the mood good.
Common mistakes
- Treating the report as proof of reading. It shows files were collected, not that anyone went through them.
- Sending a sensitive file with only an email code and then wanting to know who opened it.
- Looking for the report only when there is a problem. Better to keep it with the file straight away.
- Forgetting that files are deleted after the chosen period. With Certified Delivery the report is kept for a year, the files are not.
- Presenting the report as more than it is. Describe it as what it is: a log of what happened technically.
How TransferGuard solves this
For every transfer you get an email once everything has been downloaded, with the recipient, the chosen check, the time and confirmation that the files arrived complete and unchanged. On the free plan you see that status in your dashboard for 5 days, after which we delete the details.
With Certified Delivery (€ 15 a month excluding VAT) you also get a PDF report that is kept for 1 year, with a log built on a chain of checksums and timestamps from an independent party. In addition to the email code you can ask for an SMS code or an identity check, with 10 identity checks per month for the whole team. The files are encrypted in your browser before they leave your device and deleted after the chosen period. With Certified Delivery they stay available for 5, 14 or 30 days, on the free plan for 5 days.
A TransferGuard receipt is evidence of what technically happened. What value it has in legal proceedings is for the court and your lawyer.