Selling? This is mostly for you. Once the buyer taps agree, you both hold the price, "sold as-is" and the minute it stopped being yours. So when a "you never told me" or "it broke after I got it home" text shows up later, the answer is already in writing.
We never see your receipt. It lives in the link and on your phones, not on our server.
We've sold cars and gotten burned three different ways, from DMV paperwork that wasn't in order to buyers coming back after the sale. More than once, and with nothing in writing to settle it.
Paper Trail is the receipt we wish we'd had. The price, "sold as-is" and the minute it changed hands, agreed by both of you and saved on both phones. It works both ways: the seller has a dated record of the minute the car left, and the buyer has proof of what they paid and what they were told.
If it's happened to you, you're not the only one. Get it in writing, so nobody's word has to stand alone.
Buying anything with a title?
A boat, a trailer, a jet ski? Get the receipt before the cash leaves your hand. In Florida the buyer has 30 days to get to the county tax collector, and they'll want to know what you paid. Show up without the price in writing and you're texting the seller, or making a second trip.
It's a receipt, not a title, so the state paperwork still happens. You'll just have yours in order the first time: the signed title, plus form HSMV 82050 for a boat. The boat + trailer receipt lists it.
My receipts (0)
Kept on this phone only. Clearing your browser clears them, so use Save as PDF for anything big.
Safe deal tips
Meet somewhere public. Many sheriff's offices and police stations have a lit "safe exchange zone" with cameras.
Count the cash together. For big amounts, meet at the buyer's bank and watch the teller hand it over.
Never take a check for more than the price and refund the rest. That's a scam every time.
Zelle, Venmo and Cash App payments to strangers are hard to get back. Wait until it shows in your own bank before the item leaves.
Buying used? Check a bike's serial at Bike Index and a car's VIN at NICB VINCheck (both free) for theft reports.
A car, boat or trailer in Florida? You still need the signed title (trailers under 2,000 lb don't have one) and the state's form HSMV 82050. Pick Car, Boat or Trailer above and the receipt lists the Florida steps. Use this as your extra copy.
Add Paper Trail to your home screen. It opens like an app, even with weak signal, and it still never sends us your receipts. No app store, nothing to sign up for.
On iPhone: tap Share (the square with the arrow), then Add to Home Screen.
In your browser's menu, pick Add to Home Screen or Install app.
Paper Trail is a written record of what two people agreed to. It doesn't check IDs, prove an item is real or not stolen, or hold money. Times come from each phone's clock. It isn't legal advice, and title paperwork for cars, boats and titled trailers still applies. The code picture is drawn by a free script from cdnjs; the receipt itself never leaves your phones unless you share the link.
PAPER TRAILPaper Trail · headedin.com/receipt/ · by Headed In