For Texas lawyers, clinicians, veterans' advocates and consultants
Show that a file has not changed since the day it was sealed.
We seal texts, emails, photos, web pages and documents with a signed receipt and an independent timestamp. Months later you can show that each file is exactly what it was that day. Anyone can check a receipt for free, in a browser, without trusting us.
It can show
The file is unchanged since it was sealed, and it existed no later than the time an outside authority signed.
It cannot show
That the file is true or genuine, or who made it. Seal early, because a file altered before sealing is sealed as altered.
Who it is for
People who have to answer "how do you know that has not changed?"
Solo and small-firm Texas lawyers
Clients hand you screenshots, texts, photos and exports. The first attack is usually "you could have changed that." A sealed receipt gives you a straight, checkable answer about what happened after the files reached you.
Clinicians and practices
Records and patient-submitted material you may need to show unchanged. If files contain protected health information, use the fingerprint-only option (see the questions below) so we never receive the content.
Veterans' advocates
Statements, letters and records gathered for a claim or an appeal, kept in the state they were in when you received them.
Consultants and investigators
Reports, logs and web captures that a client or a third party may question later.
Building software? Receipts can be checked with only a public key, and a verifier kit for C++ is available. See Phantom Receipt.
How a matter works
Four steps, handled for you.
We agree the scope in writing
What will be sealed, what we will receive, and the fee, before any work starts.
You send the files, or only their fingerprints
Send the files the way you received them. Or compute the fingerprints yourself and send only those.
We seal and timestamp
Each item gets a signed receipt. An outside timestamp authority signs a hash of the ledger, so the time does not rest on our word.
You get a package anyone can check
Sealed receipts, a plain-English evidence report and a one-page checking guide. Checking needs no account and no upload.
Honest limits
What this does and does not do.
What it does
- Shows a sealed file is byte-for-byte unchanged since it was sealed.
- With a timestamp, shows it existed no later than the time an independent authority signed.
- Keeps an append-only record of what was sealed and in what order, so edits to that record show up.
- Lets anyone re-check all of this offline with only a public key, without trusting us.
What it does NOT do
- It does not show a file is genuine or true. A doctored screenshot sealed today is a sealed, doctored screenshot.
- It does not show who made, wrote or sent anything.
- It does not decide whether a court will accept anything. The court decides, and your lawyer decides how to use it.
- It does not replace a lawyer, an expert or a forensic examiner. Best Pay LLC is not a law firm, never signs a certification for you and does not testify.
- It does not keep anything secret. The ledger is readable by anyone who has the file.
Free tools
Check it yourself first.
Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. The checker is a plain page whose code you can read and save.
The pilot offer
Try it free on one real matter.
I am looking for a few Texas lawyers to use this on one real matter and tell me honestly whether it is useful. The pilot is free. After the pilot, the price is a flat fee per matter, agreed with you in writing before any work starts. You are never obliged to continue.
Straight answers
Questions people ask first.
What is a receipt?
A small text file. It records a short note naming the SHA-256 fingerprint of what was sealed (a file, or a list of files), the position of that note in an append-only ledger, and a digital signature over that position. A fingerprint is a 64-character value computed from a file's bytes. Change one byte and it changes completely.
To check a receipt you need only the receipt and the signer's public key. See Phantom Receipt.
Do you see my files?
When you check a receipt: no. The checker runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and the page makes no network requests.
When we seal for you: what we receive depends on the option you choose, and we confirm it in writing before work starts.
- Option A, files: you send us the files. We compute each file's SHA-256 fingerprint, seal the fingerprints and return your package. We receive the files themselves.
- Option B, fingerprints only: you compute the fingerprints yourself (we send you a one-line command) and send only those. We never see the files. Choose this if the files are confidential or contain protected health information.
Only a hash, never a file, goes to the outside timestamp authority. We delete files you sent us after you confirm you have your package, unless you ask us to keep them or the written agreement says otherwise. Whether and how to send client material to any vendor is your decision under your own duties of confidentiality. If in doubt, choose option B.
What if the file was fake before it was sealed?
Then you have a sealed fake. Sealing shows a file has not changed since it was sealed. It says nothing about what happened before. That is why the useful habit is to seal early, as soon as the material reaches you, and to record where it came from.
A receipt is one piece of a story about a file's history. It does not replace the rest of the story.
Will a court accept this as evidence?
We do not say. Rules differ by court and by judge. The court decides, and your lawyer decides whether and how to use a receipt. Best Pay LLC is not a law firm and gives no legal advice. We do not sign certifications or testify.
What we can do is make the technical facts easy to state and easy to check, and say plainly what they do not show.
Do I have to trust you?
Less than with most services. A receipt can be checked offline with only the signer's public key. If you obtain that key separately and pin it in the checker, the check confirms the receipt was signed by the holder of that key. If you do not pin a key, the checker says clearly that the signer is not identified. What you do trust is that the key we gave you is ours.
What does it cost?
The pilot is free. After the pilot, a flat fee per matter, agreed in writing before work starts. Checking a receipt is free and needs no account.
How this differs from other tools
Different tools do different jobs.
Here is where we fit, stated only as far as we can back it up. Several of these are good at things we are not, and you may want them alongside or instead.
A hash you make yourself
Good for: free and simple. The same mathematics sits under our receipts.
Where we differ: a hash on your own computer carries only your word for when it was made, and it is not signed. We add a signed receipt, an outside timestamp, an append-only ledger and a checker anyone can run.
Hosted web-page capture and archiving services
Good for: showing what a page looked like from a third party's servers.
Where we differ: our capture tool runs on one computer, saves what that computer fetched, handles public pages only, and seals the result. It does not stand in for a third party's view. If you need that, use a hosted service.
E-signature and notary platforms
Good for: recording who signed a document and when, inside their system.
Where we differ: we record that a file's bytes did not change. We do not identify anyone. The two answer different questions and can be used together.
Forensic examiners and e-discovery vendors
Good for: trained people collecting data, documented chain of custody, and expert testimony.
Where we differ: we offer none of that. A receipt can be one exhibit in an examiner's package.
Blockchain timestamping
Good for: a time record that many parties can check publicly.
Where we differ: we are adding a Bitcoin anchor. It is in progress and not live. Today we use RFC 3161 timestamps from an outside authority, which anyone can check offline.
What is different about ours
- A receipt is checked with only a public key, offline.
- The checker is free, needs no account and uploads nothing.
- Every report says what it does not prove.
- The ledger is tamper-evident and says it is not secret.
Want to see whether it fits your practice?
Tell me about one recent matter where digital evidence mattered. No client names needed.