How to “Keep Receipts” According to a Lawyer
Hey Readers!
Have you ever heard the slang term “Keeping Receipts”? It means holding on to the “proof” or “evidence” to show if someone is lying or being genuine. Attorneys live by keeping receipts, especially business attorneys. That’s why this week I thought we’d continue to kick off the new year with tips on how you can get organized with your receipt keeping . . . so that you can (hopefully) avoid any misunderstandings this year.
But before we get started—please check out the end of this article to learn how YOU can contribute to the content on A Busy Lady Substack this year! Also, given I’m sharing my law inspired tips in this post, I am required as a lawyer to note that this post does NOT constitute legal advice of any kind, nor does it create an attorney client relationship. The following tips are my personal thoughts on how I manage to “keep receipts” in my everyday life. Nothing more, nothing less.
Now, onto my tips . . .
1. Understand What “Keeping Receipts” Actually Means . . . Let’s face it, the slang term may make some of us (especially us people pleasers out there) feeling like we are doing something wrong, expecting the worst in people, etc. by “keeping our receipts.” This is an entirely wrong mindset.
As a business attorney and manager of two businesses, not to mention my work as a realtor, in addition to being a mom and managing a household . . . keeping receipts is a must to stay on top of things. I think of “Keeping Receipts” as a gift to myself and to others. It’s not, for example, that I’m expecting a contractor, friend, colleague, or other person I’m handling business with to backstab me. No. Instead, it means that I respect myself and the relationship with the other person so much that I understand things can get confused. I want to make sure we are not only on the same page but have the same understanding.
We are, after all, HUMAN. We all mess up, face challenges, get disorganized, have a bad day, memory lapse, make mistakes. All the sudden, two weeks into a business relationship or other matter, we might honestly forget XYZ. If, however, I’ve kept the email where we discussed it, it’s easy to send along a gentle reminder . . . “Thanks so much for your thoughts. As we discussed in the email below . . .” and then go on to gently remind them of the conversation. Trust me, this can avoid many misunderstandings of “he said she said” and if, gasp, the other person is trying to scam you, it will stop them in their tracks.
2. Get Everything in Writing . . . A long time ago, before I was an attorney, I was a teacher and worked in social services. Part of my job was to document EVERYTHING, including what time I changed a diaper, fed a child, what they played with that day, etc. I also had to keep extensive files filled with child observations and notes on family communications. I participated in several trainings on documentation and always remembered this one solid piece of advice: “If it’s not written down, it never happened.”
In law school, I learned that there are some contracts that are required to be in writing. For example, real estate sales. That said, not all contracts are required to be in writing. If I ask you to wash my car for $25 and you accept, we have a valid contract. That agreement isn’t required to be in ink.
Still, I strongly advise getting everything in writing because it allows the parties to stay on equal terms. Having a written agreement helps to ensure obligations are clear (so long as hopefully there is no ambiguity). Clear expectations are the guideposts to a positive relationship, because the parties (hopefully) know what to expect. There is at least a written record of the expectations. Of course, all of this is obvious in certain situations. However, I’m not talking about those obvious situations. I’m talking about the not so obvious ones.
For example, let’s say you are selling a dining room table. You put an ad on Craigslist. Someone calls you and says, “I saw your ad, I’ll give you $50.” You respond, “Great, however, I’ll only accept cash.” Buyer says “Got it, I can pay cash. I’ll pick it up at one.” You don’t bother to put that in writing, because, why? You talked about it. He’s coming and it’s all set. EXCEPT . . . when he shows up, he comes with a check. You don’t want to accept a check, it wasn’t part of the deal. You say, “I can’t accept the check. When we spoke, I told you cash only.” He suddenly doesn’t remember your conversation, gets mad, leaves, then bashes you on Craigslist for being an unreliable seller. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. The point is small matters can turn into absurd situations (and big matters, even bigger absurd situations) that no one (at least not this busy lady) has time for.
What would I have done? On the phone call I would have said, “Great, I accept cash only. Send me your email and I’ll forward you the address and details.” Then, I would have written in the email, “Thank you for contacting me about the table. As we discussed, I have accepted your offer of $50, noting that I accept cash only, to which you agreed. You may bring the cash to XYZ address to pick up the table. Looking forward to seeing you!” That way, you’ve not only got your “gentle reminder,” if things go astray, but your proof for small claims court or whatever other matter pops up when and if things go wrong.
3. Take and Keep Notes . . . Not everything works in an email. If I emailed every single law client a “As we discussed . . .” I’d never get off email. Still, it is important to keep notes, and it doesn’t take long to do it.
This is especially helpful at work. I’ve always kept notebooks for work on a variety of topics. This might be a general “How To” do something, such as, “Who to Contact if . . . “ or “What to do if . . .” where I jot down reminders on things I learn on the job in various situations. That way, if I get a similar situation six months from now and remember I had a like type situation prior, I can check my notes to see how I handled it then.
I also keep files on my desktop for my various projects. Each project has a spreadsheet and relevant sub-folders for copies of emails or other documents. I also have a “template folder” so that I can easily cut and paste this set up for each new project.
On my spreadsheet, I jot down the date and any relevant information. For example, I might write something like “1-8-24, spoke to Jake about potential liability. See email on file.”
These files have saved my life. As an attorney, I never know when someone might come back with a question literally MONTHS or YEARS later. I’ve negotiated hundreds, if not thousands, of deals. There is no way, off the top of my head, that I can remember the details of each one. Notes help spark the memory.
You can use this in your own personal life, too. You can keep a spreadsheet on a home project, your homework list, or other goal you are trying to accomplish. I even color code my spreadsheets so I can see at a quick glance what needs to be done and what is already complete. It helps!
CONCLUSION
If you take one thing away from this post, remember this: Keeping records is not about mistrusting others, it’s about respecting them and yourself to make sure everyone stays on the same page. It’s also about keeping you on track. Our memory can be fickle, especially when we have a lot going on. Records help us keep our life organized and can on many occasions, stop an issue from brewing before it becomes one.
How about you? Do you have any tips on how you manage your projects and communications? Don’t forget to share them below!
Last, as promised, if you’ve stayed with me this entire post (which I hope you have) please take a moment to answer the three survey questions found at this SURVEY MONKEY link: SURVEY MONKEY This Substack is all about YOU and this survey will help me know what kinds of topics you want to hear about!
Have a great week!
Sarah
AKA A Busy Lady
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