How to keep receipts and warranties so you can actually use them

Which receipts are worth keeping

• Anything with a warranty: electronics, appliances, tools, furniture, eyewear.
• Anything you might return: clothes, shoes, gifts. Stores usually ask for proof of purchase.
• Expensive items in general: a receipt helps with insurance claims and resale.
• Tickets for an event, a match or a show, until it is over.

Everyday receipts, like groceries and coffee, can usually go, unless you need them for work expenses or taxes; follow the rules that apply to you.

How long to keep them

• Returns: at least until the store’s return window closes. Check it on the receipt or the store’s website.
• Warranties: for the whole warranty period. For a one-year warranty, that means at least a year; for a “lifetime” warranty, as long as you own the item.
• Big purchases: as long as you own the item, if you might claim on insurance.

Rules differ by country, store and manufacturer. When a claim matters, check the warranty terms themselves.

Why paper is not enough

Many receipts are printed on thermal paper, which fades with heat and light. A receipt kept in a wallet can be blank within months. Take a photo on the day you buy, while the print is sharp, and keep the paper too if the store insists on the original.

Store them so you can find them

• Photograph the receipt flat, in good light, with all four edges in frame.
• Keep the warranty card or the page with the warranty length next to the receipt.
• Note the product name and model: a receipt that says “ITEM 4471” is hard to match to your fridge in two years.
• Register the product with the manufacturer if they offer it; then your purchase is on record even if the receipt is lost.
• Put the end date of the warranty somewhere you will be told about it, not just written down.

Keep the product details together

A warranty claim usually asks for three things: proof of purchase, the model or serial number, and a description of the fault. The serial number is often on a sticker on the back or bottom of the item. Photograph it on the day you unpack, while the item is easy to turn over.

Online orders and gifts

• For online orders, the order confirmation email or the order page is your receipt. Keep the email, and take a screenshot of the order page showing the date, the item and the price.
• For gifts, ask for a gift receipt, or keep a note of where and when it was bought, so the person you gave it to can still return or claim on it.
• If you lose a receipt, a card or bank statement showing the payment can sometimes serve as proof of purchase. Ask the store or manufacturer.

Keeping them in MemoSeek

1. On the day you buy, open Photo in MemoSeek and add a photo of the receipt, with the camera or from your library.
2. Location data is removed on your iPhone before the photo is uploaded to private storage.
3. AI reads the details, such as the store, the date and the amount. Check them against the photo.
4. Save the warranty end date as a detail, and, if you want to be told, set a reminder a few weeks before.
5. When you need the photo, find it on the Photo screen, or ask MemoSeek on Home, for example “Show my washing machine receipt”.

MemoSeek does not set warranty reminders on its own from a photo; the reminder is the one you ask for. More on photos in photo memory and photos help.

AI can misread a faded date or an amount. For a return deadline or a warranty claim, rely on the photo and the store’s terms, not only on the details MemoSeek read. PDF files, such as emailed receipts, are not supported; you can take a screenshot and add it as a photo.