Explainer

What is an evidence report?

An evidence report is a document that sets out what happened, when it happened, and which source shows it. It places dated events in order, states the facts the documents support, records where accounts disagree, notes what is missing, and points every finding back to the file, page or passage it came from.

Why the source reference matters

A summary that cannot be traced back to a document is only an opinion. In an evidence report, each key fact, date, timeline entry and conflicting account carries a reference to the supplied file and the position within it, so a reader can check the claim against the original rather than take it on trust.

That is also what makes the report useful to somebody else: a complaints handler, an insurer, an adviser or a colleague can follow the reference instead of asking you to explain where each statement came from.

What each section contains

Executive summary: A short plain-language account of what the evidence shows, written for somebody reading the situation for the first time.; Example: A summary of a repairs dispute might state when the problem was first reported, how many follow-ups were sent, and where the parties' accounts diverge.
Key Facts: Individual statements the documents support, each with its own source reference and a note of how firmly the evidence supports it.; Example: "The repair was first reported by email on 14 March." with a reference to that email.
Important Dates: The dates that matter, drawn out of the documents so they can be seen without rereading everything.; Example: First report, first response, promised attendance date, actual attendance date.
Chronological Timeline: Dated events in order, each tied to the document that records it, with uncertain dates marked as uncertain.; Example: Fourteen entries running from the first complaint to the final response, including three entries whose dates are only approximate.
Contradictions and Inconsistencies: Places where the supplied documents cannot all be accurate, with both accounts set out side by side and each supported by its own citation.; Example: One email says an engineer attended on the 12th; a contractor record shows no visit that week.
Missing or Uncertain Information: What the evidence does not settle: absent replies, undated material, gaps in the sequence and questions the documents leave open.; Example: No written response to the second complaint appears anywhere in the uploaded files.
Source References: A list of every document analysed, with its fingerprint, so a reader can see exactly what the report was built from.; Example: Eight files listed with names, sizes, page counts and fingerprints.
Verification: The record that links this exact report file to the recorded evidence and processing details, plus the reference somebody else can use to check it.; Example: A verification reference and fingerprint printed in the report, checkable on a public page.

Terms used

Evidence timeline: An evidence timeline is a chronological record of events supported by documents or other evidence. It shows what happened, when it happened, and which source supports each event.; Where a document gives an approximate date, or none at all, the entry records that the date is uncertain rather than guessing at one.
Source citation: A source citation is a pointer from a statement in the report to the exact place in a supplied document that supports it, identifying the file and the page or passage.; Citations are checked against the stored text of your documents before a finding is published, so a finding cannot be printed with a quotation that does not appear in the evidence.
Evidence report: An evidence report is a structured document that sets out the key facts, important dates, chronological timeline, conflicting accounts and open questions found in a set of supplied documents, with a source reference for each finding.
Contradiction: A contradiction is a pair of statements in the evidence that cannot both be accurate at the same time, for example one document saying installation is included and another saying it is excluded.; A later document that simply replaces an earlier one, such as a revised price, is recorded as a change rather than a contradiction. Both accounts keep their own source references, and neither is declared true.
Uncertainty: An uncertainty is something the supplied documents do not settle, such as a missing reply, an undated note or an unexplained gap between events.; Recording uncertainty explicitly is deliberate: it keeps gaps visible instead of allowing them to be filled by assumption.
Document fingerprint (hash): A document fingerprint, also called a hash, is a short code calculated from a file's exact contents. If a single character changes, the code changes completely, so it can be used to tell whether a file is the same file.; Fingerprints let a report stay checkable after your original uploads have been deleted, because the fingerprint identifies the file without storing it.
Independent verification: Independent verification means a third party can check, without relying on TraceFolio's word, that a report file is the exact file that was produced from the recorded set of evidence and processing details.; It does not verify the truth of the underlying documents. See the verification page for what is and is not proved.

What the report does not decide

The report describes the supplied documents. It does not decide who is right, does not confirm that a document is genuine, and does not reach a legal conclusion. Where two documents disagree, both accounts are recorded with their own source references rather than one being chosen as the truth.

The limitations page sets this out in more detail, and verification explains precisely what the verification record proves.

Create your evidence report

Upload emails, letters, screenshots and documents and receive this report as a downloadable PDF, with every finding tied to the evidence you supplied.

Create a report See how it works