Imagine this: It’s 8:05 AM, and your procurement team has just uncovered a limited-time vendor offer. High-grade industrial sensors are priced at $8.30 per unit, nearly 40% below the market average.
You place the order immediately. An hour later, the vendor replies: “That price was never listed.”
Your internal system only logged the extracted price, without any source, timestamp, or screenshot.
Suddenly, you’re staring at a $1.6 million overage and a potential reputational crisis. Now, imagine you had proof.
The Screenshot That Changed Everything
You open a file:
- Timestamp: 8:05:12 AM
- Source: Vendor catalog, direct URL
- Price: $8.30/unit
- Visual: Clear shot of page 47, pricing table included
“Here’s the exact listing. Here’s the proof.”
That screenshot not only validates your decision but also shields your team, budget, and reputation.
That’s the power of Proof of Record, an automated data verification tool designed for teams that need evidence, not just information.
The Challenge of Digital Data Validation for Analytics Teams
The phrase “Can you prove it?” can:
- Derail quarterly strategies
- Trigger costly audits
- Undermine team credibility
- Shatter trust in your data systems
Yet many teams still rely on spreadsheets, scraped text, or vague “I saw it” claims to explain discrepancies.
Nowadays, accurate decisions require more than data collection. You need automated data validation and a clear, auditable digital trail to back every number.
Introducing Proof of Record: Built for Evidence-Backed Data
Proof of Record automatically captures a forensic audit trail for every extracted data point, giving your team the confidence to defend decisions and the documentation to back them up.
Every data point captured includes a digital fingerprint with:
WHO: The verified extractor
WHEN: Timestamped to the millisecond
WHERE: Exact URL, no redirects
WHAT: A full-page, pixel-perfect screenshot
This isn’t just metadata, it’s your truth file and defense against any challenge.
Real-World Use Cases: When Proof Matters Most
Amazon’s 4-Hour Flash Sale
Your team spots a competitor’s bestseller drop to $47. Panic spreads, and a price war seems imminent.
But when executives check, the price is back up to $67.
Without proof: ‘I swear it was $47.”
With proof: A screenshot from Sunday at 11:23 confirms the flash sale.
Result: Strategy shifts, margins protected.
Hotel Fare That Vanished
A travel booking platform conducts a pricing analysis and finds a luxury suite at $159/night for New Year’s Eve. But when marketing launches the promo, the price is $289.
Without proof: The data seems wrong.
With proof: Screenshot from Booking.com, exact time, and offer details.
Result: Your insight is validated, and the partner is held accountable.
The Vendor Who Denied the Deal
You find components priced at $8.50/unit. The vendor ships at $12.00.
Without proof: “We… scraped it?”
With proof: Screenshot from their catalog, 3:22 PM Tuesday, page 47.
Result: Vendor honors original price. Legal headache avoided.
Why Screenshots Are Critical for Data Verification and Compliance
Text can be edited
Logs can be disputed.
But screenshots? Screenshots stop arguments cold.
When prices shift by the second, listings vanish in minutes, and markets move in microseconds, you don’t just need data.
You need proof of what happened through evidence-based data collection and with Proof of Record you can:
- Enable it: One checkbox during workflow setup
- Extract data: Automatic capture of proof with every data point
- Defend it: Click any data point to view the full audit trail
No complicated setup or performance tradeoffs. Enjoy credible, compliant data extraction you can trust.
Who Benefits Most from Proof of Record?
- E-commerce teams: Back up price monitoring with visual evidence
- Procurement: Avoid vendor disputes with verifiable evidence
- Analysts & Researchers: Present findings with confidence, not caveats
- Compliance officers: Rest easy knowing every data point has a complete audit trail
- Traders: Prove market signals were real before they moved
Most tools focus on data collection, while a few help with credibility. When asked, “Can you prove this number?” you want to smile, not scramble.
Get Started with Proof of Record in Pline
Setting up Proof of Record in Pline takes just a few clicks:
Step 1: Configure Your Workflow
Set up your automated data extraction workflow using Pline and review the sample data.
Step 2: Enable Screenshot Capture
When naming your workflow, select the checkbox labeled “Proof of Record” to enable automatic screenshot capture.
Click Save and Run to start data extraction powered by Proof of Records.
Once the data is extracted successfully, you can easily access the records, along with screenshots, in the Pline Platform.
How to Access Proof of Record Screenshots
- Go to Pline Platform, click Datasets
- Select your dataset, find the Proof of Record column
Once you click, you’ll see the following details:
- Extracted By: The profile that initiated the extraction process.
- Extracted On: Date and time of the extraction.
- Source URL: Website from which the dataset was extracted.
- Screenshots: Includes screenshots of the listing page and individual item pages (if applicable).
Together, these details provide a complete, auditable record of the data extraction process.
Ready to Prove It?
Enable Proof of Record today because the next time someone questions your data, you’ll say:
“Here’s exactly what happened.”
In 2025, being right isn’t enough. You need to prove it.
P.S. That $1.6M trade? It could have been defended with one simple checkbox.
