Snap vs pile

Keeping up beats catching up

In the game, the red ball never stops. Neither do your receipts.

A receipt takes a few seconds to deal with on the day you get it: you still know what it was for, and the ink is still sharp. Leave it, and it joins a pile that keeps growing while you are trying to clear it, which is exactly what the red ball does. The longer a receipt waits, the more likely it is to fade (here’s why receipts fade) and the less you remember about why you bought it.

That matters because the IRS generally expects you to keep records that support the income and deductions on your return, and to keep them for at least three years after you file, longer in some cases. Here’s how long to keep receipts, rule by rule.

How to get ahead of a receipt backlog

1. Stop the inflow first. From today, snap each new receipt the day you get it. Otherwise the backlog grows behind you while you work through it.
2. Add a few words about why. “Client lunch, Parker project” takes five seconds now and saves guessing later.
3. Sort the old pile by month. Month matches your bank and card statements, so you can see which months are complete.
4. Clear one month at a time. Start with the months you will need soonest, and stop when a month matches its statement. The full routine is in how to keep track of receipts all year.

Not sure which receipts you actually need? Start with do you need receipts for taxes, which checks eight common myths against IRS guidance.

This is general record-keeping information, not tax advice. Your tax professional can tell you what your situation needs.

How to play Snap vs Pile

• The box starts half full of receipts. The yellow ball (a phone) snaps every receipt it touches. The red ball drops a receipt everywhere it goes.
• Each ball’s size follows its side’s share of the box, so whoever is ahead grows and a lead can snowball. The balls also knock into each other, and the bigger one wins the bump.
• When one side falls to 12% of the box, that ball is knocked out, and the winner gets a few seconds to clean up the rest.
• In Play, you are yellow. Tap where you want the phone to dash, or press Space to dash at the biggest pile. You hold three dashes, and they refill every few seconds. Red is a little stronger in Play to make up for it.
• In Watch, the two balls fight it out on their own.

Questions

Who usually wins?

In Watch mode it’s close to a coin flip: in our test runs, yellow and red each won about half the time, and the lead often changed hands a dozen times. In Play mode, red is a little stronger, so you need to use your dashes well. Aim them at thick clumps of receipts and at the trail red leaves behind.

What is the song?

Mozart’s Rondo alla Turca, better known as the Turkish March (1783), which is in the public domain. Every bounce plays the next note: yellow’s bounces on piano, red’s on bassoon, so the tune goes back and forth between them.

Once I’ve snapped a receipt, do I still need the paper?

In general, the IRS accepts records kept electronically as long as the copies are accurate, complete and readable. Revenue Procedure 97-22 sets out the standards. If a specific receipt matters a lot, ask your tax professional before you throw away the original.

Does ReceiptNest help with this?

Yes. Snap a paper receipt or forward an email receipt, add a quick note, and ReceiptNest organizes it by month. Export a PDF or CSV for your accountant at tax time. See how the receipt organizer works.

Are there other games?

Yes: Fade Out, The Pile, Escape the Year, Shoebox Sort, Guess the Charge and Before It Fades. All free, no signup.

Sources and credits

• IRS, How long should I keep records?
• IRS, What kind of records should I keep?
• IRS, Revenue Procedure 97-22, electronic storage of records
• Music: Rondo alla Turca (Turkish March) from Piano Sonata No. 11, K. 331, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1783 (public domain). Sounds rendered with the MuseScore General soundfont (MIT license).