Simple Website to Share Invoices, Statements, and Estimates?

The problem is that few people seem to know what their neighbors pay for services.  Perhaps it’s rude to come right out and ask.  What did the lawyer charge for drawing up a simple will?  What did the plumber charge for a routine visit?  What about the dental or medical bills?  What did the garage charge to have this or that done?

      Yet invoices, statements, and estimates usually speak for themselves.  With simple-to-use website hosting services available for under $5 a month, only a cheap or garage-sale scanner is needed to begin the process of sharing these paper documents.  Homeowner associations  could be a place to start, but a more general community base might work just as well.

     Before scanning and posting the actual invoice, statement, or estimate, it is best to white out customer names and account numbers, however, to protect privacy.  The popular but often pricey Angie’s List tends to focus on personal testimonies that may or may not be biased or include the whole story.

       These days, the consumer is usually adrift and without family or friends to help make decisions.  Advertising is often deceptive and seems to favor companies who can’t do well by word of mouth. 

      As I’ve previously reported, medical, dental, legal, and other professional statements are often couched in jargon and codes that have meaning only to accountants and which may deliberately attempt to hide exaggerated charges to government agencies.  All the more reason to give consumers one more tool to evaluate the passing flux.