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As required by the Federal Regulations and regulated by the ATF, FFL dealers must store ATF Form 4473’s for the lifetime of the FFL after the date of sale or disposition of a firearm(s). But gone are the days of antiquated physical paper storage, file cabinets, file folders and endless boxes of stored ATF Form 4473s taking up valuable warehouse space; modern digital storage is the future of FFL document retention, and the future is now. Introducing 4473 Cloud, a Powered by Silencer Shop service dedicated to streamlining your ATF Form 4473 storage.
4473 Cloud is the most versatile cloud storage offered to the firearms industry, as it can be used by all FFLs regardless of the e4473 software the FFL uses. Don’t just take our word for it. Hear what 4473 Cloud users are saying about it!
Ed Boyd, ATF Regulatory Compliance Director for Coastal Farm and Ranch told us, “When we talk about what life was like before 4473 Cloud, it is all paperwork driven. It has been paperwork driven since day one… Now there is forever retention, which means we have to keep forms on our premises as long as our company is in business. You can imagine over a year, with the amount of firearms hat we sell, that creates a tremendous amount of paperwork that has to be manually files in filing cabinets, and it costs a lot of money to be able to continue to do that properly… The ability for us to upload forms digitally into the cloud completely eliminated the requirement for us to print forms off to begin with. We’ve saved the space as far as how we file them, the ease and ability to cross reference forms, and we have saved a tremendous amount of time.”
4473 Cloud modernizes your business, one ATF Form 4473 at a time, and here’s how:
Usability
4473 Cloud is a platform-agnostic digital storage service. No matter what software you use to complete your ATF Form 4473’s, 4473 Cloud is compatible and can securely store your paperwork digitally.
Complete Control
With 4473 Cloud you are in complete control of who on your staff has access to what. Each users’ access level is controlled by you or your company administrator. ATF inspections and audits can be completed in a much shorter time frame due to 4473 Cloud’s ability to access all required documents in one easy-to-use system. Additionally, You, as an FFL dealer, are also provided the tools to self-audit your paperwork in the same way the ATF inspects paperwork. What does this all mean?
Simply stated, user-level controls increase document security, shorter ATF inspections, and the ability to check your store’s ATF audit readiness all combine to help you rest easy knowing you are prepared for your next ATF inspection.
Centrally Located File Storage
Paper ATF Form 4473s can be lost, damaged (who’s coffee cup was that anyway and why was it sitting next to yesterday’s paperwork?) or even stolen off the gun counter. Losing an ATF Form 4473 can have a catastrophic effect on an FFL’s business. Searching for aged paper ATF Form 4473s to complete Trace Requests or at the request of ATF takes significant time and effort of you or your store team. Time that would be much better spent with your customers!
Once an ATF Form 4473 is digitally uploaded into your secure 4473 Cloud storage vault, it will never be lost or damaged and will remain in perfect condition for the life of the document. Additionally, 4473 Cloud makes ATF Trace Requests simple, allowing FFLs to locate, review, and email trace requests in a matter of mere moments.
“Failing to respond to a trace request is a critical violation and can result in revocation of your FFL license… With the advent of 4473 Cloud and our ability to access things digitally, I can log into the program which gives me access to every store’s Cloud right there. Run a single search across every store, find that 4473 and export it on the spot. That has streamlined things, made it much more efficient, and gets the information back to the ATF much sooner that we’ve been able to do in the past.” Added Ed Boyd when speaking about hoe 4473 Cloud helps protect FFLs.
Secure, Encrypted and Tamper Proof
4473 Cloud is secured by the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment available today. Security and encryption of your data is of the utmost importance to us at 4473 Cloud. We have worked tirelessly to ensure your information is stored in the most secure manner possible and accessible only by you and your FFL.
4473 Cloud also uses a Tamper-Evident digital file format. What does that mean to you? It means that your data is so secure that every action taken with a document in the 4473 Cloud storage system shows in a full document history and is also tamper-proof. While Tamper-Evident cloud storage was originally implemented by the banking and financial industry to prove the validity of their records during regulatory compliance audits, the firearm industry can now take advantage of the same security level benefits.
Scalable and Flexible
Where you’re currently storing your ATF Form 4473’s isn’t as scalable as 4473 Cloud. Backrooms, storage closets and warehouses all have limited space and can be a challenge to arrange and access. With 4473 Cloud, you have a flexible and scalable option for storing your ATF Form 4473’s. As your business grows, so does your digital real estate within 4473 Cloud.
Whether you have one store with low to moderate volume, a few stores in a local area or are a corporate chain with dozens or hundreds of locations nationwide, 4473 Cloud is designed to meet your digital storage needs.
Additionally, if you decide to change your e4473 software system, no worries. Because 4473 Cloud is system agnostic, you won’t skip a beat. As soon as you make the switch to your new system you can begin storing in your 4473 Cloud storage vault the moment the first “new” ATF Form 4473 is completed.
Integrated and Upgraded
Not every ATF Form 4473 is the same for every transaction, and it shouldn’t be treated as such. Some ATF Form 4473s need additional information. Report of Multiple Sales Forms, or supplemental identification might need to be provided and kept with a particular ATF Form 4473.
With 4473 Cloud, you can add supplemental documents to specific customers’ paperwork with ease. Just a simple upload of the document and it is permanently attached to the digital file. No chance the staple will lose its grip, and the supplemental document lost forever with 4473 Cloud.
Next Steps to 4473 Cloud Storage
Our 4473 Cloud storage system is ready to get you on board and free up valuable backstock real estate.
FFLs must provide written notification to their local ATF Industry Operations Area Office 60 days prior to implementing a digital Form 4473 storage system. Get yours submitted now to go PAPERLESS in 2025
** A written notice to your local ATF Industry Operations Area Office is required 60 days prior to implementing a digit Form 4473 storage system. But, don’t fret, we will help you in lockstep throughout the process.