PawnSmarts produces approved LEADS Online reports and uploads them automatically or manually — included on every plan, with no extra fee.
LeadsOnline (styled L.E.A.D.S. Online, for Law Enforcement Analytical Data System) is an online reporting service that businesses dealing in used property — pawn shops, secondhand dealers, scrap-metal recyclers and gold buyers — use to electronically transmit transaction records to law enforcement. Pawn shops upload pledgor and item details so police can search for and recover stolen property; PawnSmarts produces and sends those reports automatically.
PawnSmarts is configured to produce and transmit approved reports to L.E.A.D.S. Online (Law Enforcement Analytical Data System). It generates a file that uploads automatically — or manually if your jurisdiction requires it.
On the first transmission, unless you specify otherwise, every transaction recorded in the program is sent. After that, only transactions that have occurred since the last report are included, so you're never sending duplicates.
Pawners can be identified by name, address, email, phone, birthday, user date, user text, race, eye color, height/weight, sex and identifying marks — plus two forms of ID from: birth certificate, credit card, driver's license, green card, insurance card, library card, military ID, passport, SSN, state ID or student ID.
Pawned items are identified by pawner ID, item number, pawn date and due date, and can be further classified by category, description, details, serial number, owner-applied number, user-defined groups, gold carats, ticket number and transaction location. One photo per item (up to 620 × 700 pixels) can be sent.
For firearms, PawnSmarts also maintains an electronic gun log in ATF Bound Book format — populated automatically whenever an item is entered as a gun, with Form 4473 at redemption on the Professional plan.
Go to Reports in PawnSmarts and choose the LEADS Police Report. Save the file, then log into the LEADS Online website and upload it. Good for jurisdictions that require a person in the loop.
Set PawnSmarts to generate and send the report at a chosen time each day. Once configured, the program handles daily generation and submission to LEADS for you — no manual step.
LEADS can issue a username and password for automatic upload over FTP. PawnSmarts stores those credentials and uses them to push all transactions since the last upload, so reporting just happens in the background.
New to LEADS reporting? Start with our step-by-step guide to reporting to LeadsOnline. Already reporting by hand? See what manual entry really costs and how to automate it.
LEADS Online is a free service. There's no charge to business owners who deal in used property and are required to report transactions. And with PawnSmarts, the reporting capability itself is included — no surcharge, no prepaid support fee.
LEADS Online collects transaction data from businesses dealing in secondhand goods. Requirements vary by state and locality, but the common reporters are:
In short, LEADS Online is a central hub for data from businesses in the used-property trade, helping law enforcement track and recover stolen items. Always verify your specific reporting obligations with local authorities — our guide to LeadsOnline requirements by state explains where the rules come from, and What is LeadsOnline? covers how the system itself works.
LEADS Online integration is mandatory in most jurisdictions, but it's just one piece of complete police-reporting compliance. Your software must also keep local records that meet your state's or province's rules — see our US state licensing guide and Canadian provincial guide. PawnSmarts captures every required field at the point of sale, so reporting stays automatic with no manual re-entry.
Different inventory needs different documentation — high-value jewelry often requires enhanced descriptions and photos. A unified POS prompts for all required fields during the transaction, closing the gaps that lead to fines. Accurate, timely reporting also strengthens your overall theft-prevention strategy.
LeadsOnline (Law Enforcement Analytical Data System) is an online service that lets pawn shops and other secondhand-goods businesses electronically report transaction data that law enforcement can access. PawnSmarts produces the required file and uploads it automatically or manually.
Yes. LEADS Online export is included on both the Essential and Professional plans with no add-on fee. It is built in alongside OFAC checks and police reporting from $89/month.
Reports can be sent daily if your jurisdiction requires it. The first report sends all recorded transactions; later reports send only what's new since the last upload, so duplicates are never transmitted.
LeadsOnline is a free service for businesses that deal in used property and are required to report; there is no charge from LeadsOnline itself. With PawnSmarts the reporting capability is also included at no surcharge on every plan.
No. LEADS Online reporting is included on every PawnSmarts plan with no extra charge, no prepaid support fee and no contract.
No. PawnSmarts handles the formatting and uploading for you, including optional automatic daily upload over FTP, and there's AI help on every screen if you get stuck.
Yes. Report To Leads is the reporting-only terminal built on the same platform — customer ID capture, buy transactions with serials and photos, and automatic LEADS Online submission — at $49/month with no setup fee. It's designed for secondhand dealers, gold buyers and scrap recyclers who must report but never wanted pawn software, and for Canadian dealers migrating off the BWI/RAPID terminal before RAPID shuts down January 1, 2027.
Open the live demo and click around. If it looks right, sign up and we'll move your data for $395.
Questions? [email protected] · 800-710-6184