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How To Scan Receipts: 4 Quick and Easy Methods

by Envoice
10 min read

Imagine you’re a business owner trying to keep track of all business expenses by manually saving every receipt. While this is ideal for preparing your team for tax time, paper receipts often go missing.

To solve this problem, you thought about digitizing them through receipt scanning software or taking photos via scanner apps.

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about scanning receipts. We’ll discuss some advantages and the four most popular receipt scanning methods, along with detailed steps.

Read this guide to learn more.

4 Main Advantages of Scanning Receipts

The habit of receipt scanning brings you multiple benefits, especially when compared to storing them in file cabinets. Here are some key advantages for scanning your receipts:

1. Accessibility and Recovery

Scanned receipts are easily accessible compared to physical receipts, which can easily be lost. You can keep copies of receipts in multiple locations for seamless recovery in case of corrupted data.

2. Reduces Clutter

It goes without saying that operating a business can lead to a high volume of paper clutter. This includes old paper documents, receipts, expense reports, purchase orders, etc., which can quickly pile up and take up unnecessary office space. Using receipt scanner software or letting your employees use a receipt scanning app will help solve this issue and make your pre-accounting process more efficient.

3. Better Security

Keeping only a physical copy of your receipt is less secure since it can be easily damaged. Backing up your receipts and other financial documents in central cloud storage gives you more security. You can also set restrictions for each employee so that only authorized users can access these documents.

4. Faster Pre-accounting Process

Completing expense tracking and pre-accounting tasks is more manageable when done online. Employees can quickly upload receipts, track mileage, and create expense reports via an expense tracking app on their mobile devices. You can also forward invoices and bank statements to your accountant or import them to your accounting software.

Method #1: How to Scan Receipts With a Receipt Scanner App

A person Scanning Receipts With a Receipt Scanner App
Courtesy of Canva/Shishuka

One of the quickest ways to scan receipts and extract essential receipt data is through receipt scanner apps. While some receipt scanners may offer a free version, most apps offer unlimited receipt scanning as a premium feature.

Step #1: Install Your Preferred Receipt Scanner App

Best For: Small business owners and employees who need on-the-go receipt scanning for expense reports and quick reimbursement.

Time Required: A minute or less per receipt.

Download and install your preferred receipt scanner app on your Android or iOS device. Not sure which app to choose?

Read now: Best receipt scanner apps in 2024

Make sure to look for these features when finding the best receipt scanner app for your needs:

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  • User-friendliness: Select an app with a user-friendly interface where you can easily search and navigate through its key features.
  • Security: Check whether the mobile app is secure and offers a safe file management system for storing and encrypting your scanned receipts and other financial records.
  • OCR Technology: Find an app that uses the latest optical character recognition (OCR) technology to extract receipt data efficiently and accurately.
  • Auto-categorization: The best receipt scanner apps have a feature that automatically categorizes receipts according to specific tax or expense types.
  • Integrations: Pick a receipt scanner app that supports accounting and finance platforms, travel apps, or other tools to import and export your receipt and expense data seamlessly.

Note: Not all receipt scanning apps offer 99.9% accuracy when extracting receipt data. If you want effective expense tracking and receipt scanning software, choose Envoice. It uses Human-in-the-loop review and corrections with ExactExtract to help you achieve a more efficient pre-accounting process. Register for a free trial today.

Step #2: Create an Account on the Receipt App

Open the mobile app and create your account. Use a secure password to protect your financial data on the platform and avoid unauthorized account use. Some receipt scanner apps provide a free version where you can do a limited number of document scans.

Step #3: Take a Picture of the Receipt on the Mobile App

On the app, navigate to the receipt scanner feature to begin scanning receipts. The app will use your phone’s camera to capture the paper receipt. The feature should automatically detect edges and only include the receipt’s contents. Once captured, it will use optical character recognition (OCR) to accurately detect and extract receipt information.

Step #4: Save and Categorize the Receipt Data

Once the receipt has been scanned, the app can categorize the receipt information automatically (or manually, if auto-categorization isn’t available). Then, you can save it to your account’s file storage.

Method #2: How to Scan Receipts on a Desktop

A business expert scanning Receipts on a printer using Desktop
Secretary making copies or scanning papers on photocopier

If you have a high volume of financial documents needing to be scanned, you can use a document scanner (flatbed or sheetbed) and extract data using OCR software on your computer. Here’s how you can do this:

Step #1: Select a Reliable Document Scanner

  • Best For: Business owners who intend to create digital copies of their financial documents.
  • Time Required: 30 seconds per receipt.
  • When choosing a dependable document scanner for your business, you need to consider these factors:
  • Accuracy: Search for document scanners that have tools for accurate scanning, like OCR, shadow cropping, etc.
  • Volume: If you’re scanning high volumes of documents, you’ll need a robust desktop scanner. Otherwise, you can settle for a portable scanner if you only scan paperwork occasionally.
  • Compatibility: Check whether the document scanner seamlessly integrates with your desktop computer and can produce file types that your system supports. Also, we recommend getting a WiFi-enabled scanner to easily transfer scanned files to your computer.

Note: Buying a document scanner for scanning receipts isn’t cost-effective, especially if you’re a small business owner. If you want an affordable expense management tool with receipt-scanning capabilities, try Envoice. Besides having one of the best apps for scanning receipts, it has features for mileage tracking, invoicing, and approval workflows. Sign up now for a free trial.

Step #2: Set up the Document Scanner on Your Computer

Install the necessary drivers on your computer so the document scanner works properly. Once installed, you can begin scanning receipts using the scanner.

Step #3: Prepare Your Documents and Begin Scanning

When preparing your receipts for scanning, ensure they’re as flat as possible to get a proper image. Begin scanning by placing each receipt face-down on the scanner.

Step #4: Save and Check the Scanned Documents

Once the scan is complete, save the file to your computer and extract receipt data.

Method #3: How to Scan Receipts Using Your Smartphone’s Camera

A person Scanning Receipts Using Your Smartphone’s Camera
Courtesy of Canva/Dean Drobot

Best For: Small business owners or freelancers who want a free option for scanning receipts.

Time Required: Over 3 minutes per receipt.

If you’re a freelancer just scanning receipts occasionally, you can opt for a free way of scanning your billable invoices using your phone’s camera. However, you may need to pay for OCR software to extract receipt data more efficiently.

To do this method, follow the steps below:

Step #1: Take a Photo of the Receipt With Your Phone’s Camera App

Prepare the receipt for scanning by making it as flat as possible and placing it on a solid-colored surface for great image quality. Next, open the Camera app on your phone and capture an image of the receipt.

Step #2: Edit the Image Using Your Phone’s Built-in Image Editor

Open your phone’s image editor and crop the image’s edges. Adjust the receipt image to highlight its contents.

Step #3: Save the Scan and Upload it to Your Computer’s OCR Software

Store the scanned receipt in your file storage. Then, upload it to the OCR software on your computer to extract receipt data.

Step #4: Save the Extracted Receipt Information to Your Accounting Software

Save the extracted receipt data to a spreadsheet and upload it to your accounting software to create your expense report.

Method #4: How to Scan Receipts Using a Receipt Scanning Service

Business owner handing over Receipts for scanning

Best For: Scaling businesses who want to outsource their receipt scanning tasks.

Time Required: A couple of days, depending on the number of documents sent out for scanning.

If you have dozens of receipts and other documents needing to be scanned and don’t have a document scanner, you can opt for a receipt scanning service online. This is an effective way of digitizing your business documents to reduce clutter and be ready for the tax season.

Here’s how you can do it:

Step #1: Choose Your Preferred Receipt Scanning Service

Select your preferred receipt scanning service on the web.

Step #2: Create an Account on the Scanning Service

Create an account on the platform and subscribe to a plan that suits your document scanning needs.

Step #3: Mail Your Physical Receipts for Scanning

Typically, you’ll be sent with a pre-paid envelope where you can insert your receipts and other business documents for scanning (you can also use your own envelope). Their team will do the data extraction tasks for you and sort data using main categories, such as merchant name, tax category, date of purchase, etc.

Step #4: Check the Receipt Data on Your Account

Log into your account and check the digital images of your receipts. You will also see files that contain categorized receipt data according to their expense categories.

3 Best Practices for Managing Receipts

#1: Create Back-ups for Your Receipts

When saving critical financial documents—like receipts—digitally, you must make it a habit to create backups in case of accidental deletion or corrupted data. Create copies in two storage locations, ideally on your computer or an external hard drive, and another online copy on a secure cloud storage service.

#2: Organize Your Receipt Files Properly

When storing receipts or other documents in your file storage, organize them properly so you and your team can easily find specific files. For instance, you can use tags to find specific file categories and a folder structure that mimics your business’s current filing system.

#3: Compress Your Scanned PDFs

When storing your receipts as PDFs, it’s easier to share them with the financial team when converted to a compressed version. This is especially useful when sending receipts as attachments to emails.

A person viewing her Scanned receipts
Courtesy of Canva/Robert Knesche

Conclusion

Receipt scanning is a critical step for expense tracking and the pre-accounting process. This ensures you have a digital copy for each of your paper receipts in case they’re damaged or lost. It also makes your pre-accounting tasks easier since you can quickly forward receipts to your accountant through email.

If you’re looking for an expense tracking software that provides more features than receipt scanning, choose Envoice. It has tools for multi-level approval workflows, expense reporting, and payment processing and integrates with popular accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage Accounting. It also allows an unlimited number of users at no cost.

Are you curious about how Expensify can automate your expense-tracking tasks? Check out its core features now and streamline your pre-accounting process today!

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