How to upload a receipt in 4 ways
Keeping track of paper receipts can feel like a hassle, especially during month-end close or after a business trip when you need to submit them all on an expense report.
Luckily, apps like Expensify have introduced automation to keep you from having to store shoeboxes full of receipts or dig through your pockets to locate that receipt from a business dinner three weeks ago.
In this article, we’ll cover the four ways to send receipts to Expensify to make managing expenses, and more importantly, getting paid back, less of a headache.
1. Take a picture
The easiest way to capture your receipt on the go is with your mobile device. Once you get the receipt, all you need to do is snap a picture of it with Expensify, and then you can toss your receipt in the trash. No more mountains of paper at the bottom of your bag!
Check out the steps below on how to upload a receipt with your phone’s camera directly to Expensify.
First, download the Expensify app, and open it up on your phone.
See that camera icon at the bottom? Tap it!
Snap a clear photo of your receipt. If you'd rather add a photo from your gallery, click the mountain icon to upload it.
Double-check the photo to make sure you’ve captured the merchant, date, and amount, then hit "Save." Ta-da! The receipt will be in your expenses all ready to go.
How to get a good receipt picture
While our receipt scanning app’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology is highly accurate, we’ve got a few tips to help make sure you get a good receipt upload every time:
Make sure you’re taking the photo in a well-lit area, or utilize your camera’s flash feature if necessary.
Try to hold the receipt against a dark or contrasting background so the receipt’s text stands out.
If your receipt is long, feel free to put your receipt on a table or on the floor and take a photo from above - photos are high quality these days and our OCR technology can easily zoom in to grab the necessary information.
2. Email it
If you need to upload a digital receipt sent to your email, Expensify's got you covered. Submit any receipts you get in your inbox with the click of a button.
Here’s how to upload a receipt with email:
Make sure the email you're using is linked to your Expensify account.
You can also add a secondary login (for example, one for work and one for personal).
Head to your inbox. If you've got an email receipt, you’ll just need to forward it over to receipts@expensify.com.
Or, if you've got receipt images or PDFs, forward those to the same email.
You should see a new expense created with the PDF attached as a receipt image in your Expensify account. Magic! ✨
3. Upload via the computer
Prefer uploading expenses on your computer? Go for it! Using the web app gives you some extra options for receipt uploading.
Here’s how to upload a receipt via your computer:
Log into your account at expensify.com.
Head over to the "Expenses" tab on the left.
Click "New Expense" up in the top-right, then pick from Manually Create, Scan Receipt, or Create Multiple.
From there you can either scan, upload, or manually input your expense info, whichever works best for you.
4. Automatic uploading
Traveling for business and want to make it easier to send receipts to Expensify from Lyft, Uber, Delta, or other travel apps? We’ve got a solution for you. Connect your Expensify account to your favorite travel app and all your business travel receipts will automatically be uploaded to your Expensify account. Check out all of our receipt integrations to learn more.
Common questions about receipt uploading
Still want some tips and tricks on how to upload a receipt with Expensify? Explore our FAQs for some receipt upload best practices.
How do you store receipts digitally?
Expensify stores all digital receipts in the cloud, meaning you can save the gigabytes on your devices for pictures of your dog or your entire music collection instead.
What is the easiest way to scan receipts?
The easiest way to scan receipts is whatever works best for you! As you can see, Expensify offers a number of ways to submit your receipts, no matter where you are or how you like to work. Learn more about Expensify’s industry-leading receipt scanning app, or just try one of the methods above to submit your receipts this month!
How do I upload a long receipt?
If you have a long receipt, it’s fine to take a photo of it further away as SmartScan is able to zoom in to capture the merchant, date, or amount. You can set a receipt on a table or on the floor to take a “bird’s eye view” photo of the receipt to get the whole receipt.
Otherwise, if needed, you can fold the receipt so that you’re capturing only the merchant, date, and amount, as these are the three essentials needed for Expensify to accurately upload the expense data.
Make paper receipts a thing of the past
Forget collecting piles of paper and wondering how to digitize your expenses. Use Expensify for all your receipt upload needs and track receipts in the most convenient way for you.
Manage receipts with ease
Download the Expensify app today.
Expensify values your privacy. We’ll never sell your personal information to others.
