How to Track Expenses and Receipts With AI

Published by 3Gen Internet Corporation, maker of OpenAssistant, Skej and AGNT. Comparisons use public documentation, without hands-on testing.

The steps below are taken from each vendor’s help pages. We have not run them.

To track expenses with AI, send each receipt as a photo or a forwarded email and let the software read the merchant, date and amount, fill in the rest, and match the receipt to the card charge. The hard part is getting receipts in without thinking about it.

This guide shows the fastest documented ways in three tools:

• Expensify if you want to start free, alone, today.
• Ramp if your company pays with Ramp cards.
• QuickBooks Online if your books already live there.

Not every job needs expense software. For a one-off pile of receipts, you can also send files to a general assistant such as OpenAssistant (made by 3Gen, which publishes this site), which takes tasks by email, text or its dashboard and has a help article on working with files. It is not an expense system, and its help center documents no receipt matching.

Before you start

• Decide where receipts come from: paper (photos), email (forwards or inbox sync), or both.
• Have the email address you’ll forward from. Some tools only match receipts from an address tied to your account. Ramp says so in its help article, and Intuit’s QuickBooks video says the same. Add any extra addresses you’ll forward from (steps below).
• Black out full card numbers and ID numbers on photos before you upload. QuickBooks asks for this. (QuickBooks)

Option 1: Expensify (free to start)

Expensify’s free features, with no company workspace needed, include unlimited SmartScan receipts and forwarding to receipts@expensify.com. Categories, tags, automatic reimbursement and accounting connections need a paid workspace. (Expensify) Paid workspaces come in two plans, Collect and Control; Expensify’s help page sends you to its pricing page for prices. (Expensify)

These steps are for “New Expensify.” Expensify still has separate help pages for its older “Classic” version.

Get receipts in

Pick whichever fits the moment:

• Phone camera: tap the camera icon, take the photo or upload one, choose yourself as the recipient (or a workspace if you have one), add a description (categories need a paid workspace), and tap Create expense.
• Several paper receipts at once: tap the green camera icon, then the lightning bolt icon in the upper right, photograph each receipt, tap the green arrow, then Create expenses.
• On the web: click the green Scan icon in the left navigation, drag in the file or use Choose files, fill in the details, and click Create expense. You can also drag up to 30 files (under 10 MB each) onto the Spend or Home page.
• Email: forward digital receipts to receipts@expensify.com. Each file can be up to 24 MB, the whole email up to 25 MB.
• Text: send the photo to 47777 (US numbers only). Add your phone number as a contact method first.

(Expensify)

Expensify’s two help pages give slightly different web steps and final buttons (“Create expense” on one, “Submit” on the other), so look for either. (Expensify: create, Expensify: free features)

SmartScan usually finishes in a few seconds, and Expensify warns it can misread handwritten or faded receipts. (Expensify)

Let Concierge do the paperwork

Concierge is Expensify’s AI assistant, open to all members on web, mobile, email and chat. You type what you want in plain words. Expensify’s examples include “Create a $12 lunch expense for today,” “Create an expense report with all of my unsubmitted expenses,” and “Submit my April expense report.” (Expensify)

You can also send receipts straight to Concierge: upload them in the Concierge chat or email them to concierge@expensify.com. It categorizes using your workspace rules and past behavior, and adds the expense to the right report. To ask about one report, open it and select the Help icon in its header. (Expensify)

When a receipt and a card charge don’t join up

Expensify combines a receipt with its matching card charge automatically in many cases; merging by hand is for when it doesn’t. Go to Spend > Expenses, select the two expenses, choose More, then Merge, pick which receipt and details to keep, and select Merge expenses. You can’t merge two imported card expenses, or anything already approved or paid. (Expensify)

Option 2: Ramp (company cards)

Ramp is a corporate card and spend platform for businesses. Its pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 per user per month that includes automatic receipt collection and matching and completing expenses by SMS or Slack. Plus is $15 per user per month plus a platform fee based on team size, and adds AI expense reviews and AI coding of fields. (Ramp pricing) Matching works on Ramp Card charges; out-of-pocket spending goes through reimbursements. (Ramp)

Get receipts in

• Text: after an in-person purchase, Ramp texts you asking for the receipt. Reply with a photo. Anything you type becomes the memo. In the US the number is HIRAMP (447-267), or +1 844 331 1023 if your carrier can’t send pictures to short codes. UK users can’t send receipts by picture message.
• Email: forward to receipts@ramp.com. Put “memo:” and your memo in the body. Out-of-pocket receipts go to reimbursements@ramp.com instead.
• WhatsApp: +1 855 206-7283.
• Slack: type /ramp, press enter, and attach the photo. An admin has to connect Ramp for Slack first. (Ramp)
• Your inbox: connect your work Gmail or Outlook so Ramp picks up emailed receipts itself.
• On the web: click the transaction to upload, or bulk upload under missing items.

(Ramp)

Forward from a second email address

1. Open your Profile settings.
2. Under Receipt forwarding, select Add receipt forwarding email and enter the address.
3. Enter the six-character code Ramp emails to you.

Receipts from your main Ramp email match automatically. An added address can belong to only one Ramp account. (Ramp)

What the AI does after that

Ramp matches each receipt to a charge by merchant, amount and date. It fills in the memo and accounting fields when it’s highly confident or a rule applies, and asks you to confirm anything unclear. On supported iPhones and iPads you can turn on Find receipts in my photo library so it suggests matching photos, which you confirm with Attach. If it can’t place a receipt, open Missing items and attach it yourself. (Ramp)

Push alerts for missing receipts are off by default. Turn them on under Notifications. (Ramp)

Option 3: QuickBooks Online (receipts straight into your books)

You need an active QuickBooks Online subscription and Business view. To forward receipts you need at least Standard user access with Vendor access; Intuit’s video says setting up the forwarding address and switching on other users takes an admin. (QuickBooks) Receipt upload is limited on QuickBooks Online Free and Lite. (QuickBooks)

Set up your forwarding address

1. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Receipts.
2. Select Forward from email.
3. In Enter email address, create your own address. It ends in @assist.intuit.com.
4. Select Next, confirm, then Looks good, then Done.

Each user gets one forwarding address per company. To let other users forward, go to Receipts, then Manage forwarding email, and switch each person on. (QuickBooks) The video on Intuit’s upload page says users must send from the email they use to sign in to QuickBooks. (QuickBooks)

Send receipts

• Email: one receipt per image, PDF, JPEG, GIF or PNG, between 46 KB and 20 MB. Several images in one email is fine. QuickBooks reads the date, amount, vendor and last four digits of the card. (QuickBooks)
• Web upload: Receipts, then Upload from computer or Upload from Google Drive.
• Phone: in the QuickBooks app, open the menu, then Receipt snap, Receipt camera, Use this photo, Done.

(QuickBooks)

Review and match

1. Open Receipts and the For review tab, and select a receipt.
2. If QuickBooks found possible matches, select See suggested matches, pick one, and select Match. If it found a single match, select Match directly.
3. If there’s no match, complete the details, add a memo, and select Save and close. If you know a match exists, use Search manually.

(QuickBooks)

In the QuickBooks docs cited here, you confirm each match in For review. Ramp’s docs say it attaches confident matches on its own.

Which one to use

(Sources linked above)

Check it yourself

This section is advice for you. We have not run these checks.

If you try these tools, collect 10 receipts: 4 paper, 4 emailed, 1 handwritten, 1 in a foreign currency. Send them all in on the same day and check:

1. Merchant, date and amount correct on each.
2. Each receipt attached to the right card charge (where you have cards connected).
3. Time from sending to appearing in the tool.
4. What the tool did with the handwritten and foreign-currency receipts.

Related reading

• Why we recommend OpenAssistant, with 11 alternatives compared: twelve assistants ranked on documented jobs, price, channels and privacy.
• AI assistant comparison: 25 jobs and what each product documents: the fixed list of 25 jobs and what twelve products document for each.
• How to Send Weekly Status Reports With AI: steps for Asana, monday.com and Notion.
• How to Update Your CRM After Calls With AI: steps for HubSpot, Salesforce and Fireflies into HubSpot.

FAQ

What is the fastest free way to start?

Expensify. Its free features, with no company workspace needed, include unlimited SmartScan receipts and forwarding to receipts@expensify.com. Categories, tags and accounting connections need a paid workspace.

How do I get receipts into Ramp?

Reply to Ramp’s text with a photo, forward to receipts@ramp.com, send on WhatsApp, use /ramp in Slack, connect your work Gmail or Outlook, or upload on the web. Ramp matches each receipt to a charge by merchant, amount and date.

Does QuickBooks Online read receipts automatically?

It reads the date, amount, vendor and last four digits of the card from receipts you email or upload, then offers suggested matches that you confirm in For review.

Should I black out card numbers?

Yes. QuickBooks asks you to black out full card numbers and ID numbers on photos before you upload.

What if the AI misreads a receipt?

Expensify warns SmartScan can misread handwritten or faded receipts, so check each result. In QuickBooks you confirm each match; in Ramp, anything unclear is passed back to you.

Try OpenAssistant

For the rest of your admin, such as scheduling, email and follow-ups, Try OpenAssistant. It starts on a free plan; see the pricing page.

Sources

• Expensify, Create an expense: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/reports-and-expenses/Create-an-Expense
• Expensify, Free features: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/getting-started/Free-Features-in-Expensify
• Expensify, Compare Collect and Control plans: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/billing-and-subscriptions/explore-plans-subscriptions-and-pricing/Compare-Collect-and-Control-Plans
• Expensify, What Concierge can do: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/concierge-ai/What-Concierge-Can-Do
• Expensify, Expense Assistant: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/concierge-ai/Expense-Assistant
• Expensify, Merge expenses: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/reports-and-expenses/How-to-Merge-Expenses
• Expensify, Troubleshoot SmartScan: https://help.expensify.com/articles/new-expensify/reports-and-expenses/Troubleshoot-SmartScan-Issues
• Ramp, Submitting receipts: https://support.ramp.com/submitting-receipts-memos-and-accounting-for-your-ramp-transactions
• Ramp, Automate receipts: https://support.ramp.com/automate-receipts-and-expense-requirements
• Ramp, Pricing: https://ramp.com/pricing
• QuickBooks, Email receipts and bills: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/accounts-payable/email-receipts-bills-quickbooks-online/L7r2LAQ7C_US_en_US
• QuickBooks, Upload receipts and bills: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-transactions/upload-receipts-bills-quickbooks-online/L862MmZHn_US_en_US