Upload a photo or forward the email, and the receipt finds its own transaction. Here’s every way in, what we read off each one, and what to do when one doesn’t match.
The first is upload. On the Receipts page, drop the file in or click to browse: a photo of a paper receipt, a scan, or a receipt you saved from a website all work. On your phone, the same button lets you take the photo on the spot.
The second is email: forward the receipt to your ExpenseGhost address and it lands on the same page (how that works). However it arrives, each receipt we read counts toward your plan’s monthly scan allowance, and extras cost a few cents each; the numbers are in billing help. If the same receipt shows up twice, we flag the copy as a duplicate so you can delete it instead of attaching it twice.
Forward the email to receipts@expenseghost.app (the address is also on your Settings page, with a copy button). The receipt needs to be attached to the email as a file or image. A forward where the receipt only lives in the message text won’t come through.
Forwarded receipts land at the top of your Receipts page under Pending review. We read them right away so you can see what arrived, but they stay out of your books and don’t match anything until you press Accept. Email senders can be faked, so nothing anyone emails us touches your numbers without your say-so.
Forward from the address you signed up with. That’s how we know a receipt is yours. Forwards from any other address are ignored, so if your receipts go to a different inbox, pass them through your registered one.
Nothing to type. We read the store name, date, time, and total straight off the image, plus the tax, the tip, and the last four digits of the card when they’re printed. Longer receipts get their individual line items read too. It all shows on the receipt’s detail view with a confidence score, so you can see exactly what we saw and how sure we are.
We also propose a category for the purchase, like office supplies or meals, based on the store and on what you’ve confirmed before. If a photo is too blurry to read, we say so on the receipt rather than guess, and you can upload a clearer shot.
Once a receipt is read, we look for the card or bank transaction it belongs to by comparing three things: the amount, the date, and the store name. A clear winner attaches automatically and the receipt shows as matched. A close call shows as suggested instead, and waits for you to confirm.
If nothing fits, the receipt stays unmatched. Open it and we list the closest transactions from the ten days either side of the receipt date, so you can attach the right one in a click, and you can unmatch and re-pick any time until the month is closed. One thing matching never decides: whether the purchase counts toward your deductions. That’s the transaction’s label.
Why a perfect amount isn’t enough. Two different stores can charge the same total on the same day, so we never attach a receipt automatically unless the store name lines up too. Without that, the best you’ll see is a suggestion, and the final click is yours.
A receipt can only attach to a transaction, and cash doesn’t leave one. So give it one: on the Bank and cards page, create a manual account (an account you type into yourself, a cash account works fine), then on the Transactions page use Add manual to record the purchase with its date and amount.
Open the receipt afterward and the new transaction shows up in its match list, usually at the top, since the amount and date line up exactly. One click and your cash purchase has its proof attached and gets a label like any card purchase.
We keep the image for you. Once a receipt is in, the file stays saved with your books and attached to its transaction, so pulling up proof of an expense later is a click, not a shoebox. Digital copies are generally fine as tax records, so for most purchases you don’t need to hang on to the paper.
Rules on what to keep and for how long have edge cases, so if you’re unsure about a specific record, ask a tax professional. On our side, the image stays stored until you delete it, and even then it sits in trash for 24 hours before it’s gone for good, in case you change your mind.