Expense Receipts

Upload, track, and reconcile expense receipts with bank transactions

5 min read Updated Jan 12, 2025

Expense Receipts

The Receipts module helps you track business expenses by uploading receipts and reconciling them with bank transactions.

Overview

The expense tracking system:

  • Uploads and extracts receipt data automatically
  • Matches receipts to bank transactions
  • Tracks cash payments that don't appear in statements
  • Reconciles expenses for accurate bookkeeping

Getting Started

Upload Receipts

  1. Navigate to Expenses > Receipts
  2. Click Upload
  3. Drag and drop receipt images or PDFs
  4. Wait for automatic extraction

Supported formats:

  • Images: PNG, JPG, JPEG, HEIC
  • Documents: PDF
  • Maximum file size: 10MB per file

Automatic Extraction

When you upload a receipt, AI extracts:

Field Description
Vendor Merchant or business name
Date Transaction date
Amount Total amount paid
Currency Payment currency
Category Expense category
Payment Method Bank, card, cash, or e-wallet

Extraction confidence is shown for each field.

Duplicate Detection

When uploading receipts, the system automatically checks for potential duplicates to prevent double-entry.

How It Works

Before saving a receipt, the system checks:

  1. Exact Match — Same file content hash (100% confidence)
  2. Fuzzy Match — Similar vendor, amount, and date

Fuzzy Matching Criteria

Field Tolerance
Amount Within 0.5% or 1 unit
Vendor Name similarity (case-insensitive)
Date Within 3 days

Confidence Levels

Level Criteria
Exact (95-100%) All three fields match closely
High (75%) Vendor + amount match
Medium (50%) Vendor + date match

Handling Duplicates

When a potential duplicate is detected:

  1. A warning appears before saving
  2. Review the existing receipt link
  3. Choose to save anyway or cancel
  4. Duplicates are flagged but not blocked

Reconciliation

Reconciliation links receipts to bank transactions for accurate expense tracking.

Reconciliation Status

Status Meaning
Unreconciled Receipt not matched to any transaction
Partial Partially matched (amount differs)
Reconciled Fully matched to a transaction
No Match No matching transaction found (likely cash)

Matching Receipts

  1. Open an unreconciled receipt
  2. Review suggested matches from your transactions
  3. Select the matching transaction or mark as cash
  4. Confirm the reconciliation

Cash Expenses

For receipts paid with cash (no bank transaction):

  1. Mark the receipt as Cash Payment
  2. The expense is recorded in your cash book
  3. Cash expenses appear in expense reports

Cash Book

The Cash Book module lets you track out-of-pocket and petty cash transactions separately from bank accounts.

Accessing Cash Book

Navigate to Expenses > Cash Book to view and manage cash entries.

Adding Cash Entries

  1. Click New Entry
  2. Select entry type: Expense or Income
  3. Fill in:
    • Date — When the transaction occurred
    • Amount — Transaction amount
    • Description — What the entry is for
    • Vendor (optional) — Where you paid
    • Category — Food & Dining, Transportation, etc.
  4. For expenses, set Reimbursement status:
    • Claimable — Can be claimed for reimbursement
    • Not claimable — Personal expense, not reimbursable
  5. Click Create Entry

Cash Book Statistics

The Cash Book page shows:

Stat Description
Total Expenses Sum of all expense entries
Total Income Sum of all income entries
Net Balance Income minus expenses (surplus or deficit)
Claimable Amount pending reimbursement

Filtering Cash Entries

Use filters to find specific entries:

  • Type — All, Expenses, or Income
  • Claim Status — Claimable, Claimed, Not claimable
  • Search — By description or vendor name

Linking to Receipts

When you upload a receipt marked as cash payment, it automatically creates a cash book entry. The entry shows a receipt icon indicating it has an attached receipt.

Reconciliation Sessions

For bulk reconciliation, use the dedicated Reconciliation module to match multiple receipts against transactions.

Starting a Reconciliation Session

  1. Navigate to Expenses > Reconciliation
  2. Click New Session
  3. Choose what to match against:
    • Bank Transactions — Match receipts with imported bank statements
    • Cash Book — Match receipts with cash book entries
  4. Select the date period (defaults to current month)
  5. Optionally name the session (e.g., "January 2025 Expenses")
  6. Click Start Reconciling

Session Workflow

Once in a session, you'll see:

  • All receipts from the selected period
  • Suggested matches from transactions
  • Progress bar showing reconciliation status

For each receipt:

  1. Review suggested matches
  2. Select the correct matching transaction
  3. Or mark as unmatched if no transaction exists

Session Status

Status Meaning
In Progress Session is active, receipts pending
Completed All receipts have been matched or marked
Cancelled Session was cancelled

Session Statistics

Each session tracks:

  • Total receipts in the period
  • Number of receipts matched
  • Total receipt amount
  • Reconciled amount

Find receipts quickly with:

  • Search — By vendor name or filename
  • Status Filter — Unreconciled, Partial, Reconciled, No Match
  • Payment Method — Bank/Card, Cash, E-wallet
  • Date Range — Filter by receipt date

Statistics

The receipts page shows:

  • Total receipts uploaded
  • Reconciled vs pending count
  • Total expense amount
  • Breakdown by payment method

Tips

For Best Extraction

  • Take clear photos in good lighting
  • Ensure the entire receipt is visible
  • Avoid crumpled or faded receipts
  • Upload original PDFs when available

For Reconciliation

  • Upload receipts soon after purchase
  • Use consistent vendor names
  • Match amounts exactly when possible
  • Mark truly cash expenses as "Cash Payment"

Integration

Receipts integrate with other BasedInbox features:

  • Transactions — Linked when reconciled
  • Compiler — Expense data informs classification
  • Reports — Included in expense reports
  • Categories — Shared category system
expensesreceiptsreconciliationcash bookexpense tracking