rgustafs

Hope I am posting this in the right spot. Also -- I searched for previous discussions on this topic but did not find recent discussions.

I have loads of complicated international travel coming up, and I need to get better about hanging on to receipts so I can streamline my expense reporting when I get back to the office. I have tried Expensify, Shoeboxed and others, and I just don't feel like I have found the best solution. Maybe it is out there and I just don't know about it, or maybe I have it but am not using it properly?

My office uses an antiquated excel spreadsheet as the reimbursement request document so I am not looking for a full-blown end to end solution. I am hoping to find something that would OCR scan receipts and convert to USD if needed so I can track and categorize expenses while on the go. All that can be done with apps I have tried, but they fail me when it comes time to easily get the receipts out of their system so I can submit them with my expense reports, which should be super simple to fill out if I have been tracking the expenses.

Maybe I should just surrender and JotNot scan the receipts, upload to Dropbox, and deal with the tracking of expenses when I get back to the office? (We don't need to submit original receipts, which is a good thing because I usually outsmart myself by putting them somewhere really great that I will not find until 3 months later.)

Do you have an iPad, iPhone or other mobile device workflow that works for you for keeping track of receipts and expenses? The simpler the better.

Thanks in advance for any advice or input.

rgustafs

gfunkdave

I use Genius Scan to take a scan of each receipt. I create a new file for each trip and just add receipts to the file.

Then, I just transfer the file to my computer and attach to my expense report.

EmptyKim

I use Genius Scan too. But I email it to myself using a specific subject line for the project or client.

dtsm

Curious - why are you unhappy with Expensify? It scans receipts, converts currency on the fly and syncs btw iPad, iPhone and computer....

I use it -- although not heavy duty user

And as backup, I use a small plastic file -- chuck all my original paper receipts, use paper clip and never a problem.

rgustafs

Sorry I was MIA after asking the question. Had an un scheduled trip, which tested my receipt-keeping abilities to the max.

@DTSM Expensify is good, but how the heck do i photo/capture the 2-3 page long itemized hotel receipts? It seems like they only like 1 page receipts. Then once the receipts are scanned in, I can't seem to separate them from the Expensify system for submission to my company. I have to submit via an excel form that breaks out the daily expenses plus per diem and then subtracts out any cash advance that was provided. I am sure that's not unlike what you guys have to do. I had Expensify convert our excel reimbursement form to try to make Expensify work for me, but the final expense report looks so different there is no way my office will go for it. I probably just need Expensify lessons, but I never seem to make time to really figure it out.

This last trip, I actually forced myself to use a zippered pocket for every single receipt. (Magic how something this simple works when you force yourself to use it.) I scanned some into Expensify while on the road, but then I got busy and just relied on paper until I got home.

I tried to complete things on Expensify once the jet lag wore off, but no dice. I switched to JotNot for scanning and then just used the excel sheet. I will test out Genius Scan, as maybe it is less involved than JotNot? Anything that makes the process of capturing receipts more efficient will help me get my expense reports done sooner. And that will be a minor miracle.

Thanks for the advice and not laughing at my disorganization skills.

rgustafs

elCheapoDeluxe

I used Neat's cloud features for a while, but in general I found it was easier to store them until I got home and then load them into the scanner.

dtsm

Welcome back! Your point well taken, didn't think about multi-page receipts. I usually do combination of expensify and the old fashion way. Scan smaller daily expenses with expensify and then later add the larger/multi-sheets when I return home. Unlike you, I still generate an expense report that is printed out, along with both scanned copies and original receipts attached.

antichef

In the end I have found the only fireproof / foolproof (me proof ) method was to take the hotel envelope they offered with the bill each day and put that days receipts in it. Then put all the envelopes into my carry on and sort the daily costs out later.

If you find the better mousetrap let me know

LesterL

Hi, New to the forum. I'm trying to find a app for tracking expenses also. I have a shoe box full of receipts, and a wallet jam packed. It's driving me nuts.

So, I've been poking around and trying out different apps, came across Tallie, Expense Report Software. I'm trying out the trial version of the software, and so far it looks pretty slick. They have a desktop version and a n iPhone/iPad version. Both make it easy to take images of your receipt, categorize and submit them. It's got a nice mileage expense widget too. I see there is integration with Quickbooks which is really great since our office manager uses Quickbooks.

Has anyone here tried out Tallie? And has anyone used it to integrate with QuickBooks?

Thanks,

LesterL

ne52

I used Evernote with just the photo image but then was turned on to Turboscan and Receiptmate.

Both flatten the image. Receiptmate has a few more features for expense tracking use. It tracks the amount, category, and seems to have better Evernote integration. Turboscan is better for general scanning needs.

HDQDD

Most at my company use DocScan. I haven't tried it yet myself.

antichef

Welcome to FT, LesterL ^

DYKWIA

Hmmmmm, I smell a rat

gfunkdave

I had wondered about it when approving the post, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Since he hasn't posted anything else, I'm going to close the thread.

antichef

.... your nostrils may be more sensitive to mine, but I was cutting a little slack until I saw how the writing style matured